Another school story, but this one is about a young boy’s dedication to caring for his bucket calf. Oh, those 4-H projects that became family members…

I had gone to school early one morning and was enjoying the quiet – mentally preparing for the day. The phone ringing in my room interrupted thoughts of how to creatively teach simple division.

The mother of one of my students was on the phone, explaining that her son’s bucket calf was missing. He had gone out to take care of his calf, Hershey, and the calf was nowhere to be found. She was sending her son to school, but wanted to give me a ‘heads up’ that he was terribly upset.

Yes, this third grade boy had a horrible time concentrating on much of anything that morning. We did our best to try and make him feel better, but the worry was there.

The secretary did not interrupt our classes with many phone calls unless there was an important message. I told her the situation and asked that she call my room if there was news of Hershey. When the phone rang, I crossed my fingers that it was good news about Hershey. Now, to some of you that may not qualify as an important message, but if you would have seen this young boy’s face light up when he got the news they had found Hershey, you would think differently.

The next day in math class, we divided Hershey…Yes, the candy!

(Melissa here) This is a picture of our friend’s bucket calf. Her name is (oh boy are you ready for this?) Cinderella Baby Calf. Before Vacation Bible School one morning, the kids gathered around and “helped” Matt with the morning feeding. Now some may call it bribery when you use an innocent bucket calf to get your kids up and out the door in the morning, but I think it’s healthy to see them excited about agriculture.

Until we walk again …