Peninsula students ride 'The Polar Express'
Dianna Palmer transformed Heidi Ragan's kindergarten classroom at Peninsula Elementary into an homage to "The Polar Express," complete with a cardboard rendition of the film's namesake.
Dianna Palmer hugs a kindergarten student at Peninsula Elementary School. Palmer and her family transformed Heidi Ragan's kindergarten classroom into an homage to "The Polar Express."
MOSES LAKE - Dianna Palmer doesn't just enjoy spreading holiday cheer. She relishes it.
On Sunday, Dianna entered Peninsula Elementary School kindergarten teacher Heidi Ragan's classroom. Ragan is Dianna's son Manny's teacher.
Dianna and Manny were joined by Dianna's husband, Calvin Steele, her mother, Marilyn Bush and her children: College students Kimberly and Elizabeth Palmer, third-grader Nelson Chacon and second-grader Rosalie Palmer.
Together, they transformed the classroom into the enchanted world of "The Polar Express." Snowflakes hung from the ceiling, railroad crossing signals stood filled with candy, and a cardboard train stood ready for passengers to embark upon it.
On Friday, the class watched "The Polar Express," the big-screen adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's classic children's book.
They were excited on Monday to see train tickets waiting for them, taped to their classroom's door. They jumped onto the train immediately, letting their imaginations take them on the same kinds of adventures they had witnessed on-screen.
Palmer, a retired teacher, says her entire family enjoys donating their time to give the kids a thrill.
"It's fun to see the kid's faces," she said. "It's really fun ... It's just so awesome to see, they open the door and walk in and it's like, 'Wow!' And all the pictures, all the posters and everything, they can relate right back to watching the movie, which is really cool."
Transforming the classroom also brings her family together, she said.
"Every member of the family pitches in, they really do," she said. "They're at home working on stuff and they just keep going, so it's really fun ... It's just so great for the kids. They get a chance to at least celebrate the holidays and something positive, because there's so much negative out there. There's something positive for them to look forward to."
Although she had fun putting the classroom together this year, Palmer's already looking forward to next year, when she and her husband will have a new addition to their family: Francia, a 5-year-old girl the couple is adopting from Haiti.
When she rushes into Ragan's classroom the same time next year, Palmer will get to relive the holiday magic all over again.