NORTH WALES – Everyone has a special stuffed animal that they never want to lose. Students at Gwyn Nor Elementary School received stuffed animals on Wednesday from Pennbrook students that will become a keepsake forever. What made this extra special was the date; Valentine’s Day!

At Pennbrook Middle School, the FCS Department has a yearly project for its ninth graders. All students enrolled as FCS majors get to sew a stuffed animal that an elementary school student has drawn. On Wednesday, the middle schoolers got to give their stuffed animals to the students they made them for. FCS teacher, Dr. Lauren Ewaniuk, led the event this year.

“The project has been around for years and FCS teachers around the country have participated in the program. I’m a member of a FCS teacher Facebook page and seeing their examples inspired me to want to do it too,” Ewaniuk said.

Seeing students from different schools doing the monster project inspired Pennbrook to start it for their students. The project is very beneficial for the students and contributes to the curriculum.

“I think the monster project helps inspire more kids to see the joy of sewing. Making a handmade project shows how someone appreciates the time and personalized effort that is made. The 9th graders took the time to make all the details and didn’t want to disappoint one of the first graders,” Ewaniuk explained. 

The long amount of time the 9th graders spent on these projects should not be overlooked. 

“It was a lot of hard work for the 9th graders, but seeing how happy it made the first-grade students, they seemed proud of themselves. Also, I think this could encourage the elementary students to sign up for FCS because they’ll want to be a part of the project again but in a different role,” Ewaniuk said.

Even though most of the students enjoyed the project, there were some worries about making the monsters perfect.

“The 9th graders enjoyed it, but not without some complaints. They often said they didn’t want a kid to be disappointed or they were afraid their first grader wouldn’t like how it turned out. Some kids made two monsters, and a few made 3. It was time-consuming for them, but in the end, everyone finished their projects,” Ewaniuk said.

Even though some students had a difficult time in the process, it ended up being very rewarding for them. The stuffed animals became cute valentines and memories.

“You could see the pride on the 9th graders’ faces when it was done, many took pictures to remember them. I think it was more meaningful to them to give the monster to someone else to enjoy and love instead of keeping it themselves,” Ewaniuk detailed.