post a photo of something you remember from elementary school

[Bertha Venation]

edit: and tell your age so we have some context

pencil sharpener - 45

[Aristus]

1. Saturday morning television with Kaptain Kool and the Kongs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGQoceK17zg

Age: 40.

[paparush]

6. OH MY F_CKING GOD! I haven't thought of that show in 30 years.

Age: 42

{{this may explain the strange dreams}}

[CreekDog]

2. Apple 2c

[raccoon]

3. I'd rather forget. nt

[guitar man]

4. gotta have paper

so we couldn't forget the Big Chief



I'm 45

[charlie and algernon]

5. slap bracelets and Pogs

and yes, I had both

[fizzgig]

33. i was thinking about pogs not long ago

my aunt was telling me about bakugan, which apparently is all the rage with elementary school kids (my cousin is eight) and came up with pogs while trying to think of what was 'big' when i was around that age.

i didn't have pogs, but you bet your sweet behind i had slap bracelets.

[madinmaryland]

7. The mimeograph...

[guitar man]

10. I can still remember the smell

handwritten tests, printed in purple.

[Arugula Latte]

21. Yep -- We called 'em "ditto sheets"

The teacher would say things like: "Turn to page two of your ditto."

The world lost something when that purple ink went away.

[WolverineDG]

23. If someone bottled the scent of that stuff

they'd make a mint.

dg

[madinmaryland]

26. Now I know why I don't remember taking tests when I was in school!

I'd smell the test, and that would be it!!

[astral]

52. Yes, I loved the smell!

weird, I know!

[sohndrsmith]

61. Yes! The SMELL! My mother was the 1st grade teacher at school for

decades, she both my brother and I 40 years ago (and works at the school now, teaching reading to the lower school - she's fantastic).

She was always early getting to school, and my brother had to trudge along with her. It took 11 minutes... I didn't ride in a school bus to get to school until high school.

I remember getting to school (which was more like a really big house) before anyone else, and more often than not, my mother spent many of those early moments in the faculty room, at the mimeograph machine... (it was one of the few times that it was 'okay' for us to be in there with her, since none of the other teachers had arrived yet).

I loved that smell because it reminded me of my mother, and hated it because it ended up representing schoolwork.

Thanks for re-energizing the memory...

[nutsnberries]

8. wacky packs!

~46

[guitar man]

11. oh my gawd!!

I had every one of those

[Rambis]

12. I have a ton in a shoebox

along with Elvis trading cards

[alphafemale]

76. Loved those damn things

~44

[livetohike]

9. Duck and cover drills

(I'm 56)

[kwassa]

13. we did those, too!

and our neighbors down the street building a bomb shelter in their backyard.

[hunter]

20. I love how dad is sitting around while mom makes dinner and daughter sets table.

Hard day at work, dad?

[MilesColtrane]

96. Hey, somebody has to fight off the slobbering, fleshy-headed mutants.

[hedgehog]

73. I went to Catholic school in the 60's, and we never did a duck and cover

drill, but BOY did we ever do fire drills! It was because of this:



http://www.olafire.com/Gallery.asp?Cat=Exterior


I hope this isn't too much of a downer, but to this day my sister remembers the tension around fire drills!

[kwassa]

14. Watching the first American take off into space!

they brought tvs to school for the occasion.

Alan Shepard.

[LanternWaste]

15. The Big Chief Pencil Tablet

The Big Chief Pencil Tablet (42). There was also a horribly bad pencil we used-- the lead was never able to get very sharp, and hence my scribblings were always smudgy looking.

[hunter]

16. Hot Wheels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Wheels

In elementary school we were CRAZY about them. Unlike previous pocket sized cars they'd roll all the way across the Cafeteria or Classroom floor, especially in the 'sixties when the schools had so much money for custodial staff the floors were spotless and shiny at the beginning of each day. Our fifth grade teacher would open her classroom in the morning, and that's what we'd do until the first bell rang.

[Iggo]

65. Oh, baby...the McLaren.

That one won a lot of races on my track.

EDIT: I'm 47

[KitchenWitch]

17. Ditto pages

Age 44

[Eurobabe]

18. I loved CANDY!

That's how I got all this metal in my mouth (now ceramic fillings!)

