This post is part of the Our Kids Private School Expo Blog Hop.
Memories washed over me the moment I opened the door to register Colum for kindergarten. Well, it was actually the smell that washed over me. You know that school smell, right? I can’t describe it for the life of me, but I know it when I smell it. That special brand of Toronto grade school aroma seeped into my psyche, allowing layer upon layer of memories to rise to the surface.
I remember all the kids and the teachers calling me Rapunzel in kindergarten because I wore my hair in a long braid. They’d call me Rapunzel, the kids would, and then they’d pull my hair. There was the first time I used the bathroom in senior kindergarten and couldn’t find my way back to the classroom. And the trophy case on the main floor was exactly at forehead level if you’re in grade one or two. I learned that the hard way.
I remember the over-sized tricycles that were stored in the gym change rooms, the sort of pebbled tiles in the halls and the foot pump that turned on the water at the bathroom sinks. I remember those metal desks with all my notebooks crammed inside. I also remember sitting on the carpeted floor in the library and being read to long after I could read to myself.
Ohmigod, the film projectors! I’ll never forget the creak and groan of the already-ancient film projectors as they started spinning. Once we watched an old made-for-tv movie about a boy who had freckles all over his back. The boy was played by Christian Slater. I remember that.
I don’t remember my teachers very well, actually. My kindergarten teachers, yes, and also grades seven and eight. But everything in between is kind of foggy. I remember almost all of their names and some minor details, but that’s about it. I’m sure they were fine teachers.
But as much as school is about learning, it’s also about venturing out on your own and sometimes getting lost on the way back from the bathroom. It’s about creating memories that are all your own. I hope my kids make some good ones.
I also hope that school smell never changes.
I’m participating in the Our Kids Private School Expo Blog Hop. Yesterday’s School Memories post can be found at Raising My Boys. Tomorrow, the fun is happening at Ariane Griffiths.
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