Thursday, May 1, 2008

May Day



When I was in grammar school, the first day of May was always an anticipated play day. No tests, no studying, no classes - just a day of fun out on the playground. Our "Room Mothers" would bring refreshments, our teachers acted like "real" people, and the kids were wild and happy! I remember some of the activities included potato sack races, three-legged races, Red Rover, etc. But my most favorite was the May Pole Dance - how fun it was to weave and duck and go round and round until the pole was completely wrapped. I never thought about it back then, but our teachers must have worked really hard to bring this day of fun to us.
I found this photo of a typical May Pole Dance on the net - sure wish I had a photo of my classmates and me doing this way back when!







I DO have a photo of my 4th Grade class at Rutledge school (in Fairfield Highlands, Alabama) - I think this was taken in 1955.




That's me, third from the left on the front row. What's amazing to me is that 53 years later, I still remember every single person's name - first and last! And I remember Miss Rutledge as the most wonderful teacher - I loved her dearly! I think all of my elementary teachers inspired me to want to follow their footsteps which is why I got my degree in Early Childhood Education.

And speaking of teaching, my sweet niece Brandi has received an awesome award - she teaches 3rd Grade and I am SO proud of her! She is an awesome mom, wife, teacher, friend - and inherited my brother's wonderful sense of humor!




Another May 1 tradition for some people is making May Baskets and hanging them on their friends' doors.


Sorry I have not figured out how others make their URL's into one-word, clickable entries - any help sure would be appreciated!

Here is a piece of art I created for the Diva group lottery - the theme was "Coffee":








2 comments:

Joanne Huffman said...

Jackie, I love the memories of May Day. I remember the Mayplse getting kind of messy when people forgot their weaving dance steps :D. And, I have fond memories of lots of games of Red Rover. Congratulations to your niece. I hope your May Day was wonderful and acts as a gateway to a fun spring and summer.

Joanne

Karen Owen said...

What a lovely post! I'm amazed that you still remember every name.