Schmarschmallows anyone?

Three little smiling faces stand before me with beams of excitement shining from their eyes.  My first thought?  Uh oh, what are they up to?   :)

Emma: Mom?  Can we set up our tent in the basement?

Me: Sure!

In unison: YES!!! [insert three fist pumps]

Emma: Um, do you think maybe it would be ok for Maddie and I to sleep down there tonight?

Me: Sure!

In unison: YES!! [insert happy hopping]

Three little ladies ran for the stairs; six little feet padding down to the basement in search of one pink princess tent.  It's barely big enough for all three to get inside at the same time but it doesn't matter one little bit.

Five minutes later, two feet bound up the stairs.  Uh oh, there's that look again.  

Emma: Could Avery sleep down there too?  We will watch her!  We promise!

Me: Hmmm...let's wait and see. [Is the three year old going to be down with sleeping in the basement? She was afraid of her closet yesterday, after all.]

Emma: Ok, but she will be really sad if she can't.

Me: Well, I'll take that into consideration. [laughing, I just can't help it]


We have no school today (don't hate!) and by 10:30 AM these three have already had breakfast, gotten dressed, gone outside for a bike riding session in the garage, set up the tent in the basement, and packed up their overnight bags.  [Why aren't they this quick and independent on school days?]

Based on the items I've being carried to the basement and the happy giggles that keep drifting up the stairs, it's going to be an epic camping trip.

Anyone else up for camping?  I hear they might be roasting schmarschmallows later!

Miss Maddie

I'm joining Ruth Ayres to Celebrate this week at her blog Ruth Ayres Writes.

Today I'm celebrating my daughter Maddie.  She is currently attending her first friend birthday party/play date.

Before I tell you about this, I should back up a little.  Maddie is my third child to go off to school.  They all attend school in the district where I teach, which is by choice.  Both of my older children had the same kindergarten teacher, which we happen to love and who happens to be one of my best friends.  However, as this school year approached, we were faced with a dilemma at school.  We needed to reduce our 5 sections of kindergarten to 4.  My friend took the opportunity to save the rest of us who didn't want to leave kindergarten to loop with her class and move to first grade with them. 

Talk about a bittersweet deal.  It made the reduction to 4 classrooms much less messy than it could have been, however it meant that my third child would not have her as a kindergarten teacher.  Keep in mind that Maddie has severe food allergies.  I was already nervous about her starting school and now the teacher of choice for us is out of the question.  Anxiety.

So, after much careful consideration, we decided that Maddie would be in my kindergarten classroom.  Deep breath.  Yes, I was going to be her teacher.  I had reservations about it but was also relieved to know that I would be able to supervise her first year of school with food allergies. 

It's really been a lot of fun to watch her grow and develop literally right in front of my eyes.  I've been able to watch her make new friends, grow from a quiet little thing to someone who speaks up for herself and isn't afraid to tell the "big bully guy" to back off (proud mommy moment!) and everything else that happens in kindergarten.

She has truly blossomed this year.  She has become great friends with another child (who also happens to have similar food allergies, very cool that they found each other) in our class.  J is about as sweet as they come and her parents are really great too.   She is having a birthday party today and she invited Maddie to come.  Maddie was so excited!  I am pretty sure she spent the last 5 days or so bouncing around and telling everyone about how excited she was to go. 

My husband took her to J's house this afternoon for the party in the 4-wheel drive because the weather is pretty nasty.  We were not about to disappoint her by not taking her but now we are dreading the trip to pick her up! 

Anyway, I am celebrating the fact that my quiet little lady is enjoying herself at her bestie's birthday party.  I love that she has a great friend, that I trust her parents who are very aware of how serious food allergies are, and that more and more every day, she is becoming a beautiful, independent little lady.  I'm so proud of her and so happy for this new birthday party/play date adventure for her.  I can't wait until she gets home so I can hear all about the fun time she had.

What a Wonderful World

I see trees of green,
red roses too.

I see them bloom,
for me and you.

And I think to myself,
what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue,
And clouds of white.

The bright blessed day,
The dark sacred night.

And I think to myself,

What a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow,
So pretty in the sky.

Are also on the faces,

Of people going by,
I see friends shaking hands.

Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying,

"I love you."

I hear babies cry,
I watch them grow,

They'll learn much more,
Than I'll ever know.

And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

 

Yes, I think to myself,

What a wonderful world.

Oh yeah.

