CANYON COUNTRY — Kay Rich has found a million reasons to collect pennies, a project that amounts to far more than small change.
The math teacher and the students of Leona Cox Elementary School have set out to collect 1 million pennies, a hands-on math lesson that is teaching students as much about numbers as it does about responsibility.
"I'm trying to create for my students . . . a vivid memory of just what a million would look like," she said.
In their zeal to collect $10,000 worth of pennies, the students have garnered communitywide support for the assignment that eventually will help buy school computers.
The Glendale Galleria is donating all the pennies tossed into its fountains during the holiday season. Coast Federal Bank is lending an old vault for penny storage. Local businesses have put collection cans on their counters.
"A million is a long way to go," said Dave Callister, the owner of Hogi Yogi, a sandwich and frozen yogurt shop in Canyon Country that has already collected two coffee cans full of pennies.
People have dropped by the school with cans and cigar boxes filled with pennies. Children have collected the coins from neighbors. Ashley Hudson, 9, asked Santa to put pennies in her stocking.
The adventure began last summer when Rich was preparing for the opening of school. Her textbook suggested collecting a million bottle caps, old pieces of mail or paper clips.
But what would she end up doing with 1 million paper clips?
Finally she decided to collect that much-maligned nuisance of a coin.
She persuaded Principal Jeannie Kingsford, other teachers, parents and finally the community to help. Teachers kicked off the campaign at a school assembly by performing a soft-shoe step while singing "Pennies From Heaven."
As of a recent count, the students had collected and tallied 270,000 pennies, putting them just slightly behind schedule to attain their goal.
To reach it, they must come up with about 5,555 pennies for each of the 180 days in the school year.
Along the way, the students are learning math concepts. They figured out that 5,000 pennies weighs 31.5 pounds, according to the bathroom scale prominently positioned in the front of the classroom.
They have renewed interest in adding, multiplying and dividing their pennies, using bigger and bigger numbers every week.
Small, white cotton sacks stamped "$50" line a table beside the scale. A red wagon is used to haul the money around when it needs to be moved.
