A 3rd-grade teacher in Indiana spent much of her time this spring on a special project.
Shannon Anderson, of Rensselaer, visited each of her 24 students in their homes to deliver a very special stuffed animal. Animals that were unique to each and every one of them.
For the past four years, Anderson has been assigning her students an exciting end of year project. One that the kids look forward to. And one that inspires creativity.
Each student is tasked with a fun project of writing, editing, and illustrating their own book. And then, to some extent at least, they get to see their books come to life.
Sharing her Love of Writing
According to Today, Anderson says there is sound reasoning for why she does.
“While third grade teacher Shannon Anderson loves writing, she knows many of her students think it, well, stinks. But she discovered a way to help them be excited about it. The secret? She transforms their characters into stuffed animals.”
Anderson herself is a children’s book writer, something she loves doing. To many, writing can be a joy, and she wanted her students to realize that. And frankly, her way of engaging her students and getting them excited about the process is brilliant.
The projects are long-term, and the children are encouraged to set their imaginations free. When the project is complete with their own illustrations, she submits them to Budsies, a Florida based company that makes custom stuffed animals.
The Big Reveal
Obviously, the kids can’t wait to see their own artwork turned into a stuffed animal they can hold and admire. Not to mention show off to their friends.
Good Morning America shares that in a usual year,
“… the class has a book reveal party where the kids receive their Budsies in person.”
Sometime before the party, Anderson would purchase a white dress and have each child draw their illustrations on it. This meant she always had a keepsake of that year’s class.
Then the big reveal. When the stuffed animals arrived, she would give each child their own unique creation. Each would be able to unbox their own animal, and she would record each of their reactions.
Can you imagine the feeling these kids get when they see life-like renditions of their artwork?
Anderson told Today,
“Every single student’s instinct is to be in awe, to hug it and love on it. It is something very special that they created. It is powerful.”
The Class of 2020
We all know what happened in the spring of 2020. Millions around the world were sent home to work and finish out their school year.
For the children of Ms. Anderson’s class, this was devastating. Their school was shutting down and they worried that they would miss out on their projects ever getting completed. They would certainly miss out on their reveal party.
She tells Today,
“Over half of the class was in tears.”
But clearly, she is a special sort of teacher, and she wasn’t about to let her students down. With a view to social distancing and permission from each parent, she made sure each student got their animal. She went door-to-door and dropped them off at each home.
She told Good Morning America,
“It was the best day ever because we hadn’t seen each for so long. I think it worked out great. Everyone was ready for a pick-me-up.”
And the kids? Well, they loved it.
One mom said her 9-year-old daughter was so excited she wasn’t able to sleep the night before the drop-off.
She told GMA,
“She sat outside for an hour waiting. They work so hard at this … she was super ecstatic.”
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