Teachers: We Salute You!!

After spending approximately 18 weeks as a substitute teacher in my local school district, my participation in Teacher Appreciation Week is not optional. I've had an extended close-up view of this little community called a classroom, and I’m amazed there are humans (I might argue they are super-human) who teach full-time, year after year.

I owe them all some sort of salute. I did my best to salute them publicly in our local newspaper, and you can read that article by clicking here. 

 

Whether you know it or not, you owe teachers a salute too. Here are some practical ways to salute a teacher this week, or any time of the year.

1. Help your child study: Children learn best when education is viewed as a partnership between teachers and parents. Teachers guide students through a systematic curriculum, and any support parents can offer—helping to memorize math facts, memorize “sight words,” studying spelling words and reading aloud—only benefits the student. And when students learn those basics, everyone in the classroom benefits.
2. Volunteer in the classroom: You could read with a student, help with math assignments, and review multiplication flash cards. Sure, there are computer programs for all of these skills, but there’s something about a human smile and a genuine “attaboy” that instills confidence that a computer simply cannot duplicate.
3. Pencil sharpening: Honestly, I feel like this deserves an entirely separate post. Pencil sharpening is a noisy classroom distraction, and for some unexplainable reason, students LOVE to sharpen pencils. It’s like a special kind of music which is particularly soothing when a teacher is talking. I can’t explain it. It’s just a universal fact. So, if you really want to salute a teacher, stop in after school and sharpen all the pencils. You can also purchase good pencils that actually sharpen, like Ticonderoga brand. There are pencils (often the cheap ones we parents buy to save a dime—I’m guilty) that never actually sharpen so students just stand there at the sharpener grinding their pencil all the way down to the eraser. Hint: Dixon brand and basically anything glittery never sharpen well.
4. Personalize your salute: Ask a teacher what they want or need in the classroom. Perhaps the teacher does a novel study and could use extra copies of a particular book. Perhaps you could donate a copy of a classic the teacher uses in the classroom like Sara Plain & Tall, Little House on the Prairie, or a Dr. Seuss classic (For example: Green Eggs & Ham, Bartholomew & the Oobleck, Oh the Places You’ll Go just to name a few).
5. Give a gift: I don’t know of a teacher who wouldn't be elated to receive a restaurant gift certificate. After being on her feet all day and tending to all manner of emotional, physical and academic needs, she might just want to sit down and eat what someone else has prepared.

So happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all of you who are in the trenches daily cultivating and nurturing our children.

We salute you!!!

Java De-icer

It was frosty this morning!

At the YMCA I overheard two moms apologizing to one another for their late arrival. With ice on the ground, carting kids and all their paraphernalia out the door was even more difficult than usual. To make matters worse, they had both forgotten they’d need to scrape their windshields.

I snickered to myself on the other side of the row of lockers. Partly because I know the drill, partly because I’m an eavesdropper and partly because they don’t know the trick I know—the ace-up-your-sleeve that will rescue you when time is running out; the quick fix that will befuddle all the other windshield scraping moms on your street; the trick revealed to me by my dear friend Kristie.

On a frosty morning, such as this one, Kristie was running behind. If it were a ballet we might have called it “Departure Adagio” (Slow Departure). Balancing a baby on her hip and a thermos of coffee in her other hand she swirled and twirled in and among her daughters. She tossed hats and scarves hither and nigh with her free pinkie all while maintaining the balance, poise, and grace, of a dancer—because she is one.

The daily Departure Adagio dance was practically choreographed by this point in the school year. Out the door, and into the van they flitted until the dance came to a screeching halt.

Three millimeters of frosty crystals adorned the windshield.

Show stopper!!

With mere minutes before the ominous school-bell, Kristie had to make a decision--drive blindly, or scrape and be late. But in that instant inspiration was born anew. She threw open the van door, gazed wistfully at her coffee thermos, removed the lid and dumped that entire thermos of steaming coffee on the windshield.

Voila!!

Java de-icer! 

With a mostly clear windshield, they beat the school bell, and Kristie hurried home to brew another cup.

And since I couldn’t tell that story to the two moms without betraying my eavesdropping, I decided to tell it to you.

Need Some (In)couragement?

Ever heard of that debilitating emotional ailment called Tryer’s Remorse?

Probably not because I just made up that term. But the condition is not made up! It's real.

My first bout with “Tryer’s Remorse” involved a cheerleading uniform and visions of grandeur. And I blogged about it over at (in)courage. (In)courage is sponsored by Day Spring and they've graciously allowed me to share some words at their place today!

Would you help me thank the (in)courage team by sharing the link on your facebook page? You can click here, then click the facebook  icon in the top right corner to share. You can also share it from my blog or facebook page. Thanks so much!!

Click over and have a giggle…and hopefully a dose of (in)couragement!

Not What I Was

This beautiful artwork was created by the very talented Julie Chen.
Please visit her store and gallery here.

I ought to speak with ever increasing love.

But I am not what I ought to be.

