It is difficult to believe that the year 2024 will soon be ending and the New Year will be upon us. It seems to me that as we slow down the years go racing past us…faster and faster every year. It is fun though to look back at all those years and remember some of the most rewarding memories.

Do you remember when you were in elementary school? My elementary school was a small three room building that housed the first through the eighth grade. A wood burning stove heated those rooms in the colder months and open windows let in the fresh air in an attempt to cool us off in the warmer months.

All those memories of my early schooling came flashing back yesterday when I was tutoring a a third grader as she struggled with reading English. At home my student speaks only Spanish and is the youngest of a large family. I hope that the hour that I spend with her will somehow be beneficial and that she will continue to do her best as she struggles with those difficult words that are so challenging.

There certainly have been a lot of changes in the curriculum since I was a third grader. First of all, the book covers alone have changed. Today the book covers are brightly colored and very eye appealing. The covers on the books that my school offered to third graders were of the same dull color with the title in large black letters. Inside the cover the story was generally very repetitive. Do you remember?

One of the books that I remember was about a mother rabbit and her family of little rabbits. As the mother rabbit led her little rabbits, she would constantly ask over and over "Children, dear children, are you hopping along behind?” Over and over the little rabbits would reply "Yes, dear mother, we are hopping along behind.” And that is how we learned to read - repeating and repeating.

However, we were being taught more than just reading. We were learning that mothers take care of their little ones, the little ones are respectful and obedient. So, there we have it - three lessons in one - mothers who care, children who are respectful and obedient to their mother and learning to read all at the same time.

Sometimes I wonder if maybe the old ways are better than the new ways. Of the four little books that my student was able to finish yesterday in our session, only one of those books had repetitive wording. And we do learn with repetition. Maybe it would be better if all of us could take the good from the old and add it to the new. We do need to keep up with changes - especially those changes that are good changes.

Perhaps that is why I often have travelers who are repeating the same trip they have already done at least once before. Things do change - the seasons change, the crops change and sometimes historians find new information that has been there all along just waiting to be discovered. The change in climate has brought changes to the Farm Tour that I offer. We have drier weather now leading to changes in crops. You won't see the large sugar cane fields anymore but fields planted with crops you may not even recognize. Come join us on a Farm Tour and see how many of the new crops you recognize. I hope to see you soon.