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Elementary Days.
The smell of stale lunch from days past.
Chalkboards.
Innocent crushes.
Safety patrol.
Recess and monkey bars.
Cooties.
Kickball and dodge ball.
Chocolate milk.
Art, Music, Gym.
Fond memories these are...
Elementary Days.
My elementary days are far behind me. The days of the Hoppin Bulldogs are days that I don't remember well, though I know that those days began the mold which shaped me into the reader and writer that I am today. I don't ever remember not knowing how to read and write. One memory that I do have is looking at my parents books that they read, and thinking I wished I could read a book that big. I could never complete those thick books that sat on my mother's nightstand! The desire was there, but I could never see it happening. My mom says that I never had a problem with reading and writing. Back then and to this day, they are two of my best subjects. I suppose that is why I have trouble remembering them. I never struggled with either subject. It took a chat with my mom to bring back some of the memories for me.
Before I ever started school, my mom said I loved to be read to. She would read my favorite books which were anything by Dr. Seuss and P.D. Eastman. I loved any book that rhymed and I especially loved the phrase "I Love My House, I Love My Nest, In all the World, My Nest is Best." I still love Dr. Seuss, and I even received "Oh, the Places You'll Go" as a college graduation gift in August of 1997. My parents are both teachers and I think this played an important part in my development of reading and writing. They were very active in my school life, and knew exactly what was going on because they were doing the same thing. When I was in Kindergarten, she reminded me that I brought home sight words which had to be memorized, signed by her, and sent back to my teacher. I began reading in first grade. We were grouped and placed in books according to our reading level. I was always in the highest group and received good grades. One of the things that I do remember was in my third grade class; my teacher was Mrs. Hines. We were required to exchange warm fuzzies.
Click here for a tale of warm fuzzies!
I continued to love reading and writing through fourth and fifth grade. However, my mom said by fifth grade I discovered the telephone and boys, which put reading on hold quite frequently! My favorite series of books was Beverly Cleary's "Ramona Quimby" books. My favorite author at this point (and she continues to be one of my favorites today) was Judy Blume. I would read anything by Blume. As I look back at why I enjoyed her books, I now realize that she really touched on things that young adolescents go through. Other books that I enjoyed by Blume were:
Superfudge
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
Freckle Juice
Otherwise Known as Shelia the Great
There are other books by Blume that I have read. Back then, I couldn't get enough of her books.
Fourth grade brought me my first taste of MEAP testing, where I scored very well on reading, and very low on math. Fourth grade also brought a six-week summer reading contest. I entered and 61 books later, won the contest!
The pattern seemed to be the same all through school. I did well on anything to do with reading and writing, and I scored horribly on anything that had to do with math. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills tested me in fifth grade, where I repeated the same scores as that on the MEAP. Despite my new-found interest in boys, I still found the time to continue reading. I also won the Hoppin School spelling bee in fifth grade. I got to compete at the local junior college against other winners from the area. I was supposed to study the words; I didn't and lost in the first round. I learned that things weren't always going to come as easy for me, as they did presently. My days in elementary school were almost over. Middle school was approaching, and I was filled with excitement and fear!
Click here for elementary pics and awards!
Click here to start reading about Middle School Days!