Some thoughts on teaching...

There is a whole slew of things I could post about teaching, but today I want to share something my principal sent to us in her weekly announcements and I thought it worth sharing. It's a letter from Abraham Lincoln for his son's teacher. This the the kind of teacher I desire and work towards being every day. I am not perfect, I get frustrated, I am impatient at times, I feel overwhelmed by all the demands, I feel unappreciated sometimes... but more so I want to make an impact, change lives, inspire greatness, instill confidence, encourage creativity and make sure those kiddos leave my class knowing I cared for them and poured myself into their education. This letter from Lincoln is beautiful and I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

"My son starts school today. It is all going to be strange and new to him for a while and I wish you would treat him gently. It is an adventure that might take him across continents. All adventures that probably include wars, tragedy and sorrow. To live this life will require faith, love and courage.

So dear Teacher, will you please take him by his hand and teach him things he will have to know, teaching him - but gently, if you can. Teach him that for every enemy, there is a friend. He will have to know that all men are not just, that all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero, that for every crooked politician, there is a dedicated leader.

Teach him if you can that 10 cents earned is of far more value than a dollar found. In school, teacher, it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to learn how to gracefully lose, and enjoy winning when he does win.

Teach him to be gentle with people, tough with tough people. Steer him away from envy if you can and teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Teach him if you can - how to laugh when he is sad, teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him there can be glory in failure and despair in success. Teach him to scoff at cynics.

Teach him if you can the wonders of books, but also give time to ponder the extreme mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hill. Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tell him they are wrong.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is doing it. Teach him to listen to every one, but teach him also to filters all that he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him to sell his talents and brains to the highest bidder but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul. Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patient to be brave. Teach him to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind, in God.

This is the order, teacher but see what best you can do. He is such a nice little boy and he is my son.

Regards,
Lincoln.

Parents, thanks for sharing your most precious gift with us teachers,

Friday Favorite #3

Whoops. It's Friday and I haven't posted anything since last Friday... I guess that is to be expected with going back to work. All of a sudden all my free time has disappeared! Where did it go?? If you find my free time, please return it to me. Thanks in advance :)

Well, today my Friday Favorite is actually something I haven't even had a chance to use yet BUT I'm super duper excited to find a time here in the future to try it out (once my free time has been returned!). This was actually a gift from my parents for my birthday, and I love it! I love the color. I love the size (not too big, not too many functions/features/gadgets/ for me to figure out). I'm pretty indecisive, I have a really hard time making decisions... this is another one of those things that I'm working on. My college roommate used to make me make decisions, it was pretty rough but it ended up being really good for me (thanks Jillian!), but for the most part it's still pretty hard. Soooo, I was glad that I didn't have to pick out the color as that could have caused some serious anxiety. It doesn't hurt that I like pretty much any color, and it also doesn't hurt that mom said this is the color that was on sale (everyone loves a good deal!) and it doesn't hurt that it's YELLOW, love yellow!! Anyway, thanks mom and dad. LOVE YOU!!

Much love,

Friday Favorite #2

Howdy friends! Well, Friday has come again and I can hardly believe that it's here already AND at the same time I can't believe how long it took to get here. Whew! It was one of those short long week. Mostly because school started and I think I'm still adjusting to being back at work. Also, summer decided to show up in September so my classroom is about a million degrees, which is making everything harder! But enough of that. That's not what Friday Favorite is supposed to be about!

I already knew what I wanted to share as my 2nd Friday Favorite, it is the cutest, dantiest, sweetest little necklace around and it was my birthday present from hubbers. It's gold, it's a star, and it's all mine (ok, ok... it could be yours too if you buy it)! It's from Dogeared, they have a lot of really cute jewelry with a lot of different price points, some are pretty spendy and some are pretty affordable. I just love my Happy Birthday necklace and I haven't taken it off since I got it. I suppose I should take it off eventually, but for now I'm loving it around my neck. Here it is:

Well, that's it for now. I'm pretty exhausted and don't have much more to say except a big thank you for hubbers for getting this for me. AND a lot of love to all my friends and family who wished me a happy birthday and spoiled me with love, blessings, words of encouragement and some sweet gifts.
Blessings,

Back in the saddle again... well, tomorrow

I just thought this little guy was too cute!

