Saturday, August 31, 2013

Back to School Memories

With LBA starting third grade this week (3rd grade!) and SoBA joining him at the same school in kindergarten, here's a list of items that "will remind you of elementary school"  [from BuzzFeed].  Of course, this is also Labor Day weekend (and you shouldn't have to go back to school until after Labor Day - but that's a different rant).
  1. Back to school supply lists - these days, the list comes out before the kids go back to school.  But I remember going out on that first week of school to get everything on the list.
  2. Slates - I'm not that old.
  3. Writing your name on the upper right-hand corner of your wide ruled loose leaf paper - The Brave Astronaut has a pretty long last name and I often tell SBA that it took me until the 3rd grade to learn how to spell it right - so no more excuses!
  4. Trapper Keepers - I was more of a blue fabric 3-ring binder (or the 5-subject wirebound notebook) fan.
  5. Being the line leader - I liked this job.
  6. Construction Paper 
  7. Getting to be Student of the Month - something clicked in LBA early in 2nd grade where he was named Student of the Month for several months in a row!
  8. Capri Suns - we had milk.
  9. Finding your friends so you can sit with them in the cafeteria - our "lunchroom" doubled as the gym, something that you still see a lot.
  10. Lunch Trays - there was a spot for the milk carton
  11. Scooters - gym was more fun with these, and it was way more fun than the rope climb
  12. Juice Boxes! - see #8
  13. Recess! - I was married in elementary school on the playground (Patty - did we ever get divorced?).  The monkey bars was our house.  Another classmate played the part of our dog (Donna Ziegler, where are you?)
  14. Elmer's Glue
  15. Nap time and nap mats
  16. Sitting on carpet squares
  17. Gym/Auditoriums - I remember being brought into the gym/auditorium to watch the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1976.
  18. Kickball 
  19. Using the card catalog and learning the Dewey Decimal System - pretty sure this isn't high on anybody's list anymore.
  20. Crayola Crayons
  21. Show and Tell
  22. That mean substitute teacher
  23. Playing games inside during recess because it's raining outside
  24. Book Reports
  25. Having the coolest lunch box
  26. The Spelling Bee
  27. Book Fairs
  28. Skate Night

3 comments:

Anna van Schurman said...

I got married in kindergarten (Ricky Dumont). I think we have a common law divorce. After all the big kids made fun of us for kissing on the bus when we were in first grade, that was the end.

pcw said...

When Hershey's 3rd graders visit the Archives, i share with them an essay written by a high school student in 1944. I use it to show how much today's students have in common with students of decades earlier: lined paper and name and date recorded at the top of the page.

Speaking of long names, my boys also had looong names. I remember a few moans from them when they were in elementary school!

Unknown said...

Geez. I just tripped down memory lane hard. Being kissed by the deplorable Mike Riley in 1st or 2nd grade at the skating rink (roller not ice).