A Great Friend and a Great Gift

On Wednesday evenings, I meet with a few other women from my church for a small group. We often think that we need to be serious and discuss serious topics, but we often end up laughing, and then laughing some more. Yes, we share events from or lives, encourage and pray for each other. I come home tired, but refreshed in my spirit! These meetings definitely irrigate my soul.
This past December, Penny gave all of as this book for Christmas:


For more information:
see Amazon website

This book is written by Melody Rose, one of the founders of BraveGirls Club. At first glance, it just another pretty book to look at. But as you start reading it, you realize that this book is about encouragement, healing, nourishment and fun! Its illustrations and words feed my soul!

Here are a few quotes from the book:

• Every day we can make progress toward our own big and little dreams. no more waiting, okay?
• If you've had a day when you've done all you can and you still feel defeated, please dear one, give yourself some grace.
• It is okay to leave the past behind. You won't fly the way you were meant to fly or to the heights you are meant to reach until you do.
• Comparing takes away our joy and our gratitude and our authenticity. Instead of comparing, practice feeling happy about another's abundance. And feel grateful and happy about YOURS, too.

This is a book that you want to read or just browse when you are feeling a little blue--or a lot. You will find something in the book to encourage you and lift your spirits.

But, this post would not be complete without talking about Penny! Penny is one of those friends who seems to understand what people need. She has this gift of looking a little deeper. We were all blessed, and continue to be blessed by Penny's Christmas gift. And we all like the book so much that we decided to read it together on Wednesday evenings! I am expecting serious thoughts, reflections, and of course, lots of laughter to continue to feed and irrigate our souls and spirits. 

My word for 2013 re-defined

IRRIGATE

I wrote about my words for 2013 last week. All week I have been thinking about my words, and I decided that I need to simplify my words!!! Here is the simplified version of my word for 2013:

The word for my teaching life came so easy, but I struggled with a word for the rest of my life. But somewhere in the middle of the week everything started coming together. I asked myself why I made this whole "assignment" so complicated? There really is just one word for me this year: IRRIGATE! What does it mean for me outside of school?

• irrigate my soul
• feed my soul with the right stuff
• build from the inside out
• irrigate my body
• keep it healthy
• feed it by sleeping, nutrition, exercise (thank you fitbit)
• irrigate my spirit
• engage in interactions and reflections that nurture and grow my spirit
• serve others as it feeds my spirit as well
• ask God what He wants me to do, and then have the courage to do it
• irrigate my mind
• laugh and then laugh again
• have fun
• dream (as you are nver too old for dreaming)
• maybe a new hobby
• write more (waiting for March :-))
• learn from others

There might be even a few more to add to the list. Excited to see how irrigation will go this year!!!!!
(Here is what I wrote one week ago about my life as an educator)
IRRIGATE

As I was thinking about my life as an educator, C.S.Lewis' words really hit it home for me. "The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts." So, how am I going to "irrigate" at work? I was re-reading my post that I wrote in December (you can read it here) where I talk about the challenges that I face to try to educate a new generation of students. 
Here are a few things I believe I can try this year to irrigate:

• play with curiosity
• teach with joy
• be passionate about what I believe in
• show interest (and then some more interest) in what my students find interesting
• try something new in the classroom = be open to new ideas

Word for 2013

I could not just come up with one word; I had to choose two--one for me as an educator and another one for just me J


IRRIGATE

As I was thinking about my life as an educator, C.S.Lewis' words really hit it home for me. "The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts." So, how am I going to "irrigate" at work? I was re-reading my post that I wrote in December (you can read it here) where I talk about the challenges that I face to try to educate a new generation of students. 
Here are a few things I believe I can try this year to irrigate:

• play with curiosity
• teach with joy
• be passionate about what I believe in
• show interest (and then some more interest) in what my students find interesting
• try something new in the classroom = be open to new ideas

GOALS

This is just for me! C.S. Lewis said, "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream." Yes, I like and respect C.S. Lewis. His wisdom still touches me. And I believe goals and even dreams are going to be part of this year for me!

What are your words for the year 2013?

Christmas=Joy

Candlelight service

Joy to the World sang with real joy

presents given and received

Rutabaga casserole baked and eaten

--or just tasted by some:-)

Tea with cinnamon and vanilla

coffee with desert trifle

Laughing and enjoying

the company

surrounded by love!

Next year 

might be so different

children moving, growing up

will traditions stay or 

adjust?

The place to celebrate may change

but the message stays the same:

"Joy to the World, the Lord is come"

Life's Treasures

I bought a gift card for a needy family;

does this make me a better person?