Pixy Stix, Nik L Nips, Zots, Sugar Daddys, Lemonheads, Bubble Gum cigs, etc.

[bikebloke]

19. Air raid drills

[Arkansas Granny]

22. Here's mine: Big Chief tablet - 62

[Arugula Latte]

24. Pee Chee folders -- 42

From Wikipedia: The yellow Pee Chee Folder was a very common American school item in the second half of the 20th century. It was first released in 1943 by the Western Tablet and Stationery Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Pee Chees were later produced by the Mead Corporation. They are not currently being produced.

[Flaxbee]

60. No more Pee Chees?

Tragic! I remember those, hadn't thought of them in YEARS! I'm 39...

[Iggo]

67. Oh, man!

I remember that poor lady on the ski-lift inexplicably watching a basketball game while all that carnage went on behind her. Well, maybe not so inexplicable after all...not pictured is the thought bubble of her saying something about looking up that basketball player's shorts. Also not pictured are the springs on the bottoms of the players' shoes (yes, even the guy just standing there...lol). And the really good artists (of which I was NOT one) could draw a pitcher pitching to the batter.

EDIT: 47

[WolverineDG]

25. Big Chief's hippie kid

dg

[Shell Beau]

27. Splatter painted shirts were popular then

[Rambis]

28. Gum

[Oeditpus Rex]

29. Tetherball!

I was #3 at Fremont School, behind Randy Upchurch and Janie Gallegly. (She was good!)



ETA: That was like 1965-66. Fourth grade.

[Tikki]

31. Jacks.....

I was 'jack' champ...5th and 6th grade '59/'60
and yes, I still play often...on the kitchen floor.. w/wo a challenger.

Tikki

[XemaSab]

30. Garbage Pail Kids!

[SeattleGirl]

32. The "Fun with Dick and Jane" books

Yes, I'm older than dirt.

[Arugula Latte]

88. We had "Janet and Mark" in the early 70s

These were our "readers" -- I haven't thought about the green one in, oh, about 35 years.

[dawgmom]

34. School paste in a jar, with the brush in the lid

Couldn't find an exact picture of the kind we had in grade school in the 60s -- but it had a sort of peppermint-y smell. It wasn't the same as the Elmer's brand you buy now.

[suninvited]

39. I searched for an hour for a picture of the paste

and finally gave up !

[Skittles]

35. Remembrance Day poppy

used to get donations for them

[mwooldri]

93. Kids still do it at school.

and... my Dad now works for Haig Homes, somewhat related to the Haig Fund for which the poppies were raising money for, though they don't get funds from the poppy appeal.

Mark.

[woo me with science]

36. I found my lunchbox on ebay!

[Sebastian Doyle]

71. I used to have this one

And considering how banged up it is, this could literally BE the one I had. I don't remember what ever happened to mine.

[billyskank]

37. You won't know what the hell this is

The BBC Microcomputer.



I'm 32.

[leeroysphitz]

64. What the hell is that? n/t

[Capn Sunshine]

38. Salt Dough maps

My treatment of Southern California was stellar IIRC.

[Bertha Venation]

44. Ooh, yeah, I remember those!

And I remember painting the mountains green with Tempra paint!

[Arugula Latte]

87. I made a map of Peru using dried beans.

And I made a California mission out of sugar cubes.

[suninvited]

40. I am 48

and I remember THESE !



I only got paddled once, for winking at a boy in the sixth grade. He winked at me first, but no one seemed to care about THAT.

[Iggo]

68. Swats!

I never got swats in elementary school. My mom made it clear to them they were not to touch us.

However, in junior high and high school I got a ton of swats...no way I was gonna run home and tell my mom.

LOL...whole different dynamic at play.

[insanity]

41. The Oregon Trail

[unpossibles]

42. corporal punishment, evil knievel, and micronauts

I'm 37

[leeroysphitz]

66. Micronauts RULED because they were made with REAL die-cast metal. n/t

[Pool Hall Ace]

43. cinnamon toothpicks

Somebody's mom would make them, and the kid would bring them to school.

Then a kid would end up with cinnamon oil in his eye, and the toothpicks would be banned. That happened more than once.

