Thursday Throwback

Since I am about to start the Third Grade for my second time, I thought I would take a look back at life in 1998 when I was in Third Grade for the first time (that’s 15 years ago, if you don't want to do the math). This blog post was somewhat inspired by the Who’s That Blogger? ultimate Back to School Linky/Giveaway that The 3 AM Teacher is hosting along with 65 other bloggers. All the old school photos got me thinking about my own childhood.

Age: 8 years old
School: Apollo Elementary in Issaquah, WA
Teacher: Mrs. Quinn
Snap Shot of My Life:
Third grade Kayla was just starting in a pull-out gifted program called SAGE. At the time I still loved school, especially writing and drawing. During this year, I designed “tie-dye” inspired name tags and sold them at recess to my friends. My most vivid third grade memories include a field trip to the salmon hatchery, doing a report on Native Americans, and learning cursive (not my most pleasant memories from that school year). It was also year that lice tormented our school and I unfortunately was one of the casualties. After school I competed on a junior cheerleading squad and on weekends I spent my time biking and rollerblading around our neighborhood with friends.

Education Snapshot:
It definitely was an interesting year in the world of education. Here in Washington, the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) was in its second test year in WA public schools. Of course, as a third grader I had not yet taken it because they were only testing in Fourth Grade at the time. Since then, the WASL has been replaced by the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) and the Measurements of Students Progress (MSP) for grades 3-8.

"Hooked on Phonics Worked for Me!" Who could ever forget that slogan? In 1998 the commercial educational brand, Hooked on Phonics received The National Parenting Seal of Approval for the first time. Since then, Hooked on Phonics has become a private company, was renamed Smarterville, Inc, and experienced significant redesign including a mobile app that was released earlier this year.

Also in 1998 the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, an international study of schooling, found that U.S. high school seniors ranked near the bottom in math and science. These findings pushed many states to beginning using state standards, however they were used voluntarily because most states had no standards prior. You can read more about that study here. 

One of my favorite children's books, Verdi by Janell Cannon was also published this year. The book became a huge success and is still praised for it's beautiful illustrations.


Other history from 1998: 
Microsoft became the biggest Company in the World, valued at $261 billion on the New York Stock Exchange.
The first MP3 players first hit the market.
The commercial educational brand, Hooked on Phonics received The National Parenting Seal of Approval for the first time. 

Top 5 Songs of the Year: 
.1. Too Close- Next
.2. The Boy Is Mine- Brandy and Monica
.3. You're Still the One- Shania Twain
.4. Truly Madly Deeply- Savage Garden
.5. How Do I Live- LeAnn Rimes
Popular Children’s Movie in Theaters:
A Bug’s Life
Dr. Dolittle (I’ve still never seen this!)
The Rugrats Movie
The Parent Trap

Popular Children’s Toys:
Furby (This toy really should have been left in the 90's and not made a come back...)
Hot Wheels
Beanie Babies (I'll admit that I still have a few)
Pokemon in the Gameboy
Barbie
Tamagotchi
Everything Nickelodeon Brand

Hopefully this miniature trip into the past was as fun for you as it was for me! I really did love the '90's and 1998 was one of the better years for me. School was still fairly straight forward, I hadn't reached the age of social cliques, and my biggest worry was whether or not my Tamagotchi was still alive.