Third Grade was a great year! Mrs. Cowger taught our 2nd/3rd split class, and we all just fell in love with her. She had a way of really bringing the subjects we were studying to life. Years later I sent her a copy of the Book of Mormon and a different time the book Tuesdays with Morrie because she was such a great teacher.
Before the school year I had found the chapter books in the library but had been too intimidated to try reading them. I loved picture books! I was comfortable with picture books. Mrs. Cowger let me read a picture book for my first report, but after that she helped me pick out little chapter books. It was her passion for reading that helped me find my love for reading. I joined the Book It program, and earned a free pizza at Pizza Hut for every 5 books I read. I also joined the summer reading program and earned tons of prizes at the Public Library the following summer.
This was exactly the kind of teacher Mrs. Cowger was. You couldn't help wanting to learn in her class. She had lived in Africa for a while and would make the far away country seem something we could one day visit for ourselves. It just brought geography to life! She taught each grade a separate lesson, while the other class did work on a different subject. Not every teacher would be able to accomplish this task, but she did so with ease.
One day she brought in a huge caccoon she had found in her back yard for us to watch over until it hatched. We put it in a terrarium with grass, rocks and all kinds of things in it. Every day we would come in and check up on the caccoon to see how it was doing and if it showed signs of hatching. It felt like all year we waited for that thing to hatch! One day Mrs. Cowger was out for the day and we had a substitute. I came into the class after recess to check up on our sleeping friend, when I found the biggest moth I've ever seen had hatched! We were all so excited and couldn't wait for the next day to share our news with our teacher.
She found out the moth was called the Polyphemus Moth, so we named the day it joined our class (May 10th) Polyphemus Hatching Day! We celebrated, wrote an author in Arizona about it, and every year after that we were given a piece of candy if we stopped by to wish her current class a happy Polyphemus Hatching Day. I visited every year until I moved away from Michigan. And even for several years after I sent a card wishing Mrs. Cowger a happy Polyphemus Hatching Day.
We seemed to always be celebrating something in this class. We had a party and a cake for Snoopy's birthday, and all wrote letters to Charles Schulz the creator of Peanuts. Mrs. Cowger just loved Snoopy, so whenever we gave her a teacher's gift it had to have something to do with Snoopy.
This is the year I became friends with Anna Ravashot. She was in the Second Grade half of the class, but she was such a spunky fun girl that I couldn't help but become her friend. Her mother was divorced and she had a baby sitter watch her after school, so I didn't often get to go to her house, but when we did we got to do what ever we wanted. She taught me all the swear words and made up a secret club that we had to "swear" our allegiance to in order to become a member. She was a "wild" girl, but very fun to be around. I lost track of her after this year, but we had fun for that amount of time.
I also strengthened my friendship with Debbie Savage this year. We were in Girl Scouts together and her mother, Joyce, was our leader. She was the CFO of some company, was a sharp business woman and was a strong advocate in women. We learned all about famous women with careers and that made a difference in the world in Girl Scouts. Debbie would invite me over to spend the night regularly, and we would stay up late watching movies, playing games, and sneaking into their hot tub. Sometimes Debbie's older sister Lindsay would teach us cheerleading moves because she was in middle school cheerleading. Debbie was very religious and would regularly invite me to her church services (they had a band). It was always fun, but I remember thinking this wasn't as spiritual as church should be.
Looking back I wish I was more like Debbie as a kid. I never invited my friends to primary activities or merry miss activities although I never really knew when they were. They were always fun, and had some spiritual aspect to them as well. I should have been better when it came to inviting friends to Young Women's too. At this time Natalie Morris was my best friend at church. We lived about a mile away so we were in different Elementary Schools, but we would find time on Saturdays to bike to each other's houses, have sleepovers, or just go home from church with each other and spend Sunday playing.
We had the best imaginations! We would play for hours that her couch was a train and we were going on a cross country trip. Our Barbies would get into all kinds of trouble and would need to find quick escapes. We would sneak into Natalie's older brother Danny's room and steal his love notes to read and get ideas of what a "grown up" relationship should be like.