For more Slice of Life stories, visit Two Writing Teachers.

25 Things That Make Me Smile

I'm getting excited about March!  It's such a great month.  If I'm lucky, it there will be a hint of sprint in March.  It's the month when things feel like they are falling into place in the classroom-finally.  It is a month of growth in many ways!  It's a month of birthdays - my dad, my husband, my son, my father-in-law, my sister-in-law, and several friends.  But...it's also a month of writing!  I'm really looking forward to the Slice of Life Challenge this year.  Last year was my first time participating and it was amazing.  I'm sure this year will be equally fulfilling.  My writing habits haven't been strong lately so I'm looking forward to an "excuse" to make time to write.  I've made my list of ideas to fall back on in case there is a day I just can't find the words.  Now I'm ready ... bring it on SOLC 2013!
 
I've been thinking lately about what makes me smile.  There are so many different things and so many different stories I could tell about them, it's a little overwhelming.  Instead, for today, I think I'll just make a list.  Who knows?  Maybe it will fuel more posts later!

25 Things that Make Me Smile

1. A hot cup of  French Vanilla cappuccino
2. Snow falling softly outside my window
3. The sound of my children laughing
4. My husband's smile
5. A hug
6. A note from a friend
7. Reading a good book
8. My fuzzy, red blanket - a Christmas gift that keeps giving!
9. Snow days!
10. Hearing my most favorite words from my most favorite people, "I love you Mommy!"
11. Waking up slowly on a Saturday, without the alarm blaring
12. A hot shower
13. Date night
14. Watching my children play in the snow
15. A great quote
16. The hum of learning 
17. Smiles on my children's faces
18. A chat with a good friend
19. A Cherry Coke!
20. Watching a child's face when they begin to understand something difficult
21. My mom
22. Knowing our babysitter loves our children
23. Helping others
24. The smell of a new baby
25. Crawling into bed at night

Themes It's Popping Up Everywhere!

Tuesday's Slice of Life stories are hosted by Ruth and Stacey at their blog Two Writing Teachers.  Head over to their blog to read more great slice of life stories and even add your own!



I'm reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio right now.  I took my children to the library on Saturday morning and began reading it that afternoon.  I could not put it down all weekend.  That being said, I still haven't finished it.  (Here is where I give the excuse of having four small children...reading time is hard to come by during the daytime hours!)  But, possibly because can't spend the time I'd like to really devour the book, I have had time to reflect on my reading as I go.

It seems to follow the overarching themes that have been floating around me during the last two weeks.  I have been running into the ideas of making a difference, standing up for what you believe in, standing up for others and choosing kindness.

I see it in the book: the children who become friends with Auggie and choose kindness, they stand up for each other, and they make a difference in each other's lives. 

I see it in my classroom: making an extra effort to connect with a child and make a difference in the way they see themselves in school, as a student and as a learner.

I see it in my colleagues: standing up for the type of professional development that will be helpful and not hurtful to their team, thinking about relationships and the dynamics of teamwork and collaboration.

I see it in my mentor: teaching others by showing them their gifts and using those gifts to benefit the whole, encouraging people by meeting them where they are, validating them and then giving them a nudge to soar on their own, fostering independence, and leading by example.

I see it on the signs I drive past: "To belittle is to be little."

I see it in my own writing: read this post and this post for more.

Then again today, as I settle in with Wonder for a few minutes this evening, I see it again.  Only this time, it has an additional message attached.  Auggie said it well: "I do know what I'm really known for.  But there's nothing I can do about that.  A Star Wars duffel bag I could do something about."

Sometimes things happen and we can't do anything about it.  BUT...sometimes we can.  Don't complain about what you cannot change but take charge of what you can change.  Never be little - never belittle.  Take a stand where you can.  Make a difference.  Choose kindness. 

I Chose To Make a Difference and Be Happy! Did you?

Yesterday I urged everyone to choose to be happy and go make a difference to someone.  I started my day out today reminding myself that today I was holding myself accountable to meet my goal.  I didn't know how I was going to do this but I trusted that an opportunity would arise during my day.  I also promised myself that this would involve someone outside my immediate family...more specifically, someone at school.  I think I had in the back of my mind that this would involve one of my students but I wasn't going to limit myself.  On the other hand, I only worked a half day, so I knew I had a more limited timeframe for meeting my goal.

No worries, right?