Even though I've been going back in to work for the last three weeks, all but the last one was by choice. Last week was our first week that we had to be back. AND NOW tomorrow the kiddos are coming! Oh man, am I ready? Yes. No. Yes I am ready! All but for the new curriculum and subject that I'll be teaching this year. At my school in 5th grade, we have always done three rotations. Having three rotations helps the kiddos get ready for middle school. This means that I have a home room class, we do almost everything together as a class, but for three periods a day the students rotate to math, social studies (that's my subject!) and science. But due to budget cuts (boo!) we are down to only two 5th grade teachers and therefore one period got cut...  well, not totally cut. It's not cut out completely, just cut out of a rotations, which means... I'll be teaching math this year!!! Now, I realize that this shouldn't be a big deal, I'm a teacher after all and that means teaching ALL subjects but after 9 years (2 subbing, 7 teaching) of not teaching a subject ya get a little rusty, if you know what I mean. Ever heard the phrase, "if ya don't use it ya loose it", yep that's a true statement. I'm nervous to say the least. Not to mention the fact that the district adopted a new math curriculum for this year. So... new subject... new curriculum to use! ARGHH. This is adding sooo much unnecessary stress to my life right now. The other 5th grade teacher and I spent over TWO hours planning for ONE week of math. Will it get better?? I sure hope so. Oh, another problem-o is that we don't even have all the curriculum yet. In fact, we wouldn't have anything if it weren't for the other 5th grade teacher from last year who piloted the program. Yes, are you putting the pieces together? The curriculum is on back order, what?! How can that even be possible?? We are starting the school year without a major subject's brand newly adopted curriculum. Yikes. It's a good thing I work with some amazing teachers and have a lot of support to help me through this year. On a happier-less-stressful note, I am very excited to meet my new students and develop a relationship with them. I am anxious to get to know them and welcome them into my class and for us to feel like family! My classroom is ready for them, the papers prepared, posters hung, welcome signs ready and smiles in place. So, everyone... here's to a new year!

My Toesies

I like pedicures. I like them a lot. Getting a pedicure is a treat for your feet. Your feet that are stood on, pounded on, kicked on, stepped on and all around abused day in and day out. It's a beautiful experience. But, alas, pedicures are not free. I like free things, or at least practically free (remember?). So, I'm sad to say that I don't get pedicures as much as I wish I did. I even asked my FB friends to please donate some money so that I could get a pedicure. They didn't come through (don't worry, I won't hold it against you), well I should give a shout out to Jamie who offered up some of her old crusty nail polish. I told her that wasn't exactly what I meant by donation. So, instead of going to a salon today and getting a pedicure I decided to just give one to myself. Now, it's not exactly the same experience and it's not exactly the same result. But, at least my toesies are pretty for the first week of school. It's supposed to be HOT this week, which means sandals FOR SURE and at least I will have pretty toes, wanna bet that a few of my new students will notice and comment?? I'll let you know :) Back to my toes. Here's the color I used:

What I didn't know when I bought this color today (btw, Sinful Colors is very cheap! $1.99 at Walgreens. Yep, I buy cheap or should I say thrifty??) is that it's a matte color, which was kinda cool but not what I wanted today, so a clear coat on top was all it took! Cheers to pedis both at the salon and at home! Happy polishing,

It's not personal, it's business

There are a few things I know about myself (I know, it's only taken me 30+ years... and I'm still learning!), one of them is that I take things too personally. Remember Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail (one of my favs!), when Joe tells Kathleen that "it's not personal, it's business" (regarding the fact that the big book store is forcing her family's small book store out of business??) I feel like Kathleen on many occasions... IT IS PERSONAL! When, really, it's not. Why is it so hard for me to realize that the choices that other people make does not always relate to something I did and/or didn't do said and/or didn't say?? I tend to think... is it my fault? did I do something wrong? did I say something hurtful to them? should I call? should I apologize? should I avoid? AAAHHH... How does one get over this? I know that it's been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember. Will this change? I don't ever want to be a thick skinned person, but there must be a balance between where I'm at and where I could be... or should be? Should I work harder at being thick(er) skinned? Maybe I should just be who I am and be OK with that, but if I don't work on changing this part of me, will I continue to be heart-hurt every time I feel rejected/ignored/not-taken-seriously/dumped/left-out/brushed off/cold-shouldered/confronted/slighted??? Of course, I don't always feel this way but on too many occasions even the smallest thing can send me there (you know where... to that place in your heart where you feel like someone else's decision was in fact, well...personal...to you!). I don't get mad or try to get even, I get bummed. I get sad. I worry (this CAN'T be good for me). I've been trying this summer not to let fear hold me back, trying not to let fear lead to worry and doubt. Basically, I'm a work in progress. I know we all are in our different ways. Maybe you don't take things personally, like me, but we've all got our "stuff" to work on, right? I'm going to work on this. I think for my health, sanity, peace of mind I need to work on not taking everything so personal. And if you're still reading...thanks for sticking with me through this not so cheery post.