Third Grade was such a fun filled year with all kinds of friends, that I couldn't help but love life. Little did I know fourth grade would be the exact opposite and harder than any year of my life that far.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Second Grade
My teacher in Second Grad was Miss. Campbell (she got married half way through the year and became Mrs. Haines). She was a sweet lady and a good teacher. Karen was in the classroom next door, so when ever we went to to bathroom we would wave to each other. The school year in itself flew by in somewhat of a blur. Most of my memories of this time period revolve around playing horses on the playground and my friends of that time frame.
At School Karen and I were inseparable. We spend every minute of recess devising scenarios we could act our or games we could play with our toys after school. We have numerous sleepovers and this phase was the phase of the horses and Barbies. We played with them all the time (they weren't aloud at school, but at home).
Karen's mom also paid to take Karen, Elise and myself to The Little Mermaid in the expensive theater! I remember being so excited because this was the first movie I remember seeing in the theater. We picked up coloring pages somewhere and entered a coloring contest of the poster. I thought that if we won, our coloring would be on the box when the movie became a VHS, but I'm sure that's not the case. I used sparkly crayons and I was just sure my coloring would win.
This movie spawned an entirely different vein of creativity for our playing. When we would go swimming in Karen's pool we would tie our ankles together so we would swim like mermaids. Our Barbies got their legs wrapped together in green material. When the movie became a VHS we watched it over and over again. When we watched it at our house Heather would always get scared when the Ursula would grow huge an she would jump up on the couch and ask if she was bigger.
During this year I learned of the importance of Home Teaching. I always knew my Dad did his home teaching, but for some reason in this year my Dad started bringing one of us kids along as his companion. I don't know if he didn't have a companion, or if his companion just didn't come, but I remember several times going out with him on a Sunday afternoon to visit his families.
The one that sticks in my memory was the Welch's home. In years to come Cheryl (the mother) and my parents became close friends, but this point was only the beginning. Cheryl and her kids were members, but her husband Bob was not. That didn't matter to my Dad. We visited with the entire family and helped out when opportunity arose. I saw the family start to rely on my Father as their priesthood holder and from time to time I would get jealous of him going to their house to help them.
Then it was explained to me that because their Dad couldn't provide them with the priesthood, they needed someone else to bring that blessing and spirit into the home. After that I didn't mind so much that my Dad drove over to their house to pull Angel's loose teeth or that my Dad got to baptize Tiffany before he baptized me. I understood the gap that my Dad was filling in this family's life.
I became friends with Cheryl's daughter Tiffany, and we would have sleepovers from time to time. We would play Sonic the hedgehog on Brandon't Sega Genesis, play Barbies, go to the park behind their apartments or stay up late watching movies. One night they introduced me to the original Buffy the vampire slayer (they had cable and it was playing that night). We were all so scared that vampires would come get us that we had a hard time sleeping! In the morning Cheryl would make us a southern breakfast of grits and eggs. Although I couldn't stand grits, I knew I had to eat it! Cheryl's just not the kind of person you mess with.
Eventually Bob and Cheryl got divorced, but because of the great bond Cheryl had made with our family she demanded that my Dad remain her Home Teacher. A single woman is supposed to be taught by the High Priests, but they made an exception because of the close bond that had formed between our families. She gave us her piano which was beautiful, but she didn't have room for in her new apartment and she didn't want Bob to end up with it.
Our families were great friends until my parents moved from Michigan to Washington. We would have dinners, New Years Eve parties (which Cheryl always brought shrimp cocktail to), and General Conference parties. There was always good food and tons of talking when we all got together.
On a more important note, this is the year I turned 8 and was baptized. I remember being interviewed before hand by Bishop Dana and being so nervous about answering the questions correctly. I was so excited that I could be baptized on my birthday, since it fell on a Sunday. Grandma Yoder made the dress I wore, and I put it on to practice being dunked under water in the living room with my Dad. I loved my dress so much that I wanted to wear it in the water, but I was nervous that it would float up and I would be immodest.
