Mrs. Shinn’s 3rd grade classroom participated in the Cookie Project this year with the Fairbury High School FBLA Organization. This project teaches 3rd grade students about the American Free Enterprise System which gives them the ability start and run their own business. The 3rd graders, along with Fairbury’s FBLA, baked chocolate-chip cookies and sold them to the high school students. The profits go to the 3rd grade classrooms. The students of each room then get to decide what to do with their cookie money.
One day as Mrs. Shinn was telling her students about visiting her mom in the nursing home and that students from another school would go out to the nursing home read to residents once a week. Mrs. Shinn’s students asked it they could go read to residents at Fairbury’s Heritage Nursing Home. The students found out what it would cost to get a bus and driver. They also needed to make sure they were not giving up important classroom time. The students voted to use their cookie money for the bus and would be willing to give up their art time one week.
Mrs. Shinn made arrangements with the school, bus barn, and the Heritage Nursing Home. Next, the students worked on Christmas decorations and Christmas cards for residents in art class. In music they even practiced a Christmas Carol to sing.
On December 10, the students arrived at school dressed in red and green with their two Christmas books picked out and ready to go. The students were so excited and on the bus that they practiced their song. Upon arriving at the Nursing home, the students gathered in the cafeteria and practiced their song again as residents gathered. Then each student found a resident. They read to them, visited with them, and gave them a gift. It was soon hard to tell who had bigger smiles, the residents or students. After reading, the students sang again and told the residents good-bye. The students were still singing on the bus trip back to school. Throughout the day the students continued to talk about how much fun they had.
Before going home, the students shared with Mrs. Shinn that when they decided to go to the nursing home they thought they would be giving a gift to the residents. However, they hadn’t realized how good it would make them feel inside, so it was really a gift to themselves as well. Mrs. Shinn’s class has decided if it can be arranged, they want to do this again. 
