Hinman offers homemade holiday cards

By Mandy Walton

Friday, Dec. 12, 2008 | 11:23 a.m.

If you would like to send some holiday cheer this year, a kindergartner at Hinman Elementary School will be able to help you out. Having crafted handmade holiday cards myself, I can tell you, it's no easy feat. And for a child as young as five to be able to do this, well that's just remarkable in my eyes.

For the third consecutive year, the four kindergarten classes at Hinman Elementary School are participating in the "Kindergarten Card Company." The 125 children sell handmade cards to raise money for a field trip at the end of the year.

Because of this program, last year the students won the "Cool at School" Award from KLAS Channel 8. The award was worth $250, which funded this year's card workshop.

For just $2.00 you will receive six handmade cards. By assembling the cards, the five and six year olds learn about shapes, patterns, and how to follow directions.

"The kids just go crazy for this fundraiser, and they have lots of fun," says Cliff Kehoe, behavior specialist at Hinman Elementary.

Kehoe brought the card company over to Hinman from Gordon McCaw Elementary, where it had previously been a fourth-grade module to teach the students about business.

Orders for the cards can be placed with the school office until Tuesday. Hinman is located at 450 Merlayne Drive. The office can be reached at 799-8990.

As I visited the school to take a look at the project, I could tell that the children were very excited about it. What better way to instill some pride and a sense of accomplishment in a young child?