Well, even though it was only a half day, it was one of THOSE days in the classroom.  It was pretty clear from the beginning that the majority of my students were thinking about the long weekend and feeling like they would much rather be outside playing, or inside playing for that matter, than be in school. 

This is a challenging group of students.  I love them, but they are a tough group.  I knew I would have to work harder to engage them today.  It was time to pull out the paint and the bingo chips!  What better way to jump into the day than by painting?  I figured that the kids would be more able to sit and read after painting.  Once clean up was complete, out came the book boxes.  I was surprised by their stamina - 25 minutes - I guess it worked!  Then I brought out the bingo chips, but I threw them a curve ball when I told them we weren't going to be playing bingo with them.  I was able to sneak in a little subtraction practice by playing with the bingo chips.  Then they were even able to accomplish a little writing time as well.

Through it all, most of the kids did a great job.  There were a few that were obviously just going through the motions today, but they were hanging in there and I managed to engage them, too, eventually.  But then there was my little pumpkin Jake.  Oh Jake.

All morning he was dragging his feet.  The painting didn't hook him.  Read to Self time caused him to make three trips to the Kleenex box, two trips to the bathroom, and one trip to the drinking fountain.  Yep, all that in 25 minutes.  Think he was able to get much reading done?  Me neither.  At this point, it was only 10:00.  I knew that we were still facing writing workshop...his least favorite activity of the day.  In 140+ days of school, I still have not been able to convince this little munchkin that writing is fun, important, exciting, anything.  He dreads it every day.  I figured if I didn't do something quick, the Kleenex/bathroom/drinking fountain process was going to start all over again.

What to do...what to do...how was I going to get him to add periods to his story when he didn't even want to open his writing booklet?  Think...think...think... 

"Hey Jake?  Would you bring me the book, Papa Please Get the Moon For Me, by Eric Carle please?

"Sure Mrs.S!" 

His face ACTUALLY lit up at this request.  I know it was really only because he would rather do anything than write, but I still took some satisfaction in seeing his smile.  He happily bounced over to the author study basket and found the book for me.  We read the book yesterday - he loved it, just as he loves anything about the moon, stars, planets, space, etc.

He brought the book over to me and stood waiting to see if I was going to read it...of course, I took advantage of that.  I started reading the first page quietly to myself.  I started a little dialogue with myself.  "I wonder what Eric Carle does to show his readers where to stop reading and when a sentence is done?  Hmmm, let me look...."

"Mrs.S!  I know!  Eric Carle puts a dot at the end of the sentence!  That's how we know when to stop!  Remember?  It's like a stop sign!"  (I love it when a plan works!)

"Wow Jake!  I think you are right!  I bet you did that in your book too!"

A perplexed look flashed across his face.  "Just a minute," he said as he dashed back to his table.

I watched as he bent over his story.  He checked each page, added a period to each, closed the book and brought it over to me.  "Look!  I did!  I have a dot at the end of every set-nance!"

"You put a period at the end of each sentence Jake?  That's great!  You are just like Eric Carle!"

S-M-I-L-E-S!  Then he proceeded to tell me he was done but didn't want to start a new story today.  He thought he'd had enough.  (Just when I thought I had him...)

"Hey Jake, you have been enjoying Eric Carle's books a lot, haven't you?"

"Yeah!  I like the caterpillar one and the hermit crab one and the sloth one and the moon one." 

"I like those stories too.  You know what?  I noticed that Eric Carle seems to write about things he really likes.  He really likes animals and he likes to teach kids about them.  I bet that's why we like those stories so much!  Because we can tell that he worked hard on them and he was really interested in those topics and he shared them with us so we could enjoy them too!"

"Oh.  Is it almost free choice time?"  (Sigh.  Guess I'll need to work a little harder.)

"What do you like to play with most?" 

"Cars."

"Do you have a lot at home?"

"Yes!  I have all different kinds.  They are different colors and different shapes and they are really cool.  I even have a track that they drive on and a ramp to jump and my brother has a lot of cars too!"  (Set the hook!)

"You know, that reminds me of Eric Carle!  He write about things he likes.  You could do that too!  You could write a story about your cars!"

Gasp!  "I could!  I could do it right now! I'll show you when I'm done Mrs. S!" he said over his shoulder as he ran away. (Reel him in!)

Later on...

