Ollie's Travels 2006-2007
These are Ollie's continued adventures... Click on Ollie to return to the start of his travels!

Scroll down to read Ollie's Traveling Journal and learn more about his trip!!

Where in the USA has Ollie visited?

Create your own personalized map of the USA!
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida
Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana
Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina
North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Stops 1-5 Stops 6-10 Stops 11-15 Stops 16-20 Stops 21-25
Stops 26-30 Stops 31-35 Stops 36-40 Stops 41-45 Stops 46-50
**Classroom sites with a special page about our buddy Ollie!
(Teachers, please notify us if you add information about Ollie to your site!)

16. due to arrive 10/18/06, arrived 10/20/06
(traveled 168 miles, TOTAL distance traveled: 4,848 miles)
**Mrs. Hart's 1st grade class
Dresden Elementary School
Dresden, Maine

Hi, it's me, Ollie!
I made it to Maine on October 20th (I am only a couple of days behind schedule!) and found my way to Dresden Elementary School, in Dresden, Maine. It is in the country and is about a half hour from Maine's state capitol of Augusta. About 110 children go to school at DES in grades K-5. A very nice fifth grader brought me to Mrs. Hart's first grade. At first I wasn't sure I was in the right room because it looks like a camp site and is called Camp Hart. Everyone was so excited when they saw my box! I got to meet all fourteen campers in first grade - they are really nice and had lots of fun getting to know me. They showed me all around their room. They have a picnic table, tent, camp chairs, and a campfire in there! It looks like a fun place to learn.

Mrs. Hart shared Owney's story and everyone had a chance to look at my bandana pins. I'm getting quite a collection. Mr. Cote, the principal/superintendent welcomed me into his office and I got to sit on his lap. The first graders gave me a snack - water and a dog bone - Mrs. Hart took my picture while I ate, then snapped a few more of me in their tent and on the camp chairs. During their math class, the kids worked on their iBooks to play Everyday Math games. Mrs. Hart got me a laptop so I could play, too! After math, we went on the Internet and looked at my web page. It was neat to see how far I've gone so far! At the end of the day I gave everyone a hug goodbye as they left to get to their buses.

Mrs. Hart took me home so I could meet Mr. Hart and their dog, Toby. He's a Maltepoo and we got to play. Toby told me that Mrs. Hart takes him to school a lot - he's a honorary first grader!  Toby and I settled down for the night and he gave me a kiss goodnight. The next morning (Oct. 21st), I said goodbye and Mrs. Hart took me to the Post Office for my trip to New Hampshire. I had a fun time in Maine - the time went by so fast! Mrs. Hart asked me to tell everyone that she has added a page about me to her classroom web site and that she will mail out her 49 postcards next week, so be on the look out for them!

Love,
 Ollie


(L) Here I am with Mr. Cote, the principal/superintendent. He gave me a Dresden Dragons pin!
(M) I'm getting ready to play some Everyday Math games online! Can you see the cool Maine keychain the class gave me?
(R) After all that math work, I was hungry for a snack. Here I am having a bite at the picnic table on Math Mountain.


(L) I watched everyone from the tent in Camp Read-a-Lot.
(M) Here I am in one of the chairs in Reading Ridge. The kids read me stories.
(R) I feel like I'm at the beach!


(L) Here I am with my new friend, Toby Hart.
(R) Toby gives me a kiss goodnight.
Back to Top

17. due to arrive 10/23/06, arrived 10/25/06
(traveled 104 miles, TOTAL distance traveled: 4,952 miles)
Mrs. DeFreze's 5th grade class
Rye Elementary School
Rye, New Hampshire

Greetings from Rye, NH!
I arrived here late Wednesday after the children had gone home, so I was thrilled when they opened my box on Thursday, October 26th! They immediately took me out of my box and then took a class photo of all of us! Next, we went outside to give me some fresh air! I had a great time swinging with Lizzie, Anthony, and Caroline. I played in the great leaf piles in NH where they have beautiful foliage.

AT LUNCH, THE LUNCH LADIES FELL IN LOVE WITH ME! After lunch, I read the Fighting Ground, the book the class is reading on the Revolutionary War. They were so sad that I didn't get there in time to go on their field trip to Boston. They walked the Freedom Trail. They are all Red Sox Fans in this class except for their teacher, Mrs DeFreze. They tell me that nobody gets to go near her sacred Yankee Shelf, but I was able to sit on it for a little while. That was quite an honor because she loves the Yankees and Derek Jeter!

