GRANDVILLE, Mich. — Kindergartners from Grandville's Cummings Elementary are going home with some extra stories tonight.
"I'm going to tell them that I talked to Coach Tucker," smiled Aiyana Vandermolen.
Teacher Angie Dressander has set up a once-a-month series of virtual interviews with different professionals, including an author, doctor, and now Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker.
"We interviewed Darien Harris last month and we kind of worked different connections and were able to get Coach Tucker, so that was awesome," Dressander explained.
And the kids couldn't have been happier to speak to coach.
"We all got to ask questions and it was kind of fun," said one of the students, Casey Bassler.
The interview with Coach Tucker was a part of the virtual interviews that have all been turned into a podcast called 'Curious Kindergartners,' which is now on Spotify.
"We do podcasts because we want to know why people do this stuff," added kindergartner Monroe Hall. "We ask questions because we're curious and that's why it's called 'curious kindergartners.'"
Dressander says it has become a great way for the kids to be creative and come up with questions for different professionals.
"The goal with our podcast is the kids are curious and they want to know about things," she said. "They brainstormed lists of who they want to know about, so they make the questions. We do this as a podcast because they figured other kids would want to know too."
Coach Tucker filled them in on several things, including how he got his start in coaching, how he helps the players get better and much more.
"I learned that football is not just throwing a football; you have to play it to be a coach," Hall added.
And her classmate Casey Bassler says he learned something as well.
"I learned that football is a great show to watch," he smiled.
Some of the students say that despite being Michigan fans going into the day, they may root for Michigan State now.
"One of the little girls in the class had her Michigan State shirt on today," Dressander laughed. "You can tell which parents were really excited about this."