Matthew Ling's birthday was the day before mine, and his mom asked if we could do our baptisms together. I was annoyed, because I didn't want to share my day with him, but I told her we could if I got to be baptized first. I didn't want to be baptized in the same water his sins were washed into first. I wanted clean water! My mother said I could pick any dessert to have after the baptism, so I planned on having root beer floats. I also invited my best friend, Karen to attend.
The day came and was great. I remember walking into the fount (in the Bloomfield Hills Steak Center that was then our building), tucking my dress between my legs as we practiced, and everything else going smoothly. After I took a shower, dried off and put on a pretty pink Easter dress my mother had made for me. My home teacher gave me a purple hair bow as a baptismal gift, and Karen gave me a Barbie.
The biggest treat of the day was my Grandpa and Uncle Mark (only 3 years older than me) flew out in my Grandpa's little white and green plane to visit me! I also got to go back with them afterward for a special week at the Grandparents all by myself. It was so much fun! We flew out on a Sunday and soon after we arrived we stopped at Tacco Bell for dinner. I was worried that buying food on a Sunday was going to be my first sin since baptism, but I was pretty hungry, so I ate it.
Grandma made sure she had activities and fun things planned to do. I got to help make cookies and eat a few of them fresh out of the oven. Grandma had some new girl toys that I was convinced she had bought just so I could play with them. I thought so much time focused on me was just the best way to spend a week in North Carolina.
Grandpa took me to work with him at his beach office. I remember messing around with the copy machine, drawing on paper, pretending I was surfing on one of the water beds in the bedroom upstairs and going out back with Uncle John to play on the hammock. It seemed like the perfect office and best job in the world.
At one point I headed over to Grandma Brown's house and spent the day with her. She had to clean a few houses at the beach, so Leanna and I went with her to help. I don't remember doing actual cleaning (we played pool while Grandma cleaned, or we talked to Betsy). After I remember going to the beach and boogie boarding. I didn't know it at the time but Grandma Brown was scared of water, so for her to take us there rather than the sound where she was far more comfortable was a big deal.
A week after I flew out my family drove out to spend some time in North Carolina and pick me up. It was great to be with them again, but the time with my Grandparents by my self was good in building individual relationships.
At School Karen and I were inseparable. We spend every minute of recess devising scenarios we could act our or games we could play with our toys after school. We have numerous sleepovers and this phase was the phase of the horses and Barbies. We played with them all the time (they weren't aloud at school, but at home).
Karen's mom also paid to take Karen, Elise and myself to The Little Mermaid in the expensive theater! I remember being so excited because this was the first movie I remember seeing in the theater. We picked up coloring pages somewhere and entered a coloring contest of the poster. I thought that if we won, our coloring would be on the box when the movie became a VHS, but I'm sure that's not the case. I used sparkly crayons and I was just sure my coloring would win.
This movie spawned an entirely different vein of creativity for our playing. When we would go swimming in Karen's pool we would tie our ankles together so we would swim like mermaids. Our Barbies got their legs wrapped together in green material. When the movie became a VHS we watched it over and over again. When we watched it at our house Heather would always get scared when the Ursula would grow huge an she would jump up on the couch and ask if she was bigger.
During this year I learned of the importance of Home Teaching. I always knew my Dad did his home teaching, but for some reason in this year my Dad started bringing one of us kids along as his companion. I don't know if he didn't have a companion, or if his companion just didn't come, but I remember several times going out with him on a Sunday afternoon to visit his families.
The one that sticks in my memory was the Welch's home. In years to come Cheryl (the mother) and my parents became close friends, but this point was only the beginning. Cheryl and her kids were members, but her husband Bob was not. That didn't matter to my Dad. We visited with the entire family and helped out when opportunity arose. I saw the family start to rely on my Father as their priesthood holder and from time to time I would get jealous of him going to their house to help them.
