I really loved the arts and crafts activities we did in school on, or near Halloween day. With my trusty paste, scissors and an assortment of construction paper, I was at my creative peak. There were often school arts and crafts activities - especially in celebration of upcoming holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day - but I really loved the Halloween crafts that many of the kids in my class created. As one would expect, there was a sundry presentation of black cats, haunted houses, full moons and spooky trees, but I was proud to feature the most of these in one piece of art.

Armed with glue, scissors, crayons and construction paper, I set out to create Halloween masterpieces unlike any ever seen coming from a school classroom.

I took it a step further by trying to cut out of black construction paper, a black picket fence for a black cat to walk upon. Craft time in class was wonderful beyond words! There were the sounds of kids cutting paper and unscrewing the lids of paste jars. The minty smell of the paste was welcoming as it represented the full experience of creativity. At my table were whisperings, kids comparing each other's artworks, and honest laughter. I crafted away with those little metal scissors that were on our school supply list, then glued, positioned, and happily created my Halloween masterpiece on our classroom table top.

In second grade I was no mixed media master, but my heart was invested all the way. Sometimes our teacher had festive pumpkin shaped cookies and distributed one to each of us with a small paper cup of Kool-Aid. The world had its own problems in 1962, but as for me, my only concern was a black cat, a picket fence and the joy of Halloween art in my classroom.

I think fondly on those days, and feel so bad for kids today whose parents have to pay extra for any special activities like sports, music, and the arts. These were great days in the 1960s when it cost nothing, and we had everything at our fingertips.