Third Grade Geography

RICH’S RIDE is now a third grade geography project.

Monte and I visited Ms. Carr’s class yesterday and explained the basic idea of our rides. We talked about our previous trips and showed some video. Then we did a little activity and located the Mississippi River, Washington DC, and Florida.

I showed them the route for TAOS TO TUCSON. They’re going to follow our GPS tracker and study the geography and culture of the area. I’m sure some of them will read the blog.

This is a really creative effort by a teacher who wants her kids engaged with their learning. Her students had about a million questions, and I can imagine they’ll be anxious to see where we are each day.

Honestly, they’ll probably mostly want to see what Monte’s up to.

I’m excited about being part of Ms. Carr’s class. I love kids, and I love the idea that following us might make geography a little more meaningful for them. We’ll probably be a bit more aware of taking and sharing pictures.

I’ll think about those kids while I ride. Knowing they’re watching will change the nature of the trip.

I’m always amazed by how much I’m impacted when I realize that what we’re doing makes a difference to someone. No matter how much I look at numbers and big-picture results, nothing replaces an encounter with someone who says, “What you do matters.”

I wonder—how often do I skip opportunities to let others know they’re appreciated? It’s so easy to pretend it’s no big deal.

I think it is.

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