Then it was explained to me that because their Dad couldn't provide them with the priesthood, they needed someone else to bring that blessing and spirit into the home. After that I didn't mind so much that my Dad drove over to their house to pull Angel's loose teeth or that my Dad got to baptize Tiffany before he baptized me. I understood the gap that my Dad was filling in this family's life.
I became friends with Cheryl's daughter Tiffany, and we would have sleepovers from time to time. We would play Sonic the hedgehog on Brandon't Sega Genesis, play Barbies, go to the park behind their apartments or stay up late watching movies. One night they introduced me to the original Buffy the vampire slayer (they had cable and it was playing that night). We were all so scared that vampires would come get us that we had a hard time sleeping! In the morning Cheryl would make us a southern breakfast of grits and eggs. Although I couldn't stand grits, I knew I had to eat it! Cheryl's just not the kind of person you mess with.
Eventually Bob and Cheryl got divorced, but because of the great bond Cheryl had made with our family she demanded that my Dad remain her Home Teacher. A single woman is supposed to be taught by the High Priests, but they made an exception because of the close bond that had formed between our families. She gave us her piano which was beautiful, but she didn't have room for in her new apartment and she didn't want Bob to end up with it.
Our families were great friends until my parents moved from Michigan to Washington. We would have dinners, New Years Eve parties (which Cheryl always brought shrimp cocktail to), and General Conference parties. There was always good food and tons of talking when we all got together.
On a more important note, this is the year I turned 8 and was baptized. I remember being interviewed before hand by Bishop Dana and being so nervous about answering the questions correctly. I was so excited that I could be baptized on my birthday, since it fell on a Sunday. Grandma Yoder made the dress I wore, and I put it on to practice being dunked under water in the living room with my Dad. I loved my dress so much that I wanted to wear it in the water, but I was nervous that it would float up and I would be immodest.
Matthew Ling's birthday was the day before mine, and his mom asked if we could do our baptisms together. I was annoyed, because I didn't want to share my day with him, but I told her we could if I got to be baptized first. I didn't want to be baptized in the same water his sins were washed into first. I wanted clean water! My mother said I could pick any dessert to have after the baptism, so I planned on having root beer floats. I also invited my best friend, Karen to attend.
The day came and was great. I remember walking into the fount (in the Bloomfield Hills Steak Center that was then our building), tucking my dress between my legs as we practiced, and everything else going smoothly. After I took a shower, dried off and put on a pretty pink Easter dress my mother had made for me. My home teacher gave me a purple hair bow as a baptismal gift, and Karen gave me a Barbie.
The biggest treat of the day was my Grandpa and Uncle Mark (only 3 years older than me) flew out in my Grandpa's little white and green plane to visit me! I also got to go back with them afterward for a special week at the Grandparents all by myself. It was so much fun! We flew out on a Sunday and soon after we arrived we stopped at Tacco Bell for dinner. I was worried that buying food on a Sunday was going to be my first sin since baptism, but I was pretty hungry, so I ate it.
Grandma made sure she had activities and fun things planned to do. I got to help make cookies and eat a few of them fresh out of the oven. Grandma had some new girl toys that I was convinced she had bought just so I could play with them. I thought so much time focused on me was just the best way to spend a week in North Carolina.
Grandpa took me to work with him at his beach office. I remember messing around with the copy machine, drawing on paper, pretending I was surfing on one of the water beds in the bedroom upstairs and going out back with Uncle John to play on the hammock. It seemed like the perfect office and best job in the world.
At one point I headed over to Grandma Brown's house and spent the day with her. She had to clean a few houses at the beach, so Leanna and I went with her to help. I don't remember doing actual cleaning (we played pool while Grandma cleaned, or we talked to Betsy). After I remember going to the beach and boogie boarding. I didn't know it at the time but Grandma Brown was scared of water, so for her to take us there rather than the sound where she was far more comfortable was a big deal.
A week after I flew out my family drove out to spend some time in North Carolina and pick me up. It was great to be with them again, but the time with my Grandparents by my self was good in building individual relationships.
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