"Hey Mrs. S?  I liked writing today.  I started that story about my cars!  It was kinda fun!"  (Ahhh...caught him!)
It took a while.  It took a lot of tries.  It took a lot of patience.  It took some new ideas, but I did it!  I made a difference to Jake today.  And you know what?  It felt really good.  Really good.  It was totally worth the time and effort.  I can't wait to see how his story ends.  I love that Jake chose to be happy today.

What did you do today?  Who did you make a difference to?  How did you choose to be happy?

Choose Kindness and Go Make a Difference!

What on earth?  Is that a person?  Yes. I'm pretty sure.  Is she...flapping her arms?  In the middle of the road?  What is going on?  Break lights.  A car on the side of the road.  Is that a kid hanging out the window?  What is she doing?  Doesn't she realize what a busy road this is?  55 miles per hour isn't going to stop quickly, no matter how much you flap your arms woman!  Sometimes I honestly think people are crazy...oh, wait...what?  Is that...a horse?  No.  Correction.  That's three horses.  Ok, maybe those are technically ponies, but yes, there they are, in the middle of the road, in the ditch, trotting wherever they please.  What is going on here?!

I was driving home after an impromptu family dinner at the local pizza place tonight (my daughter's idea - and a good one too!) and I was feeling pretty content.  My day in the classroom left me somewhat discouraged, but dinner with my own children had lightened my mood.  I was feeling pretty good as I sang along with the radio, windows down, enjoying the sunshine and warm weather.  That's when I saw this odd spectacle.  It's just not every day that you see a woman, in the middle of a busy road, flapping her arms!  I realize she was trying to get the car in front of me to stop but let's keep in mind that this road is BUSY and traffic was humming right along - probably a bit faster than the posted 55 mph signs would encourage.  For a minute all I can see is a vehicle on the side of the road, parked haphazardly nearish to a driveway, with a young child half hanging out the side window and a woman standing in the center of the road flapping her arms, and breaklights on the car in front of me, which was rapidly slowing down.

That's about the time that I saw first one pony, then three ponies.  They were obviously skittish and out of sorts.  Once the woman was satisfied that the cars were stopping on the road, she moved to the side and tried to encourage the ponies to stay away from the road.  Keep in mind that I travel this stretch of road twice daily and never have I seen horses near the road.  There are often horses in a field that is way off the road, but they are never anywhere close.  And I've never noticed these particular ponies among that group either, so it was an all-around surprising scene.

Apparently, the woman was about 2 minutes ahead of me, saw that the horses had gotten out and stopped her car to help.  She left her small child sitting on the side of the road, hanging out the window in order to see, and she was trying her best to corral the ponies.  About this time, a truck came flying in from the opposite direction.  He whipped off the road and jumped out of his truck, quite possibly before he even had it in park.  I'm guessing the 3 ponies belonged to him. 

As I drove away, I had several thoughts competing for my attention all at once.

"Thank God I didn't get there right before the crazy arm-flapping lady!  I could have easily hit one of the ponies with two of my babies in the backseat."

"That woman must actually be crazy to leave her car parked that way with her small child hanging out the window while she stood in the middle of the road."

"I wonder what I would have done if I had been there first?"

"I'm certain I would not have gotten out of my vehicle and left my children on the side of the road.  I'm even more certain I would not have attempted to stop traffic on that busy road by standing in the middle and flapping my arms.  There are other ways."

"It's pretty amazing that someone who was willing to stop the car and stand in the middle of the road to stop traffic happened to drive that stretch of road at just the right moment to help.  And did."

"It's a blessing that the child didn't fall out of the window or end up in the middle of the road too!  And equally amazing, noone got hurt - not the woman, the child or the horses - by someone trying to avoid the woman in the middle of the road and the ponies running around."

"Here is a prime example of someone being kind and caring to others.  The ponies didn't belong to this woman.  She stopped anyway.  She went above the call of duty and made a difference in someone's day."

"I just witnessed an act of kindness.  It's time to pay it forward."

Ok, I can take a hint.  First, Ruth inspired me with her challenge to go make a difference through teaching.  Next, Linda inspired me with her call to be an ally for others and make a difference in a child's life.  Then, Betsy inspired me with her message of choosing happiness. 

I am challenging myself tomorrow to make a difference.  Even if it's something small, something meaningful to one person.  Anything.  Just make a difference.  Inspire someone.  Notice an act of kindness and pay it forward.  I'll let you know how it works out for me.  I hope you will come back and let me know how it worked out for you as well.

Until then...choose happiness and make a difference.