kindergarten shrine

On a narrow slice of a kitchen wall between two doorways is our kindergarten shrine. The items displayed on the wall include: a life-sized outline of Chaney as a kindergartner, a poster he entered in a Wild West PTA competition, the blue ribbon he won for that poster, a Field Day certificate, the little sheet of paper he wore pinned to his shirt during Field Day with the order of his events, and the blue ribbon he earned at Field Day. 

When I affixed these items to the kitchen wall during the 1996-1997 school year, I did not intend for them to still be there during the 2008-2009 school year, but there they are. I love the outline of my boy the best, since I remember helping Mrs. Huggins with that class project. We spread out sheets of butcher paper on the floor, and the students sprawled out and waited patiently for us to trace their outlines. The initial outlines were of the crime scene variety, but then the kindergartners personalized their outlines by gluing on a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth before using crayons to color their hair and clothing. After their works of art were complete, we taped them up on the wall in the hallway. For months to come, the life-sized likenesses of Tiffany, Brittany, Hojeen, Breanna, Miya, Marcus, Demetric, Danyal, D.J., Jessie, Andrew, LaKeyia, Chris, Robert, Latrevia, Chaney, Drew, Amber, Hayley, and Kristin stood guard at the end of the kindergarten hallway at Norman Binkley Elementary School. And for now, paper Chaney will continue to stand guard in my kitchen.