#sol14 Ever Have This Day?

Two Writing Teachers have written about the Slice of Life on their blog.  Head on over and check it out!

So it's a rainy day in Iowa.  Even through the rain it was a great day of learning and growing together.  

Here's the last mesh of conversations I had/heard at the end of the day:

Kid:  "Mrs. Limback-you know why it rains?"

Me:  I think so.  Why?

Kid:  The Guy...You know...Up There...(Points upward)

Kid 2 (in an overarching screaming-type voice):  You Mean God?!?!?!?!?!?

Kid:  Yeah, He's crying because people are making bad choices.  

Me (As lightly as I can as we are working on dismissal):  That's a very interesting thought.  Sometimes people like to read about the water cycle to learn more about why it rains.  (Turn around to go find a book.  Kid 3 is standing right behind me.)

Kid 3:  I had a photosynthesis reaction in my teeth today!!!!  See?!?!?!?!?

Me:   

(Yep-that's silence.  What do you say to that?)

Then then bell rang.  

I'm still giggling over the awesomeness that was this mesh of a conversation.  

And we need more science.  :)

Joy!

Kendra

#sol14 Running--A Poem

Two Writing Teachers have written about the Slice of Life on their blog.  Head on over and check it out!

The alarm sings out songs from the 60's. 

My eyes pop open.  

Drop shut.  

Pop Open.  

Drop shut.  

Friends are waiting!  

Pop open!  

Roll out of bed.  

Quiet as a mouse.  

It's early.  

I hear steady breathing of my boys.

I slip downstairs. 

Coffee?  A must.  

I love the dark.  And quiet. 

Like I'm cheating time.  

And my schedule.

My friends. 

We meet. 

We run.  

Thoughts and ideas roll freely from both of us.

My head is clear.  

My knee is sore. 

My heart is ready. 

Joy!
Kendra

#celebratelu Celebrating Strong

I'm linking with Ruth Ayres, and her weekly link up.  Read More about that here.  What a wonderful idea from Ruth Ayres!

This week, our family had a little, mundane adventure.  After 9 years of having Daddy at home with us, he has started traveling again for business.  As he flew to Oregon and back, it was all together uneventful.  And that we celebrate.  

As I reflect on my One Little Word, Strong, I think that I learned some things this week, and those need to be celebrated as well.  So here's what I reflected on this week:

1.  I don't need social media as much as I think I do.  I love connecting with you all, but I really was focused on things that need to be priorities this week.  What was born out of necessity is quickly becoming a challenge for me.  How can I unplug even more?

2.  Being Organized is awesome.  If you know me, you know I'm not talking about magazine ready organization.  However, a little preparation the night before and a little bit of housework everyday definitely makes a difference.  

3.  Complacency is NOT awesome.  I was thinking about how often I just let things go in the spirit of staying relaxed.  As I reflect on what we did this week, I'm not sure that it was a spirit of relaxation anymore.  I'm pretty sure it had morphed into complacency.  

4.  Priorities are important.  As I laid out a plan for the week, it involved 2 things really.  Safety and consistency.  Priorities in the classroom ensured that it was business as usual.  (Except for Thursday when the weird version of the stomach flu took out students and teachers and made me wonder if the end of the world was coming.  Yikes!)  Priorities at home ensured that our "have-tos" were accomplished and we met all of our obligations.  

5.  Self Care is Critical.  Nope.  It wasn't all picnics and slumber parties while Daddy was gone.  Early bedtimes, dinner at the kitchen table, and devotions and prayer at bedtime?  No Wii/Kindle/Screen time for the kiddies?  Absolutely.  I want my sons to see that self-care is critical, not a luxury.  I had the opportunity to model that this week.  I too participated in early bedtimes, balanced meals, and asking for help.  (A shout out to my principal, Mrs. Stites, and my first grade team for an early morning text messaging intervention on a morning that I was starting to feel weary!)  

6.  My Mom is Amaze-balls.  (Yep. I just said that.) :)  For over 20 years, she modeled all these things relentlessly as my dad drove a semi across the country.  I thought of her often as I was folding laundry, making lunches, driving to practice, encouraging my own kids to sleep, going to work, getting in bed at night.  She was an outstanding model for the things listed above.  And I'm so glad I was able to talk to her yesterday and tell her that.  

In the end, I guess I'm celebrating the uneventful and the mundane things that make us strong.  What are you celebrating?

Joy!

Kendra

#LoveMySchool

Hello Friends.  Twitter doesn't give me enough space to tell you why I love My School.  The whole community really.

A few thoughts about why I love my school:

I woke up this morning tired.  It's been a long week.  Right away, I saw on Twitter #LoveMySchool.  It reminded me that I have Amazing Super Colleagues that have supported me everyday this week.  From just hugging me, to texting me to make sure I was up for the day, they are the best.  In between the Love, we chattered about Literacy data for next year, paperwork, and what was for lunch.  After a few years of working together, the conversations are open, honest, and amazing.  These are some of the smartest people I know.

I started to tweet about why I love my school today.  My intent was to take pictures and tweet throughout the day of things that I noticed that I loved.  I made it to 12:30 and then needed to come out from behind the camera and focus my attention elsewhere.

Here is what I observed:

• My class is amazing at starting the day on a positive note.  I never would have reconsidered a morning meeting if it wasn't for our assistant principal.  A Shout Out to Mr. Vaughan!  This encouragement has been one of the best moves I've made in the past two years within my classroom.
• Our school has an amazing support staff.  I watched my literacy associate patiently explain the life cycle of a plant about 7 times today after reading about seeds in Time for Kids.  
• Our Teacher-Librarian is also amazing.  He really has taken a hold of our new reading materials and inter-weaved some amazing literature that connects with what is happening in the classroom.  
• We have amazing staff outside of our classrooms.  Our secretary was helping with my kids in P.E. yesterday because that is what needed to happen.  When it was time for some quiet time, the nurse opened her office to me yesterday so I could just sip some tea for a moment.  Our administration listens, questions, and encourages all the while.  They are supportive of new ideas.  
• We have good facilities.  
• Our special education teachers are innovative and amazing and never give up.

There is more I'm sure of it.  But I wanted to reflect on this Friday.  What a great way to end the week!  

What do you love about your school?

Joy!
Kendra