When she arrives in the doorway, students rush forward, all eager to help retiree Kathy Reynolds. They’re share with her about what they did over the weekend, on recess, what they learned.

Many of them ask where her husband, Boyd, is. He was recovering from a surgery, she tells them. Reynolds thanks them for asking and said he will come soon.

The two former teachers are regulars at Liberty Elementary where weekly, they help a third-grade class. Reynolds leads literacy projects while her husband engages students in math.

It’s not a quiet retirement, but then Reynolds always has been full of energy when she taught first graders in the same classroom for 28 years at McMillan Elementary. She still is a regular part of McMillan as well, as she and her husband volunteer there twice per week. 

Reynolds, along with some of her colleagues, are known at McMillan for starting the traditional first-grade “Nutcracker” program. The story, adapted by Judy Barry Brown, was from a Woman’s Day magazine published in 1976 and first performed on McMillan’s stage in 1992, which received a standing ovation. Now the production has grown from first graders memorizing their lines to performing in beautiful costumes sewn by volunteers and with set pieces built by professionals. 

As a former marathoner, Reynolds also began the schoolwide Fit Fun Run 29 years ago. It began with her running with her first graders and now, it’s an event supported by the neighborhood.

Being in schools around children is exactly where they want to be.

“I never did want to retire,” Reynolds said. “I would have taught and run marathons until I was 80. The stroke put a damper on that. I taught full time for three years after that, but the pandemic was beyond me. Being on computers, that wasn’t the way I like to teach.”

Her stroke came the month following running the St. George Marathon in 2017. She was told she wouldn’t be able to teach again. With her husband volunteering in her classroom for half days and her daughter, Angie Thompson, by her side, the former Boston marathoner continued teaching, including leading some of her favorite projects. She retired in 2020.

Those beloved projects she teaches to school children today in both schools.

Her day at Liberty began by sitting in front of the pupils, who were sitting in straight lines on the floor. She reminded them where they left off learning 36 poems.

“She does a poetry festival with them,” said the students’ teacher, Aimee Ballard, who is Reynolds’ daughter. “They learn all these poems, some are nursery rhymes and some are very light hearted and fun; they say them to a little beat or a rhythm. Then, we invite parents. Last year, it was the biggest turnout of parents I’ve ever had. They watch their kids perform all these poems that my mom has taught them and that’s super cool. It’s just cute. Everyone gets so excited.”

This year’s festival is May 29. Six months beforehand, they already memorized several, including “Keep a Poem in Your Pocket” and “One Misty, Moisty Morning” before asking them how many students know “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary.” Hands shoot up.

Then, she asks them, “What does contrary mean? What is another word that means that?”

When she receives a correct response, Reynolds smiles and pays the student a compliment. 

“I like all the rhymes; they’re fun,” said third-grader Bexley Monson. “I say them as I fall asleep. I already have five memorized.”

After about 15 minutes, Reynolds moves to a horseshoe table with a small group while Ballard leads the rest of the class in another activity, who know they’ll have their turn with the retired teacher another day.

Reynolds pulls out a spiral-bound laminated book with student writing and pictures. It is written by one of her former students, Madelyn, and drew the cover with a car going up steep mountains with a bright yellow sun shining. The student-written book is called, “My fun trip.”

After reading it to this group of five students, she told them they were going to publish their own books. It didn’t matter if it was a trip to a grocery store to Kanarraville or to Disney World, Reynolds said, “You all have a story to tell. Write who went on the trip with you, how long it took, how you traveled, what did you do there?”

When the students were so excited they started telling her about their trips, she reminded them to write it.

“Help us visualize or see your trip story using descriptive words. Was it a beautiful sunny day? Did it take three hours? Did you travel in a car or a plane? The details in your story makes it more interesting. Write everything you’re thinking. We call this our little sloppy copy. Then, we’ll do it again and make it our very best,” she said, reminiscent of her former classroom slogan, “Be the best you can be.”

After 20 minutes, third-grader Caylee Spen asked Reynolds about her story.

“I like Mrs. Reynolds,” she said. “She’s helping me improve my writing. She reminds everyone of putting in punctuation. For me, it’s getting my story on the paper as best as I can so I can share it.”

