What Matters Most Wednesday: Mindful Gratitude

“When you talk about any difficulties with money, a relationship, an illness, or even that the profits of your business are down, you are not talking about what you love. When you talk about a bad event in the news, or a person or situation that annoyed or frustrated you, you are not talking about what you love. Talking about the bad day you had, being late for an appointment, getting caught in traffic, or missing the bus are all talking about what you don’t love. There are many little things that happen each day; if you get caught up in talking about what you don’t love, every one of those little things brings more struggle and difficulty to your life. You have to talk about the good news of the day. Talk about the appointment that went well. Talk about how you love being on time. Talk about how good it is to be full of health. Talk about the profits you want your business to achieve. Talk about the situations and interactions you had in your day that went well. You have to talk about what you love, to bring what you love to you.” ― Rhonda Byrne

I don't often start with a quote, especially a large one but the one I shared above is monumental in changing your life. Self discipline in what you give attention to is key to whether you will live this blessed amazing life or simply struggle every single day.

Social media and even real life conversations are getting so frustrating for me because I hear so much of what is wrong instead of what is right. When talking to a friend instead of hearing the fun amazing things that happened in her day at work, I have to instead sit and listen to the thirty minute war in her emotions of the ONE interaction that went wrong out of 50 in which 49 of them were almost purely miraculous. Instead of having that realization that many breakthroughs were made on that day, she'd rather stew on the one conversation that wasn't so great and in a stark reality won't matter in a week from now.

Unless we are mindful about our thoughts and the things we dwell on, we will simply just fall into the rhythm that is being played by the people around us. START saying THANK YOU out loud for every good thing that happens. Are you sniffling a bit but have a friend who is struggling in chronic pain? BE THANKFUL that you are living a pain free life! Are you unsure of how you are going to pay for Christmas gifts, yet you have a friend who is worried about how he is going to pay his light bill that month? BE THANKFUL that all your immediate needs are met and be thankful that you are so blessed to not have that worry if the lights will be cut off. Are you having a bad day at work, yet you know someone who has been on unemployment for six months and their benefits are going to run out at the end of this month? BE THANKFUL you have a paycheck, and that you can make any bad day better simply by saying THANK YOU for every blessing you have in your life. EVERY ONE!

I have spent some time working HARD to understand this theory of gratitude. In it, I am learning that there is no one that can do the work for me. I am also learning that there are not many who understand the word Thank You, let alone LIVE the words THANK YOU! There is a HUGE difference!

I challenge you today ~ to begin saying Thank You out loud all day long for each thing that you are truly thankful for! Let  your heart and mind really be thankful. I have been brought to tears in gratitude because I am truly thankful!

Creating a Classroom They Never Want To Leave: Chapter 2 Taking Ownership

2

Taking ownership

When we give children the opportunity to take ownership they not only take care of the environment, but they take care of one another too. This is so very true and  yes that concept deserved its own chapter in this book.

I will tell you that I really like to be in an environment that is not chaos because chaos breeds agitation. Agitation brings confusion and complacency and we already know how I feel about that. BUT… if you are trying to control the environment your way the entire time, you are setting yourself up for a school year of discontentment and discord. Now before I go any further please understand that I truly believe the tone you set is like setting a temperature gage. Once the environment reaches that temperature expectation all should be fine and everyone should be comfortable and stable. But what happens if I come into work for the day and my own temperature gauge is out of whack and I am all over the place and unpredictable? I can tell you what happens. Things go nuts! Kids go haywire and you leave feeling like your completely frazzle and have participated in some circus act that left you walking the tightrope in a bikini. I know I am not the only one to have one of those kind of days! J

So from the very beginning, set that temperature gauge to where you desire it to be throughout the entire day. If you come in with a plan and are prepared things will run much smoother and everyone will be comfortable. We all know how important planning is, and the freedom that we need to also allow for changes that arise unknowingly. I live in Texas and one thing we have always said is that if you don’t like the weather, just give it a few minutes and it will change. I think that every place in the world says this as well. (To let you in on a secret we Texans do not say that in July and August because it’s just hot and mostly dry.) Those unplanned changes are what I would call a sudden “cold front” there to disturb your groove and everything that you have geared up and planned your day around. Having a plan is important and crucial to a well-oiled machine. Your classroom. That is you taking ownership of the environment in your classroom. That honestly is just one third of the equation!