Ah, the good old days.

[BuyingThyme]

I burned my face pretty good with that stuff.

[sakabatou]

45. Gameboy Pocket

[sakabatou]

102. ...

[unpossibles]

46. toys that could shoot your eye out

children in China/India who would starve if I did not eat my lima beans

[rug]

47. Fountain pen ink.

Weren't allowed near it until third grade.

[Auggie]

48. JFK. 1st grade.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

49. skate keys and scabby knees....,

[musette_sf]

50. Chinese jump rope

they now are made out of bungee cord, but back in my day you made them out of rubber bands.

i'm 55.

[sniffa]

51. Here ya go

[TroglodyteScholar]

53. Ahaha yes! Four square!

Many many hours spent trying to play by the other kids' made-up rules....

[Rhythm]

54. Ah yes... the good ol' days on the Safety Patrol

Age: 42



I did this in 4th grade (my school was K-4), and then again in 6th grade (that school was K-6)
For those who participated, at the end of the year there was a school-system-wide party at the local amusement park!

[Left Is Write]

57. Ooh! I was a safety patrol too. We had a sash-like thing to wear -

it was made out of the same material as a seat belt, but it was white. We had to wear our badges on the sash-like thingie.

I was school patrol in 6th grade - only 6th graders could do it, and they had to be recommended by a teacher. We had orange flags to use in addition to our "uniform."

[Rhythm]

91. We had the sash/belt things, too... but ours were day-glo orange!

The first elementary school i did this at (4th grade), our only responsibility was in making sure the doors were opened at the beginning and end of the day, and that no one was running in the halls or jumping in line for the school bus.

The school i transferred to, we more mature 6th graders had those orange flags, and were responsible for holding traffic for 'walkers' crossing the street, as well as all of the other stuff.

[Tom Kitten]

55. Ugly Stickers!

They were everywhere when I was 9...On bikes, lunchboxes, bookbags...They were the coolest!


See the whole set here!
http://www.normansaunders.com/Ugly,01.html
I'm 52.

[Left Is Write]

56. Film strip. I'm 42.

[kath]

58. Jingle Jump -- all the rage on the school playground in 3rd or 4th grade.

This image link contains an illegal code
(for some reason I couldn't paste the photo here)

[Tom Kitten]

59. Bottles of mucilage

No brush, no cap, no cork, no mess...and edible!



I'm still 52.

[AbbeyRoad]

62. The Trapper Keeper and "Paddle to the Sea"

We watched the film "Paddle to the Sea" what seemed like 1,000 times. It was really probably 2 or 3 times, but I think my perspective at the time was a bit distorted. This was in the 80's.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfQuTBmW4RU

[alphafemale]

89. I Remember that One. My 6th grade Social Studies teacher also showed us...

"Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"

eek. that one messed with my 11yr old head just a bit

http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.ph...

[leeroysphitz]

63. I'm 38. K thru six. Man, those were the days.

[elleng]

69. Not within the rules, but

The Lord's Prayer!?

[mwooldri]

92. We had two or three Christian ministers visit school reguarly.

And conduct school assembly. Prayer was in school, and religious hymns were sung. Also Religious Education was on the curriculum.

No, this was not any privately funded school... I didn't have that luxury. The school wasn't even tied in with any particular religion. But it was a State funded school out of taxpayers money.

My avatar might give away its location... another clue is here Public schools cost plenty of money to go to.

Mark.

[marzipanni]

70. Jungle Gym

I don't see big ones like this anymore...I loved it almost as much as climbing the trees in my yard.
For a few days in first grade we enjoyed taking our empty wax paper sandwich bags out to recess after lunch, putting pea gravel in them, and tossing them up as high as we could. Mine hit the teacher on top of her head. That was the end of that!

[alphafemale]

75. Adults realized kids weren't made of glass back then

Most playground equipment was on asphalt or gravel too...not this wimpy mulch stuff.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

72. The Hoola Hoop-58

We had entire block parties around this back in the day.

[alphafemale]

74. I'm just a Bill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0

Nearly all the Schoolhouse Rock things were genius.