When Reynolds taught at McMillan, she would hang the first-graders’ books on a bulletin board outside her classroom so other students could read them. 

“I did these projects when I taught and saw how successful they were so I wanted to duplicate it. The kids are excited about it and the parents love it,” she said.

She taught students how to write and publish their books for 10 years at McMillan.

“I had my students write all the time. I insisted on them being good writers. That was one thing I was very fussy about,” she said.

Not only has she taken the poetry festival and book-writing project to Liberty’s classroom, but also to Thompson’s second-grade classroom at McMillan. 

After the poetry festival at McMillan, Thompson has students share their creative writing with their families. Last year, Reynolds said, the students were so proud of their books and showed their parents their author’s page complete with a photo and a dedication page. One book was even dedicated to her.

“It was touching. That child found the joy in writing. Kids love to write their own story in a little book. It’s just a natural thing that kids love to do. They’re thrilled that they can write and publish it. Not only are they learning writing and rewriting skills, but they also learn how to critique and take suggestions,” she said.

Reynolds also returned to help with the 30th production of McMillan’s “Nutcracker” in December—and experienced a first. The lead girl who was to play Clara got sick days before the show with a 105-degree fever. Having no backup, another girl was asked to learn the part in two days.

“She pulled it off and knew every word of every line. Everyone was helping her. We’ve never had that happen before,” Reynolds said. “I had some parents ask me if I’d do a ‘Nutcracker’ for the kids who are now in third- and fourth-grade classes since they didn’t get to do it in 2020 and 2021 when we couldn’t do it because of the pandemic. They are still devastated they didn’t get to do it since it’s such a big tradition at the school.”

Reynolds also continues to help with the Fit Fun Run, which has students racing from the school grounds to Friendship Park in May. Reynolds started the run 29 years ago with her first-grade class and now, the entire school runs and people from the community are involved.

Those two events are the only two long-standing traditions at McMillan.

“I’m afraid they’ll stop if I don’t show up,” she said with a laugh. “Actually, they make me feel so welcome and say they can’t do it without me, but we both know they can. Truth be told, I can’t stay away. I’m totally addicted to kids.”

Ballard has appreciated learning her mother’s ways. She has been involved in fun runs at Liberty, and at Longview where she previously taught, and has a long vision of introducing “Nutcracker” at Liberty because as a classroom aide in her mother’s class, “I can single-handedly perform every line and every dance. I love her poems and her writing traditions. We’re just spreading Mrs. Reynolds everywhere.”

Teaching is in Reynolds’ blood. Her grandmother and mother were teachers.

“Mother taught in a one-room schoolhouse. They gave her a test to become a teacher when she was in school; she was 15 and passed. They gave her a school at Promontory Point. She never came home during the year. She made $500 for the year and got room and board. She taught for 45 years and cried when she retired,” she said. “Now, I have three of my four daughters who teach school and they all run marathons, and I have three granddaughters who teach—and I’m married to a teacher.”

Boyd Reynolds began teaching sixth grade at Liberty in 1962.

“He was barely out of college when he started teaching—and he’s never been out of a classroom since,” she said. “He always says he’s been in school for over 60 years because he loves it.”

Boyd Reynolds taught 41 years at Liberty, Arlington, Horizon and Grant elementaries, then upon his retirement, he volunteered teaching math alongside in his wife’s classroom at McMillan.

“We taught together. In fact, he volunteered when he retired before I had the stroke. Now he teaches math at McMillan and Liberty because he absolutely love teaching math. It’s not one plus one is two, but it’s more logical, figuring out for a problem. He gets to interact with students through math and loves that,” she said.

The two have volunteered for three years at McMillan and are on their second year helping at Liberty.

Reynolds, who was escorted by two students to her car after volunteering for an hour, remembers she was going to teach English, speech and theater in high school.

“When I saw my neighbor who was an English teacher and she brought home a big box of papers every night, I decided I’d teach elementary,” she said. “I fell in love with the magic of first grade learning to read and adding numbers and wanting to absorb more. So, I introduced my passions—teaching writing, directing the stage, running—and even though I’m retired, I’m still getting to do it.” λ