This article examines the pervasive influence of progressive education and travel on a public school kindergarten teacher's professional life. In a statement included in her handwritten list of goals for the children in her classroom, she echoed John Dewey, noting that a kindergarten child should "....live life fully and well because this is a year of his life and not just a time to get ready to live." Kirby put this statement into practice as she translated her personal travel experiences to kindergarten children through the information she shared and the opportunities she provided for them. The children, in turn, translated her teaching back to her through their highly individual artistic creations, paintings, wood structures, and dramatic play. Kirby's teaching was grounded in progressive education as promoted in her college education, in her school district, and was further influenced by a rich lifetime of travel. (Contains 2 figures and 23 notes.)