December 2, 1999: December 1st was an exciting day at Lincoln Elementary in Madison, South Dakota. Tunia arrived! Our class had been busy getting ready for our very important visitor for several weeks. We did a lot of research on the Internet and in books so we would know all about ladybugs when Tunia arrived. Since Tunia was due to arrive in December we knew our local ladybugs would be hibernating, so our class decided that we should make Tunia feel at home by making their own ladybugs. We used our imaginations and created many unique friends for Tunia. Our welcoming committee was ready when she arrived. Tunia was not only greeted by our ladybugs, but by a reporter from our local newspaper. A news story about her exciting visit and trip will be in the Madison Daily Leader in a few days. We can't wait to read it.

Here is a picture of the welcoming committee that greeted Tunia when she arrived at Lincoln Elementary School.

December 13, 1999: Tunia has been in Madison, SD for about two weeks, and she is having a great time. I'm sure she does miss her friends in Providence, RI, but we want to assure them we are taking good care of her, and she is learning a lot while she is here.

We told Tunia about the small shrub tree, which is Sumac and even showed her a stem from it. Present day Indians use the wood of this plant for the stem of their ceremonial pipes. It has a pithy core, which is readily burned out to form a hollow tube.

This is a picture of sumac.

December 20, 1999: Last week we told Tunia about some of the crops that are grown in this area. Fall is the time for crops to be harvested. This fall we had ideal weather for the farmers to gather their crops. They use combines to harvest wheat, corn, soybeans, sunflowers, oats, rye and millet. A combine is a large machine that cuts the plants and separates the seeds from the rest of the plant. The grain is then loaded on trucks and hauled to farms, where it may be used as feed for livestock, or to grain elevators, where it is sold. We showed Tunia pictures of crops being harvested with a combine and then Tunia got to see soybeans and corn, which are two of the main crops grown in the Madison area. The following photos show some of what Tunia saw.

The photo above shows a combine harvesting soybeans.

Above, Tunia sits with corn and soybeans. The corn is on the left, and the soybeans are on the right.

December 21, 1999: Since we shared information about crops grown in the Madison, SD area, our class decided to tell Tunia about the world's only Corn Palace located in Mitchell, SD. Mitchell is about 50 miles southwest of Madison. We would have liked to take Tunia to Mitchell, but it was too far to travel. In 1892, the world's only Corn Palace was built in Mitchell. Each year it attracts a half million visitors. One of the reasons it is such a great attraction is that the exterior is decorated with thousands of bushels of dock, wild oats, grain, brome grass, blue grass, rye, straw, and wheat. Those bushels are tied in bunches and nailed in attractive designs with corn of different colors, sawed in half, lengthwise, and nailed flat-side to the Corn Palace. All grains and grasses were applied in pre-determined designs. The Corn Palace is more than a point of interest for tourists. It is a convention center, a sports arena, and a facility for dances, stage shows, meetings, and industrial displays.

Here is a photo of the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.

December 27, 1999: Tunia's visit at Lincoln Elementary is just about over and we would like to share a few more things before she departs. We hope you have enjoyed learning about the different plants and related topics that we shared with Tunia.

The first picture that we are including with this update is a picture of Tunia in our classroom garden. Since one of Tunia's favorite activities is reading, each night one of the students tucked her into her

Look at Tunia in the classroom garden with her book. Sleep well, Tunia.

garden with a good book. We knew she wouldn't be lonesome if she had a good book to keep her company while we were gone. Since she was here through the Christmas season she usually had one of our favorite Christmas books.

We want to thank Mrs. Cafferty and the children in her classroom for sharing Tunia with us, and we want to extend a greeting to the children at Warwick Elementary at Fremont,CA. We hope you enjoy Tunia's stay as much as we did.
From all of us to everyone else who did or will be participating in this project a very Happy 2000 New Year!

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