Last November

 

We made sure to get back to South Texas in time to vote in person.  We did our best to make Texas a swing state, for what that’s worth.

 

Our polling place is the nearby elementary school.  While we were there voting, we happened to visit with a teacher who then introduced us to the principal (imagine that).  We like the school and the people and later wondered if maybe they could use something similar to what we do with the Louisville middle school.  (In Louisville, every family has to buy their kid a knapsack with all the school supplies including a calculator.  Not every family can afford one.  Even now, after all these years, we still buy them a few extras every year.)

 

Judy went back and checked with the school principal here a couple months ago and it turns out they are interested in a knapsack program, but with a twist.  They have a new idea they want to try out.  For kindergarten and 1^st grade, they want one knapsack per classroom that includes a stuffed animal, and the supplies it takes to write a story.  Throughout the school year, kids will take turns with the knapsack, taking it home and carrying the stuffed animal about.  When it is time to bring the knapsack back, they will write a story from the perspective of the animal they took home about what they saw and did.  It will be a special treat for each kid to get the knapsack and take the stuffed animal home.  What a cool idea.  Yeah.  We can help with that!

 

So give Judy an idea and turn her loose and here is what it ends up looking like:

There are 10 kindergarten and 1^st grade classes.

 

Each knapsack has a tag from Petsmart on the zipper with the animal’s name and the name and address of the school.  Judy shopped until she had ten good huggable stuffed animals.  She went online and found full descriptions for each kind of animal.  I printed them out for her and she took them to Office Depot and got them laminated.  There is a smaller information card to go inside the knapsack and a larger one with lots more information to go on the wall of the classroom.  Each knapsack has all the supplies for the storytelling part: pencils, crayons, and a composition book.  The composition book will follow each animal with a chronological record of their adventures.

 

That was fun.