We were all so sad to have to say good-bye. The class gave me one of their Lego bracelets.  They were given the bracelets because they did a Lego drive at their school. For every Lego they collected, the company matched it with a lego to donate to schools in New Orleans. It was cool! They collected over 8000 legos! I was very proud to hear about their project!! They also put a paddle ball lobster game in my box so that I will remember everyone on the Coast of NH and have something fun to play with during my travels!
Ollie


(L) Here I am with Mrs. DeFreze's 5th graders... I felt like an award winning pup!!
(M and R) It felt great to get some fresh air and roll around in the leaves!


(L) Rye Elementary lunch ladies make the most delicious meals!
(R) I learned a lot about the Revolutionary War too.


When Mrs. DeFreze let me sit on her Yankee shelf, I knew I was REALLY lucky!!

UPDATE! Postcard received 11/15/06
"We loved Ollie. We gave him a Lego wristband from our Lego Drive for New Orleans and a toy to play with in the box. Mrs. DeFreze's 5th grade"
Back to Top

18. due to arrive 10/27/06, arrived 11/1/06
(traveled 226 miles, TOTAL distance traveled: 5,178 miles)
Mrs. Bowen's kindergarten class
Montgomery Elementary School
Montgomery Center, Vermont

I arrived in VT and the girls were so excited to see me. However, I must admit I was a bit intimidated because everyone looked so funny. But Mrs. Bowen calmed my nerves when she told me that they were celebrating "Red Ribbon Week" and today was crazy hair and mis-matched clothes day. I was very excited to see the kindergarten classroom and I was very surprised to learn that the kindergarten class only had six kids, and all girls at that. I learned that Montgomery Elementary is a small school, with one classroom per grade K-8 and only about 100 students in all.

The girls were completing a unit about Fall and Pumpkins. We read the poem/song Five Little Pumpkins Sitting On A Gate and then we made an art picture. That was lots of fun. Mrs. Bowen thought that since it was a nice day out we should catch some fall weather and go on a hike, so thats exactly what we did. We looked at leaves and compared them to a book we read earlier. We had so much fun outside, but it was time to go in. There is such a great view! The school sits on top of a hill.

After we went inside, we had math class. The girls got to weigh, measure, and sort pumpkins. They even put a small pumpkin in a jar and predicted how many days it would take to decompose. That was disguising-I loved it though!

I was sad when the day was over, because I knew that I had to leave. But I have pictures and memories to remember my friends at MES!
Ollie


(L) Mrs. Bowen's class looked great for Crazy Hair and Mis-Matched Clothes Day!
(R) I loved helping with the pumpkins on a gate project.


(L, M, R) I learned a lot about Vermont leaves on the Leaf Hike!!


(L) I posed for a few more pictures!
(R) This is the decomposing pumpkin jar, I just had to take a closer look.
Back to Top

19. due to arrive 11/1/06, arrived 11/6/06
(traveled 352 miles, TOTAL distance traveled: 5,530 miles)
**Ms. Sullivans 2nd grade class
Sacred Heart School
Suffern, New York

Hi Friends! I arrived in New York on November 6th but I didnt get to meet the second grade class until November 8th. (They were off from school) Ms. Sullivan and her class were so excited to meet me. They showed me New York State on their class map and took me on a tour of the school. We got to go to Art class and make fun pictures. I had a blast reading with the class and I met the Mystery reader of the week. His name was Mr. Spence. The students are all working on writing their postcards to all the classrooms I am going to visit. We were all so sad to have to say good-bye.  I am off and running to Pennsylvania!
Ollie


(L) Ms. Sullivan's students are all such hard workers!
(R) I always enjoy watching my friends color in their state on my map! 19 down and 31 to go!!
Back to Top

UPDATE! from Mrs. Stamp 11/14/06
The second graders at our school went on a field trip to Washington DC today. Our 1st stop was the National Postal Museum, where we got to meet OWNEY!! Here are a few pictures of the postal mascot who inspired our Ollie Project:


(L and R) Here's Owney... sitting proudly in his case at the National Postal Museum.


(L and R) Take a closer look at all of Owney's tags! He collected over 1,000 tags, tokens, trinkets, and medals during his travels. How many tags, pins, keychains, and souvenirs do you think Ollie will have when he finishes his trip?


(L) As you step inside a railway mail car, it's easy to see why Owney liked traveling around the country by train. Just imagine how busy the Postal Workers were as they sorted mail on a moving train! We even found the slot labeled Manassas (our city)!
(R)Here are a few of the mail bags that Owney loved so much!


(L) Upstairs we spotted this bronze replica of Owney.
(R) Of course, Mrs. Stamp was excited to see her own store at the Postal Museum too!

Click here to see more photos from our field trip.

