You're never too young to understand the importance of Kansas Day.
By Chris Sexton
Journal-World Writer
Thursday, January 29, 1998
In honor of Kansas Day, Hillcrest School students are learning the state's history, symbols and songs. In the process, they're learning about themselves and each other.
"We love it," Kay Boydston, a Hillcrest first-grade teacher, said of the holiday. "It's really fun for the students and teachers. The art and music teachers have done a wonderful job of coordinating all of the activities."
Today, Hillcrest's first-grade classes are ushering in the holiday Kansas style -- decked out as cowboys and cowgirls. During the past week, the students have been singing traditional Kansas songs and studying state symbols, such as the state bird. They've also been preparing for their class party by weaving brown and yellow place mats, making hanging sunflowers and creating buffaloes from construction paper and fake fur.
"Celebrating Kansas Day involves social studies, geography, reading and math," said Boydston. "I've asked students to estimate how many sunflower seeds are in a jar as a math project, and we're having a contest to see how many words they can make out of the letters in sunflower."
Bob Lominska, Hillcrest kindergarten teacher, said that the importance of Kansas Day lies in the understanding that everyone is a part of the state.
"I think it's important for a number of reasons," he said. "First, I want my students to understand that history is more than just the study of presidents and generals. It's also about culture and families, about how events shape individuals' lives. I try to build a framework for events so that the kids understand why things happen that affect their own lives."
This year Lominska asked his kindergartners to write a few sentences about how their families ended up in Lawrence and to provide a companion illustration. Many students wrote that their families moved because one parent got a new job, signifying this transition with a drawing of a moving van. Others indicated that their parents came to Lawrence to attend Kansas University. Several students who were born outside the United States described why their families moved to this country and, in particular, to Kansas. One kindergartner traced his background to his ancestors who came to America from England in 1628 on the Mayflower.
Boydston shares Lominska's interest in imbuing students with an understanding of one another's backgrounds. During a recent Kansas Day geography lesson, the first-graders discovered that the majority of them were born outside the state.
"Ultimately, I hope Kansas Day fosters cross-generational communication," said Lominska. "The kids go home asking their parents all about their backgrounds for this project, and sometimes they end up calling their grandparents or great-grandparents. It's always beneficial for kids to develop a connection with other generations."
Sam Callan, one of Lominska's kindergartners, focused his project on his great-grandmother's experiences as a child, writing:
"When my great-grandmother Ethelmae Dodds Weber was my age, she used to walk her family's cow up to Potters Lake to graze and have a drink."
Callan described Kansas Day as "pretty cool," and when asked what he thought it would be like to take care of a cow, he responded with enthusiasm.
"I would like to have a cow, but I would rather have a zebra," he said. "Then my dad wouldn't have to mow the lawn."
glossary - hardware - home - hosting - museums - phone - resellers - search
Questions, comments, or
suggestions? Send us feedback by e-mail
or contact the Webmaster real-time via ICQ Pager.
Revised: 25 March 2002