Sienna Lopez, 5, Kiki Lindsay, 7, and Healy Bledsoe, 7, from top, paint colorful cards during an art class Thursday at Seven Peaks School in Bend that combined the work of second-graders and pre-kindergarten students. As part of a lesson on compassion, the children made dog biscuits and cards to be donated to the Humane Society of Central Oregon .

On a recent Thursday, primary students at Seven Peaks School in Bend learned there are no dinosaurs at the local humane society. However, they did learn that there were dogs, cats and other animals there in need of their help.

As part of a monthlong segment on compassion, students made greeting cards and homemade dog biscuits to be donated to the Humane Society of Central Oregon.

A class of second-graders worked with a group of pre-kindergartners at the school that afternoon during the classes’ weekly “buddy time” session.

“It gives the older kids a chance to develop leadership skills,” said Katy Zia, a second-grade teacher. “And it lets the younger kids feel connected.”

Each month, the students focus on a virtue as part of a yearlong study designed to help them understand positive qualities and traits. They’ve looked at virtues such as courage, diligence and respect.

In one lesson, students wrote thank-you notes to janitorial and office staff at the school to demonstrate gratitude. In an exercise emphasizing the importance of courage, they made illustrated books narrating times when they felt scared. This month’s theme was compassion.

“Compassion is a big word, and it’s not necessarily concrete for them,” Seven Peaks Assistant Principal Megan Martin said. “We want them to have a solid understanding of it.”

At the recent session, students worked together on the two projects, jumping between the second-grade and pre-kindergarten classrooms.

“I like that we’re helping animals and that we’re also helping people by showing them what to do,” said Kalvin Timm, 8, as he dragged a heavy paintbrush across a folded piece of construction paper, leaving streaks of black watercolor behind in the shape of a bird.

Cards for new pet owners

As part of the project, the donated cards will be given to people who adopt animals from the humane society.

The cards provide tips from the students about how to care for the newest members of the recipients’ households.

Kalvin said he was going to give the new owners tips like making sure to feed a pet three times a day, give it water, give it two treats a day, and check to ensure its collar isn’t too tight. Kalvin also said it’s important to pet one’s adopted animal a lot.

Kalvin’s pre-kindergarten buddy, Jaiden Monroe, 5, worked alongside him, painting a squirrel with strokes of watery brown paint.

“I like making something new,” Jaiden said. “I’m having fun.”

Homemade dog biscuits

Once students finished painting their cards, they walked down the hall to the pre-kindergarten classroom, where the dog biscuit-making was well under way. Students added carrots and beef mixture to dough made earlier by teachers and parent volunteers. Using rolling pins, they made half-inch-thick sheets.

Avery Kelleher, 7, worked diligently, rolling out the dough and using cookie cutters in the shape of dog bones and dog houses.

“I like shaping the dough into dog-bone shapes,” Avery said. “It’s fun that the dogs will get to eat these.”

Students placed the biscuit cut-outs onto cookie sheets. The biscuits would later be baked and delivered to the humane society.

Savanna Silvey, 5, worked with a smudge of flour on her cheek, trying to cut out as many dog biscuits as she could from the flattened dough before having to reroll it. Savanna said the project taught her that compassion is just a big word for caring.

The session ended with students washing down the classroom tables after the biscuit-laden cookie sheets had been whisked away for baking.

At the following week’s buddy session, visiting workers from the humane society talked to the students about what the society does, and why it’s important to care for animals in need.

“Overall, these projects help students learn how to treat each other and the community,” Zia said. “They’re learning about the needs of Bend, and how to help one another.”