Volunteers move mountains at Paul Banks Elementary

Parents play a vital role in Dina Marion’s science and social studies class projects. Her first-grade students, at Paul Banks Elementary School in Homer, are currently creating three-dimensional landform maps. For a project of this geologic scale, parental involvement is a monumental help.

Parents provide the necessary extra supervision and student assistance required for the project. “My parents are great. I have had several parents come in and volunteer during each stage of the project,” said Dina.

A new project added this year was the result of a parent suggestion. The students created a map of Alaska, utilizing different colors for each of the landforms — lowlands, highlands, water, mountains, etc. The actual paintings, created entirely with Q-tips, are a new and fun way to assist students in their understanding of topical geography.