[Connonym]

94. I have that picture on a T shirt

and someone comments on it every single time I wear it. I loved the Schoolhouse Rocks (have them on DVD actually) and Time for Timer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3jgo5ea_zc

[AwakeAtLast]

77. Fashion Plates!

Dad throws nothing away, so my sister and I found mine last year and we played with it with my 6 y/o. We had a blast!

I'm 38.

edit to add: The reason this is a memory from school. We were allowed to take one toy to occupy ourselves if we had to be indoors for recess, and this is what I took. My friends and I made tons of rubbings. We were about ten, I think.

[alphafemale]

78. Lemon Twist

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

79. I collected these, and, unlike that blogger, I DID get all 60.

Those came in bubblegum wraps.

http://retromotoca.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/figurinhas-...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

80. If I could, I'd post a pic of the smell...

That's what I remember best...that mingling of modeling clay, paste, powdered paints and crayons (especially the ones that were melted on the radiators that were as hot as the stove). Schools don't smell the same anymore...

[alphafemale]

82. Last time I checked...Play-Doh and Crayola still smelled the same.

Huffing a 64 pak of Crayola can take you right back to the first day of 2nd grade again.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

84. We didn't have play-doh...We had modeling clay

It came in bricks of terra cotta red and sage green. It was hard to work with; but it strengthened little hands to prepare them for writer's cramp.

[Heidi]

81. Single-serving vanilla ice cream in waxed paper cups with a wooden spoon/

spatula with which to eat it. I can't find a photo of it, but it was a rare cafeteria treat.

[Bertha Venation]

83. Damn! This thread is still alive?

Wow.

[blaze]

85. The Chicken Fat song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af2j59zzX3Q

54

[FloridaJudy]

86. Cootie catchers (61)

and Saturday morning cartoons

[alphafemale]

90. Kids still do those.

Kinda blew me away.

44

[mwooldri]

95. What we saw before the TV programming at school

Before VCRs were commonplace, at suitable moments in the week, the teacher would settle the class down to watch a suitable TV programme broadcast just for school time. We got lucky in 1979... our school got some new colour TVs just as I was coming into class. We didn't get our VCR until 1983; a Mitsubishi, and we had a school fundraiser to get the money for that thing.





I'm 34.

[MilesColtrane]

97. MIA/POW bracelets

A kid in my class (3rd grade?) wore one for his dad who was missing in Vietnam.

This was one of the first things that made me begin to realize that war was nothing like John Wayne movies.

[RushIsRot]

98. The first MAD Magazine appeared just after I turned 11.

I suppose I was in 5th grade at the time.

Now 67.

[BuddhaGirl]

99. Wonderama!! Wack a do, wack a do, wack a do w/ Bob McAllister

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq1PMd15iRo

I'm 46...my brother and I loved that show!!!

[gblady]

100. Hopscotch....

used to love to play it...you could carry a stick of chalk and make one anywhere.
I was in grade school in the 50's...couldn't find an image representative of my time...
one pic obviously way too early...
and the other probably later...

[BuelahWitch]

101. Most of elementary school I'd like to forget

But I do remember watching "The Mike Douglas Show" at home while eating dinner-46

Here he is with Moe Howard

[BuyingThyme]

103. Kick ball.

It's all about the kick ball.

[Callalily]

104. Jump ropes and

jumping rope.




Apples, peaches, pears and plums

Tell me when your birthday comes,

You would then skip "peppers" (or really fast skipping) and say the months of the year (Jan, Feb, Mar etc) trying to not get out until you reached the month of your birthday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Engine, engine number 9.

Running down Chicago line.

If the train should jump the track,

do you want your money back?

The person to whom you are pointing when you say "back" answers either "yes" or "no. You will then spell out the answer: "y-e-s spells yes and you are out" or "n-o spells no and you are out".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A my name is ALICE, my husband's name is AL, we live in ALABAMA and we bring back APPLES.

B my name is BETTY, my husband's name is BEN, we live in BERMUDA and we bring back BUGS.

C my name is CAROL, my husband's name is CARL, we live in COLORADO and we bring back CRABS.

It just goes on like that through the alphabet.

[mikeytherat]

105. My old lunchbox (which I found in the parents' attic a few years back):

mikey_the_rat