Another Year of School Begins!

The first day of school!  If only that first rush of new friends, new teachers, new school stuff (shoes, notebooks, backpacks, lunchboxes....) could be bottled up, it would come in handy in my adult life when I'm in need of a pick-me-up.  I love seeing the eager faces and looks of anticipation especially when students come by before school starts to drop off their supplies and get a look at the changes we've made in the room!  They want to see where their cubbies are and check out their lockers (even though they are the same as the year before, perhaps down the hall a bit). 
I am always amazed how much children can grow over the summer.  It's like the sun helps them sprout!  I watch my students grow and mature as I (at least I would like to think) don't age at all.  I'm a constant figure but in reality, I too am growing (unfortunately in the wrong direction) and becoming more mature (sometimes!) - but I still love the thrill of learning what makes each child tick.  Every year it changes a bit with each one and finding what makes them soar is exciting and challenging. 
Today we had goal setting - where the teachers meet with each student and plan out activities for them to reach their goals for the year.  It's always interesting to see how the students assess their abilities and what their strengths and weakness are and what they feel they need to work on.  It usually is right on the money.  Sometimes students want to do something they aren't ready for, but will guidance I show them the steps they need to take to reach their goal. 
Tomorrow the fun really begins - team building and getting-to-know-you activities with gym and our first all school meeting of the year added in to complete the day!

Guardian Angels Come in Many Sizes!

Today I went to a "Meet the Buyers" conference for the first time.  Greg Peters, The Reluctant Networker, would be proud of me.  I walked up to people and introduced myself and came away with new contacts and people wanting to help get me to the right people.  It was great!  But nothing would have prepared me for my meeting with Cory and Caitlin tonight.
Cory and Caitlin offered to do a web site usability test for me a few months ago, so tonight they were going to tell me the outcomes. I was a little nervous about what they were going to tell me.  Did people hate the site?  Could they find things on the site? Was it user friendly?  These two bright and eager University of Michigan students were so kind, professional and honest with me.  They told me what needed to be done and how they would like to proceed.  To learn that they would like to help revamp the look of the site to make it more professional and to allow me to focus on the content and not to get caught up in the coding.  That was music to my ears.  I was, and still am, overwhelmed with gratitude.  To think 3 months ago I didn't even know these two incredible kids and now I'm partnering up with them.  They are like guardian angels making my burden light.
How can I ever repay them?

Going Back!

I get so excited about school starting; buying new Sharpies and new runners, planning welcoming activities for the kids and changing the room to greet the kids on the first day of school, that I'll probably not sleep well tonight.  I think of all the things I want to do or take in to use and my monkey brain just doesn't know how to shut off.  But that's okay!  I do love all the preparing for the kids returning.
Megan and I are sending out a letter to welcome the kids back to school with a puzzle piece they have to fill in and bring to school on the first day.  It will be our school puzzle - where everyone makes a difference.  So tomorrow the teachers will draw their puzzle pieces (they don't know it yet!!)  In the past, kids have enjoyed getting the welcome letters, so I hope they like this one.
Another year, more fun to follow!
What are you doing to start off the new year?

Gardens are like Kids!

Taking a walk in my yard last night I realized that my garden has done extremely well this year, even with the heat.  My hydrangeas have bloomed beautifully - last year I didn't have one bloom and this year it is totally covered. Breathtaking!

The butterfly bushes have grown to be 10' tall and attract so many butterflies and hummingbirds it's fun just to sit and watch all the activity.  Butterflies dancing around each other in circles in the air s they float/drift from bloom to bloom. 

 

As I'm walking I weed a little, trim an errand vine, watch a finch take food to its young that I can hear beckoning, and I realized that gardens are like kids -  gardens grow at their own pace.  Think about it.  

• Fertilizing and watering  a garden for it to grow is like making sure you give your child has a healthy diet and that they get enough sleep. 
• Guiding the growth of a tree with supports is what parents and teachers do with gentle instructions and guidance.
• Standing back to look over the overall effect of the garden - see if plants are where they grow the best or deciding to move it to a better location is like when parents lovingly watch their child as they learn a new task or ride off on that new bike or change schools because the parents are looking for a better fit for their child.
• Watching my goldfish grow and having little ones is very gratifying I know that  the pond environment is not stressful and they are thriving, just like watching your kids grow up to have their own little guppies and are successful and happy!

So I'm going to continue looking at my garden as my kids - my summer kids.  They have fun playing in the sun, making me smile and bringing me great joy!

 What grows in your garden?

Stilling the Mind: An Interview with Linda Lantieri | Edutopia

Stilling the Mind: An Interview with Linda Lantieri | Edutopia

Interesting article on showing children mindfulness. It helps them focus and attend to their learning. Has anyone done this in their classrooms? Homes? I'd be interested in hearing about it.

If you give a mouse a cookie...

Have you read, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"?  It's a classic!  A boy befriends a mouse and gives him a cookie, but you have to have a glass of milk with it.  And if you have a glass of milk you need... and it goes on and on and leads from one humorous thing after the next.  Well, I swear I had a "If you give a mouse a cookie" kind of day.
I have this old chair that I had painted for school years ago.  The legs were looked like stockings with different colored stripes.  The seat was purple with yellow and red stars and swirls.  It was fun to look at and kids liked sitting in it.  With anything that is used a lot, it had received some damage.  So my husband made the repairs but now there were areas that had the paint chipped.  I thought it would be fun to fix the chipped areas and take it up to school.  That was my first mistake.
To fix the chips, I had to sand down the areas.  Sounds straight forward and it wasn't humid so I figured I could paint it afterward.  I went to find some sandpaper and my husband hands me the power sander. I've never worked it before but it made the work easy.  It worked well - too well.  I went from just sanding the chips to sanding down any area that wasn't smooth to the touch.  Which, of course, lead me to sand more and more.  I think I got carried away. 
My husband walked by and asked if I am going to strip it.  Well, I wasn't but I guess I am now.
So time to get out the stripper, brush and putty knife.  I've never striped anything before - that stuff burns the skin but looks cool when it is removing the paint.  It gets all bubbly.  Then it was time to take the putty knife and remove all the paint. It would have been great if all the paint came off the first swipe across, but no.  After 3 applications of the stripper, I still have some paint holding on for dear life.  How many layers of paint did this chair have on it?  I uncovered white, dark green, fern green, turquoise and brown under the purple top layer.  It looks a mess right now - nothing that another coat of stripper won't help with.  Then I get to paint it. 
My hand hurts today from holding the power sander but I feel great that I learned something new and I'm creating a new look for the chair. How did I go from a simple touch up to a full blown project?  That mouse gets me every time.
Have you ever had that happen to you?

Lucy Ann Lance Show

Back in June I was featured on the Lucy Ann Lance Show, a local radio show on June 28.  Unfortunately I just found the link so I'm sharing it now.
  I was a little nervous about doing it and couldn't sleep the night before (just like a kid!) but Lucy and Dean made me feel comfortable and before I knew it, it was over!