I wish to exude patience.

But I am not what I wish to be.

I hope to be an excellent ambassador of Christ.

But as of yet, I am not even what I hope to be.

But by the cross of Christ,

I see that love means sacrifice, even to death.

I see that patience means waiting long—very, very long.

I see that excellence means perfection in all things.

And I see I have fallen short by all accounts.

There on my knees at the cross,

Wrecked by what I cannot do and have not done,

Christ Jesus offers an exchange.

For my failed “ought-to be,” He crowns me with love.

For my lost “wish-to-be,” He lavishes patience.

For my striving “hope-to-be,” He declares, “I have done it.”

And because I rest in this great exchange…

I am not what I was.

Confessions of a Creative Punctuator

Considering most of our friends and family don’t tweet, I decided against mailing a #hashtag Christmas letter.

And yet I face another challenge: Written communications, electronic or print, pose a great challenge to the highly expressive and animated communicator!

My favorite and most abused
 "faux" punctuation.

I was recently pounding out an email when my husband, Kurt, chided me for my overuse (and abuse) of certain punctuation marks…as well as “faux” punctuation : )

On behalf of all animated communicators, I defended the practice.

He proceeded to make his point by reading my drafted email…out loud.

With all the intended expression of the exclamation point (!) he shouted the words preceding it.

He paused dramatically at every ellipsis as if to say, “wait for it...”

He threw his hands and fingers in the air for an over exaggerated demonstration of the “air quotes.”

And finally, every time I had used a : ) (which is not technically punctuation even though I think it should be), he forced his face into an animated contortion.  His eyebrows arched so high they almost disappeared into his former hair line. Bearing all his pearly whites, he stretched an agonizing smile across his face--resembling a spasm more than a smile.

And when a "man of few words" puts on a show like that...well...suffice it to say, he made his point. : ) 

I can't apologize for my “digital abuse” of certain punctuation! I can only offer my sincere regret that I did not get his "punctuation demonstration" on video.

It may have gone viral...at least among our friends : )

The Christmas Card Conundrum

We received our first Christmas card in the mail last week and it reminded me how much I LOVE receiving Christmas cards!

But sending one can be such a conundrum!

First, there is the highly volatile matter of the photo. I want a family photo to convey the peace of Christmas time and the joy of family. But what I’ll settle for is a photo where everyone is facing forward...and no visible bunny ears.

Last year, it occurred to me around December 18^th that we didn't have a presentable family photo. Then suddenly, I had a brilliant, last-minute idea! We’d all wear stocking hats (concealing my bad hair); and I’d print it in sepia (disguising our mismatching outfits); and we’d use our undecorated artificial tree as the backdrop (an outdoorsy feel to complete the deception).

I dug through the stocking hats, and found four. The fifth was actually a ski mask with the eye holes in the back. Mission accomplished.

I cropped the picture nice and tight, but couldn't completely crop the curtains without loosing half of Spencer’s face.

This was the result.

The Christmas Card Deception 2011

This year we’re aiming a little higher in the photo department. But there’s still the matter of the Christmas letter!

I wanted to print the letter on the back of the photo (I ♥ Snapfish), but since there’s so little space for a proper update, I’m considering writing the whole thing in hashtags…even though I don’t tweet.

It might look something like this...

#Friendsandfamilyrock

#timeflies

#runningaroundlikeachickenwithmyheadcutofftoalltheboyssactivities

#kidsarehilarious

#kurtisadeerslayer

#substituteteachingprovidesblogfodder

#christisborn

#bringit2013

What would your #hashtag Christmas letter say?

On Being Thankful When the Glass is Half-Empty

Winter 2010. Who is that masked man?
Don't know for sure. One of my boys.

Some might call me a “glass half-empty” kinda girl. And I can’t deny it. I am certainly bent in that direction.

When a school activity theme dictates blue Jell-O for snack, I can’t really get excited. Know why? Because I’m too busy filing through my mental index of laundry cleaners to determine which one best removes blue Jell-O from white shirts.

And when it snows in November it’s hard to think of anything but the five months of winter weather ahead.

But I've had some practice being thankful in my “half-empty” moments.

For example, if the glass is half empty, I’m thankful there’s only half the mess to clean up when it spills.

And when 4 laundry cleaners fail to get blue Jell-O out of a white shirt, I'm thankful I have an extra cleaning rag.

So when it snowed on Saturday, and I’m staring down at least 5 months of winter weather, I came up with a few reasons to be thankful even in the “half-empty” moment.

I’m thankful for snow in November because…

1. I’m now in the mood for Christmas music.

2. No more sweaty summer hat  (Not to worry. Bad hair days can be disguised with a stocking hat).

3. I can skip exercise on the days I shovel snow.

4. With all the snow pants, hats and gloves in the dryer, there is more room in our storage closet.

5. I love four-wheel-drive.

To be honest, because I’m all about being honest, I had a hard time coming up with those. Would anyone care to add a few more to the list?