10 Things That Helped Us All Survive Elementary School In The 90s

Going to elementary school is something that we all had to do, but we all had different experiences.

Socially, elementary school was a battlefield. It was exhausting and more dramatic than it needed to be, but at least we all grew up before the internet was a thing.

Nowadays kids have to deal with their bullies following them home, at least virtually, and never getting a chance to be alone. Even if it's from their friends, kids should have some time to themselves, right?

Well, when we grew up in the 90s, times were just a lot simpler. Who agrees with me?

To be fair, we had the best of both worlds!

We spent our younger years playing with toys and growing our imaginations, and then by the time we were in high school the internet was around so we still got the benefits of online research!

But elementary school wasn't the worst time, really. Maybe the social aspects sucked, but a lot of the stuff we did was pretty awesome.

Those things that truly made the 90s elementary school experience what it was really helped us make it through.

Things like:

1. The joy you experienced when the teacher wheeled in a TV cart

This meant that you were going to be watching Bill Nye, Magic School Bus, or some other awesome movie because the teacher didn't feel like teaching you.

It was great, because if you were really sleepy you could at least put your head down and awkwardly lean so you could still see the screen, as long as you didn't accidentally fall asleep.

Anytime you got to watch a movie was better than class, even if the movie was trying to sneakily teach you something.

2. The joy that came from buying a new Lisa Frank diary, folder, or notebook

Lisa Frank was around before the 90s, yes, but we still loved her just as much as the 80s kids.

You could get a notebook, a diary, stationary, folders, binders, pencil cases, literally any of the school supplies you needed, covered in rainbow horses, dolphins, puppies and kittens.

They were almost blindingly bright and happy looking, but you know what, we all loved it.

3. Finally getting your first set of mechanical pencils

Will I ever fully understand why we did this? No, but literally every single person who has owned a mechanical pencil has done this at least 20 times.

The only bad part about this was if you accidentally let go of the eraser and then the lead locked in place. I snapped off the lead so much more often than I should have just because I got distracted so easily.

4. Getting one of those Ice Cream cups and eating it with a wooden spoon

Who wants a real spoon when you can have this glorified Popsicle stick to scoop up your delicious frozen treat?

Sure, sometimes the spoon would snap, leaving you with a very sharp edge to worry about. But honestly, ice cream cups just wouldn't taste the same without that slight wood favor.

5. Scooter games in gym class

I know now they make ones with handles to try and stop kids from crushing their fingers, but that takes away half the fun. I mean, it doesn't actually, but it does lower the stakes a bit.

We would sit on these little scooters and scuttle around like little crabs, trying as hard as we could to move faster.

I still remember the one time my friend was pushing me on a scooter and my foot slipped off the edge and those rubber-soled gym shoes we all had to buy stopped me faster than expected and she went soaring over my head. It was very impressive (and painful).

6. The other excellent gym class option: The giant parachute

What kind of athletic skill did this teach us? No one knows, but it was super fun!

There was just something so calming about rushing in with all of your classmates and having to work together to keep all the air in as long as possible.

I guess it taught us some teamwork skills, so at least that's something!

7. Playing Heads up 7up

Okay, hands up if you've cheated at 7up... If your hand isn't up right now you're lying.

This game was tricky and kind of embarrassing if it took you too long to figure out who tagged you, but it was the best way to end the week.

But seriously, everyone was cheating all the time.

8. Scholastic Book Fair day

Nothing is more wonderful or special than Book Fair day. Getting to pick out a new book or two was the absolute best thing imaginable.

It was a bonus if you were able to save up your allowance so that you could pick out some super cool new bookmarks!

Seriously, I think if you had to pick one thing, the book fair was probably the best part of elementary school.

9. Mr. Sketch scented markers were a necessity

My favorite was always purple. I don't know what it is about artificial grape scent, but it's the absolute best.

We used them to decorate all of our bristol board posters and our construction paper, but you had to be really careful because it would bleed right through the paper.

10. Passing notes in class

Before there was text messaging, we would have to write our notes on real paper. I know, crazy right?

We had all these cool ways to fold them and tricks to get them to our friends when they sat on the other side of the room, but you had to make sure it was marked confidential, otherwise anyone could read it.

No matter what part of elementary school helped you cope with the crazy emotions and dramatic social politics, I think we can all agree that elementary school in the 90s was pretty much the best.

Seriously, I can't emphasize enough how good and wonderful Scholastic Book Fairs were. There is no doubt in my mind that an elementary school experience isn't complete without one.

But even outside of school times have changed. So many things we used to do are no longer socially acceptable.

H/T - The Odyssey / Imgulz

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