During the pandemic Clinton Elementary School students delivered kindness, and hopefully, a smile or two.
The elementary school’s art club, consisting mostly of fifth graders and a few fourth graders, decorated 30 birdhouses. After being on display for a few weeks at Artisans’ Corner, those birdhouses made their way to the Waterville Residential Care Center and to Clinton’s Lutheran Care and Presbyterian Homes and Services.
CCS art teacher Lynn Hall wanted to find a fun, interactive project for her art club, which was virtual at the time.
She said she wanted “to do something meaningful for the kids” when thinking about the club’s project.
“I have several colleagues whose parents have been in residential homes, and they haven’t been able to visit. They’re telling me these heartbreaking stories. I was like, ‘Boom, that’s what we can do,’” Hall said.
When she told the kids in the club about the idea of decorating birdhouses and giving them to nursing home residents, they were excited about the project. The kids told her about how their grandparents are in long-term care locations.
“They were really into it,” Hall said.
Hall posted to her Facebook page that she was trying to get in contact with someone who could donate birdhouses to the club.
Artisans’ Corner owner Linda McHarris heard about the request. McHarris has used her shop, which sells items made by local artists, multiple times to host CCS art shows that take place in early spring every year.
McHarris usually displays paintings and drawings in her store for a few weeks so that parents can see their kid’s work in public.
Richard Stricker was the name McHarris came up with to help with the art club project. Stricker is the ultimate birdhouse builder, and he sells his uniquely designed houses at Artisans’ Corner. All are handmade using recycled materials with different themes.
When Hall called Stricker to ask for his help, Stricker had already heard about the project from his sister. “He had already had them underway for me,” Hall said.
While Stricker built the birdhouses, Hall had her art club make...
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