Oh What Fun at the Carnival!
Maple Valley brought back a much beloved tradition this week when we hosted a Fun Filled Carnival for our students at our Maplewood School. Teachers hosted the games, our ERESA partners joined in the fun and we had over 300 students and their families who joined in for 2 hours of games, dinner and resource sharing for reading, literacy and PBIS information.
What a great time we all had. All the classic games so many of us remember from our youth: the penny toss, cake walk, putt, putt golf, hula hoop toss, jump rope competition and many other fun games kept our kids occupied as our parents visited friends and cheered the kids on from the sidelines. I was gratified to talk with a few parents who connected this experience so fondly to their own childhood experiences in Maple Valley. It made me remember my own Carnivals at Washington Elementary many moons ago.
This got me thinking about the nostalgic connections between how we as adults remember our school experiences and our life long memories as we witness our children building their own memories. It is a beautiful thing to watch children play, laugh, skip and bond with their friends and family through these moments. These are the things that sustain us and connect us across generations of time.
I want to welcome people into our schools to volunteer with us, and help us create those lifelong memories for our students through future carnival events, field days and even tutoring and supporting our teachers in classrooms. There are so many ways the presence of unconditionally supportive and caring adults can impact the students’ memories and experiences. We welcome you to join us in our work of growing amazing young people into young adults. If you want to get involved, please reach out to our offices at whichever grade levels you might like to serve.
As we embark on our Spring Break and anticipate the rapid rush to summer, I wish all of you a wonderful time of reflection on your own fond memories of school. If you know a child, please read them a book. March is reading month and this is a wonderful to connect kids to the bigger world they live in and ignite their imaginations.
It is a great day to celebrate childhood memories in the Valley!
