DAY 865... Everything I Need to Know I Learned in 3rd Grade

After reflecting recently on the things I use daily in my life and allowing my mind to wander back to when I learned about them, I realized that everything I need to know I learned in my 3rd grade class with Mrs. Klotz. (She was AWESOME P.S.)

I learned...

How to write a check.

I don't even think that they teach kids this anymore since it's kind of a dying form of payment, but I find it pretty handy for paying things like rent and tithing. When I was in 3rd grade we had a class store. We earned money to buy things from the store by getting 100% on our spelling test, turning in homework, good behavior, etc. We had these piggy banks taped to our desk and Mrs. Klotz would come around and give us stamps into our piggy bank according to how much we earned. It was pretty sweet. Then once in a while we would have a store, which was mostly dollar store items or donated toys and books that we could buy. But we always had to pay with a correctly written check. I think that this was truly a brilliant teaching move on her part. My husband doesn't even know how to write a check and he is 27! The sad thing is he isn't alone in the lack of his knowledge. So many people have no idea how to correctly write a check. I think it would be fun to do something similar to this with Aniston and chores. Maybe... 

All about physical pain.

My cousin had just gotten baptized and the family was gathering at my house for food and a good time. Most of the kids were outside playing in this amazing dirt pile that we had. We were playing monsters and we were destroying the dirt city. One of my older cousins picked up a mini shovel and began swinging it around his head and happened to let go of it the exact moment I stood up. The sharp end of the shovel hit me in the left eye, tore my retina, and knocked me unconscious. It was pretty nasty. I still only have about half vision in that eye to this day. I am lucky that I do not have a nasty scar that stretches across my face and that I wasn't injured worse. But I was in a lot of pain. I wish I could find the pictures of the actual injury under the eye patch, but I can't and I'm devastated. It was definitely one of the most physically painful experiences of my life. Prepared me for pregnancy right?

How sports can change your life.

I was always an active kid, but I hadn't really been a part of any organized sports program. This was the year my parents first put into softball. It began my 7 year softball playing stretch. I still remember hitting my first home run that year. It was amazing. The encouragement, support, and the place that it gave me to harness my energy was amazing. Because of the love that I had for sports and for the outlet it provided for me I went on to play organized basketball, tennis, cheerleading, track, soccer and so many unorganized sports. It's the reason I am currently going to school for a master's degree in Sports Management. I fell in love with the idea of having a place where I could go to forget about all of my problems and have fun. I miss that now that I'm no longer coaching. I really miss having an organized something to harness my energy and to lose myself in.

(Can you see how dilated my left pupil is from the accident???)

About the birds and the bees.

My Mom got pregnant with child number 4 (K. Jacob) while I was in 3rd grade. Since baby number 3 arrived right before my 4th birthday, that wasn't really the best time to explain where babies come from. So being 9 years old, was better for me to learn about how life is created. That's pretty much all I have to say about that.

About disasters.

There began a lifelong obsession. I LOVE anything to do with the Titanic. Okay, so basically I have this weird twisted interest in any kind of disaster and learning about how people felt and dealt with the situation. I love learning about how things have changed and it must be that weird obsession with safety that we have in my family that triggers my interest. I remember reading a book about the Titanic in class and there was just something about that that sparked my interest. It also has inhibited me from ever going or really wanting to go on a cruise because I am scared to death that the boat is going to sink. I also was introduced to Pompeii during 3rd grade, and that just blew my mind. Life is a crazy thing that can turn and take you quickly in a direction that you never thought it could. That fascinates me.

About the thrill of performing.

I was able to participate in a Christmas program where I, along with 7 other girls, danced a traditional weird Christmas dance. This was one of the first times I performed in front of an audience without singing. I have sang in front of people for as long as I could remember. But this is where I decided I wanted to continue to perform in front of people. It's where I learned that working hard to learn a dance or routine could be rewarding and made me feel proud and happy. It was from this point on that I was a cheerleader just about every year for Halloween until I was actually a cheerleader. Being able to perform allowed me to do something that scared me, yet still allowed me to relive aggression and worries. It was a wonderful escape from normality.

About dishonesty.

This wasn't taught to me in a classroom setting, but while I was sick at home one day my Dad caught a mouse in a mouse trap and since it wasn't quite dead, he pulled it out of the trap, held the mouse by the tail in one hand and held his rifle in the other. Not a super dishonest thing, actually it's kind of hilarious I guess but it opened my eyes to the thought that people may stage things or themselves to look like something totally different than what or who they actually are. Enter Facebook. It taught me to beware of people. I still have a child's heart and I like to think that people are good, but I learned here that that isn't always the case. People will find a way to make you think that they are something completely different than they are because they care too much about what others think. People do not hesitate to be dishonest, and that's really sad. 

That wearing sweats in public isn't socially acceptable.

Let's go back to look at the pictures of my 3rd grade class. Notice how far away the students on either side of me are standing. It may have been because of my gnarly eye patch, but I'm pretty sure that it's because they are all dressed up and I was lucky enough to have my Mom drag me out of bed and get me dressed to get in this picture. Pretty sure from this point on I never really wore sweats to school ever! In fact I didn't really ever wear them in public. But that may or may not have changed when I got pregnant. Ha!

About love.

I fell in love when I was in 3rd grade. I fell in love with my fish named Guppie. We pulled him out of a river when we lived in Arizona and he lived for years in captivity. He was amazing. He loved me and I loved him. We would feed him entire night crawlers for dinner and he would attack my Mom as she would walk by him. He was the first pet that I had a connection to and that I felt as though I could talk to him and be a big of a part in his life as he was in mine. Guppie made me happy without doing anything out of the ordinary. He made me happy by just swimming and being there. Guppie taught me what it felt like to truly love something or someone who wasn't blood related to you.

About death.

While working on our home and doing construction, Guppies tank had been left open and some of the dust from the chimney fell into his tank and the dirt and dust almost instantly killed him. This may or may not had something to do with the fact that he was super old. I watched him die and it broke my little 9 year old heart. I felt empty when I would walk by the bookcase where his tank used to be. Guppies wasn't there to greet me in the morning and he wasn't there to talk to or to play with. It's kind of the reason that I really don't like having pets. Well that and watching Marley and Me. Why knowingly set yourself up for something that is only going to end in heartbreak? Death was hard on my little heart.

How to budget.
This one might seem strange, but let's be honest... brilliant parenting right here. I LOVED slumber parties when I was in the 3rd grade. I was constantly begging my parents to let me have "parties". In order to have a party it was required that I present my parents with a budget that included the cost of absolutely everything that would be needed. This usually required a trip to the store so that I could know the prices of the soda, chips and pizza that I wanted for my friends to have during my party. No party occurred unless that budget was presented to my Dad and it fell under the allotted amount that I was given for the party. It was fun and such a good way to introduce a child into the world of budgets.

I learned so much when I was in 3rd grade. It was definitely my favorite grade in elementary school. I really feel as though we learn all of the basics that we need to learn while we are so young. But people get foggy and they forget about the basics and that things really are so simple if they would just not read into everything so much.