BEANIE BABIES AID LEARNING

Can you name the Beanie Baby that is a marsupial, an herbivore or who lives in a polar climate? If not, perhaps you should ask one of the 4- to 7-year-old children using the Beanie Baby curriculum at Trinity Lutheran Daycare this summer.

Lisa Lipke, a teacher at the day-care center, created the "Beanie Babies Come Alive" summer program after a weeklong classroom visit from Lucky the Ladybug captured students' attention last spring.

The students' response has been "remarkable," and their skill development during the summer demonstrates the success of the program, Lipke said.

"I've been really amazed with what the kids have learned this summer," she said. "To listen to their vocabularies now is quite amazing -- I just never expected them to respond like this."

The day care teachers work with the children for an hour each day using the Beanie curriculum. Usually two or three Beanie Babies whose names begin with different letters of the alphabet are emphasized each week as the children rotate through the curriculum's 10 work stations.

Lipke said students seem to enjoy the work stations, which include projects such a Beanie Bingo, the Beanie Baby Memory Game, and Beanie-related graphing, books, puzzles, music and art. Students are developing diverse skills such as letter and word recognition, sensory experience, imaginative play and visual memory.

"We're trying to build on their interest and enthusiasm, and so far they're really excited," she said. "They know more about the Beanies than I do, but I'm quickly learning."

Lipke was not a collector of the popular bean bag toys when she initiated the program, but she now owns at least one Beanie for almost every letter of the alphabet. Although many of the toys gain value after they have been retired, she values their worth as an educational tool more than their collector's value.

"People often ask me if I realize how much a particular Beanie is worth, but I'd rather have them used than sitting on a shelf," said Lipke. "I'd like to have more of them, but I'm not going to sleep outside or stand in line for hours just to get a particular one. I figure the kids need a rested teacher rather than somebody who stayed up all weekend."