Every six to eight weeks during the school year, the fourth graders at Eisenhower Elementary School in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, put aside their schoolbooks for a few hours and visit the Veterans who live at the nearby Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center. Dubbed the "Adopt a Veteran" program by Adrian Bankowski, a recreation therapist at the VA Center who coordinates the program with fourthgrade teacher Julia McCubbin-Myers, the six-year-old program is all about making connections.

"Our goal is to break down the barriers of visiting a nursing home and encourage the youth and elderly to get together and interact with one another," Bankowski said. "The kids get to see WWII, Korean and Vietnam Veterans from a different perspective than they see their own moms or dads in the service. Our Veterans really enjoy it. They look forward to the visits. And the kids also really enjoy interacting with the older Veterans."

The program began after a parent suggested the class take part in the "Valentines for Veterans" program. "We started that year and we've been doing it ever since," said McCubbin-Myers, who has taught for 15 years. "Being military children, these children pretty much already value Veterans, but the goal is to understand the sacrifices they made and the fact that we appreciate all they did and don't want to forget them."

She stressed that simply building relationships between the kids and the Veterans is important. "A lot of times, children don't live close to grandparents. And this gives them someone to buddy up with for the year," said McCubbin- Myers, who noted that each year's class votes on whether they want to continue the tradition. "I've never had a class that voted against it."

During the school year, the visits range from simply spending time with or playing games with the Veterans, to more organized activities. Last year, those events included a talent show where both students and Veterans shared their talents, a Christmas party with refreshments, a Valentine's Day visit and an end-of-the-year cookout.

Part of the process is talking to the children about what to expect. "We talk about the fact that some of the Veterans are handicapped or that they may be hard of hearing and may not respond if you ask them if they want to play a game," McCubbin-Myers said. "I also tell the kids that sometimes although the Veterans won't play games or visit, they love to sit and just watch. And they love having the kids there - just the interaction and the commotion."

McCubbin-Myers recalled one gentleman who always said "no" when the kids would ask him to play cards. "He would just sit and watch," she said. "But last year, for some reason, we made some kind of connection with him and he said "yes" when one of the children asked. He played cards all year long."

She remembered another incident when one of the students was excited about winning a game of checkers. He had played against a gentleman known as the checker champion because nobody, including the other Veterans, could ever beat him at checkers. "The student came back to school and told me, 'I beat the checker man,'" she recalled, noting that she congratulated the student on watching throughout the year and learning some of the man's strategies. "We also talked about that it's not that you win the game, it's that you go and spend time with the Veterans. And the student replied, 'I know, I know, but he was so happy that I beat him.'"

The program has been good for both the kids and the Veterans. "The children take away very, very warm feelings about what a positive impact they have. They know how much the Veterans appreciate us taking time to come over and spend our time with them. The children feel very proud," McCubbin-Myers said. "The program builds really good memories and connections for kids and Veterans. It lets the Veterans know they are not forgotten and that we appreciate what they've done for us. And it teaches the kids respect."