Finding successful service learning projects at the elementary level means you are also finding teachers who are able to 'think outside the box', in this case...thinking outside the catbox!  Mrs. Cullen-Doin's second grade glass helped foster kittens for the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society (MHRHS) in Menands, New York.  Learning to care for kittens has enabled the second-graders to learn responsibility, compassion and how to demonstrate their caring spirits. 

The students researched what kittens need for the first eight weeks of life by reading books about cats and kittens. 

They organized and held a Cat Food and Litter Drive during March.  They were able to gather four wagons full of food and litter.  These donations were delivered to the animal shelter by the class when they visited on a field trip. 

Mrs. Cullen-Doin brought foster kittens into the classroom a few days each week.  Students helped by handling the babies to get them used to children.  The kittens resided right in the classroom, learning to be good 'Kitty Citizens' right alongside their caregivers.  Passersby would see the 'Caution - Kittens Are Out' sign on the door whenever the kittens were roaming freely in the classroom.

In the MHRHS program, kittens are kept in foster care until they are eight weeks old and two pounds each.  They are then returned to the shelter for spaying and neutering.  When the kittens are healed they are released for adoption.