20. due to arrive 11/6/06, arrived 11/15/06
(traveled 118 miles, TOTAL distance traveled: 5,648 miles)
Mrs. Hibbs 2nd grade class
Skippack Elementary School
Collegeville, Pennsylvania

Hi Friends!

I arrived at Skippack Elementary in Pennsylvania after school was over on November 15th. Mrs. Hibbs was so thankful that I made it in time before the kids had a week off for parent-teacher conferences and Thanksgiving vacation! She took me home with her Wednesday night so I wouldn't be lonely. Her dog, Max was so excited to meet me! We had a nice long chat on top of the sofa.

The next day I got to meet so many people at Skippack Elementary and they all signed my journal. The kids were so happy and excited to meet me! I got my picture taken dozens of times with many friendly second graders, teachers, and even the principal! Everyone enjoyed holding me, learning about my travels, and hearing the story about the real Owney. It was yearbook picture day, so I posed with the whole class for that, too. I'm really happy that they will be able to remember me for years to come when they look back in their yearbook!

I learned about a lot of things throughout the day, and I even got to help bake a yellow cake from the story the class was reading. I ate a piece in the afternoon with a cup of milk - it was so delicious! I also ate lunch in the faculty room with the teachers and sang songs with the children during Music class. The class gave me a Skippack Elementary badge holder and keychain. Oh, boy! I am really getting a lot of souvenirs to carry with me...just like the real Owney!

Two of the girls in the class were absent, so Mrs. Hibbs waited till Friday morning to send me off. Unfortunately I didn't get to meet them since they were still sick! Since they were so disappointed, I'm saying a special hello to Dylan and Zoe right now. I hope you are feeling better!

I wish I could have stayed in PA longer, but I have 30 more states to visit with Ohio the next state on the list! Mrs. Hibbs' class will be sending their postcards with information about their state very soon.

Love,
Ollie


(L) Here I am bonding with Mrs. Hibbs' dog, Max!
(R) The principal, Mrs. Russell came to the classroom to learn all about me.


(L) Here I'm showing off my journal and checking out the map of where I've been so far.
(R) I even got to eat lunch with the second grade teachers!


(L) I loved watching the kids bake "Hedgehog's yellow cake." They followed the recipe
perfectly!
(R) I enjoyed checking out the students' math work.


(L) I ate a piece of that cake and it was yummy!
(R) At the end of the day, we went to visit, Mrs. Petro, the librarian. I had a great day!
Back to Top

21. due to arrive 11/10/06, arrived 11/27/06
(traveled 496 miles, TOTAL distance traveled: 6,114 miles)
Mrs. Lightles kindergarten class
Miami Trace Central Kindergarten
Washington Court House, Ohio

Hi from Ohio! I arrived with great fanfare on a beautiful, warm day; November 27th. Mrs. Lightle's class had just arrived back from Thanksgiving break and I think I was a welcome diversion from getting back into the school routine. I went to the library with Mrs. Lightle's class and heard a story. I enjoyed seeing the fall trees in the hallway and helped count the cans of food they're collecting for a food bank.

I really enjoyed hanging out with Buckeye Bear. The sun was shining so we wore star glasses! The Buckeye tree is the state tree of Ohio. We also posed with the black panther who is the mascot of their school district, Miami Trace Local Schools. They recently broke ground for a new Pre-K through 5th grade school building which will consolidate all the small elementary schools. Everyone is excited for it to open in 2008.

I helped the class spell O-H-I-O. The back row is O, the next row is H, the next row is I, and the sitting row is O. Doing this cheer helps the kindergarteners spell the name of their state. They live in Washington Court House, Ohio, which is the longest city name in the whole United States! I enjoyed reading with the children. I helped the "star" of the day in her special chair and let another child pack me for my trip to Michigan. I think Mrs. Lightle was glad I visited her class (I was too!). I enjoyed my afternoon stay with Mrs. Lightle's kindergarten class. I think the kids enjoyed having me and they were so sweet to wish me well on the rest of my journey!
Ollie


(L and R) I LOVED listening to stories in the Library!


(L and R) Meeting Buckeye Bear and the Black Panther was such a treat!


(L) Can you believe how many cans Mrs. Lightle's class has collected?
(R) O-H-I-O, let's spell Ohio!!


(L and R) The kids were so nice to read me stories and take such good care of me!


