Top 10 Things in Elementary School You Probably Forgot About

Elementary School is a very interesting and bizarre time. A lot of childhood memories come from elementary school things are pretty fun and it’s stress free for the most part. Here’s some things that you probably experienced in elementary school but don’t really remember.
The Top Ten
1 The PE Parachute

I MISS YOU PLEASE COME BACK. I always dream that at work, by boss would just come into the room and yell "Parachute time!" and we would all play with the parachute like we were back in elementary. To bad that day never happened.

There was nothing quite as special as walking into the gym and seeing that parachute. Something about creating a dome with it and playing games underneath it was so much fun. That was PE at its absolute best in my opinion. If you didn't do this at least twice, did you even go to elementary school?

2 Scholastic Book Fairs

These would come around every so often, and when they did, man did they get you more hyped than ever to read. I remember teachers would always show like a preview which highlighted some of the books at the book fair. There were other trinkets there as well like special pencils and posters, but you either didn't buy anything there or you'd beg your parents for 10 dollars to buy a book there. It was truly a unique event.

I remember these but I couldn't find anything I wanted so I usually got a Wimpy Kid book or something.

3 Recorders

For whatever reason, it seems like every 4th grader ever at least in the US learned how to play this thing that was basically like a Clarinet and you would learn different notes and have to play different songs. I don't know why they taught how to play a recorder, maybe to get kids into music? I don't know, but it seems like nobody ever remembers that weird era where you played a recorder then never again.

We learned how to play these in music class in fourth grade. My music teacher was terrible though, so it wasn't a fun experience. When I moved and went to a new school in fifth grade, they were just starting to learn them while I had a year head start. I still have both recorders.

4 Always Walking in a Single File Line

Now, we would go by alphabetical order by our last names and this would SUCK because my last name started with a Y and I would always be last. Want lunch? Wait for all the other students to get theirs. Besides, when we did the graduation thing at the end of the school year, I would be called up last and I just hated the feeling of being last. If your last name starts with the letters A-D, consider yourself very lucky.

For whatever reason, elementary school teachers decided to enforce walking in a single file line like you were military troops. They did this EVERY time no matter if it was going to PE, music, lunch, recess, or whatever. I get why they did it, but it was so weird and if you had a last name starting with anything from S-Z, have fun being near the end of the line most of the time.

5 Cubbies

These things were kinda like lockers, but not really weren't secure and yet, you had to store everything in them. I don't know what it was about everyone storing their belongings in the same general area, but something about it is unsettling looking back. Also, did anyone else remember the teachers assigning you a certain number or is that just me?

Okay I'm in elementary school right now...and I don't none of these I didn't even have them in pre-school or kindergarten. They are cool though. At my school we have coat hooks and book boxes.

6 Heads Up 7 Up

This was fun, but the only problem was that friends would only pick their other friends and I wasn't the most social person ever. So most of the time, I just had to pray that the one nice kid who included me in everything would choose me to stand in the front of the class to pick. However, if I was the one who did the thumbs things, everybody would cheat and say it was me.

This game I'm pretty sure was universally played in elementary school at least in the US. It was rare to play as a way to pass time, but basically, 7 people are chosen and have to tap another person's thumb, then after everyone has picked those, people have to guess who picked them. I don't know what it is, but this game is so much fun.

7 Recess

This was how kids could stay active, and play on a good day. This was the only time in your life it was rad to get some fresh air, and play. I wouldn't say its forgotten by any means seeing it's widely memorable in my view.

I hated recess. I was always left out with nothing to do. The only thing I liked about it was that it gave you a bit of a break from doing work.

Who would forget this? It was tons of fun. I miss it.

8 Halloween/ Valentines Parties

These were the most fun days of the year. Instead of learning stuff, you got to basically party in your Halloween costume at school and get candy and play games and maybe do a parade. On Valentine's Day, you just brought a box and took turns handing out valentines to your classmates and eat some treats and stuff. Yeah those were the good days.

I remember how I would always look forward to the harvest parade (from 2012 - 2014 before my school stopped having it) and getting candy from my classmates every 2/14. In fact, I still occasionally find some old glittery heart shaped rings I got from Target in February 2012 when I was in kindergarten around my apartment.

9 Multiplication Sheets

I'm entering 6th grade in September and in 4th grade we used to have these all the time. Then my teacher found out that it didn't teach anything so she stopped giving them to us.

The most stressful thing about elementary was these things. You were given a sheet of about 20-30 problems that you had to complete in a certain amount of time. They were all easy looking back but at the time learning facts from 0-12 could be hard.

