Cathryn Berger Kaye Announces New Service Learning Workbook for Kids

A Kids' Guide to Protecting & Caring for Animals: How to Take Action! (Free Spirit Publishing) by author and service learning pioneer Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A., brings animal welfare to life for young people, helping them get involved in service learning at school, in youth groups, or in their homes. They discover they have the knowledge and power to make meaningful changes in their communities through service. Using this new workbook, educators, youth leaders, and parents can help kids focus their service learning and devote time and energy to a single issue.

(Vocus) September 23, 2008 -- Creatures of all sizes and shapes are growing ever more reliant on humans for their safety and well-being. Fortunately, kids and teens are reaching out to become stewards on behalf of animals, and with the right tools at the right time, great things can happen. The new service learning workbook from Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A., a pioneer in service learning curriculum and award-winning author, puts the power of positive change directly into young people's hands. A Kids' Guide to Protecting & Caring for Animals: How to Take Action! (http://www.freespirit.com/catalog/item_detail.cfm?ITEM_ID=624) (Free Spirit Publishing (www.freespirit.com), $6.95) teaches students in grades 6 and up:

•    The basics of service learning

•    The facts about animal welfare, cruelty prevention, habitat preservation, and much more

•    How to get started by assessing community needs

•    How to locate resources and assistance

•    When and how to take action

Service learning has become an integrated and often required part of education in schools across the country. No longer a new idea, service learning is a proven way for students to discover and test new skills, develop a sense of competence, and appreciate the value of being part of something larger than themselves. This workbook is the third in Free Spirit's Service Learning for Kids Workbook Series, together with Kaye's A Kids' Guide to Helping Others Read & Succeed and A Kids' Guide to Hunger & Homelessness. All three books include activities intended to engage and provoke imagination, followed by a call to action.

Cathryn Berger Kaye, author of The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, Practical Ways to Engage Students in Civic Responsibility, Academic Curriculum, & Social Action (2004, Free Spirit Publishing (http://www.freespirit.com)), knows that young people have ideas, energy, and enthusiasm that can benefit our communities. She says, "By giving these books to students or to your own children, you are helping them participate successfully in service learning. The process of completing the activities helps them develop the personal skills, knowledge, and abilities required to address the community needs they care about."

What kids are saying about the helping animals:

"I can't imagine a world without animals. When I hear about a species being threatened, I used to feel so helpless. Now I feel part of a huge community of people like me who care and are actively doing something. Everyone could. Imagine if everyone did!"

--Leah, age 14

"If we don't help them, I don't know who will."

--Ezra, age 12

Teachers, parents, and group leaders can use these workbooks in classrooms, youth-serving organizations, after-school settings, or at home. Kids do care about animals, and they want to make a difference in the world. Here are the facts, tools, and inspiration they need to make it happen.

About the Author

Cathryn Berger Kaye, M.A. (http://www.freespirit.com/catalog/author_detail.cfm?AUTHOR_ID=120), is a former classroom teacher, a nationally recognized expert on service learning, and an International Service Learning Consultant. She works with state departments of education, university faculty and students, school districts, and classroom teachers on a variety of educational issues such as service learning, civic responsibility, student leadership, and respectful school communities. She also is the author of A Kids' Guide to Helping Others Read & Succeed, A Kids' Guide to Hunger & Homelessness, and The Complete Guide to Service Learning: Proven, Practical Ways to Engage Students in Civic Responsibility, Academic Curriculum, & Social Action. Cathryn lives in Los Angeles with her husband.

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