Loves,

Friday Favorite #1

Yay for Fridays! Even though this was a non-contract day for me, I still went in to work for a few hours this morning before spending some good time with a friend this afternoon... nevertheless I'M GLAD IT'S FRIDAY! I have decided to post a favorite thing of mine every Friday (that is my goal, I'm not promising that I'll remember and/or have time every Friday, BUT I am going to try!). I decided to do this early on this week, so I've just been patiently waiting for Friday to come around... and here it is! My very first Friday Favorite is a pair of shoes  called the Merrell Pace Glove Cross-Training Shoes - Women's, that my hubby bought for me (he actually bought a pair for himself as well) before a hiking trip (just a day trip... no crazy overnight hiking for me (yet)). I am a huge advocate for NOT buying shoes that aren't comfortable right away. I just won't do it. Not anymore. Remember the days when you thought you could "break in" a pair of shoes (it probably still works for some people and for some shoes, but overall I don't find that it's worth it to me). I remember thinking that it's okay that my pinky toe is falling asleep in the store whilst I waltzed around admiring how cute the shoes were and that I was SURE they would break in eventually and be super comfy... wrong! So now if the shoes aren't comfortable right away I just don't buy them. Even though I stick pretty firm to this belief, I was still worried that perhaps these shoes would take a while for my feet to get used to. They are to be worn without socks, and that made me nervous... what it they caused blisters? what if they pinched my toes? what if my feet got all sweaty?? But, ya know what? They are absolutely amazing... they wouldn't be my very first Friday Favorite if they weren't!

I am loving these shoes. They are perfect for just about anything... I wear them riding bikes, weight lifting, hiking (again, NOT recommending these for any serious hiking!), walks around the neighborhood, etc. Even though they were little pricey they were definitely a good investment, and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a shoe like this!

Being thankful isn't just for November

School is starting soon (like next week soon!) and that means I have a lot on my mind right now. Not to mention there have been some heartbreaking things that have happened lately. In the midst of these, I'm really trying to keep things in perspective. I need to remind myself of all the things I can be thankful for right now... I have an AMAZING husband (who loves me through everything and strengthens me all the time) and family (I could not ask for more amazing people to be related to), my friends are constant reminders at how blessed I am (thank you to each and every one of you - even you new ones!)  I have a job that I love (even though right now it is one of the things weighing on my mind), I am healthy (thank you Lord!), I have a house that I really enjoy. The list could go on & on... and so even when things are hard, frustrating, overwhelming or stressful I try to remember all the things that I am thankful for, all the ways that I'm blessed beyond measure. We have these flowers that grow in our backyard that just started blooming recently. They are growing in a ditch. Yes, a ditch full of leaves and brush and leftover stuff from working in the yard. I believe what happened was that when we were doing some yard work after we first moved into our house, we must have somehow pulled up some bulbs and they got dumped in the ditch with all the other stuff from the front yard. And now they grow up out of the ditch (that we never water or tend to or look after) and yet they keep surviving! They are absolutely beautiful, I don't know what they are but they make me happy and somehow remind me to be thankful of all that I have. These flowers are making it with hardly anything! I can make it, I can make it through hard times because I have an abundance of blessings and plenty to be thankful for. Here they are the flowers that have reminded me to be thankful for all things!

Can you see that this beautiful flower is just growing out of a ditch?

Even the leaves are bug eaten, and yet... they still survive & beautifully!