Decorate a Lunch Bag- Service Learning Project -

Recently our school participated in a service learning project for all of our grades, K-8. The local senior center approached my co-worker Sharon who shared the project with me. The senior center was looking for students to decorate lunch bags to distribute to homebound seniors through the Meals on Wheels program. I thought this would be a great opportunity for our students to connect with the community and share kindness and cheer through their art.

Here is an article from the Department of Public Instruction about the project.

I have been wanting to engage my students in more projects that connect with the greater community and encourage the students to think beyond themselves. I love that this is an easy, tangible way for our students to make a difference in the lives of others. Decorating lunch bags is a way for kids of all ages to share their artwork and hopefully bring smiles to other people. I like when art projects serve a purpose and mean something special.

Three decorated lunch bags on a wooden surface. The first has flowers, the second says "Have a Great Day" in colorful letters, and the third has an elephant with balloons in a green grassy field.

I introduced the idea of the project by first having a discussion about what a senior is (many of the younger kids had not heard of the word “senior” before), what the senior center does and how artwork on the bags could bring cheer to a person’s day. I showed them some examples of bags that other kids had decorated to give them an idea of what might be something they could draw on their bag. We focused on words and images that were happy, colorful and kind.

Three hand-decorated lunch bags: one with sunflowers and a paw print, one with a large sunflower, and one with a rainbow, sun, and heart. Messages include "You are Pawsome" and "You Are Worth it!" This makes for an ideal service learning project.

I think the children learned a little about other people in our community and started to think about how they could help others. They showed pride in their work and were happy to think that someone else will see their artwork and maybe be happier because of it. When I explained the project I had one very excited first grade boy call out, “WHAT?! You mean we get to help other people!?”

Children’s art has a special way of bringing joy to other people and we are hoping that the seniors who receive our lunch bags will feel that love and kindness.