Today began our adventure to Little Rock, Arkansas focusing on Heifer International and global service through sustainable giving! Our third grade students are working towards earning 10 cents per reading point from us (teachers) to give Heifer International through their “Read to Feed” Program.  Many students’ families also have generously pledged gift amounts in addition.  Our grade level goal is 5,000 points.  Here’s where we are as of February’s points added in.

Our day started out very, very early.  Our flight left Richmond at 5:30am.  Even so, we didn’t quite make it in time to run the Little Rock Marathon. (You know we would have if we had gotten here in time….) Little Rock was cold and rainy, but the rain stopped and we filled the day with exploring downtown Little Rock, including the Little Rock Public Library and the Historic Arkansas Museum.  The Library was HUGE. We took the elevator to the children’s level which took up the entire third floor.  We quickly found “Beatrice’s Goat” and made a little video for our third grade readers.

We were so pleased to find the museum open on a Sunday and enjoyed walking through the building and the grounds, interacting with the costumed demonstrators. The Museum included several interesting galleries such as the Native American gallery and an interactive children’s gallery.

We got some great video interviews for our students and a few answers to their curious questions like: What language do they speak in Arkansas? (English, btw.)

Those kids.

Tomorrow we plan to spend the whole day at Heifer Village, which is Heifer International’s headquarters.  While there, our goal is to explore the exhibits, learn more, and continue to develop our plan for bringing all of this back to our students, who will then share it with our school and community. Eek! We are so excited!