Memories of the Early Years

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When I think about my elementary years, many wonderful memories come up.

I remember getting caterpillars, and watching them hatch into beautiful butterflies.

I remember when my sister was in Kindergarten, and she did Five In A Row, and read the same picture book every day for a week, with a different activity each day. I didn't even technically do this, being in 4th grade at the time, but in reality I did participate.

I remember riding the train to Seattle to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Pacific Science Center.

I remember studying all the continents of the world one summer, and making a meal from that place at the end of the week.

I remember watching Bill Nye videos.

I remember reading picture books on every science topic. Books by Jim Arnosky, and Gail Gibbons, and so many others.

More than anything, I remember reading Story of the World.

I remember the coloring pages that became a staple part of our day, and how sad I was when they came out with the new edition of the Activity Guide, and they had redone all the coloring pages.

I remember mummifying a chicken.

I remember reading so many hundreds of picture books. I still recognize most of them if I see them somewhere.

I remember some sections of SOTW nearly verbatim. This includes the intro to Book 1, the first chapter of Book 3, several other sections near the end of Book 1, and a few parts of Book 2. I heard book 4 less than any of the others, so my memories aren't quite as good.

I remember reading so many great books like the Bronze Bow, Caddie Woodlawn, Black Ships Before Troy, Number the Stars, the Witch of Blackbird Pond, and Johnny Tremain.

Most of all, I remember having fun. All these memories are good ones. Sometimes now, I get into the mindset that progress must be painful. I start thinking that fun and school can't mix. Then I remember the grammar stage, and how much fun I had, and how much I learned. Learning can absolutely be fun.