LEHMAN TWP. — Lehman-Jackson Elementary School first grade students explored their community Thursday with a field trip to the Lehman Post Office and Cook’s Variety Store.
The hour-and-a-half long field trip was designed to reinforce lessons about community helpers such as post office clerks, firefighters, police officers and teachers from their social studies and reading classes, Sandra James, a first-grade teacher said.
Fifty-six students walked from the elementary school to the U.S. Post Office on Mountain View Drive.
The students gathered in the post office parking lot, where the group was split in half. Half of the students ventured to down the road to Cook’s Variety Store and the other half explored the post office.
“We are fortunate we can walk to these places,” James said.
Inside the post office, James gave the children a challenge to observe everything around themselves.
“What do you see?” she asked.
“Boxes and mailboxes,” the children answered.
James explained the mailboxes at the post office are “special” because people pay a fee for them.
Ambre Jenkins, postal clerk at the U.S. Post Office in Lehman demonstrated how she weighs packages before determining the amount of postage needed to mail it.
As part of their curriculum, the students gave Jenkins several self-addressed postcards to mail.
“The students had to fill out their addresses,” James said. “They will see how long it will take the postcards to reach them.”
At Cook’s Variety Store, students experienced a bit of local history.
Charlene Cook, the owner of the store, said the business was started in 1848. Cook’s carries everything from bolts to clothing to food, she said.
First-grade students Alex Smith, 7, and Chase Waligun, 5, enjoyed the trip through Cook’s Variety Store.
“I like going there,” Smith said. “(My family and I) go there every Thursday.”
Waligun liked seeing the Halloween decorations placed throughout the store.
The U.S. Post Office intrigued Ashtun Pimm, 6.
“I liked seeing how the mail gets sorted,” Pimm said.
