Moved

It actually happened.  The move to the "big school" is complete!  Unfortunately, I was not able to be here for the first couple of days, but since yesterday, things are running smoothly.  I wondered if it would all fall into place and yet, deep inside, I knew it would.

"Don't worry, be happy!" comes to mind as I sit here.  Yes, things are still a little chaotic, but considering we moved 4 classrooms of kiddos into 3 classrooms, I think things are going well.  I was glad to be in the classroom yesterday.  It was good to interact with the children and see their smiling faces.  It was also nice to see how things have come together.

I missed Monday and Tuesday because I was in a car accident on Saturday.  I'm still really sore and very tired today, but glad to be back.  It's amazing to me how a smile or hug from a little one can make my day so much better.  I also had the chance to visit with a 4th grader yesterday.  It's so good to interact with the students.  They are all unique, some are a little harder to reach than others, but when you can reach them, it is wonderful.

Another day has begun and off to a different start than what I was hoping for, but as Dory so aptly put it, "Just keep swimming..."

Moving Day - Part 2

Today there is light at the end of the tunnel.  When I came in this morning the majority of the boxes were gone, as was most of the furniture.  It's strange sitting here with nothing on the walls and a clean desk.  It's not terrible, almost refreshing.  I enjoyed my time in the classrooms earlier and I'm really glad to have most of this move behind me.  I'm excited to have the next three to four weeks on the main campus.  I am thrilled to be sharing space with someone I admire and respect, not to mention, like!

When I left here last night I felt hopeless and so tired I could drop.  Today is a new day.  Tomorrow is the new start.  It will be very different, but it will be over before I know it.  That is the way of the last month of school no matter what is going on.  I even found myself smiling when I found out that my new "roommate" has to pack all her stuff too.  God is laughing.

Moving Day - part 1

Well, it's here!  Moving day!  I'm trying to remember the positive as I sit here surrounded by boxes.  Today they will come and take most of this stuff to storage for the summer.  I'm happy that this will be a much more pleasant work environment when this is done.  It's hard to remember that right now.  It feels like I will never be done. Overwhelmed and stressed.  However, as I'm sitting here getting ready to go into a class, I am listening to parents, who are helping to pack books and children in the classrooms, laughing.  Somehow, I know it will be OK.  Yes, I'm hot and tired.  Yes, I'm still overwhelmed, but there is that little light that is shining.  The positive ray of hope.  It will get done, it will happen and life will go on.  It will be a very different, long (or could be very short) three weeks, but flexibility and determination will overcome the overwhelmed feelings and stress that are here, now.

More on moving day(s) to come.

Difficult

Have you ever had one of those days, (weeks, months, years), where almost everyone and everything seems difficult?  We all have certain things we would rather not do, but do them because they need to be done. Lesson plans can be like that, but I would be lost without them.  Moving is another one of those things that is difficult for me.  I tell people "I would rather have a root canal than have to move." However, since we have to be out of our building by the end of the month, I don't have much choice.  I guess I do, but it would be 3x's worse if I didn't do anything to get ready.  I keep telling myself that it will be wonderful when the renovations are finished and we get moved back in.  Who knows, I may even get rid of some things in the process.  I can be a little bit of a hoarder.

One of the other difficult things that happen with a move is that you have to deal with many differing opinions on how and what should be done.  If it were just me moving it wouldn't be quite so bad, but we are moving 12 adults and about 65 children.  If that weren't enough, the children are all 3 and 4 years old.  And, if that wasn't enough, there are all sorts of people who have different points of view on the situation.  Sometimes it's difficult to find a compromise that will work for everyone.  It can be tricky.

I find that when I have dealings with other people, I am less than happy about some of the ways things are getting done.  I also find that if I dwell on this, I lose my "power" to be in control of me and give it to them.  A friend of mine once asked me "Who's not doing what your way this time?"  I was really upset at the time and it completely took me off guard.  I was expecting sympathy and got reality instead.  Boy, was I upset, but he was right.  I keep asking myself the same question when I get so angry about things I have no control over.  My rebellious side kicks in and I get super upset.  I want to scream and shout but that is not productive.  Oh sure, I may feel better for a moment (note: totally understand kids who have tantrums), but in the long run, it won't make any difference.

