Machetanz first-graders deliver made-with-love gifts

PALMER — Community service was the point of a Machetanz Elementary School project that made and shared 40 fleece blankets, along with handmade cards and ornaments, at the Alaska Veterans and Pioneers Home in Palmer and with cancer patients at Midnight Sun Oncology.

First-grader Jacob Gardino said the idea was to share the spirit of Christmas.

First-grade teachers Cathy Ledbetter, Robin Ouellette and Molly Walker worked together to do one super-sized service project this year. Students rotated between the three classrooms, where they made cards, construction paper ornaments and tied the edges on polar fleece blankets.

“The kids just love ’em,” Ledbetter said of the soft, warm blankets they made to share.

The idea for the blankets grew out of an experience the class and Ledbetter shared. The students in her class were with her when her husband, Steve, was battling cancer last year and after he died April 22, 2013. Steve received a similar blanket as a gift when he was a patient at Midnight Sun Oncology, Ledbetter said.

“I saw how much a simple lap blanket means to someone going through cancer and my class and I wanted to give back to others — a blanket to warm their hearts and souls as they go through all their cancer treatments,” she said. “He took that blanket with him everywhere he went.”

Ouellette said the project also included a practical element for first-graders’ small fingers.

“Their homework was to practice tying,” she said.

Christmas music played quietly in the background while students cut, colored and tied their gifts with love, the three teachers said.

“It’s so quiet and peaceful,” Ouellette said.

Parents helped with the project, too, by donating fabric and helping to cut the edging to be tied by the children.

“It’s a way for students to give back to the community,” Walker said.

Ouellette said part of the lesson included talking with students about sharing and the importance of making sure every senior received a gift on Wednesday.

“How would you feel if you were left out?” she said. “It’s about giving, not just receiving.”

Ledbetter said the first-graders understand.

“The kids in my class see the special joy in giving to others this time of year and how much it means to them,” she said.

Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.