Who's Got It All Together? Not Me!

Today I took a trip to Target to get diapers and everyone's got it together.  I saw so many women who were put together from head to toe.  You'd think the Pinterest people lived in their closet, handing them sweaters, scarves, leggings, and boots, not to mention coordinating jewelry and hair pieces. When I see a woman like that, I think, "Well, they don't have three kids to care for."  Then I turn the corner and see that the woman has 6 or 7 kids, each one also perfectly groomed and looking ready for a cover shoot.

Why does it seem everyone's got it together but me?

The pictures below are of the gingerbread house my kids decorated yesterday.  Yes, yesterday...as in January 17.  The kit has been sitting on my kitchen table since probably December 1.  Since that time it's been surrounded by bags of groceries, bags of decorations, boxes of gifts, bags of candy, and just plain mess!

Each day before December 25, it was in my head to get the kids started with the house or to make some space for them, or to turn on some Christmas music, put on matching Santa sweaters, hang some holly, and then decorate the house.  Didn't happen.  The box sat there among the mess and taunted me each day.  Then New Year's Eve came, then a couple of family birthdays, then school started back.  It seems there is no break in the stream of life to have our perfect Pinterest family moment decorating the gingerbread house.

Then yesterday the kids asked if they could decorate it.  No holly, no sweaters, no carols.  Just a couple of teenagers decorating the gingerbread house on the corner of the kitchen table.  And it's awesome!!!  My boy and girl divided the house in half and each half is so different.  My son's half is so traditional, very "gingerbread house-y".  My daughter's side is made to represent different musicals (Annie's in there, so is the Sound of Music, and also Les Mis).  Two totally different decorations from two of my totally different kids.

Here's what I learned, I don't have it all together and I don't care.  Whether or not the kids had the gingerbread house on Christmas day, they still had it.  Time slips by so quickly, we can't spend time beating ourselves up over not having everything together all the time.  Give yourself a break, and give others a break, too.  Spend time getting together the things that are most important!

 

My Favorite Times, Choose Home

Today has been a great day.  It started out with a long list of items to do.  Laundry, groceries, bookstore for church supplies, new shoes for the baby, drop daughter off at birthday party, more laundry, you get the idea. 

But this day ended in my favorite of all ways.  My husband, three kids, and I spent the evening in the crowded living room of our tiny house in middle Georgia.  Husband and son were engrossed in the Spiderman 3 movie, discussing the implications of sin (Venom's costume) and how it takes over your life.  My daughter was busy telling me about the latest Studio Ghibli movie she watched.  The baby and I were on the floor exploring the new booster seat he just tried out today.

Pure Heaven.  Simply bliss.  In the great wide universe, there's no place I'd rather be.   

I've had several book ideas floating around in my head these past few years.  One of them is titled Choose Home.  What I've discovered in the past few years is that the whole world wants a piece of you.  This club only meets once a month, plus subcommittee meetings.  This practice only happens twice a week, plus one or two games.  Doctor's appointments.  Grocery stores.  It doesn't end.  

I'm not a recluse.  I love having dinner with friends and I sure love taking the kids out to the theater, zoo, or anything!  I just worry because it seems we're becoming a nation of families who don't really know one another.  I want my kids to have friends and socialize, but I want them to know me and their daddy, too.  I want them to hear our stories, our history, our thoughts about politics, religion, and education. 

I don't get to have them very long.  Eighteen or twenty years at the most.  Sounds like a lot of time, but it's not!  And the world is pecking away at those precious years, like birds snatching a couple of pieces of seeds at a time.  Just an hour.  Just one day.  Just a couple of nights.  It adds up.  We can't avoid all the distractions of this world, but every night is a choice.  Choose wisely.  Choose home.  

My Lesson Plans Turn into Scrambled Eggs...Hooray for the Yolk Breakers!

Ok...I've been teaching almost 18 years, so what I say, I say with the benefit of experience.  Good teaching, really good teaching is more like scrambled eggs than eggs Benedict.  I've had this book idea in my head for several years now - How is Good Teaching Like Scrambled Eggs?  Let me explain.

Every year, every month, every week teachers spend hours carefully planning each portion of their day in little sections.  What's going on in science this week?  Fossils.  How about social studies?  Economics.  Time to plan for Language Arts. How about contractions?

It is beautiful.

These plans look so pretty on paper.  Gourmet, even.  Standards are aligned!  Essential questions are asked!  Rigor is appropriate!  Differentiation is implemented!  It's enough to fill any teacher or administrator with joy and pride!  Much like the aforementioned eggs Benedict - perfectly timed, measured, and executed.  Absolute bliss and luxury.

Hate to burst that yolk, but good teaching, really good teaching doesn't happen like that.  It just doesn't.  Really good teaching happens when the kids are asking questions, looking for answers, and (oops!) getting things wrong!  Timmy has to share the "fossil" he found on the playground.  Is that a contraction on the poster next to the lunchroom door?  Did our class hit an economic bump in the road not having enough of everything we need?

Real teaching that sticks breaks the yolks!  It's messy!  It's not always finished minilesson to closing share in 47 minutes.  And it's not always observable by those who only "pop in" for evaluations.  Is planning necessary?  Yes.  But it's time to let go of the concept that learning is a gourmet experience.  It's more like diner food..messy, filling, and happening everywhere!  Hooray for the yolk breakers!!

Getting Students Ready for the New Year...

Well, the Christmas/New Year break is about over and school begins again for us this week. It was an awesome break, but I'm excited to get back started teaching and back in a routine!  

One thing I know after 17 years of teaching is that the kids will come back full of energy and full of stories! There is no need to try to squelch that enthusiasm for sharing their lives, instead make the most of it! Have some blank paper waiting on their desks when they arrive and a sign on the board that reads, "Welcome back! Write and draw about the best thing you did over your break!" That will get them busy working right away.

If you give them time to do this, however, be sure to give them time to share! I have a very full class this year so it takes forever to share one by one, there are remedies for this! Let the kids share in groups, share with one partner, or share just three or four a day.

This week won't just be focused on last year, though. We will also be thinking and writing about how to make 2015 our best year yet! Check out this product in our Teachers Pay Teachers store!
My Best Year Yet - A Creative New Year Packet

It's called, My Best Year Yet - A Creative New Year Packet. There are 6 sheets with some creative ideas for making resolutions. For example, the kids are asked to make resolutions for their parents and even the President of the United States! They could be used for morning work or in writing workshop to review the fundamentals of writing complete sentences!

However you decide to start back this week, just be sure to make the most of this opportunity. Kids will be busy thinking about how to become better students and full of hope for a great New Year! Enjoy your first week back!

What happens when your kids are in charge of helping you keep resolutions...

Happy New Year everyone! Thankful for another year with my family! So yesterday we made resolutions and for probably the 28th year in a row (since I was 12), I resolved to lose weight. I have a goal to lose 50 pounds by the time we go on vacation in October. This year is different, however, because I have enlisted my 13 and 15 year old to help me. This morning I woke up to find these all over my kitchen:

Well, I guess I asked for it! Maybe this strategy will help me be successful in reaching my goal, though it's certainly not a strategy I would have picked for myself! In life, in teaching, in everything, we all must remember that we are not islands. Everyone does better with some help and encouragement, even if it comes in unexpected ways! Many times at school I am stuck in a rut or wishing I were better at some sort of thing. Sometimes I feel like I'm just treading water. I should resolve to enlist the help of others to meet my goals, and we all should! As the Beatles so eloquently put it, "I get by with a little help from my friends!" Happy New Year again and remember you're not alone!