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The Polar Express
By Afton Bugg
Nevada Daily Mail
"Can you hear the ringing of the bell?" Kindergartners at the Nevada R-5 Bryan Elementary School can. They held a day of polar fun at Bryan school Thursday, bringing in the Polar Express Train, based on the book, "The Polar Express," by Chris Van Allsburg. Teachers, prior to the "Polar Fun" day, read and discussed the story.
The activities began in each kindergarten room with projects relating to the story of the Polar Express. Children wore their pajamas and bath robes, and each class participated in five activities, rotating through stations in order to do so. Volunteer moms assisted the children as they moved from room to room. These activities included Christmas carol singing and bell ringing, story and drawing activities about "The Polar Express" book on tape, bell cookie decorating, and a Polar Express train art project. The children also made bell necklaces. In the afternoon each class viewed the movie version of "The Polar Express."
The book "The Polar Express," is a children's book tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eve only to have Santa Claus sweep in and take him on a trip with other children to the North Pole. Chris Van Allsburg, author of the popular story, is a sculptor who entered the genre nonchalantly when he created a children's book division from his sculpting, according to Amazon.com. He won the 1986 Caldecott Medal for this book.
In addition to the Bryan School events, the Truman After School Program joined in the afternoon of fun by watching the movie, "The Polar Express."
Teachers and volunteers helped to bring watching the movie into an adventure. Teachers dressed as conductors and each student got a ticket to board the Polar Express.
During the movie, teachers dressed as chefs and handed out hot cocoa, like characters in the movie did. After the movie, children got a visit from Santa, who gave all the children bells.