Watching the babies grow...

Psalm 103:1 - "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name."

This  verse/song is running through my mind tonight as we wait for 2014 to come to a close.  This year has been so full of triumph and tragedy, pure happiness and pain.  And in everything, through everything, Bless the Lord!  He is our only source of hope for the future and refreshing for the present!  Thank you, Lord Jesus for another year!  

So what will be my focus this year?  Another song has been running through my mind as I have been running after my kids today (the big ones and the baby).  Do you remember Bobby Goldsboro?  I do!  He sang some of the best songs I know.  One of my favorites is "Watching Scotty Grow".  Check out the short video if it's been a while since you've heard it or if you've never heard it.  

The link is here in case the video doesn't show - Watching Scotty Grow - Bobby Goldsboro .

Yes, I have resolved to lose weight, be more organized, clean the house more, etc.  But the best thing that I have resolved to do in 2015 is watch my babies grow.  They are God's gift to me and my greatest mission from Him is to raise them in Christ.  I resolve to look at them, really look at them, and listen to them, really listen, every day.  This year I will be, as Bobby says, "Biding my time," watching my babies grow.  

As a teacher, I pray that I will remember to take this attitude into the classroom with me.  Yes, we will multiply, divide, read, and do science experiments.  But what a gift it is to have the opportunity to watch these babies grow!  In the middle of lesson plans, assessments, RTI, and everything else, let's all try to remember to take a minute just to appreciate their youth.  

What did I learn today? What did I play today?

Today was a wonderful day.  Since we are teachers, our family gets the chance to be together for some time around Christmas and New Year's.  Believe me, we are sure grateful!  So we spent the day together, mostly chasing after our one year old who wants to escape all the time and put every piece of everything in his mouth!  By the evening, I was worn out!  Around 7:00 my daughter (13) asked whether we could play the BibleOpoly game the kids got for Christmas.  Now, again, we were worn out...BUT then it occurred to me that I'm sure blessed to have a 13 year old and a 15 year old who still want to play board games with their old mom and dad!

So we played... hot chocolate in hand and baby trying to snatch up the dice and money the whole time!  We didn't follow all the rules exactly right...and I wound up in the "abyss" and "meditation" spaces more than anyone should have to, but it was a great time!  Each deed has information about a Biblical city.

What I learned is that games are a great teaching tool!  BibleOpoly probably won't make it to my classroom as I teach in a public school, but my Monopoly game or Life game might.  Want young kids to learn to add and subtract under 12?  Put two dice in front of them!  Want older kids learn how to make change, how to double points, how to skip count, put a board game in front of them!

Board games are also unique to kids these days who often only play digital versions of these games, where all the math is done for them!  They will enjoy the kinesthetic and competitive nature of the game!  Talk about differentiation for those movement learners!  On top of all this they might even have some (whisper voice) fun!

 

Who are the Smartsy and Artsy teachers?

Hi, internet world!  Beginning a blog is quite a leap for this girl who was the last person in her family to get a computer and had to be hog tied to get a cell phone!  Seems like another lifetime when the world got along just fine without our gadgets, but they sure can make life more interesting!

I'm starting a blog to share with you some ideas that we (my husband, kids and I) have about education and about life.  I am a third grade teacher and my husband is a seventh grade teacher.  We have both taught special education students, general education students, and are now teaching gifted.  My husband has been teaching for 21 years and I have been teaching for 17.  In that time, we've accumulated quite a bit we'd love to share!

We are parents to three amazing children!  Our eldest son is 15, our only daughter is 13, and our newest son is 12 months!  He was our 20th anniversary surprise!  God's timing is perfect!  Our kids have taught us so much about learning, and about viewing school from the eyes of parents.

My husband is also a minister.  We have pastored a small church not far from home for 15 years.  God has been truly gracious to us to give us a wonderful congregation who have become a part of our family.

As a family, we are constantly endeavoring to explore the arts and expose our children to as much of the world as possible from our small home here in Georgia.  We also make an effort to include the arts in our classrooms as much as possible, even teaching reading and writing using famous paintings.  We look forward to sharing our thoughts about life, child development, education trends, and the arts!