Fifth grade was some of the best days of my life. It was always silly and inspiring. “For our first grade in the grade book, you are going to have to know how to spell my name.” Those were the first goofy words I heard come out of Ms. Wandschneider’s mouth.

Ms. Wandschneider is such an inspirational person, from her goofy snorting laugh, to her jokes that only she found funny, to how she inspired me to expand my artistic abilities.

I will never forget how important she was to me; she and I, as well as many other students, had such a close bond. She was the teacher that reached out to everyone. She always had a way to relate to every student; sometimes she’d do this by sharing stories of sadness, but mostly, she shared stories of humiliation. Ms. Wandschneider has two cats, and I swear every single day she would come in with a new story about how her cats ran away or how one cat got on the roof, God knows her life is always full of surprises! Her happy sense of humor always had me wanting more, always put me in a good mood making learning with her an experience I will never forget.

She was a very clumsy, forgetful lady, but her dedication to the classroom was exquisite. She was always willing to help out, and make learning a fun experience not something to dread. She always played music when she was teaching and encouraged us to talk amongst ourselves or with our partners; there was always a sense of caring and a willingness to help throughout the room.

We did a rock section, where the whole class got a little box of different types of rocks, and each student had to identify the different formations. The day of our rock adventures, Ms.Wandschneider came in with an Indian Jones hat and played Indiana Jones music. She ALWAYS made every so much fun.

I was never really a school person. I never got up on time; I never handed in my assignments on time, and I never paid attention. But somehow Ms. Wandschneider got through to me and she taught me that school isn’t all that bad. She made sure that I did what I had to do.

I have always had an interest in art. I drew all the time. But, if there was one person who appreciated my art the most, it was her. Every project I did, she kept or had hanging up on the class room walls, one in particular was my wolf mask for a Native American project, and to this day she still keeps it up on her wall. I was so proud of my mask. “Girls, can you spray these for me?” I remember like it was yesterday, Ms. Wandschneider asked a friend and I to cut out fake muskets for the civil war reenactment. There was probably a good 150 of them. Ms. Wandschneider didn’t ever make us sit and listen in class either; she always pushed us to create! And that we did. We spray painted civil war hats for every student in the fifth grade. We traced month captions for a different teacher’s calendar next door, and we made things out of clay. Her inspiration continued to help me succeed.

To me she was more than a teacher, but a friend, even a best friend. She always knew how to reach out to me, how to get to me and how to communicate. Her dedication to my art and other students learning was so significant that I will be continuing in art for college, I’m going to school for graphic design and majoring in Drawing, and Painting. Ms.Wandschneider, a teacher, a friend, an inspiration.