Early Childhood PBL Project Bank
Welcome to our project bank! These projects have all actually been implemented with young children. We hope you’ll draw on this resource by taking one of these ideas and running with it. We hope it inspires you to come up with even more ideas - ideas that your students will love, that they will engage with and that will work in your community. We also hope this list gives you hope and encouragement, and allows you to see the power and possibility that lies in every project we design and facilitate with young children.
So take a project idea from this bank, or leave a project for someone else! If you want to contribute a project you’ve done, simply click below. We’ll add it to the project bank.
Growing a Garden
Driving Question: How can we plant and take care of a garden?
Public Product: a garden tour, pamphlet and youtube video that teaches others how to plant and care for a garden
This project is highlighted in our self-paced, online course.
Lego Art Exhibit
Driving Question: How can we make our own Lego Art Exhibit at school?
Public Product: Inspired by artist Nathan Sawaya’s The Art of the Brick exhibit, children create their own sculptures and host an exhibit of Lego art for families and other students.
All About Our Names
Driving Question: How can we make a book all about our names?
Public Product: A class book that houses stories of children’s names that includes the name, the meaning of the name, why a child was named that name and if they were named after someone.
Project plans available here!
Back To School Night
Driving Question: How can we show our caregivers our classroom since they can’t come on campus?
Public Product: A video of important spaces in the classroom, shared with parents at a virtual Back to School Night
Project plans available here!
The Poetry of Us
Driving Question: How can we make a book of poetry that celebrates who we are?
Public Product: A collaborative book of poetry where children write individual poems that celebrate their identies, along with shared poetry about one aspect of identity - i.e. skin color, hair, body type
Project plans available here!
Classroom Community Website
Driving Question: How can we make a class website so we can get to know each other better?
Public Product: A website for families that houses children’s work and each child has their own page which includes a map of their favorite room, their birthdays and neighborhoods.
Project plans available here!
The Recess Path
Driving Question: How can we make a “play path” for kids to use on days when we have indoor recesss?
Public Product: An indoor sensory path that includes a variety of movements.
Learn more about this project here.
The Bakery Project
Driving Question: How can we run our own bakery?
Public Product: A bakery where children take on different jobs (i.e. chef, cashier) and families purchase baked goods (all items cost less than 20 cents!)
Home Base
Driving Question: How can we design a set of activities for kids to do at home while grown-ups are working?
Product: Children design an online resource for kids and care-givers containing activities they can do independently at home.
Project plans available here!
The Outdoor Classroom Project
Driving Question: How can design an outdoor classroom where we can play and learn?
Public Product: Students design, create and then give a tour of an outdoor classroom they use regularly.
Get an in-depth look into this project (and see full project plans) in our book.
Planet Podcast
Driving Question: How can we make a podcast with stories and facts about space?
Public Product: Children write and record a podcast with original stories based on their questions about outer space, produced on Apple and Spotify, listening party for families
Learn more about this project, and listen to the podcast here
Our Class Pet
Question: How can we take care of a class pet?
Public Product: A book all about how to take care of a lizard, as well as a presentation to classrooms about how to take care of pets in a classroom environment.
Taking Care of Our Environment (Project Idea 1)
Driving Question: How can we take care of our environment and inspire others to help us?
Public Product: An alphabet book that teaches others how to take care of the environment.
Taking Care of Our Environment (Project Idea 2)
Driving Question: How can we take care of our environment and inspire others to help us?
Public Product: An on-the-job training, video and manual that teaches others how to do jobs in the environment
Learn more about this project here!
Our Butterfly Garden
Driving Question: How can we make and take care of a butterfly garden?
Public Product: A butterfly garden tour and pamphlet for visitors
The Toy Design Project
Driving Question: How can we, as designers, design our own toys to make recess more fun?
Public Product: A toy show and toy catalogue, original toy models displayed at the Mattel Design Center.
The CD Project
Driving Question: How can we record and sell our own CD?
Public Product: A CD of 8 songs recorded in a studio, packaged and sold to the community. All proceeds were donated to charity.
The Music Video Project
Driving Question: How can we write and make our own music video?
Public Product: A music video (original song) recorded and presented at an all-school assembly.
The Big Book of the White House
Driving Question: How can we teach other people all about the White House?
