When I taught down where the Cranes are now, some teacher long before me had installed a long shelf over the chalk board. It began to collect the flotsam and jetsam of our learning — things too cool to throw away or even send home. They were souvenirs of our themes and outings.
When I moved into the Herons, one of the first things I unpacked was the box labeled "The Mantel." The collection grows every year and I'll often hear fifth graders telling fourth graders about bits and pieces that long pre-date them. The stories have been passed along from Elm to Elm, Elm to Heron, Heron to Heron.
There's a newspaper clipping from our Hamlet, a toad to honor a majestic class pet, the secret recipe for a woods air freshener, a parot from "Talk Like a Pirate Day", a plastic duck that decorated a student created garden, a peep maypole, a picture of Ona and James (at 18 months), a bobber caught while "fishing" at Afton State Park, the foam eye belonging to the three fates, my beloved Thomas Kincaid mug (shattered during a kickball game), corn from the first Sticksgiving, three golden dolphins from a re-enactment of a Roman chariot race…
As the year begins, I like to look over the mantel and think about all the adventures we've had in the past and all that await us this year.
The Rookery 
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