Another third of that equation is allowing the students to have some form of ownership in your classroom within the day’s planning. Once you allow them to have a set time to make plans of their own, they are more willing to flow within your plan. Not only that when you give them a measure of time that is theirs, they will fight for you to be able to have yours. When we had a puppy we would often feed it first, then he left the kids alone at dinner time. It’s that whole feed the lion first, then the lamb. Many teachers are afraid to do this with the fear that the kids will think they rule the classroom but it truly is amazing the effect this has on your overall day. Now mind you, I am with my students for a good chunk of the day so it is easy for me to do this on a daily basis. You can too, but your time may have to be adjusted. I can easily give them thirty minutes where you might have to scale yours down to ten. Give them a choice of activities to do in this time, or even better yet at the beginning of the year ask for some suggestions! Even as small as two and three they can tell you what they would like to do if given the chance. Giving them the chance to “be the boss” and to make choices for their time helps them to focus and be more assertive when you need them to be. Do not let this be something that has to be a reward, but instead maybe add to the time as a reward. This should be something that is a given every single day.

The third part of that equation is allowing the students in the class to have ownership over some space in your classroom. You want them to respect the things you have, you need to give them their very own. In my classroom because I teach preschool I have several parts that are theirs. They all have a space for their own belongings. They have a “tool” box that has their name on it, and it is theirs for the whole year. Each student also has a private journal. When we switch centers, they take ownership of that center by having their name posted, and the responsibility of cleaning it up when they are done. Can I tell you that by doing so, the entire class helps to take care of the classroom. It has become theirs, their space, and they are pretty protective over it. When a sub comes in, they walk them through it. When a new student comes in, they seem to come out in protective mode, but also help the new student to be a part of the room as well.

It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are, everyone wants to feel like they are a part of something. Some of the teachers that really impacted me throughout school were the ones who made me feel included and a part of the process. Think back. If you are a teacher now it is most likely that a teacher made either an impression on you in their classroom or they invested someway in you. You felt a part of the process.

Honestly as teachers, we still want to be part of the process or we wouldn’t put so much effort into what we do. The hours at home working unpaid, the early mornings, late nights, and extra coffee. If you are anything like me, I love the planning process because it gets my whole brain working. I love getting with my fellow co-teachers and planning in as a whole group. It is exciting when everyone is engaging and sharing ideas.

Make it a point to offer these “planning” sessions with your students. Every single time I do this, the kids teach me so much!

It’s not what you do  for your children,  but what  you have taught  them  to do for themselves, that will make them successful  human beings.  ~ Ann Landers

What matters most Wednesday: Courage

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"What matter's most Wednesday" is a new feature here on One Pretty Little Box. I wanted to, during this season of newness (both seasonally for Spring, and in my own personal life) highlight some of the areas that matter most when we embrace new things. These might be deep within your character, physical newness, and what not.

For me, one of the BIGGEST things when facing a rebirth of sorts is courage. Change of any kind takes courage. And lots of it!

Courage is defined as the ability to do something that frightens one. I love the way Merriam-Webster defines it! Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

Change is hard for many people. Fear of the unknown seems to stop most of us from doing more in our lives than any other obstacle. The whole idea of being rejected hold many back from chasing their dreams. Even if our current reality is less then stimulating and enjoyable. Yes, without courage it is easier to be stuck then to use the inner strength we have to pull ourselves out of a pit of living hell.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. ~ Steve Jobs

I love that quote! It motivates me to stop living life as the rest of society does. We all know that Steve Jobs wasn't just a regular ol' somebody. He lived an amazing life, and changed technology as we know it today. But what he said makes since. Our time on this earth is limited. We have a set # of days and that's it. There is no "do over". I have spent many years of my life living trapped by dogma as Steve describes it. At one point in our lives, we have to question every single thing we were ever led to believe from someone else's thinking. I am 41 and took me up until the last few years to begin to come up with my own opinions of myself and what is important to me. Sure I was easily able to do this when I was younger, but it had always been hindered in some way or another from the time I can remember anything. Courage to follow your heart ~ not just be moved by it but put action into and trust that you "get it" is the most important thing you can do as you chase your dreams.

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Courage doesn't come easy. Courage just doesn't happen. It is something that has to be grabbed by the horns and told what to do. Daily I am losing that timid side and building up strength to say "Screw that" if it doesn't match what I need it to.

Christopher Reeve once said "Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean." I may not have shared this with you before, but I am a fish out of water! I LOVE swimming and playing in the water. Swimming, treading, doing flips, diving, I love it all. It feels good. But you know as well as I do that you can't do a flip safely in the shallow end. You risk hurting your head, paralyzing yourself from neck injury and more. In fact, fear itself is paralyzing. Fear and courage do not happen in the same breath! When you leave the pool... and go to the ocean the options are endless! Yes you lose some protection of the shallowness but you are confined to one area. Dolphins do not live and thrive in a pool. Put them in their natural habitat of the ocean ~ oh my!

Feeling fearful ` is the same feeling as feeling trapped! I don't know about you but I do not want the feeling of being trapped.

What area in your life do you need to step out in more courage? If it is an area that really means something to you ~ matters most and you are operating in fear ~ you will not see the results that you desire. Get out there and take courage by the horns and make it yours!