Ranger Rich and Aunt Cyndi Come for a Visit

On April 2nd, Ranger Rich and Aunt Cyndi from Hawaii came to visit our class! They had been our pen pals all school year while working at two national parks in Hawaii. They had sent us videos of Hawaii's volcanoes and whales, maps, books, and letters telling us about their adventures. We wrote them back thank you letters and asked them questions about Hawaii. The friendship was so wonderful because many students had never been to a national park before and some weren't even sure of what a park ranger was. We were learning so much from our class's new friends!


When Aunt Cyndi and Ranger Rich had finished their time at Hawaii's national parks they headed back home to visit family in New England. Little did our class know but they were planning a secret trip to our classroom during their visit home to meet their pen pals. When Ranger Rich and Aunt Cyndi came, they brought with them shell leis and Hawaii pencils. Ranger Rich talked to us about what a park ranger does while Aunt Cyndi told us about her role as a volunteer at the national park. They talked to us about hula dancing and Hawaiian words. They even brought us a poster of Hawaiian fish to compare to our coloring book of Hawaiian fish written in ABC order. 

Now that Aunt Cyndi and Ranger Rich have headed onto their next assignment at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, our class looks forward to hearing about their new adventures. We are so grateful for having them be a part of our school year and coming to see us this spring. Devon even said after getting a lei from Aunt Cyndi that he was "definitely" telling his mom about that day.