The Travelin' Teddy

Mrs. Ginny Smith's Fourth Grade class at South Elementary bid farewell this week to Moe, a teddy bear that will help them learn more about the world. Pictured are (sitting, left to right) Derrick McClain, Ty'reik Thomas, Blake Nunnery, Hadley Hilburn, Matthew Figgins with Moe, Madison Harrison, Kami Neal, Logan Spence, Carlo Love, (standing, left to right) Mrs. Ginny Smith, Kamesha Wilkerson, Shakela Jackson, Harley Waller, Alex Privett, Heidi Shetley, Kyeesha Hightower, Collin Strother, Khalil Taylor and Lorenzo Flagg. Not pictured is Krystyn Wallace. Photo provided [Click to enlarge]

Ginny Smith's Fourth Grade class at South Elementary School in Kennett bid farewell Friday to a classmate who will be traveling the globe throughout the school year.

The student, a 16-inch bear provided by St. Louis-based Build-A-Bear Workshop, will share with the class the things he learns while accompanying one or more members of the Society of American Travel Writers on assignment around the world. The Travelin' Teddy Geography Education Program, co-sponsored by SATW and Build-A-Bear Workshop, is aimed at improving geography education among elementary school children in the U.S. and Canada. The Kennett class is one of only 36 schools in the U.S. that obtained one of the donated bears.

The bear, which the class named Moe, will send postcards, photos, e-mails and souvenirs to the classroom throughout the year. Moe will provide information about his travels in a manner that can be easily incorporated into the class' curriculum. He will also challenge the students with math, history or science questions while introducing the students to cultures and regions of the world rarely seen by elementary aged students. In addition to postcards and photos, Moe will sometimes send classmembers souvenirs, such as coins or currency from other countries, food items unique to a culture or region a book about the area.

"With so much emphasis placed on reading, math and science in preparation for end-of-year testing, geography and social studies often-times do not receive the same amount of attention in the elementary levels," said Show-Me Missouri magazine Publisher Gary Figgins, who introduced the bear to the class. "This will allow the students to learn about different areas of Missouri, the United States and the world."

Moe will primarily travel with Figgins and Show-Me Missouri contributor Diana Lambdin Meyer of Kansas City. Meyer, the program coordinator for the Central States Chapter of SATW, was responsible for obtaining the bear for the Kennett class. While her Show-Me Missouri articles obviously focus on the state, Meyer also travels the world for other magazines, as well, and has even written for National Geographic Traveler.

Since Missouri history is a required subject for fourth graders in the state, Moe's Missouri travels can be incorporated into that curriculum, as well.

Postcards and photos of Moe touring the world will be displayed on a special bulletin board at South Elementary. In addition to the regular mailings, Moe will also periodically post to a blog on the Show-Me Missouri website at www.showmemissouri.net, making it easy for students outside the classroom to also learn about his travels.

Moe will return to the school at the end of the school year.