Kindergarten....A Time of New Experiences

It is time to get caught up a bit on some of my Sibling Assignments.

A while back I gave this assignment:

Write about one of your earliest memories of being in school.

IEG's post can be found here, and Raymond Pert's here.

Kindergarten brought many changes into my life, and I have many vivid memories from that first time going to school.

My Kindergarten Class. Of the 22 people in this picture,
15 graduated from Kellogg High School in the Class of 1981.

At the time, Kindergarten was private, and you had to pay to send your child to the half-day session of kindergarten. I was in the morning session.

As I look back over the year, here are some snippets of my first year of kindergarten, in the basement of the old Junior High School on the corner of Main and Division Streets in uptown Kellogg.

I remember standing in line for a drink at the drinking fountain, and both BG and BE being mean to me.

I remember wearing red rubber boots with black fur around the top.

One time we walked outside with black construction paper and caught snowflakes on the paper to look at the different designs.

At the end of the year program, we did a presentations on the holidays of the year, and I was part of Christmas, and I said a short poem about a top.

Now I don't remember this, but I was told that I could read in kindergarten, but I wouldn't read out loud to anyone, but Mrs. Clark, my kindergarten teacher, knew I could read because if she handed me a stack of papers to hand out, I could read the names on the papers to hand them out.

Kindergarten was a good and exciting time for me.

Sibling Saturday--Gimme Five!!

This is my class picture from kindergarten. We met in the basement of the old Kellogg Junior High School building up on Main Street in Kellogg. We were the morning session, and we attended during the 1968-69 school year.

I posed this week's sibling assignment to Raymond Pert and Inland Empire Girl. RP's will be here, and IEG's is here. All this snow around here reminds me of the last time I lived here and there was this much snow in Kellogg, and that was when I was five-years-old. Think back to when you were five, and share some memories from when you were five-years-old.

When I went to kindergarten, it was as if the world opened up to me for the first time. I think of this partly because of all the little snippets of memories I can recall from that year in kindergarten. Go here to read about some of those memories.

Before going to kindergarten, my days were mostly spent at home with Mrs. Price, who would come in and take care of me during the day. Then LC, a neighbor who lived two doors down, took care of me when I was four years old. Her brother was married to Mrs. Price's daughter.

When I turned five, I then spent the days at the Curry house. TC was in kindergarten with me, and my little five-year-old life encountered more experiences than I had had in the four years previous.

All of a sudden I was in a classroom each morning with a group of 21 other students who I really didn't know that well, but would get to know much better that year.

It was a year of social interaction, and learning how to cope in those situations.

TC wasn't all that thrilled at having me stay at their home while her mom babysat me. So I had to learn to deal with her little five-year-old hostilities, including one of the major crimes in a five-year-olds life...stealing my Barbie Doll clothes.

TC and I also took dance lessons that year with Betty Damiano here in uptown Kellogg. We took ballet and tap dance. I still remember learning a dance, and the words and music to "Here Comes Suzy Snowflake". (It is kind of cool that The Princess now takes dance and voice lessons from Miss Betty's daughter.)

At the end of the year, the theme of the dance recital was "Noah's Ark". Our class had cute little red costumes, and were "Lovebugs" for one dance, and "Fireflies" for the other dance. When were were "Lovebugs", we sang the following song. I remember it after all these years, and can also sing it with some of the motions we did in the recital.

"Give me a little kiss, will you huh?

What are you gonna miss, will you huh?

Gosh, oh gee, why do you refuse?

I can't see, what you gotta lose?

So.....give me a little kiss, will you huh?

And I'll give it right back to you

(blow kiss)."

The grand finale was singing "Consider Yourself" from the musical "Oliver". I can still sing all the words to that song as well.

Despite our rocky beginnings, TC and I have remained friends for over 40 years now.

It is also fun to look at that picture, and realize, of the 22 kids in this picture, 15 of us graduated from Kellogg High School together. Two were held back, and graduated the following year. The other five moved away at different times during our growing up years in Kellogg, but most were with me at Sunnyside Elementary at least a few years.

I can name everyone in this picture, and have a little idea of what has happened to most of the kids I graduated with in this picture.

Front Row: TC is a social worker in Coeur d’Alene. I’m next. BE is a hair stylist in Hayden. BG’s husband is in the military, and they are stationed somewhere in the Midwest or south I believe. Her parents still live in Wardner. Not sure where PM lives. SV lives up Burke I believe. The next girl's name is Paula, but I can't remember her last name, and know nothing of her whereabouts. KW lived in Florida the last I heard. ME lives in Hayden and is fighting a courageous battle with MS. CH passed away a few years ago.

Back Row: I lost touch with CG, and am not sure where she is. LK’s parents still live in town, but I’m not sure where he is located. TF also has relatives in town, but not sure where he is living. MC is a mining executive for Hecla Mining Company. SR lives in Washington state I believe, and his parents still live here. BH owns his own auto body shop here in Kellogg. DT lives in the Tri Cities, and is a salesman. RL, and his sister LL, who is the last girl in the row, were twins, and they left while we were in grade school. I think they moved to the Spokane area. TG lives here in Kellogg and films the yards that are being remediated and is a local city councilman. MR lives in Oregon and works in the computer industry I believe. EB lives in Spokane and also works in computers.

When you are five, and you are in class with a group of people, you have no idea that some of these kids will have an impact on how you see yourself, and will have influence on the person you are to become.

Thanks for all your input over the years, guys. Good or bad, you helped make me who I am today.