Well summer is over which means I'm back in action and since it is September how about we go back to school? I'll keep this nineties so it'll be elementary school years. So without further delay let's get started.

I'll start this off with something small. This was back in second grade while in the classroom I was doing school work when I heard someone shout the call a rooster makes in the morning. Everyone heard it and we all look out the window trying to see what it was and what we saw was one of those "I wish I had a camera" moments. It turns out it was one of the seniors from the high school across the street dressed in a chicken suit. The best part was that teachers were chasing after him. Looking back I have two songs running in my head. One is Benny Hill theme from the chasing and the other is Legend of Zelda when you summon the swarms of chickens after hitting one after a while. But after a couple minutes he left the sight of the classroom and we went back to doing school work. That is until he came around again five minutes later. Again laughs were had as he ran around in our view.

We've all had cool or fun teachers growing up through out school. One teacher used to howl and shout in the hall in the morning before class on Fridays and the day before a break and would start the day with a Shel Silverstein poem. There were a couple art teachers that had movies or music playing while we worked. Most of the time they were Disney films and music. The music teacher I had in elementary would set aside a day every once in a while for us to have our own jam sessions as a class. I went on the drums when I was given a chance. Gym teachers I've had would have obstacle courses out of the gym, Go skiing and sledding in the winter and run a trail in the spring.

As kids we probably all loved field trips. The field trips for me on some occasions were local to the point where we could just walk to where we were going with possible special stops along the way. We once walked around the town to learn about the history about the canal and how my hometown came to be and we went to the ice cream shop by the canal. Another time we went to the local comic shop to learn about different businesses in the town and if we had extra money be able to buy stuff. When we would go to Rochester for a field trip we would go to either Strong Museum and Rochester Science Museum/ Planetarium or the zoo most of the time. Educational? Of course or the school wouldn't do it. Though what the museums have in common and made them both fun and memorable is the way they have kids learn was through playing and giving hands on learning opportunities. Strong Museum has Sesame Street play areas, A miniature play Wegmans store as well as the Toy Hall of Fame which is fun to see as a kid and as an adult. Rochester Science and History Museum is more downplayed and is more informative. However two things set it apart from Strong. The Planetarium and a motion simulator ride in the museum. Who doesn't love a 360 degree movie theater? Sure it plays educational films. But you stare at the ceiling and lay down and watch a movie. The motion simulator was a fun little ride. Just toured Lake Ontario with a few facts in there with a small storyline with it. The zoo was probably the least entertaining in my opinion. It was fun for about an hour or two then it got boring. But friends made it easier.

 



We also had special days while in elementary school. Such as hat and gum day, Sled day, Movie day and my favorite pajama day. Who didn't want to go to school in their pajamas as a kid? It usually involved a pizza party and movies all day. Along with the days right before vacations when we would have a free day and have a party. Halloween we had classroom trick or treating and the costume parade and gym class would be a haunted house. Thanksgiving was a turkey lunch with movies based around the holiday and so on.

Looking back I realize as much as I complained about the work and such in school compared to now as an adult it wasn't that bad. Sure there were some bad things that happened. But it wasn't bad outside the people I had to deal with and at times fun when with friends. With that I conclude my first article from returning from my summer vacation. Remember everyone Live Life and Live Nostalgic.