China experience brought home to classroom

Local kindergarten classes got to go global without leaving their classrooms when two local women traveled halfway around the world to visit several areas in China, including one private kindergarten school. In the process, the two brought back a once-in-a-lifetime experience to share with students.

Ann Grissom, a kindergarten teacher?s aide at West Elementary and Terri Bryan, a nurse from Eastside Elementary, traveled to China with their husbands (Joe and Scotty, respectively) on a business trip.

One of the businesses they were to visit is owned by T.Y. Sun, owner of USIA. His business is located in Anyang in the providence of Henan, the oldest city in China. The business is located beside a private kindergarten school called Red Woods Kindergarten. Through his efforts, they were invited to tour the school during their trip. He also arranged for his niece, Sun Jie, to travel with the group and translate.

In anticipation of their visit, Bryan and Grissom asked their school?s kindergarten students to make things to be taken to the foreign school. Eastside students made a book with personal autographed pictures and sent a school flag. West Elementary students sent a banner with handprints and a book to read to the class. Also taken to China were pictures of the two schools and individual pictures of the kindergarten students.

When the pair arrived at the school, the whole school was waiting outside to greet the visitors including the school?s principal Mary Ma. The children began to sing ?Hello, we are glad to meet you? in English. The students at the top of the stairs were wearing sashes that stated ?Red Woods Kindergarten? in Chinese and a banner welcoming them across the entrance.

?They were so excited,? said Bryan. ?They gave us a bouquet of flowers. I knew it was a big deal to us but l guess it was a big deal to them as well.?

During their stay, the visitors were presented with pictures made from different materials, crepe tissue paper flowers, the sashes worn by the students and other mementos to be returned to the American school children.

Thanks to the experience, Bryan gained a greater appreciation of China and its culture.

?Most people would remember their trip to the Great Wall of China? said Bryan. ?I went there, but I remember the faces of those children most of all. We sowed seeds of love, kindness and compassion. Personally, I have a greater appreciation of China.?

Grissom saw first hand what she hopes others will some day get a chance to experience.

?Children are children no matter where they live,? said Grissom. ?It was an experience I wish everyone could have. They loved us and we instantly loved them. They were very respectful. It was a wonderful experience.?

The cultural exchange will continue, via the Internet, between the local schools and Red Woods Kindergarten, as the experience taught everyone involved that we all have so much to learn from one another, said Grissom.

The items brought back from China will be on display in the kindergarten classrooms of Eastside and West Elementary for all the teachers and children to enjoy.