3rd Grade



I really struggled in first and second grade trying to learn and understand math. I'm talking simple addition and subtraction. I had been teased so much by dad that I couldn't trust-not anyone and not anything. In other words just because 2 + 3 equals five, that did not mean that 3 + 2 equals five. Nor did it mean that if it did this morning it would this afternoon, or tomorrow. My saintly second grade teacher, Miss Hanmore, finally got some popsicle sticks and gave me a whole passel of them. She helped me use tactile means to figure out that 2 + 3 or 3 + 2 are always going to equal 5. Always.

Math wasn't my only challenge. I struggled with reading as well. The teacher would make reading flash cards for me to take home and practice the words. My dad would 'help' me practice my reading words. I went to school many times with black eyes due to his 'help'. I still have memories of sitting at the corner of the dining table with him holding the flash cards and flipping them. There might be a dozen cards to a sheet of gray cardstock-they were run off on a mimeograph machine (copy machines had not yet been invented) so the ink was purple from the spirit master. He'd struggle with me to get through them. One night-the last time I ever took cards home-I was actually starting to get the words but was confusing there and their. Dad's hand would come flying at me if I got it wrong/switched around. It got to the point where he was snickering and laughing to watch me flinch-even if I got the words right he was raising his hand as though he'd strike. Sometimes he'd use his right hand and then he'd sneak in his left hand.

He did do one thing very, very right. I was doing pretty good in 3rd grade and had made quite a few strides in learning and understanding how to learn. So he stopped at a store and bought me two "Little Golden" books, Animals and Their Travels and The Sea.

I treasured those books and that gift and that gift of love that my dad gave me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD SONGS

My favorite childhood songs were the ones my mama taught me. 1) One day as I was seated on the subway, my high silk hat, my high silk hat; I laid it on the seat beside me, my high silk hat, my high silk hat; A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice); A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice); Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that? A big fat lady sat upon my hat! She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that? 2) The golden sun sinks in the west, Great Spirit calls all scouts to rest. We’ve had our work, We’ve had our play And we have lived, The true scout way. Upon my honor, I will try, To do my duty, To God on high, To help all other people out, And live the life of a real Girl Scout. 3) I had a little parasol long, long ago. A ...
Read more

The Measure of a Man

I loved this song. It was sung by Brett Raymond and it gave me a tremendous sense of where young men need to center themselves. The whole tape (yes, I have a cassette) is great, but this song speaks volumes. I played it often when my boys were teens-as much for me as for them. My youngest son even sang it at a program once-ah heaven-maybe some of it was getting where I really wanted it to go! The Measure of a Man comes from the album of the same name. It is by Clive Romney and friends. I have the hologram sticker that came with it. On the back of the jacket to the cassette case it says: "Though beautiful in any light, this holographic cover is most beautiful when viewed by the light of the sun. Life, likewise, is most beautiful when viewed by the light of the Son. Try it!" Is it the width of your shoulders how tall you stand Or how far you tip the scale The size of your biceps the strength of your hands Your prowess in games of skill Is it the style of your hair, the way that...
Read more

Riddley, Riddley Ree

Image
Riddley, Riddley Ree, I see something you don't see. And the color(s) of it is(are): (list goes here). My mom used to spend hours (it seemed like to me) with us kids playing this game. She'd pick an ornament on the tree and start the game. Sometimes the other kids would play for a while. I would keep playing and playing. I loved the game. When I became a mom I would play this same game with my kids. I found it fun to continue the tradition and I found it useful to keep the kids entertained. Of course with my kids we had to come up with rules. They pushed all kinds of boundaries. So there were rules like the lights don't count, the stand doesn't count, only the ornaments count, you can't switch which ornament you were thinking of just because someone guessed yours on the first try. The only rule my mom ever had to use with us was if no one guessed it after a reasonable time, then you got to pick another ornament and do it again. Mom seemed to have infinite patience w...
Read more