We’re about to take a trip down memory lane, but first let’s dig into lunch.
Yesterday Ryan and I had a small group of friends over to hang out and play board games. Everyone brought some snacks to share and we had a few Publix chicken tenders leftover in our fridge today, so I chopped them up and tossed them on top of a spinach salad.
I topped my salad with Bolthouse Farms honey mustard yogurt dressing! After I tried Bolthouse Farms’ yogurt Caesar dressing and loved it so much, I bought the honey mustard dressing a couple of weeks ago and it’s fantastic as well. So flavorful!
Elementary School Memories
Earlier this afternoon Michelle sent out a tweet about Voyage of the Mimi.
Yes, that Voyage of the Mimi.
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For those of you who are unaware of the magic that is Voyage of the Mimi, it is an educational series starring a young Ben Affleck as CT. When I was in sixth grade, I remember watching the crew aboard the Mimi follow humpback whales and fight hypothermia.
Voyage of the Mimi days, when my teacher would roll out the TV strapped to the cart, were the best.
I can still hum the glorious theme song!
Smiling about Voyage of the Mimi memories today made me think about my other elementary school favorites.
- Number Munchers: As someone who hated math in grade school (and in life), this game fooled me into thinking multiplication was the BEST THING EVER.
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- OutNumbered!: Please tell me someone out there remembers this game!? It was a personal favorite and I remember playing it during indoor recess when it was raining outside. Yes, I voluntarily played a math-based computer game. Those gamers know what they’re doing.
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- Oregon Trail: The game to end all games. Did anyone ever beat this game? Or did you all die of dysentery, too?
For a laugh check out this link I stumbled upon when I was searching for the images to include in this post: 10 Ways ’90s Kids Made It Through Elementary School. Ha!
Question of the Afternoon
- Do you remember loving certain educational games or movies in elementary school? Please share your favorites!
- Teachers and/or parents: What games are students loving these days? Please tell me there’s an Oregon Trail 2.0.
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I loved Oregon Trail!!! I used to stay home from school just to play it haha! And watch Price is Right which I still watch to this day. Ever day.
Oh, those television sets. Lights go out and you start passing notes to friends. Best days ever. Specifically, I remember watching West Side Story and Billy Nye the science guy, “Bill! Bill! Bill!” Anyone…?!
Oh my word…what I would do for those delicious and magical Publix chicken tenders. Living in NYC makes me miss Publix oh so much 🙁 !!
Haha oh memories! Love the Thought Category link too! I liked playing Troggle Trouble Math and Odell Down Under when I was in elementary school 🙂
Omg, I had completely forgot about voyage of the Mimi!!!! Never occurred to me that it was Ben affleck though? I remember the episode where they made a solar water still to get fresh water on the island. Love love love oregon trail too! I miss those days sometimes!
Oh my goodness, number munchers brings so much joy. That game was the best! Haha the tv being rolled out is so true, always meant a good day 🙂
I felt like the biggest geek loving Number Munchers and Troggle Trouble…and Math Blasters! But I would’ve played it all day long. My kindergarten class was the first a my school to get to use a reading program on computers back in 1986 and we thought we were super cool.
Aaaah Outnumbered! I completely forgot about that game. I remember Treasure Mountain was also a popular computer game during the elementary school era too. Oh memories!
I remember these games, but not because I was playing them, my students were. In the 90’s while you were a student, I was the teacher…5th grade to be exact and my students loved all the games you mentioned. MY kids (who are now teenagers) grew up with computer games. Some of their favorites were Club Penguin, Reader Rabbit, and Freddi the Fish. Now my son has his own YouTube channel where he uploads all his gaming videos like MineCraft, Skyrim, COD, etc. http://www.youtube.com/user/BaldingMammal/featured
Things sure have changed…I didn’t even have a computer in my elementary school! 🙂
HAHAH. Totally made me laugh. Number crunchers & oregon trail were legit!
