Back To School Memories
(my sisters Katie and Elizabeth, I’m on the left…Katie look how tall you look-that didn’t last long 🙂
Have I written this post? I think I might have and that’s the trouble when you’ve been blogging for awhile. You don’t remember what you’ve written about 3 years ago. I could look it up of course, but please don’t make me.
I have always loved getting ready to go back to school. I know for some that was the worst feeling, thinking, “Oh yuck school again!” but for me I just loved the fresh start, a change, new things.
I went to a private Catholic school so I wore uniforms. My mom would measure us and then order them from the Schoolbelles catalog, along with Peter Pan-collared blouses, and knee socks. We would wait till we saw the UPS truck coming down our rural street, which was quite a rare occurrence, and the boxes would be delivered and ripped open. Everything starched, stiff and itchy but brand new and all ours.
Next we would visit the local Buster Brown shoe store and be fitted for a good pair of school shoes along with a pair of shoes for gym. I remember the little shoe store had these stamp booklets, and if you earned so many stamps you must have received some sort of discount.
We had oil cloth book bags with little canvas straps…no fancy back packs back then in the olden days.
I don’t remember my mom having to buy school supplies, at least while we were in elementary school. The nuns would open up a big closet I think, on orientation night, and the first week of school, and we bought our supplies from them. Basically pencils and notebooks and remember Golden Rod tablets? (What I would do for a Golden Rod tablet right now. I even searched for them on Ebay to no avail.) We would take our change up to that closet and buy what we needed.
(my cute little brothers…that’s the kind of book bag we carried!)
Things have changed haven’t they? I have long lists for each of my children and it sure doesn’t cost mere pennies. I wonder why these kids need so many things now vs. what we needed back then. Are they getting a way better education, learning more than I did back then with my pencils and Golden Rod? Oh, to be in an old-fashioned classroom where your mind was supposed to be the thing that was working.
Anyways, we had lunch boxes for awhile…till they weren’t cool anymore of course. I remember one year my mom bought us white lunch boxes and stickers and we decorated our own. Holly Hobby stickers were my choice.
And that night before school started…I was always a bundle of nerves, filled with excitement and worry…not sleeping a wink.
Okay, your brother on the left looks so much like Patrick. And I love the fresh start too. My six year old exclaimed tonight in anticipation of tomorrow … "I love the first day of school but after that, I don't want to go."
Oh my goodness, your pictures are so precious! Brings back some special memories of my own with my siblings. School days as a kid were such good times… innocent times. It's kind of sad how much our world has changed. My 3 brothers and I would always lay out our clothes the night before the first day of school and my mom would take our picture laying next to our brand new outfits. Then, the morning of our first day (every single year) we would do a picture of all four of us standing in front of the house. It was always so exciting to find out who our new teacher was and if any of our best friends were in our class. Yep, for the most part, great memories I will always cherish.
I remember how excited I was when I got my first trapper keeper (neon purple of course). I felt so special. We had educator pads (we got one each semester in grade school; one per month in high school). I have a couple blank ones hoarded somewhere…
I also had my picture taken the first day of school too, a tradition I continued with the boy.
Our youngest just started her Senior year in high school, and I was glad to see not everything has changed…it was still about that special outfit for the first day! And, the photo to see how much she's changed since last year.
Like you, I loved the first week of school. The smell of the books, the smell of the new supplies. I also attended a private Catholic school and wore a uniform. The nuns wore habits. No one talked out of turn…those were the days!
I was home schooled, so there wasn't anything in the way of new uniforms or school supply lists, but I still loved starting school. Fall is my favorite season, and starting school meant the approach of crisp days. The first day of school meant my mom would have a big stack of interesting new books ready for us to plow through, and new family read alouds for the evenings.
Back to school brings happy memories for me, both as a child and now as a mother. I loved the smells- new pencils and a new binder, even new lined paper smells like school. I love that getting back to routine, even as a young girl I remember liking that routine and now as a mom it is a welcome change to the wonderful lazy hazy days of summer. I love fall and school and fall are intertwined. I love your pictures, thanks for sharing!
I remember going to the Buster Brown Shoe Store! I was talking to my youngest (college freshman) about MY college days – NO backpacks! We just carried our books in our arms. I love Fall.
Oh my gosh, can't believe you mentioned Holly Hobbie! I just found an old book of mine and was sharing it with my daughter and it looks so old fashioned. I used to have a big Holly Hobbie poster hanging on my bedroom wall.
I love back to school time. As a child, & even as an adult during college, the night before school or a new semester started I was to excited to sleep.