I hugged somebody at church today

even though I am naturally not a hugging person.

I went to help serve a dinner for the needy;

I even helped feed a man who struggles to eat by himself.

I answered some e-mails;

tried to send words of encouragements.

Then I sat down in my comfy chair, and looked around:

I have stuff--don't we all.

Do I need all the stuff that I have around me?

I gather a few things to take as extra white elephant gifts on Tuesday.

Will I miss those items?

Absolutely NOT!

Why did I then hold onto them so long?

Security?

Feeling good?

Importance?

I really don't  know.

But, what I do know is this:

there is a family at school that need Christmas presents

and I need to buy wrapping paper for their gifts.

I do know that when I listen to President Obama 

share his thought about Sandy Hook,

I need to remember to show love to my students;

I'll never know what words they will actually hear me say.

Hopefully, those words will be the words of

encouragement and  love.

Caring, challenging, and then again

loving, both the small and the big students,

that is my mission today.

Our pastor has challenged us this month to look at how we spend our time and money. He has also made us re-evaluate our possessions for their importance. How do I need to respond? This is my work in process.

Tomorrow is Today

CURIOSITY      INTEREST      PASSION     JOY

When I was listening to Dr. Pamela Moran's TED Talk (find it here: Dr. Pamela Moran's TED Talk) I started thinking about my life and my teaching in the framework of "Tomorrow is Today."

I had never heard of Dr. Pamela Moran before (maybe I should have...), but she definitely made me think about my teaching and how I do it. These are some of my thoughts as I listened to her:

"No standard solutions to standard problems"
Maybe I am a linear thinker, but I am (almost) always expecting a standard solution or at least a solution that I know about--and have encountered before--to  a problem that I face at school. Dr. Moran's speech challenges me to think more creatively: Is the problem that my student has really a standard problem? If it is not, then the solution cannot be a standard either. In other words, I am being forced to come out of my box to look at both the problem and the solution in a new way. And I am not just talking about my students, but also my teaching, curriculum and its delivery methods.

"Create problem solvers NOT problem makers"
Once again, I am faced with a new challenge: look at my students in a new light. I am basically telling myself not to put my students into a box, where they are forced to make noise, and act out in order to get out of there. Instead, I need to put on my thinking cap and figure out how my lessons can create problem solvers. I believe this is especially important for my mentees (more about this next week). This all takes time. Where do I get it from?

"Today's students are tomorrow's designers"
Dr. Moran talked about the 1960s and the race to the moon. Could I create that kind of designers in my class today? Do I want to? ABSOLUTELY!! But how do I make it happen? How do I need to change my classroom and my teaching to be aware that there are future designers in my class, and I need to foster that creativity in them. I have some ideas....maybe you get to read about them as I work on changing some thing in my classroom.

"Make each day a reflection of tomorrow"
I think this is really hard. Think about the day that everything went wrong in your classroom, and in addition, the phone never stopped ringing. How do you redeem that day and make it a reflection of tomorrow? Wait a minute, maybe I look at the day as an opportunity to create problem solvers to non-standard problems. Maybe I give students an opportunity to design a plan from their perspective that would change the "disaster day" into a redeemed day. But first, I have to jump over my own learning curve and give students the chance to be the designers and creators.

"How do we make "maker spaces"? Spaces where kids actually create not just consume."
This is hard!!!!!!!!! We live in consumer society where satisfaction is almost instant, and if it isn't, people complain. How do I create a classroom (even the furniture placement) that encourages these maker spaces where students can be creative? Do I need to do all the changing or should I also involve my students in the choice making? After all, my classroom has to function for everyone K-12 graders. What about supplies? Can I do this with really no budget?

I have ideas, but at this point I also have more questions. What about you? Do you have ideas that have worked in your classroom? Please share your ideas, and let's CREATE creative learners for tomorrow together today!

Multicultural Baby Shower

This past Saturday I had the joy of attending a baby shower for one of my Indian friends. But what was even more fun was how international it was.
We had people from four different continents attending the shower. There were even more languages spoken.

One of the interesting moments came when a man from India (yes, both females and males were present at the shower) came to tell me that he had lived in Sweden. Somehow another man heard us talking and came over speaking Swedish! He was not even from Sweden, but from Africa! I was trying really hard to recall any Swedish, but unfortunately, none came to my mind--except: Va heter dej? (=What is your name?) So sad when years of language learning disappear from lack of practice.

Nevertheless, what a fun way to spend time on Saturday afternoon!