butter churn

In third grade, I made butter like the pioneers. I was amazed and wondered why we still didn’t make our own but had to buy it. I wanted a butter churn for the longest time but that never happened. The pioneer unit was one of the most memorable of my elementary school days. Reckon I was also rather intrigued because my family is not an outdoorsy one and to imagine life in a wagon, living off the land, travelling to find a new home...I likely associated that with what I also imagined camping to be like, and something many other people did during school breaks but not us.

#31

encyclopedia brown

Encyclopedia Brown part II. I really did love reading these books, so much so that I failed to realize I’d already made a trading card for it last year. Glad he’s still around and from talking to some of my past students, still popular and being read. Supposedly there's a movie in the works. Gotta love a good detective.

#30

birthday bear

This balloon marked one of my most memorable childhood birthdays even though I don’t recall how old I was turning. My mum and brother were away in Hong Kong for some reason and so my dad celebrated with me. Before I headed off to school that morning, he gave me this balloon with my name on it. My name! Six metallic letter stickers stuck on a mylar balloon was all it was but I was ecstatic as my name is not one found on items. Ever. Not on keychains, pencils, stickers, magnets, tiny license plates... you know, the important stuff to kids. I still have the balloon, folded up neatly in a shoebox with other things I’m unable to part with like folded handwritten gems of notes from elementary, middle and high school ; ).

#29

wader gator

Wader Gator does not appear to be the mascot anymore for the American Red Cross swimming program. Swim class was many a Saturday growing up. Testing out of a level, we’d be given a certificate with him on it. How I loved to swim, and still do. Glad my parents saw its importance and put me through lessons as similar to cycling, it’s been utilized a fair bit living and travelling in Asia.

boy detective

Encyclopedia Brown was my favourite book character and series in fourth and fifth grade. I checked out as many books from my school and public library as I possibly could. I wanted to find a friend like him to solve mysteries with. He was just so witty and clever.

#27

prairie

Standing amongst prairie grass was one of the most beautiful things I’d experienced at that point in my third grade life. Much taller than me, I watched it dance and sway around me. We identified different varieties and learned about the ecosystem. Fieldtrips definitely have a greater impact on learning.

#26

fall

I fully understood what Fall meant from all the maple trees in our front yard. This newly acquired chore seemed endless as each weekend, there would just be more leaves to rake and gather into garbage bags. There were those fun moments of diving into the leaf piles...but eventually it had to be raked up again. Good thing I had siblings.

#25

wendell, bob, quello

Cinnamon and sugar shakers, Cinnamon Toast Crunch bakers...likely captivated by the commercial as this cereal somehow got into our house. I’m quite certain I’m the only one who ever ate it. I do love that combination still.

#24

ride

One of the things I’m most thankful to my dad for is teaching me how to ride a bicycle. It’s the only thing I’m still able to do on wheels. It’s come in particularly handy in adulthood biking around the city walls of Xi’an, ruins of Angkor Wat, between the hills and farmland of Yangshuo and the busy streets of Shanghai. We would go weekends to the track at Wheaton College and practice. I was not a fan of my bicycle though as it was purple with rainbows on it and perhaps a unicorn too. I remember waiting for the day my legs were long enough to take over my sister’s ten speed instead. My dream bicycle now would be one with a basket and character.

#23

island

It was a Saturday and my dad had dropped me off at the library. I don’t recall the book title but island was a recurring topic. I read it throughout as is land and thought to myself yes, that certainly is land, a piece of land surrounded by water. Something was just a little off though and I was perturbed the entire morning. It wasn’t until my dad returned to get me and we had a little chat about the books I’d selected and had been reading that it finally made sense. Sneaky little silent letters. I re-read the entire book.

#22