Public Product: A big book (non-fiction) documenting the history of the White House
The Library Project
Driving Question: How can we run our own library on our campus?
Public Product: Children run a library for other kindergarteners out of their classroom.
Our School Map
Driving Question: How can we help people find their way around our school?
Public Product: A large-scale map of the school that hangs in the entry way to the school, and copies for every class delivered and presented to every classroom to hang near the door.
School Guide for Visitors
Driving Question: How can we help people learn all about our school?
Public Product: A pamphlet or school guide for visitors and prospective families
A Guide to the Santa Monica Pier
Driving Question: How can we teach people all about the Santa Monica Pier?
Public Product: A Visitor’s Guide to the Santa Monica Pier, distributed to people at the Pier.
The Commons Cafe
Driving Question: How can we run our own restaurant?
Public Product: Children learn about the business of running a restaurant, then take on different jobs to run a daily cafe every morning for one week for families and other students.
Designing our TK Yard
Driving Question: How can we make our TK yard a fun and safe place to play?
Public Product: Children design a yard space for their new campus. They hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate and share their yard with their families.
Designing our Playhouse
Driving Question: How can we design a playhouse for our TK yard?
Public Product: Children collaborate to design and help build a new playhouse.
A Home for Bugs and Worms
Driving Question: How can we make compost for our school garden?
Public Product: Children learned about composting and ran a composting program at their school, and also helped them grow their own garden.
Seed Bombs
Driving Question: How can we help our school to celebrate Earth Day?
Public Product: Children create an informational text about planting “Seed Bombs” and include ideas on how to protect and care for the earth. They present their books to other classrooms the week of Earth Day.
Eric Carle Author Study
Driving Question: How can we write and illustrate books in the style of Eric Carle?
Public Product: Children have a publishing party where they share books inspired by the work of Eric Carle.
Habitat Helpers
Driving Question: How can we teach others to care for habitats like the Ballona Wetlands?
Public Product: PSA's on the Friends of The Ballona Wetlands' Facebook page and Instagram.
Submitted by Eliko Ozeki (Los Angeles, California)
Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!
Driving Question: Should people be afraid of insects?
Public Product: Presentation (movie or book) based on surveys and research in the community about insects.
Our Science Garden
Driving Question: How can we raise money to help rebuild our Science Garden?
Public Product: A Community Bazaar where children raised money to buy new plants for their garden by selling a variety of different products and designs using plants such as floral imprints, mark making with twigs, clay with seed imprints, and even house-blend lemon iced tea.
Our World of Stories
Driving Question: How can we, as authors, write and create exciting stories for young students in our school community?
Public Product: a collaborative book of short stories, stop motion animation video, a puppet show
Submitted by Nida Muneeb and Saba Irshad (Lahore, Pakistan)
Maker’s Market
Driving Question: How can we plan a Maker’s Market at school that will raise money for good cause?”
Public Product: A market where students had created, promoted and ran stalls selling with their innovative products.
Submitted by Bushra Awais (Karachi, Pakistan)
Signs of Learning: Learning Signs
Driving Question: How can we show others how to make friends with students with different abilities?
Public Product: Student videos
Our Unused Side Play Yard
Driving Question: How can we make this area of our yard more fun and interesting?
Public Product: Children’s plans and models
Our Friendship Book
Driving Question: What makes a good friend?
Public Product: Class book about friendship
Our Ocean, Our Earth
Driving Question: How do we keep trash out of the ocean?
Public Product: Upcycled ocean animals, paintings of the ocean, drawings
A New Bike Path
Driving Question: How can we create a fun and safe experience while using trikes on our blacktop?
Public Product: A functional bike path that can be utilized by the TK/K students during the school day, and the general public outside of school hours. ta
Submitted by Helén Johansson, Jennifer Averbuck and Tiffany Millea (Santa Rosa, California)
A New Playground
Driving Question: How can we, as designers, create a new playground that is fun and safe for everyone?
Public Product: Playground improvement prototypes
Growing Up Healthy
Driving Question: How can we keep our bodies happy and healthy?
Public Product: Recipe book, restaurant launch, Yoga tutorial video
Submitted by Sumaiya Zohaib (Lahore, Pakistan)
