Chapter Five

To put it in first-grade terms: school is my favorite! And it is. After ten years, it is amazing to me how intelligent first-graders can be when it comes to dealing with the facts. For me, elementary school was a fantastic experience. I loved the teachers, the friends, the games, the learning... For a child of six—for a child of any age—school is an exciting new dimension where new worlds are discovered, languages are learned, and history is reborn. It should come as no surprise to say I have always loved school. I have always loved learning, period. Elementary school could be considered the beginning of a great academic experience, or even a life experience, for it did comprise of some of the best years of my life.

It started with Mrs. Jones. She was my sweet kindergarten teacher I wish I could remember better. Kindergarten was a lot of fun. I loved learning how to read (better) and how to count higher than one hundred (or was it two hundred?) and how NOT to take books from the book-order table (I hate getting in trouble). I had great friends, like Kasey who came to visit in second grade after she moved, and Jenny, who made sand castles with me in her yard. Kindergarten was the year I had my first kiss—but for the record, it was before the age of accountability so it doesn’t count.

First grade was the beginning of “real school.” Instead of three hour half-days, I got to attend the full six hours. I also finally started learning things I didn’t already know, like science and math. I’ll always remember first grade math because right before one of our addition tests, I accidentally stabbed myself with my pencil and it left a permanent “dot” on my hand. Other memories of first grade include losing a tooth during class, earning sticky-hands for being a good student, and going on my first field trip to the zoo.

Second grade was the best of my pre-6th grade years. I adored my teacher, Mrs. Brockbank, and did everything I could to please her. I picked up as much trash as possible, did my work as fast as I could, and in all other ways played teacher’s pet. In my opinion, a year well spent. My friends completely changed in second grade, from moving from A.M. to P.M. class, and I was excited to get to know Katherine and Jessica. I also kicked off a rivalry with Brandon and Kevin, who I always competed with for the title “smartest,” and during recess my friends and I literally kicked them around on the swing set. I learned to love reading in second grade, and many other things, too. In fact, I loved just about everything in second grade. Third grade, on the other hand… was not my favorite. But what did I expect? Third grade comes after second! (I learned that in first grade). I did like playing kickball with the whole class at recess, and making tornadoes in soda bottles. I probably enjoyed third grade at the time, but looking back... well, let's move on to fourth.

School got interesting in fourth grade. See, my teacher thought I was psychotic, or depressed, or both. She sent me to psychologists and completely messed up my mental structure. I was not depressed—fourth grade was actually a lot of fun. Lightning every day on the playground, War in the classroom… of course, those were both really fun games I played, along with Speed and Four-Square and sometimes the Quote-The-Movie game. Fifth was a good year, too. I met one of my best friends in the world during fifth grade, and visited the space center for the first time. I also became really good at writing cursive, and got better at running miles. But any and all fun I had from kindergarten to fifth grade climaxed in sixth.

Sixth grade was the best school year ever. My teacher was hilarious, and I still laugh at some of the inside jokes. But the best part was the class unity. All 30-something of us were friends with each other. There were no cliques, no groups, no rivalries outside the academic. We were a big sixth grade family. Oh, and our steal-the-flag team dominated everyone. E v e r y o n e. All in all, Sixth great was a great end to a great seven years spent in Elementary school.

If you add it all up, elementary school was a great experience for me filled with fun times, great friends and great teachers. But as I look back and compare elementary school to now, I realize I’m still having the time of my life. I love my friends, my classes--not much has changed. :) Which means I could say in twelfth-grade terms: school is my favorite!