(L and R) I'll always remember my friends at Miami Trace!!
Back to Top

22. due to arrive 11/15/06, arrived 11/29/06
(traveled 254 miles, TOTAL distance traveled: 6,368 miles)
Mrs. Finnegan's kindergarten class
David Hicks Elementary School
Inkster, Michigan

I arrived in Michigan safely on November 29th... the kindergarteners were going home when I arrived but we had lots of fun together all day on the 30th. It just so happens that Mrs. Finnegan's class is learning about maps right now. I was able to show them on my map all the 21 states that I had already been to. I told them about all the wonderful boys and girls that I had already met. Mrs. Finnegan's class told me about Michigan and they gave me mittens because one of the cool things about their state is that it's shaped like a mitten. Now I will be nice and warm for my travels through the cold winter. I hope that I get to visit a state that is a little bit warmer than Michigan because it's cold up here! I also got my picture taken in a pine tree. It's really the classroom Christmas tree, but I thought it was neat because Michigan's state tree is the white pine! I got to go to art and life skills with the children, but my favorite part of the day was literacy centers. The children taught me how to make my name with magnet letters. I can't wait to go to Indiana... I know that I will have just as much fun there!
Ollie


(L and R) Mrs. Finnegan's kindergarten class was lots of fun!


(L) Look at me... up in a tree!!
(M) I always love to play with my new friends.
(R) I even practiced spelling my name! Don't you love my new mittens?
Back to Top

23. due to arrive 11/20/06, arrived 12/4/06
(traveled 273 miles, TOTAL distance traveled: 6,641 miles)
Mrs. Frank's kindergarten class
St. Lawrence School
Lawrenceburg, Indiana

Hi Friends! Im excited to tell you about my trip to St. Lawrence School in Indiana. When I arrived on Monday afternoon the kids were at the high school (across the street) practicing for the Christmas program. Right before dismissal the kids came back and they were so excited to see I had arrived. It was really cool for me too. Mrs. Frank took me with her that night to the St. Lawrence Panthers basketball game. Go Panthers!

The next day was a busy day for us. Right after prayer and announcements we boarded the bus to head back to the high school and the entire school went too. The students practiced the program from beginning to end, and I even got to get on stage with the Kindergarten students. They really did an awesome job singing their songs.

When we arrived back at St. Lawrence it was time for lunch. I had my picture taken with their awesome cook, whose name is Ollie too! After lunch we did calendar to mark the date I visited, and the kids in both Kindergarten classes signed my journal. Next the kids went to Art class. Mrs. Frank and I dropped them off and then headed to the office where I met Mrs. Steiner who is the principal. Mrs. Steiner let me get my picture taken with the Blue Ribbon School award. St. Lawrence is still buzzing from the honor of that national recognition, and I think it was cool to be a part of it all. When the kids returned from Art we had milk break and Scooby Snacks, which were yum, yum, yummy!

We ended the day with a short movie called St. Nicholas, the Boy Who Would Be Santa. St. Nick visits the kids tonight while they sleep. When they get up tomorrow morning their stockings at home and school are filled with little goodies. Im hoping there is a candy cane or two in my own box when I wake up too.

I was very good and learned a lot. At the end of the day I was glad that even on a less-than-ordinary day, all the kids had the chance to cuddle with me and I had the chance to meet the great people at St. Lawrence. They gave me a St. Lawrence lanyard to wear around my neck, we said goodbye, and then I was off to the post office with Mrs. Frank. I should arrive at my next destination in about two days, so Im going to get a little rest while I travel. It has been a busy 24 hours here at St. Lawrence and tons of fun!

Love,
Ollie
Back to Top

24. due to arrive 11/27/06, arrived 12/7/06
(traveled 212 miles, TOTAL distance traveled: 6,853 miles)
**Mrs. Corn's 1st grade class
Washington Grade School
Robinson, Illinois

I arrived at Washington Grade School on the day of their Christmas music program and was able to sit on the edge of the stage during the program with the class! Mrs. Corn's class was also practicing a play, "A Flea on Santa's Tree," that day. I got to practice along with the class!

I was lucky enough to meet another traveling friend, Paws! He happened to arrive on the same day. He came through the Imaginations Project with SMART Technologies. Can you see him sitting on the stage with me?

On to my next adventure,
Ollie


(L and R) The 1st graders in Mrs. Corn's class were tons of fun!!


(L and R) The Christmas Music Program was such a success... I was happy to be a part of it!


The stars of the show!!
Back to Top

25. due to arrive 12/1/06, arrived 12/??/06
(traveled 407 miles, TOTAL distance traveled: 7,260 miles)
Mrs. Greenfield's 1st grade class
Central Wisconsin Christian School
Waupun, Wisconsin

UPDATE! from Mrs. Stamp 1/16/07
I just received word this evening about Ollie... I know you've been worried! He's safe and looking forward to more adventures around the country!! Let's work VERY HARD to keep him traveling SPEEDILY through the rest of his journey!
Back to Top



Click on Ollie to return to the start of his travels OR click on the running dog to see Ollie's continued adventures!