Students shared childhood stories before writing their own poems, reflecting on their younger selves, as the speaker did in Billy Collin’s poem, On Turning Ten.
Lesson Note. “I think one of the strengths of nostalgia is that even if they have not had a good childhood, most people have at least one nostalgic memory that they cherish and can use repeatedly. Someone once asked me: ‘How long do these effects last?’ My 11-year-old daughter said: ‘They last your entire life!’ She’s right, too. Once positive memories are instantiated, they might have only represented half an hour of your childhood, but you can dwell on them and return to them forever.”–Dr. Tim Wildschut and Constantine Sedikides, Department of Social Sciences & Psychology,. Article: ‘Looking back in joy: the power of nostalgia.’
Ms. Wright, 7th Grade
Age 12
By Kevin C.
Age 5
At 5, I was playing with my dinosaur and robot toys with my older brother.
We would watch scary videos on the TV and hide under the blankets when a scary scene comes up.
When bored, my brother and I would play hide n seek around the house
We would go out to the playground and play on the swings and slides
Age 9
At 9, My brother and I both got iPads and began downloading Roblox
We would play games on Roblox with each other and watch YouTube
We would stay up late at night playing games on our iPads
My brother and I went out to restaurants with our parents
Age 14 (or current age)
At 12 Now, I hang out with my friends instead of hanging out with my brother.
But I stare into the sky, reminiscing on the good times
Where it was only my brother and I hanging out.
Age 13
By Natalie H.
When I think back to my 5 year old self,
I realized that throughout the years, I really did change.
At 5, I used to not have to worry about finishing
Work, instead I was coloring the pages in
Coloring books, making the unicorns and all sorts of animals
All different colors. At daycare, I was roleplaying with
Friends and acting like one big family.
We’d even play with ponies and dolls and create houses with
Big building blocks that were made out of cardboard.
When I was, 9 wasn’t the best year of my life. I had to stay
Home for online learning. At first, I thought it would be so fun,
But then I realized there wasn’t really anything to do.
I started to get less social because of me staying home,
I had no one to talk to besides my siblings, but they were busy
Doing online work.
I later had to get to a program to do online school
There, so someone could monitor what I was doing.
As soon as I was done doing work,
I played cards with my friends at the program.
Now I’m 13, I still like to color, but
I prefer drawing and painting landscapes more.
I’m not friends with the people I used to play with anymore,
Not because we got in an argument and stopped liking each other,
But because we lost contact with each other.
I forgot how to play most of the card games I learned
When I was 9. Now I usually play volleyball or
Badminton after school when I finish homework.
Every now and then, I would play games on
My phone when I get really bored.
Ms. Wright, 7th Grade
Age 12
By Elaine T.
At age 5, I was in kindergarten
With cubbies instead of lockers.
After school, I would always
Sneak into my moms Dum Dums bag
And steal a lollipop to eat.
When I was 9, our classes were online.
We would stay home and
pretend to listen to the teacher
While playing games or
Watching Youtube.
Now, I am 12.
We learn all day.
We rarely have time to play.
No watching Youtube
Or playing games.
I can’t eat much
Junk food anymore because
I need to stay healthy.
Age 12
By Eric L.
At age 5, I was in Kindergarten, and the teacher made me work on drawing and coloring books.
I went after school and had a naptime.
I played with toys and played in parks.
There were a lot of games for me to play.
At age 9 I was online in 3rd grade because of the pandemic. The homework was kind of hard.
I was not able to go to my after-school because of the pandemic.
I still played with toys but not with friends
I started to play video games.
Now I am turning 13 and I am in 7th grade. The homework is now hard and confusing but I am still able to understand it.
I went to a new afterschool for middle schoolers and made more friends.
I don’t play with a lot of toys anymore.
The games got more fun since I played with my friends.