We watched a lot of Bill Nye the Science Guy 🙂
My favorite game was Zoombinis Logical Journey. It was the game everyone loved to play during indoor recess. I remember there was even a sign up sheet to play since it was so popular!
I loved oregon trail! There IS an updated version (though it’s not exactly new). We have it at the library where I work and I keep telling myself I’ll check it out secretly one day and play it!
Oregon Trail was the best! I also lovedddddddddd Lemonade Stand! 🙂 I played them on those awful computers with green/yellow text and images… all games were on those lovely 8-in. floppy disks! LOVED going to class those days!
OMG!!! OutNumbered!! I never knew anyone else but my sister and I who played that (the whole series of them actually). Loved that game… Hehe, I always thought educational games were the BEST!
Reading Rainbow! Yeah I was a little young in the 90’s, but I LOVED Reading Rainbow and Parachute days!
Had to post when I saw the Voyage of the Mimi reference!!! Loved it in 5th grade. Correct me if I am wrong but wasn’t there a blond woman character that had one leg but was an amazing scuba diver?
Voyage of the Mimi and Oregon Trail! I miss these so much!
Voyage of the Mimi was our 7th grade science class. I think the only other thing we learned was how to take care of the class bunny. I can not believe that Ben Affleck was in that series. Memories!
Also, we were a little older but in high school we spent one day a week watching “Muzzy.” He was a gigantic blue muppet/monster that taught us how to speak spanish!
I’m probably showing my age here (LOL), but I loved watching Square One Television and playing Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego? (and I don’t mean the t.v. show they aired on PBS.). And I do remember the t.v.’s on the rolling carts.
Ha! I’d forgotten all about OutNumbered! I used to love that one too. Did you ever play the one where you run a cookie factory? I can’t remember the name but it always made me hungry. 🙂
I seem to remember an epidosde of VOTM where the crew had to make fresh water from seawater using a little condensation contraption they invented. I hope I never find myself in a situation where I am that desperate for fresh water, but I will forever thank VOTM for the knowledge. Too hilarious:-)
Voyage of the Mimi! Ah, sixth grade memories. I totally remember the hypothermia episode, but can’t remember what we were supposed to learn from watching the series…
I loved Oregon Trail! It was a treat to play that game … on the oldest computer known to mankind. 😉
Another love .. Carmen San Diego! I still don’t know what spelunking is. 🙂
And the tv strapped to the cart was the absolute best!
Oh my gosh! OutNumbered! I would’ve never remembered the name, but I totally remember that game! And the tv on the cart pic was too funny!
Ahhh, Oregon Trail! I loved that game! I actually got so obsessed with the game and history of the Oregon Trail that my family planned a week long camping trip along the remnants of the Trail in Oregon and Washington (I’m from Washington State). It was so cool to see!
I loved Oregon Trail and this typing game. I saw the elementary school link and I LOVED those smelly markers!
OMG outnumbered was my FAVORITE!!!! i can still here the music in my head, and that creepy robot that would make you do math facts…totally stressed me out, but man i loved that game! i would totally buy it now if i could find it…they should come out with the old school computer games again, haha
This is the best post I have read on the blogosphere in a long time. I was obsessed with Number Crunchers, Oregon Trail and (of course) Voyage of the Mimi. I totally know what you mean about the TV cart with wheels. Kids today are missing out.
I actually went so far as to try to find number crunchers and oregon trail online for download. Number crunchers is MIA but there are online versions of old school Oregon Trail floating around. Is it still super fun and educational? No. IT’S BETTER. We used to play it in college and intentionally let ex boyfriends get dysentery or cholera. When the pressure of computer class is off it is SO fun to caulk the wagon and float- total lottery, I love it.
Haha your post was hilarious, obviously I am super enthusiastic about 90s computer games and have been waiting for a forum like this to come up so I could voice my closeted obsession. (kidding!)
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!! I just had to google the Voyage of the Mimi to try and convince by husband that he MUST have watched it during school…he still insists he didnt! Every single item on that list made me laugh, because it is all so true!
