Third Grade

I had Mrs Biggs. People always asked who I wanted to be my teacher. My mom was a third grade teacher that year, so I would always say her.

This was the year that I read the most books (25) in the whole school for a read a thon and won a set of encyclopedias for the library. I have a medal somewhere I think. My favorite book that I read was one about a girl who goes out to visit her Aunt and Uncle in California. Before she leaves her mother buys her a pink raincoat. She won't wear it. She eats an olive off the tree thinking it's already pickled. She meets a boy and when she gets home she decides she can wear the raincoat instead of the yellow slicker she's always worn. The cover was pink library hard back and I read it twice. I also read every Nancy Drew book in the public library.

Mrs. Biggs bought us playdough to play with on rainy days. We traded colors and horded little balls of brown, sky blue, pink, and other colors we mixed up together.

Holly May had a shirt that said "this human bean needs love" with beaded fringe on it. I wanted one of those so bad.

The girl who sat next to me was a Jehovah's Witness. She always had to sit out during the pledge and never got to stay for parties. We both loved Randy Travis. She had a shirt that had a silhouette of two people on a swing and "Just a Swingin'" on it. I wanted done of those too.

Mrs. Biggs used to let me read to the class and hand out papers after she graded them. I loved it when people didn't put thier names onthe papers, and I could ask who they belonged to.

One time we had a substitute, and she told my mother that she didn't know how Mrs Biggs got anything done without me. My mother told me this meant I was being too helpful. Third graders can't be too helpful. Can they?

My mother's classroom was right across the hall from me. She had some teal Reebok's. She also had some rubber cement in her drawer that I was fascinated with. A girl and I went in her room for something and I guess I didn't put the top on tight enough and it accidentally spilled. I got in big trouble.

Shane Sims brought puppies in for show and tell one day. One time he brought a machete.

One lunch recess, I filled up my lunchbox with bees I had gently stepped on and captured.

I got some new shorts and t-shirts. The shorts had suspenders I think. On pair was blue and one was pink. I wanted to wear those SO BADLY that I would ask mom every day if it was be warm enough to wear them. One day she finally said by mistake that the weather was going to be warm . It was about 50 degrees that day. I froze my ass off. (Do you remember this Mom? I think they came from K-Mart and I had to borrow a coat.)

Mrs Biggs demonstrated what happens when you eat using some green beans from the cafeteria, some clear tubing and a plastic baggie. It was sort of awesome.

I found the most eggs at the Easter Egg  Hunt at the Easter party. For the first and only time. Someone followed me around hoping, I guess, that some would fall out of my basket and they could run off with them? I don't know. I won a chocolate bunny.

There was a honeysuckle vine growing on the fence in front of where we parked out car. That is still my favorite scent in the entire world.

Comments

[cagey]

I love these posts.

And I love honeysuckle - it is SO hard to find that scent in anything, which makes is super special for me when I do find it.

[SJ]

Ahh honeysuckle. When I was little we used to suck the sweet nectar off the flower because we had a vine growing on our fence. I loved it so much.

And really, that classmate brought in a machete for show and tell? Sign of the times for sure....

I'm impressed that you remember so much from this part of your childhood. I have totally forgotten so much. And that? Makes me sad.