I had been in preschool for two years at Christ Lutheran Learning Center, less than a block away from home, run by Mrs. Dame, in the house across the alley.
Then in the fall of 1996, I transitioned to my time as a student in District 97 and began the 1996-97 school year at Washington Irving Elementary School, where I would be for 6 years. I was in the Kindergarten class of the legendary Ms. Gullo, who taught Kindergarten at Irving School for over 20 years, starting with my older brother's class. Back then, the Kindergarteners were enrolled in a half-day program. I went to school in the afternoon hours.
From early on, I enjoyed learning. And Ms. Gullo had lots of activities in class to make learning fun, especially the activity stations on Fridays. We also had a special celebration in February around St. Valentine's Day for the 100th Day of the School Year, a major memory that I recall fondly. It seems like it's something we could have celebrated in later grades, even with something more small scale.
As we neared the holiday celebrating Pastor Martin Luther King, Jr., we spent time learning about who he was and what he did to edify the society of the United States.
It was during that school year that I began my instruction in Spanish, which I continued for many years, all the way into college. Being Mexican, learning Spanish at that early age was the start of connecting with part of my identity.
As my years went by at Irving, I continued to enjoy learning. There was lots that piqued my interest in classes at school, and I would sometimes read other books that furthered my learning in subjects that interested me, beyond what I learned in class.
Indeed, as I look back 25 years later on my time in Kindergarten, I see that it was a great year that laid an important foundation for my love of learning, along with the skills that would allow me to open myself to the breadth of what there all that there was in the world.
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