TRUCKER TEACHES KIDS ROAD SAFETY AND GEOGRAPHY

Lyan Ponivas is a truck driver who wants to share his experiences with school children. So he's involved with the J.B. Hunt Adopt-a-Trucker program and National Trucker Buddies.

The programs both involve truck drivers corresponding with grade school classes throughout the year.

Ponivas is corresponding through the J.B. Hunt Adopt-a-Trucker program with St. Paul Lutheran School this year.

He sends and receives letters from Kathy Schoenherr's second-grade class throughout the year. This week he visited the class and showed them his truck.

The letters he sends teach the students about driving safety, math and geography. He tries to share with them what certain school lessons they are learning mean to him in his job.

"Every kid gets at least two letters and two postcards a year from me," he said.

Ponivas, who also has correspondence with two classes in Seneca, Ill., is an over-the-road driver.

He has been to 45 of the 48 contiguous state and two provinces in Canada with his job.

He sends back photos, postcards and letters to the students from the different places he goes and the students send him letters as well.

Sometimes he will play math games with the letters. When the class was learning about number patterns he would send letters and postcards in a pattern and the students would try to guess where the next letter would be from.

The program also provides the students with little goodies such as key chains, crayons and maps.

Ponivas said the program helps parents to be better drivers by teaching their children to see when their parents aren't practicing safe driving methods.

He loves the program and the time his company gives him to visit the schools.

"We try to teach values to the kids and I share with them my experiences that help reinforce what the teacher is teaching in class," he said.

"The kids have just loved this and they've learned a lot about the U.S. in an easy way," Schoenherr said.

Schoenherr, who is Ponivas's sister-in-law, tried to get him to do the program with her class last year when she first heard about it, but scheduling difficulties with other classes made it impossible until this year.

The visit was a fun and informing lesson the children won't soon forget.