During the fall of my fifth grade year, we moved from the Jahn's house to another house only a mile or so away. I didn't change schools. I didn't even change bus routes, so it wasn't a traumatic move...except for one experience.
At school, there was a wonderful library. (It was one of my favorite parts of school...shelves and shelves of books!) The librarian made a contest to encourage reading. I had no problem with that and checked out books regularly. But...we had moved. All our things had been packed in boxes and carried to our new home, along with my library books. I knew they weren't lost, but I couldn't find in which box they were packed. I began losing "library points" for overdue books. After about a month, I finally told the librarian my dilemma. She said that I should have told her right away, and she wouldn't have scolded me me or taken away my points. (Lesson learned - Don't be too shy to explain unavoidable situations.)
There was a lot of snow that winter, and one teacher organized a snow sculpture contest. My team decided to make a dinosaur. We worked a long time on a long tail that curled around with bumps on it, but warm weather came and put an end to the contest before we finished the head and upper part of our creature.
I liked art class. I was pretty good at it. One of my friends, Francine, coudn't stand it. We were taught to draw depth and perception and color blending. I still didn't like drawing "stick trees" and preferred to make my scenes tropical with palm trees. I remember one day in the spring, we went outside and was allowed to sketch anything we wanted. I drew a picture of the Miller Hill school, where my father taught first grade. The teacher liked it so much, she posted it on the bulletin board.
Some of my favorite times were when we watched movies in the auditorium. Not growing up with TV or movies, it was magical time. I think we watched at least 3 or 4 that year, but the one that stuck with me was "Island of the Blue Dolphins." Maybe it was because I was homesick for the Bahamas, but I loved that story. I found the book in the library. I bought it from the Scholastic Book Club. Even today, I buy a copy of it when I find it at a yard sale or used book store. It's a great story of courage and survival. (Later, I found that it was a true story.)
Next week, I'll tell you of our 100 year old "new" house.
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