Sentimental heart.

Today was like experiencing deja vu.

One of my course assignments this semester is to do several observations in elementary schools. So I chose to go to my old elementary school. This may confuse some of you, as I claim to be a homeschooler. I was technically only homeschooled from 9th to 12th grade, but as I graduated as one and plan to homeschool my children, I think I deserve that label. I attended public school from kindergarten through 8th grade.

This was the first time I had been in the elementary school in eight or nine years. My first impression? Things were a lot smaller than I remembered. :) Or maybe it was just that I had grown. I got to observe all day in a third grade classroom, and the teacher was actually my reading teacher in third grade. She's so sweet that I really enjoyed being in her classroom. And one of the coolest things is that she is the first person who introduced me to Narnia. I remember sitting on the rug, listening to her read "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and "The Magician's Nephew" to us. So you can imagine that I was thrilled today when I sat down in the rocking chair and saw a worn copy of LWW lying next to it. :) She's still reading Narnia tales to her students.

My last memories of public school were not good memories. At the time when I left public school, I was surrounded every day by filthy language, inappropriate behavior, complete disrespect and sometimes almost cruelty towards our teachers, and a lot of other bad things. Middle school left me with not-so-good memories.

I think I was expecting that today. I was expecting to see kids acting like that. But it wasn't like that at all. Those kids were so stinking adorable! I'm usually working with young children, as in under 5 years of age. I had no idea that these third graders would be so sweet and kind and funny! I felt attached to them after just spending one day in their class. They are at the point where they're really starting to grow up, and say clever things, but they still have an innocence and vulnerability about them that makes you just want to hug them. Some of them are so big and tall, and others are so tiny that I do a double take when I see them sitting at their desk reading a chapter book. And I love that they are still reading the same books that we read (and by the worn looks of some of the books, they are the exact same library copies that we read :), like Narnia and the Magic Tree House and Goosebumps and Mary-Kate and Ashley.

And I stood with my former teacher by the bathrooms as they took restroom breaks, and I caught a whiff of something. Guess what? Apparently the janitors still use the exact same cleaning chemicals brands. It's funny how a smell (not exactly a pleasant one) can remind you so strongly of something. It also reminded me of this huge blue N*Sync watch I had. It had a little screen and when you pushed a button, it played "Bye Bye Bye" and showed a pixelated version of the music video. Of course, I wasn't allowed to play the song in class, so the only time we could all gather around to hear our favorite boy band was during bathroom breaks.

Today was a good day. It reminded me that, while I'm still a full-blown homeschool advocate, my elementary years at a public school were pretty good. Those are all good memories that I'm glad I have. It also reminded me of how much I love kids. And how much I look forward to having a few of my own! I spent the day with third graders, then visited with an adorable one-year-old who got so tickled at something that she laughed the toddler equivalent of an adult belly laugh, then went to visit a perfect, gorgeous newborn baby (yes, the little fellow that I appliqued the onesie for)...kids are so special. :)

Thanks for letting me reminisce. I love good memories. I wish there was some way to bottle them up, like Dumbledore, so that I could keep them in my pocket forever.

Until next time,