Marie Yanochko

Yanochko's winning project, "Pioneer Week," involves students becoming pioneers and "unsung heroes" of the 1800s. Her fourth-grade students will experience the adventures and hardships of the pioneers they will pretend to become. The project will begin with students working in groups to construct a tent using sheets, rope, tape, and clothespins. They will learn about history, language arts, science, and math in the context of the pioneer setting and will record their daily experiences in journals. Participants will make a collection of items related to pioneer life including a homestead, Native American parfleches (raw hide bags), belts and scarves from yarn, and potholders. They will also learn how to dehydrate apples and design their own dream catchers. Through reading, the students will compare information about pioneer life with their own lives and experiences. The culmination of the project will include field trips to a Mountain Man Jamboree, the Whitman Mission, Fort Walla Walla, and the Umatilla Confederated Tribes Cultural Center. Yanochko, who lives in Richland, hopes to expand the program to include overnight camping trips, and the purchase of a telescope, computers, and updated supplies.