Our oldest boy has been homeschooled for the past 3 years & is returning to public school this year. We all feel the excitement building up as we take care of last minute shopping.
I absolutely loved the first day of school. The rest I could do without but, the first was great! Oh, the possibilities a new composition book held! And all those brand new pencils… made me so happy then.
I agree with your point on the cost of school supplies – what in the world??!! My kids attend a private Christian school and we pay for darn near everything. Down to the band-aods for the nurse and Ziplocs for the ice bags… just crazy!
Sarah, your 1st day of school story is so idyllic! I wish it was that simple for kids today!
I loved the first day/week/school in general. School was such a social place for me, I just wanted to get back so that I could see my friends every waking second!
Now that I am all grown up, I'm a teacher. While I still get antsy for school to start, and still pick out my first day outfit, I do get a little nervous. We don't have our school groove yet at the beginning, and that is hard! I always read the book, "First Day Jitters" to my kids. Throughout the story, you find that the main character is too nervous for the first day, but you never see her… until the end of the book, when you find out it's the teacher! Love it!
I loved Back to School time too! New notebooks and pencils and a whole fresh start! I'm a teacher now…and love it just as much…a time to start fresh! It's awesome.
Your brother looks just like Patrick! That's immediately what I thought when I saw that pick! 🙂
How sweet! You look adorable. I LOVED going back to school too! We had red and green jumpers with the same shirts you and your sisters are wearing. We had to wear black and white saddle shoes and I always loved that they were nice and white at the beginning of the year. LLBean bookbags were all the rage during my elementary days…I'm not sure if this is still the case. It was good everyone had their initials on them or we would have all gotten them mixed up. Have fun back to school shopping! I can't wait to do it with my little E in a few years!
What an entertaining post Sarah! I was all about Holly Hobby. I had the lunch box and a holly hobby peach pant suit. I wish my mom had taken a photo of that beauty!
I went to Catholic school too, and my skirt was very similar to the one you were wearing. But you didn't get a skirt until 4th or 5th grade. Before that they were jumpers in the same material. I LOVED going back to school! I LOVED school! MY daughter is starting Kindergarten a couple of weeks, and we're pretty excited!
Oh, and my first lunch box was one of those metal ones that could knock a person out. It was The Muppets!
these pics are too adorable. i went to catholic school as well and i don't remember buying school supplies either.
on my sons school supply list is a pencil sharpener. why can't they all share one pencil sharpener??
I had a Holly Hobby lunch box!! It was metal and had a matching thermos. I wish I still had it. This has nothing to do with school, but my mom made me a Holly Hobby doll and me a matching outfit.
I love this post. I always wanted to wear cute uniforms like the girls at Catholic school did. Alas, I am not Catholic, nor did I ever attend private school of any kind.
Love this post! I too, was a ball of excitement the night before school started. My favorite memory of starting a new school year was getting new school supplies {my husband thinks it's adorable that I STILL get all giddy over school supplies–even though it's been years since I've purchased any. I love to look at all of the colorful folders, the crisp sheets of paper, the pretty pens & pencils….Yah, I know. I'm a nut}. I would organize & reorganize my backpack a hundred times before the big day! I still get excited when a new school year rolls around. It always takes me back to my youth!
Oh my goodness! I had the SAME plaid skirt you were wearing when I was in high school at Xavier College Prep in Phoenix, AZ! And I know they still have that same blue and gray plaid skirt to this day…ahhh…some things never change!
And I second you on the too many school supplies. My first grader needed 24 Elmer glue sticks. Really!? I mean, what child uses THAT much glue!?
You have the best memory! I need to try to pry all those memories out of my brain some time. Love the pictures!
You made my heartache a little when you mentioned Buster Brown shoes. That's where I got my shoes every year too. It really was a simpler time. It seems like as kids we didn't really expect that much. The best our parents could do was good enough. I'm glad I got to live it and glad that you can put it into words! 🙂
I am curious about why you and your sisters each had a different plaid. I went to Catholic school also. Grade School and High School. In Grade school we had the same brown plaid all eight years. The only change up was that we had jumpers K through 4 and then skirts and matching vests grades 5 through 8. In High School the Freshmen and Sophmores had a light blue plaid and the Juniors and Seniors had a red and navy plaid. We could not wait to get the red plaid! LOL
Hi what is a golden rod, I'm 28 years old and have never heard of this school item.
Thanks.
SB3 mom of one 8 month old.
P.S. I found your blog via Pinterest. 🙂