Fun things I remember doing in elementary school
I was thinking the other day that I want to remember the fun things I did in school growing up and try to recreate some of those fun memories for my kids, or if I ever teach, to be a fun teacher and make learning meaningful like some of my favorite teachers have done for me. I'm starting with my favorite memories from elementary school:
1. Painting in kindergarten
2. decorating cookies in kindergarten
3. dressing up on Halloween, getting to go in the Halloween parade as a kindergartener
4. making carrot juice with Mr. P (3rd grade)
5. reading Encyclopedia Brown as a class at the end of each school day (2nd grade) I think that was the year I also started getting into the Boxcar Children series and My Side of the Mountain. Mrs. Potter was big on reading and finding us books that we would like. I loved those and remember them better than many other books I had to read for school.
6. having class hamsters (2nd grade) we got to take turns taking them home on the weekends. I remember losing them on the Friday night that I took them home. Joe was babysitting because Mom and Dad were on a date. It took us a while to find them again; one was in Mom and Dad's bathroom and the other was behind the TV chewing on the cords... :)
7. Friday afternoon kickball games with Mr. Divairis; you had to sit out one inning for each day of homework you didn't do that week (5th grade)
8. going to the farm; bringing milk back to the classroom and skimming the cream off the top; we all took turns shaking the cream in a jar until we had butter and then we got to eat it on crackers (kindergarten)
9. wearing pj's to school before Christmas, having the Polar Express book read to us, and having our classroom chairs rearranged to be like a train; we also got to drink hot coco (1st grade)
10. christmas caroling at old folks homes and for the school Christmas program
11. singing songs with Mr. P (3rd grade)
12. making Christmas ornaments with glass balls and metalic paint for a fundraiser (4th grade)
13. bringing Pepper the cat in for show and tell; he got loose and ran around half the school before I could catch him (1st grade)
14. after-school chorus and participating in the county music festival (4th and 5th grade)
15. getting to play instruments during music time
16. chess club after school (4th and 5th grade)
17. art time! I loved going to Mrs. Grass's art room. We'd often spend a couple minutes learning about a specific artist or art movement and then got to do all sorts of fun projects. I remember making a flower piece of art in the style of Georgia O'Keeffe. I also remember crumbling up brown paper bags and then ironing them back out and drawing hieroglyph-looking things on it. And I remember bringing in egg cartons to her which is what she used to give each table different colors of paint in.
18. PE- I loved crab soccer, doing flips off of the bars, hurtles and long jump, racing on the double beams, trying to walk on one of the double bars as if it were a balance beam, and learning line dances. I didn't really like square dancing though.
19. field day
20. getting to leave class twice a week to hang out with the school guidance counselor and learn how to be a peer mediator (3rd-5th grade)
21. Mrs. Potter (2nd grade). She was just so nice. I really wanted to go to school everyday when I was in her class. Mr. P was pretty fun too with his hippy hair, solor-powered remote control car, and fresh V8 juice, apple juice, carrot juice, etc., and his songs about not polluting and taking care of the earth and the animals
22. writing a letter to the president of the United States which was Bill Clinton at the time. I don't remember what I wrote him but I remember getting a card back with a picture of him and a picture of Al Gore. (1st grade)
23. going to that school family night fundraiser with the guy who did magic tricks and told stories about warm fuzzies
Looking back, I'm glad Mom saved my book I made in kindergarten about Sammy the dog, my journal from second grade that I wrote all sorts of funny stories in, my Georgia O'Keeffe flower picture, my awards from the 5th grade graduation, and a few other small trinkets to remember those six years of public education. Thanks, Mom!
1. Painting in kindergarten
2. decorating cookies in kindergarten
3. dressing up on Halloween, getting to go in the Halloween parade as a kindergartener
4. making carrot juice with Mr. P (3rd grade)
5. reading Encyclopedia Brown as a class at the end of each school day (2nd grade) I think that was the year I also started getting into the Boxcar Children series and My Side of the Mountain. Mrs. Potter was big on reading and finding us books that we would like. I loved those and remember them better than many other books I had to read for school.
6. having class hamsters (2nd grade) we got to take turns taking them home on the weekends. I remember losing them on the Friday night that I took them home. Joe was babysitting because Mom and Dad were on a date. It took us a while to find them again; one was in Mom and Dad's bathroom and the other was behind the TV chewing on the cords... :)
7. Friday afternoon kickball games with Mr. Divairis; you had to sit out one inning for each day of homework you didn't do that week (5th grade)
8. going to the farm; bringing milk back to the classroom and skimming the cream off the top; we all took turns shaking the cream in a jar until we had butter and then we got to eat it on crackers (kindergarten)
9. wearing pj's to school before Christmas, having the Polar Express book read to us, and having our classroom chairs rearranged to be like a train; we also got to drink hot coco (1st grade)
10. christmas caroling at old folks homes and for the school Christmas program
11. singing songs with Mr. P (3rd grade)
12. making Christmas ornaments with glass balls and metalic paint for a fundraiser (4th grade)
13. bringing Pepper the cat in for show and tell; he got loose and ran around half the school before I could catch him (1st grade)
14. after-school chorus and participating in the county music festival (4th and 5th grade)
15. getting to play instruments during music time
16. chess club after school (4th and 5th grade)
17. art time! I loved going to Mrs. Grass's art room. We'd often spend a couple minutes learning about a specific artist or art movement and then got to do all sorts of fun projects. I remember making a flower piece of art in the style of Georgia O'Keeffe. I also remember crumbling up brown paper bags and then ironing them back out and drawing hieroglyph-looking things on it. And I remember bringing in egg cartons to her which is what she used to give each table different colors of paint in.
18. PE- I loved crab soccer, doing flips off of the bars, hurtles and long jump, racing on the double beams, trying to walk on one of the double bars as if it were a balance beam, and learning line dances. I didn't really like square dancing though.
19. field day
20. getting to leave class twice a week to hang out with the school guidance counselor and learn how to be a peer mediator (3rd-5th grade)
21. Mrs. Potter (2nd grade). She was just so nice. I really wanted to go to school everyday when I was in her class. Mr. P was pretty fun too with his hippy hair, solor-powered remote control car, and fresh V8 juice, apple juice, carrot juice, etc., and his songs about not polluting and taking care of the earth and the animals
22. writing a letter to the president of the United States which was Bill Clinton at the time. I don't remember what I wrote him but I remember getting a card back with a picture of him and a picture of Al Gore. (1st grade)
23. going to that school family night fundraiser with the guy who did magic tricks and told stories about warm fuzzies
Looking back, I'm glad Mom saved my book I made in kindergarten about Sammy the dog, my journal from second grade that I wrote all sorts of funny stories in, my Georgia O'Keeffe flower picture, my awards from the 5th grade graduation, and a few other small trinkets to remember those six years of public education. Thanks, Mom!
Comments
Post a Comment