What does all of this have to do with children?  Well, the 65 plus kiddos that have to make this move for 3 weeks of classes are going to run into a lot of frustration.  Children like, and need stability and routines.  They need structure and patterns in their lives.  This is going to "upset the apple cart" so to speak.  I have to remember, my anger at other adults is not going to help the children. As adults, we need to be there for the kids and be there to help each other.  If we work together, we can make this temporary situation much more bearable.

Wishing you peace and calm during your difficult times.

Endings

I have recently had an experience with having to end my association with an organization that I have been a part of for many years.  It feels awful.  There were many reasons for this, but it still feels bad.  I have thought and prayed for many days and nights about the situation and came to the painful decision to end my association with this group.

My reason for writing this is that a loss is a loss.  Some are greater than others but they all feel bad.  Endings make us have to deal with those nasty feelings of sadness, anger, and grief.  I have learned over the years that grieving the loss of something is as important as grieving the loss of a person.  While I know it's not the same, the same process needs to happen.  None of it is fun but all if it is part of the journey.

I will miss the people who are involved with this group but I have to move on.  I think about our children when I am going through something like this.  It brings up the empathy response.  My babies go through endings all the time.  People will say "they're just kids" and "oh they won't notice", but they do.  We need to teach our children how to deal with endings.  Whether it's the loss of a loved one, divorcing parents, loss of a pet or a friend moving away, these children need to be able to express their feelings and let people know how they feel.  We need to be good listeners and let them tell us what happened.  They may not be able to tell us how they feel about it, but we can help them with that too.

It's a good thing to feel and express your feelings.  I don't like it sometimes but I know it's good.  We need to remember that just because our children are small or young, doesn't mean they don't have the same feelings.  They just might not be able to express them.  It's our job, as teachers, to help them learn.

Spring Break

How did it already get to be Spring Break?  The children are excited and some of them are acting out because they don't want to spend a week at home.  A week at home means no schedule, no regular meal times and maybe no attention.  It can be really hard for these little ones to readjust to home life.  Children want and need a routine and schedule.  It doesn't have to be a "to the minute" schedule.  However, it does need to let them know what's happening next.  That takes time and energy to set up.  Some of our parents work two and three jobs and still qualify for free lunch.  Others don't work at all but don't have any idea of how to set and keep a schedule, for themselves or for their children.  We have all kinds of kids and parents. The one thing I know is that, whatever the situation, these parents, grandparents, guardians, etc are doing the best they can with the tools they have.  Children don't come with instructions.  We tend to do what we were taught.  Most of us were taught by example.  Some are good examples and some are not, but all of them are doing their best.

I hope you have a safe and restful Spring Break.  I hope that this time restores your inner peace and helps you to deal with the rest of the year.  It's going quickly.

Gray Days

It's been overcast and rainy now for about 2 weeks.  Maybe a sunny moment here or there, but mostly gray.  I don't know about you, but I don't do gray days very well.  So what to do?  Well, I try to make it colorful inside.  I try to add as much "color" as I can to my lessons.  One of my favorite books to read this time of year is Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh.  I love this book.  I have so much fun with the kids.  When I read the book I mix the colors in front of the kids using colored water.  So when the "red mouse steps into a yellow puddle", my colors mix in front of their eyes.  Three and four-year-olds are in love with magic and this is magical for them.  Their little faces light up enough to brighten any gray day.

After I'm finished with our large group, we go to small group.  I use "jelly marbles" and I let the students mix their own colors.  I use small, plastic condiment containers.  We place a clear jelly marble into the cup.  At this point, the marble is just a very small, very hard piece of  clear "plastic." I make sure they feel the marble before we add the liquid.  Once they tell me what color they want, we mix the color in the little cup using red, yellow and blue water.  I get my marbles, water containers and coloring tabs from the Steve Spangler Science website.  I love the quality of his products and I have not been disappointed yet.

When I come back to class after a day, we look at what we have in our little cups.  It does not resemble anything like the beginning marble.  Instead of hard, clear, and small, it is soft, colorful, and much bigger.  The "jelly marble" is actually a polymer.  It absorbed 300 times its weight in water.  The children are amazed.  We look at a beginning marble and then at the end result.  It's hard to believe they were the same thing.  They are able to take them home when we are done.  Another surprise for them is that the once hard sphere is now able to be broken.  They take great joy in doing that with their "marbles."  It is one of those very joyful, learning experiences that can make a gray day feel warm and sunny.

Wishing you colorful "gray days".

Websites
www.stevespanglerscience.com
www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Ellen-Stoll-Walsh/70624406