Animal shelters and rescues love fleece blankets for the pets in their care. Blankets are used for kittens to keep them warm and are a comfort to dogs and rabbits too.
For Teachers
Projects Your Students Will Love
Everything You Need to Get Started
Every project includes step-by-step instructions, materials lists, planning details, standards connections, and more—giving you everything you need to bring a project into your classroom while helping local animal shelters and rescues.
- Every project and resource is completely free.
Designed With Teachers in Mind
Every Paws Up Project follows the same teacher-friendly format, so once you’ve used one, you’ll know exactly what to expect from the next.
Know Before You Start
- Time
- Planning
- Grade Levels
- Standards Connections
Everything You Need
- Instructions
- Materials
- Teacher Tips
- Flexible Format
Project Wrap-Up
- Reflection Questions
- Discussion Questions
- Extension Ideas
- Student Reflection Worksheet
No-Sew Blankets
- 45-60 min
- 3–12
- Moderate
- Good for Individuals & Groups
We’ve done the planning for you
See What’s Inside Every Paws Up Project
Every Paws Up Project is classroom-ready and follows the same consistent format—saving you time while helping students make a real difference.
Find the Perfect Project for Your Classroom
Filter projects by Project Time, Planning Level, Grade Level, Who Is Doing It?, or Project Type to quickly find the best fit for your classroom.
Designed to Fit the Way You Teach
Every classroom is different. Paws Up Projects are flexible enough to support a variety of teaching goals and connect with what you’re already teaching.
Service Learning
Cross-Curricular Learning
SEL & Character Education
STEM / STEAM
Real-World Learning
Leadership & Schoolwide Projects
Students Helping Animals—and Growing in the Process
When students help animals, they’re doing more than completing a project. They’re building empathy, confidence, communication skills, leadership, creativity, and a stronger connection to their community.
Because students already care about animals, they’re eager to learn, serve, and make a difference.
Animals give students a real-world reason to learn, collaborate, and make a lasting impact.
What Teachers Are Saying
Real classrooms. Real students. Real impact.
My students love animals, so we organized a towel and toy drive for our local shelter. They decorated a collection box, made morning announcements, and visited classrooms to explain why the donations mattered. Watching my students take the lead and seeing our school community come together to help animals made this one of the most rewarding projects we’ve done.
— 3rd Grade Teacher, Arizona
I was looking for a service learning project that would engage my middle school students. We started with no sew blankets and rope toys for our local shelter, and the project quickly grew into a campus wide effort. Watching so many students get involved made it one of the most successful projects we’ve done.
— 7th Grade Teacher, California
So many of my students love animals that I wanted to give them a chance to make a real difference. We chose the no-sew blanket project for a local cat rescue, and the classroom-ready instructions made the project easy to organize. The highlight was when rescue volunteers visited our classroom with a few kittens to pick up the blankets. Seeing my students realize that something they made would comfort cats and kittens waiting for homes was a moment they won’t forget.
— 5th Grade Teacher, Texas
See Paws Up Projects in Action
Watch Learning Come to Life
See how teachers and students use Paws Up Projects to create real learning experiences while helping local animal shelters and rescues.
Created by a Teacher, for Teachers
A Note from One Teacher to Another
After years in the classroom, I knew how difficult it was to find projects that were engaging for students and manageable for teachers.
That’s why I created Paws Up Projects.
Every project is designed to be practical, flexible, and classroom-friendly, with step-by-step instructions and resources that help students make a real difference for local animal shelters and rescues.
My hope is that these projects save you time, inspire your students, and make it easy to bring real-world learning into your classroom.
— Kasey Brown
Founder, Paws Up
Ready to Inspire Your Students?
Bring real-world learning into your classroom with free, teacher friendly projects that help students make a difference for local animal shelters and rescues.