The One With a Spiky Sunflower #sol16

Every Tuesday, I participate in the Slice of Life challenge at Two Writing Teachers. If you want to participate, you can link up at their Slice of Life Story Post on Tuesdays or you can just head on over there to check out other people's stories. For more information on what a Slice of Life post is about, you can go here. 

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Kid artwork makes me smile. 

A kid grinning ear to ear about his artwork fills my heart.  

Doesn't his little face just make you happy?

Here's a close-up!

I love his spiky sunshine-y sunflower so much. It reminds me of him: full of energy and lots of spunk. There is never a boring day with this kiddo. 

My slice of life this week isn't profound except to say that I adore my kids and it makes my heart swell to see them feel proud of work they have done. And I think most parents probably feel the same. Parenting isn't easy but these are the moments that will stand out, these are the moments that make it all worth it, these are the moments we feel like we get to shine through them. 

Teaching isn't easy either. We get the students we are given, even the spiky sunflowers in the bunch, and we do our best to encourage them and help them grow. And hopefully we have moments like this when they beam with pride at what they have accomplished and we get to shine through them. 

Watch for those moments. 

Take a deep breath and cherish them.

These are the moments to remember.

The One With A Million Snoozes #sol16

Every Tuesday, I participate in the Slice of Life challenge at Two Writing Teachers. If you want to participate, you can link up at their Slice of Life Story Post on Tuesdays or you can just head on over there to check out other people's stories. For more information on what a Slice of Life post is about, you can go here. 

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I always thought I would be the sort of mom who would be up and dressed before the kids. Making breakfast and welcoming when they groggily emerged from their rooms. 

But that's so not the case!

And then we adopted this sweet puppy and I thought now I would be the sort of mom who would be up and dressed before the kids. Coming back from a brisk morning walk and greeting them when they groggily emerged from their rooms.

But that's so not the case!

Still.

I swear, I was sure the dog was going to wake me up at 5:30 every morning, ready and waiting to zip out the door. Like clockwork. But she's a fan of snoozing in the morning too. It makes me feel like she was meant for our family.

So I guess that's not the sort of mom I am (yet). I don't know if I'll ever be that kind of mom. I love sleep. I love the warm, snuggliness of my bed in the morning. I love taking my time to groggily emerge from my room. I'm the queen of snoozing - whether it means sleeping or telling my alarm clock to try again in eight minutes.

Honestly, this morning, Little Bean called into my room, "Mom, it's time to wake up now!"

Sheesh. 

Like with everything, what we expect and what we think and sometimes what we hope and wish just isn't meant to be. It doesn't mean it can't ever be that way. But if it's just not happening or so much work to make it happen or really not worth it, then why push it? 

And maybe we can happily adjust our expectations and revel in the fact that we make life work even when it's not what we always thought it would be. 

Even when I take a few (dozen) extra minutes to snooze in the morning, it all works out. 

The One With Ice Makers and Squeaky Cars #sol16

Every Tuesday, I participate in the Slice of Life challenge at Two Writing Teachers. If you want to participate, you can link up at their Slice of Life Story Post on Tuesdays or you can just head on over there to check out other people's stories. For more information on what a Slice of Life post is about, you can go here. 

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Last week, my husband asked me to get him a glass of water. I had just finished a few blog posts for a local family blog we write for and was headed to fold laundry. And I was thirsty too. 

I opened the drawer to our freezer (we jut got a new fridge right after Christmas and it has the freezer on the bottom, which I'm still getting used to), and I scooped ice from the ice cube maker. 

"I'm so glad we have an ice maker," I told my husband as I handed him the cup. 

"I know, right?" he said.

When I was a kid, we didn't have a refrigerator with ice makers. 

We filled the little plastic trays and carefully slid them into the freezer. 

We twisted the little plastic trays and carefully shook the cubes into our cups. 

We nestled the little plastic tray back on top of the others, glad to not have to refill it yet.

Having an ice maker was a luxury.

I folded the laundry and put on my coat, ready to take the dog out one last time before heading up to bed for the night. 

"Go potty, Perdi." I tried coaxing her into hurrying up, but she always has to sniff and sniff and sniff around for the perfect spot. 

Then a car turned down the street. It squealed as it rumbled by and made her head pop up. What's that she seemed to say.

I know that sound, 

a belt is loose or worn or needs to be replaced.

But I haven't heard that sound in a long time.

I turned to look at our two cars sitting in the driveway. One is ten years old and the other six but we bought them new. We do the recommended maintenance and change the oil as close to on time as possible.

Having a new car is a luxury. 

I'm happy to have these things in my life now...but happier to be able to recognize and be grateful for them. I can only hope my own kids grow up to have more than what they have now or at least to be able to appreciate what they have. But sometimes it's hard to appreciate when we don't know anything other than our lives, and kids have only lived a few years. 

What I love about writing down stories and reading stories, is that we get to see into the lives of characters in the pages but at the same time see into our own lives. It becomes an opportunity to pause and reflect and appreciate what we have. Isn't that powerful? Just one example of how reading and writing can change the world. 

Tomorrow I'm celebrating World Read Aloud Day with students around my district and at home. I'm so excited and love this celebration of literacy. Are you joining in?

The One With Trusting Students #sol16

Every Tuesday, I participate in the Slice of Life challenge at Two Writing Teachers. If you want to participate, you can link up at their Slice of Life Story Post on Tuesdays or you can just head on over there to check out other people's stories. For more information on what a Slice of Life post is about, you can go here. 

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Over the weekend I finished reading The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer. If you haven't seen her amazing Ted Talk, I definitely recommend it. The book is an extension of the Ted Talk really. She goes into more depth with her story and how she came to be where and who she is today. 

What Amanda points out is that she doesn't work at making people pay for her art. She works at trusting people and loving them and connecting with them. And in that way, inviting them to want to support her art.

It got me thinking about how this applies to education. How often do teachers make students listen and sit still and be quiet and follow all the rules instead of trusting them to be able to handle challenging learning experiences and inviting them to want to learn along with them and teaching them how. 

I've been in enough classrooms now that I can see the difference between a teacher who controls what the students do versus a teacher who facilitates learning by trusting students to take charge of their own learning and guiding them along the way. 

If we're going to make an impact on education, we need to think about how we reflect and grow as teachers, the level and complexity of the content we give to students, and the role of the students. I believe in trusting students to live up to the learning tasks we give them.

But first, we have to recognize that everyone thrives on being connected and feeling part of something...isn't that maybe the most important part of our jobs as educators? To see kids - not just look at them - but to truly see them and create a safe space where they are included? I think that's the heart of it all. Maybe we have to stop making kids do things and instead invite them to learn things and to figure things out on their own. If we trust them enough to give them challenging experiences and support them to live up to the task, maybe they could surprise us.

I know they would surprise us.