May's theme is 5

The theme "5" for the month of May has be reminiscing about my former career as a kindergarten teacher in Dunlap.  As an early-20s teacher with little experience, my first classes of 5- and 6-year olds had plenty to teach me about energy and the many ways to learn.  And I got very good at watching my collegues.  Their valuable modeling helped me navigate the real work of teaching. One memory that stands out in my mind is of a fellow kindergarten teacher who taught across the hall from me in a big sunny room with low counters and a sink and short hooks for short coats.  One day I went in for a visit after school and she was putting away a pile of big, red, cardboard bricks.  I knew the kids absolutely loved those bricks because they could build such tall stuff with them and then, in the very next moment, they delighted in knocking them down.  When I gave her a quizzical look she explained that the kids were having too much fun with the bricks so she was going to put them away for a time.  I remember laughing at her response - I had never thought of it that way.  She was so matter-of-fact about it - just the way she said it,

like everyone had the same experience and she was just doing what had to be done.  No judgement, just reality. Five-year-olds are certainly good at too much fun.  So spontaneous and lively, nobody lives in the moment like a 5-year-old child.  Five loves dramatic play and games of the imagination.  They can turn on a dime, moving quickly from activities and playmates.  Five-year-olds tend to be pretty social beings for the most part, but they also need alone time and sometimes seek refuge in a tree house, a closet hiding spot, or even a large cardboard box if you have one handy.  I remember one of my favorite things to do at about that age in summer was to build a tent with old blankets pinned to the clothesline in the backyard.  When our kids were little they did the indoor version by draping the covers over the dining room table.  Too much fun?  Oh ya! Since then, we still use that phrase around home for times when things just seem too good to be true.  Too much fun! May can be that way.  Finally spring weather is here and it feels like it's going to stay.  It's so tempting to do too much fun stuff all at once.  After all, we've been waiting all winter for this!  Let's be spontaneous, like we were when we were 5 again, and get on our bikes, break out the tennis rackets, plant like crazy!  Let's just go for it and revel in having too much fun.  We'll worry about putting the blocks away later. Cheers!  Dina Emser

Here's what you'll find in this month's issue: Dina Emser – The Energy of 5 Year Olds Marcy McWethy - Return to the 5th Grade Shelli Dankoff -  Quintuplets Shanna Shipman- Lincoln's Evolution Catherine Hopkins - The 5th Estate Features: Book of the month – Slaughter House 5 by Kurt Vonnegut - get it at I Know You Like a Book in Peoria Heights. Drink of the month – “Cinco de Mayo”- 1 shot tequila, dash of grenadine, top off with Jarritos lime soda. CD of the month- -“Rich vs Roach” The Buddy Rich Quintet takes on the Max Roach Quintet - get it at Coop Records. DVD of the month - The Fifth Element 10 Things - Jen Christensen - Live at Five News Anchor

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WASHINGTON

Portrait Life Studio • Washington Park District Center •Denhart Bakery & Restaurant •Cornerstone Inn •Washington Library •Sunnyland Library Branch •Associated •Bank•Heartland Bank•Smith Drugs•Russell’s Bicycles•Sentimental Journey•Baurer Furniture

DUNLAP

Her Majesty’s Tea Room •By Natures Hand •Greenview Nursery •Kickapoo Creek Winery

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