pencil Always Henry fished one out of his pocket Finley took it and started scribbling notes on a napkin What are you doing Olivia asked peering over Finley’s shoulder Brainstorming Finley said Hold on a sec She finished what she was writing and handed the pencil back What’s that about Henry asked pointing to the napkin Or is it top secret Finley laughed It’s not top secret it’s an idea for our service project Well out with it Henry said What’s growing in your idea garden Finley grinned Carrots Henry raised an eyebrow Carrots As in your favorite vegetable Finley nodded And peas and lettuce and tomatoes and spinach Henry looked confused Oookay Finley pointed to Henry’s mushy peas What if we didn’t have to eat soggy veggies Maybe we could grow our own At school Olivia asked wrinkling her brow Finley shrugged Why not It’d be fun Gardening is a lot of work Henry said My mom weeds and waters our garden practically every day We would have a lot of people to share the work Olivia pointed out Yep Finley said We’d have the whole class True Henry agreed Maybe you should bring it up in class brainstorming and see what Ms Bird says I will Finley said A class garden could be the most Fin-tastic service project ever
Chapter 2 VOTE FOR VEGGIES After lunch Ms Bird erased the board Who’s ready to brainstorm she asked Remember we need to identify a problem or need in our community and come up with a way to help Let’s list some ideas Finley and several other students raised their hands Ms Bird grabbed a marker from the mug on her desk and pointed to Finley’s friend Lia Yes Lia We could go to the animal shelter and play with dogs and cats Lia suggested That helps them get used to being around people before they’re adopted Great idea Ms Bird said writing Animal Shelter on the board That would involve a field trip but it might be possible She pointed to Amelia next We could do a food drive Amelia said and collect food for people who need it Or a book drive for kids who need books Kate added Ms Bird wrote Food Drive and Book Drive on the board There are lots of organizations that collect food and books and give them to people in need she said turning back to the class What’s your idea Will We could go to an assisted living center and do something nice for senior citizens Will said My grandpa lives in one He loves when I visit Good thinking Ms Bird said Giving people our time is just as important as donating money or things She added Assisted Living Visit to the list then nodded in Finley’s direction Finley We could plant a school garden Finley said and grow fresh vegetables for the
cafeteria That’s an interesting idea Ms Bird said Tell me more I noticed at lunch that most kids throw away their veggies Finley continued I think it’s because the vegetables don’t really taste like vegetables A garden would fix that We could feed the whole school Ms Bird smiled We might not have enough vegetables to feed everyone she said But we could start with our class If it goes well other classes might want to build their own gardens She paused with the marker in her hand Where we would put this garden How about right there Finley pointed out the window There’s plenty of room and we could watch it grow We could even get picnic tables or blankets and eat lunch outside I’d have to get permission from Principal Small but that just might work Ms Bird wrote Class Garden Outdoor Classroom on the board Any other thoughts or
questions Will raised his hand What does outdoor classroom mean Some schools have an outdoor space where classes can do experiments and lessons or just go out and read Ms Bird explained Class on the grass Henry blurted out Lia’s eyes lit up You mean school would be outside Ms Bird nodded Not all the time but sometimes yes She glanced around the room Does anyone else have another service project idea to share No one raised a hand We’ve got quite a list Ms Bird said I’ll leave it up on the board so you can think about it before we vote tomorrow These are all wonderful ideas it’s going to be difficult to choose just one I know what I’m choosing Henry whispered to Finley It starts with G and ends with N We have half an hour before we go to P E Ms Bird continued You can use it to research your projects or make signs to get people to vote for them Finley turned to Henry Want to help me make some signs Sure Henry said Sign me up Can I help Olivia asked I’m all for a class garden It would make our view a lot prettier Of course Finley said First we need a good slogan something catchy that’ll make everyone want to vote for our idea Vote for veggies Henry said Finley laughed That has a nice ring to it And we could draw veggies on the signs Maybe each sign could feature a different vegetable and a different saying Olivia suggested Class garden you can’t beet it Henry said grinning
