When news of Mount St. Helens' impending eruption surfaced, first-graders at Cape Christian School saw events unfold through the kitchen window of a classmate's aunt.

They did it without ever leaving their Cape Girardeau classroom, through an e-pals project created by teacher Dena Shelton.

The project allows the students to communicate regularly with friends and family from around the world -- including one relative who lives near the volcano -- and incorporate their conversations into class lessons.

This year, students have e-pals in seven U.S. states, Taiwan and South Africa. Every two weeks, the class sends an e-mail to their e-pals that includes an update on class activities, photos and questions.

"The cool thing is how it expands what we're doing. Some of the answers we get are things we never would think of on our own," Shelton said.

The close tie to Mount St. Helens prompted an in-depth lesson on volcanoes. The class logged onto a Web site that displayed daily video of Mount St. Helens and looked at pictures that showed the changes taking place there.

Shelton developed the idea for e-pals four years ago when a student's mother was confined to bed rest in a St. Louis hospital for several months.

The mother had access to a laptop computer, so the class started e-mailing her daily updates on school activities. Other parents found out about it and requested that the updates be sent to grandparents who lived far away.

The project has now developed into regular e-mail communication with friends and family around the world. The idea was recently featured in the National Association for the Education of Young Children's journal, "Young Children."

Shelton uses the class's e-pals to expand on a variety of issues, including geography and culture. She said the project also allows long-distance relatives to be involved in children's schoolwork.

"We come in contact with people who have experiences we would never have," Shelton said.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128