Oh yeah 3rd and 4th Grade I knew this like that from 0x0 to 12x12 was your basic sheets to know of. In 4th Grade you got like some sort contemporary prize if you scored well in a test with a A- range in the least.

10 Tattletales

Everyone remembers tattletales, but it's that fact you could never get away with anything, such as swearing without getting told on by the teacher. Now in senior school, nobody cares if your swear.

So one time this kid said Hell in a casual conversation while the teacher was gone. Literally everyone tattletaled on him. He literally broke down crying. One of the funniest things ever.

Unfortunately, this one isn't limited to elementary school students. There will always be people looking for any little reason to snitch on you.

The Newcomers

? Pizza Parties
? Twin Day
The Contenders
11 Spelling Tests

I would usually get an A on every spelling test. I think it helps that I've pretty much always been able to read above grade level.

Hell, I was told that I was reading at an 8th grade level when I was only in the 3rd grade. Now I'm a high school sophomore and I'm reading on a university level.

Ugh I was never a fan. They weren't hard but trying to spell words like Mountain or important were hard in 2nd grade

Oh yeah, try writing the same word 10 times a day for homework. Those were my dark ages.

12 Reading Logs

Anyone remember those reading logs you were given to complete often for some rewards? Sometimes you could win a mini pizza or a free McDonald's Happy Meal, but most of the time, it was just a sticker chart and you'd always get a cool sticker and occasionally get some candy.

Yeah I remember these, we didn't have no pizza parties or anything like that. I recall having like a watch type thingamajig to record the time you read I found that very annoying.

I had one of these in third grade, and I did pretty well with it.

13 Dr Seuss Day

My elementary school would have Dr. Suess Day every year, and in the week leading up to it, we would wear various wacky things such as oversized hats (I wore an oversized purple hat to school once for Dr Suess Day 2014 in 2nd grade).

I remember the library always tried to celebrate Dr Seuss day. There were a lot of Dr Seuss classics like Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, and the Grinch

They really tried to get all the Dr Seuss in your face didn't they?

14 Flip Your Card

My 3rd grade teacher had something similar to this where we'd all get a star numbered based on our last names and the chart would read "w" (for warning), 1 check, 2 checks, and 3 checks. If your star was in the punishment zone, you wouldn't be able to earn a raffle ticket for that day (the raffle tickets were for buying prizes in class on Fridays). Additionally, 3 checks would mean that your parents would be called. More often than not, my star would be moved to the warning zone.

Also, when I was in 2nd grade, we had behavior charts that we took home and showed our parents every single day. "E" stood for excellent (meaning you didn't get in trouble that day), "S" was satisfactory (usually given to you if you were caught talking in class), and "N" was needs to improve (such as if you talked in class a lot during the day or broke a more serious rule). Usually, I'd come home with an "S" on my behavior chart for talking in class a few times, but I did get an "N" on my behavior chart a few times, once for talking way too much in class. I got an "E" a few times.

15 Duck Duck Goose
16 Scented Pencils

I don't know why, but for whatever reason, these were seen as being popular in elementary school. Having these made you "cool" even though the scent was somewhat hard to tell and it usually would wear off. The same applies to markers as well.

Weirdly though I didn't get a hand of these Pencils until around middle school.

I didn't have any scented pencils, but a lot of people I knew had them.

17 Dear Time

Drop Everything and Read. We would always have to read books after lunch for 30 minutes. It was boring, but I remember when everyone was obsessed with the Where's Wally/Waldo books.

18 Scented Stickers

My fourth grade math teacher had these...

19 Buddies

You always got to work with kids in a lower grade than you and do activities and tasks together. It was actually a fun lesson.

I am in year 6 and I am a kindy buddy! It is so fun! My buddy is super cute! I love it exept the teacher always shouts at the kids!

20 Handwriting Lessons

Now granted my printing is more like guitar signature to not so well read. In all the while cursive was a good alternative to learn. Luckily back in the mid-2000's they still taught this and I managed to master it after awhile ended up doing more advanced sentences that Summer. If I wrote in print, it would have to be real gently is the best way I go seeing I like to hurry and write.

21 Writing with Only a Pencil

They do this in high school sometimes.

22 Classrooms with VHS Players
23 Putting Your Chair on Table

I hated having to put my chair up on the table in elementary school.

24 Relaxation

The time where you got to lie down on a pillow after every lunch.

I didn't forget this! I eat, sleep and breathe that one word: "relaxation"

25 Four Corners

I loved four corners when I was in elementary school, the only thing I found just flat out annoying was when one of the kids would go into the corner you were in and make as much RACKET as they could AND THEN went to another corner.

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