Memories of third grade

While teaching "Forgotten Language" for our review, I found myself reminiscing about being a child to help my students understand the content better. While doing this, one of my classes asked me about my favorite grade as a student. Without hesitation, I replied third. 

So what was it about third grade over the others that I made it such a memorable year, when for the most part? I have to admit that I am pretty blown away by how much I can recall thirty-two years later. 

• Mrs. Laskowski was the nicest teacher ever. 
• All the cute boys were in my class - Ed K., Brian M., Brian P., Jeremy M., John G. 
• Jeremy M. used to borrow pencils, dent them with teeth marks, then try to return them. 
• Becky W. (she is going to kill me for this one) would chew on crayons and tell us what flavors each was. 
• John G. and I were two of only a few students who stayed for science club with Mrs. L. We got to build dinosaurs out of clay, then his dad would pick us up from school. 
• We had guinea pigs that we rotated taking home for weekends. When I took them home, we had to make sure our cats did not eat them before I got them back to school. 
• Mrs. L. read us Island of the Blue Dolphins (at least I think that was it; there is one that stands out in my brain more than others). 
• We performed Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for our third grade play. I played one of Charlie's grandmothers for the first part. My one line was, "Hooray! Hooray! He found the golden ticket." The shawls the grandmother's wore in the scene were my mother's. In a later scene, I was a squirrel. I managed to drop the nut I was carrying and had to kick it across the stage during my exit. 
• I wrote a paper on Epiphany to make my father happy. I put the paper in a green construction paper folder. The paper hung up on the class wall for quite some time, and that's when I first learned that I was capable of writing well. Until a few years ago, I still had that paper. 
• I had the chicken pox directly prior to winter break. I was out of school for almost a full month. 
• Casey E. was the last one in our class to have a birthday for the calendar year. 
• I vividly remember passing out Valentine's Day cards. 
• I remember wearing a Pilgrim hat for our Thanksgiving celebration. 

The thoughts are scattered in my brain, but I can see images flash through my mind. I know how the classroom was set up. I can see Mrs. L's desk in the room. I can see how our desks were arranged. I can visualize the little cubby room that held our jackets and backpacks. 

What grade was your favorite? What do you remember?