Oregon Trail and Number Munchers were the BEST!! Oh man, thanks for the walk down memory lane!! 🙂
OMG! I used to love Voyage of the Mimi! And I totally forgot about it! It made me want to visit the tropics so badly, I’ll never forget watching that guy going through the compression chamber after scuba diving so he didn’t get the bends. Educational and entertaining!
OMG i LOVED outnumbered! i may or may not be looking online now to see if i can play it…
Yeah number munchers!! Do they still have that game?
There’s a new (?!) version of Oregon Trail out for iPad called “Organ Trail” – it’s a post zombie apocolypse based game based off of the classic… 8 bit graphics and all
Ahhh, Voyage of the Mimi! That was the best unit in 5th grade science! We were actually supposed to go on a whale sightseeing tour, but it was canceled. 🙁 Oregon Trail is another gem–one of my all-time favorite computer games!
Oh my gosh! It’s been years since I thought about the Voyage of the Mimi, but it was the highlight of my 6th grade year! Good times. 🙂
NUMBER MUNCHERSSS!! I have been trying to bring this game up to people in my life and they look at me like I’m nuts!!!!! Someone remembers! Oregon Trail is also a classic.
I must have been out of the loop because the only thing I remember from this list is Oregon Trail. Oh gosh, elementary school…I think that is when pogs were big. That and friendship bracelets.
Oregon Trail, Math Blasters, and old school Tetris on windows 90 something so amazing!!!
VOYAGE OF THE MIMI!!! I remember that – we watched it in sixth grade too! Oregon Trail was my absolute favorite game…..I got past the dysentery a couple of times, only to drown while crossing the last river on a raft!
Oregon Trail! I loved playing that when we got to go to the computer lab as a kid. And Carmen Sandiego – best games ever!
I was thinking about The Voyage of the Mimi the other day and could not for the life of me remember the name! I remember watching it on those giant laser discs!
I know this seems silly, but my Mimi (my grandmother) passed away a few days ago , and I saw this post as a little hello from her, since I read your blog daily. So thanks for unknowingly bringing a smile and happy tear to my face. 🙂 ps I was a big fan of Oregon Trail and as a fellow math hater, Number Munchers definitely made it less miserable. 😉
Ahhh! The days when we played Oregon Trail in computer class were the BEST (on some of the very first Apple–Macintosh–computers). I had the game at home, too, and literally spent hours a week playing it. Pretty sure I drowned more often than not–or died of dysentery. I also loved Carmen Sandiego and Reader Rabbit!
Hahaha. I’m a substitute teacher, and nothing makes ME happier than showing an educational movie (when the teacher has neglected to leave sub plans). Happy kids, happy teacher! Anything in the Planet Earth or National Geographic series does the trick.
We used to watch Bill Nigh the Science Guy in class! I never really liked it, but it meant no teaching! Haha! We also used to play a multiplication game called pineapple rings where in a ring there would be all the numbers from 0-12 and the teacher would call out a number and you had to multiply that number by the numbers on the ring and whoever was fastest won. So much fun!
I love this post! It had me smiling and reminiscing of some of my favorite childhood memories. We used to play a math game called “Around the World” when I was in elementary school and it was my favorite! I have 2 nieces and 3 nephews and kids today are so different! They are into iPhones, iPads, iPods and laptops. They don’t play any of the games I used to play. I tried to show them the Atari and Pacman…they weren’t interested. haha
I absolutely love when I have leftovers from another meal that I can add to a salad. My favorite “leftover” salad ingredient is probably roasted brussel sprouts. I even like them cold! If you love the Bolthouse yogurt dressings and haven’t tried the ranch version, you really should. It is great!
We used to watch Bill Nye all the time! The funny thing is that I work in the schools and the kids love him just as much today, albeit they are watching him on a DVD or YouTube now :).
Oregon Trail was the greatest thing EVER!!