Gadding About in First Grade at BSE

Boiling Springs Elementary School*

I've just turned 80 and I can remember my mother referring to an elderly person as being "old and childish".  It is said that we return to child-like behavior when we get old.  When I become "old and childish" I want to return to first grade and not any first grade but first grade at Boiling Springs Elementary School in NC.

I was in Boiling Springs recently for lunch with my sister and two of her daughters one of whom is a Teacher's Assistant in first grade at BSE, and because they were having a work day before the children arrive we were able to visit and see the wonderful welcoming art work that awaits the children.  All the first grade teachers on the hall where my niece, Kelly, teaches had chosen books by Eric Carle as the theme for decorating their hall.

Kelly's room.  

One of the parent's had made this for Kelly to keep on her desk. 

My niece Kelly loves her work here. 

This was so different from my first grade where I remember there was a flip chart at the front of the room where the teacher could flip from "See Spot" to "See Spot Run" or maybe "Run Sally Run".  Now whole halls are decorated as well as rooms.

Another first grade teacher had chosen this book. 

Another had chosen "The Grouchy Ladybug" as her book.

Don't you just know that the little first graders are going to wide-eyed with wonder as they enter their classroom next week!

Each grade chooses a different theme.  I was glad to learn that the decorations are left up for more than one year, because it certainly requires a lot of imagination and hard work to decorate.

The fourth grade hall teachers had chosen Dr. Seuss as their theme.  Here's an example of one room.

So when I get "old and childish" I'm going back to first grade at BSE.  Get ready for me teachers!

*All photos courtesy of my niece CeCe Grigg, Kelly's sister, who also worked at BSE before she retired.  My Iphone died and I couldn't make pictures.  Thanks CeCe.

Happy Birthday Theodor Geisel

A well-read The Cat in the Hat Dictionary.

In the early 70s I was a graduate student in botany at NC State University taking my written examination for my PhD degree.  Dr. James Hardin had given me an extensive list of questions, one of which involved identifying a number of individuals who were supposedly significant to the field of botany.  I sailed through these except for one, Theodor Geisel.  I racked my brain and finally just had to leave it blank.  When I turned in my exam, I asked Dr. Hardin*, "Who is Theodor Geisel?"  He laughed heartily and replied, "Dr. Seuss."

He knew of course that I had young children, and he supposed, correctly, that I had read many of the Dr. Seuss books with them. But in the context of my written examination, Dr. Seuss was the last person in my mind. So I was trying to figure out who this "botanist" Theodor Geisel was.

Michael, almost two, gets his first Dr. Seuss book, Christmas 1964. (Still from home movie).

The first Dr. Seuss book that came into our house was at Christmas 1964 when son Michael got The Cat In The Hat Dictionary from Santa. The book had just been published that year.  But there were many Seuss books for Michael and Patrick during their childhood.


One of my favorite lines from a Dr. Seuss book is:
" You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose."  from Oh the Places You Will Go.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THEODOR GEISEL! (Today would have been his 109th birthday.)

* Today's post is dedicated to Dr. James Hardin.  I like his sense of humor.

I posted this last year, but because it is one of my favorite posts, I have posted it again this year.  

Green Eggs and Ham

“Do you like green
eggs and ham?”“I do not like them,
Sam-I-am.
I do not like green
eggs and ham!” .............

“I do so like
green eggs
and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am!”

This was one of our children's favorite Dr. Seuss poems.  I liked it too.  At one point I think we could all quote it line by line from memory.  Last night I decided to try a new twist to egg salad and ham sandwiches for supper.  I made egg salad using pesto, and it turned out to be a lovely shade of green.  That with a slice of ham made for an interesting sandwich. Throw in a few sweet potato chips, and you have supper that even Theodor Geisel would have enjoyed.

Egg salad made with pesto.

Ham on one side, "green" egg salad on the other. 

A supper of green eggs and ham and a few sweet potato chips.