Head-Long into Life

This shows how I feel about my latest venture.

The girl in this Norman Rockwell painting has determination written all over her face. She is running 'head-long' to her art class, I assume, and she may be a little late.

This is how I describe how I feel about finishing something I started in 2003--my Master's Degree.

• I am determined to get it done--soon, I hope
• I am in a hurry to get started--Jan. if all goes well
• delayed BUT never too late

We all need determination when we face a challenge.  It helps us through the tough times and gives us what we need to rise to the difficult task in front of us.  Without determination we would wither and fade when facing the first bump in the road.

Sometimes a sense of urgency can get us off the 'slow track' and help us simply "get-er-done".  As long as we go 'head-long' into something that we have thoughtfully and carefully discerned to be what we are meant to be--or do--or become. 

• It is never to late to learn.  
• It is never to late to make a difference.  
• It is never to late to make positive changes to ones self or ones community.

  

• It is a waste of time to regret what we have not learned.
•  It is a waste of time and energy to complain about  our lives--whatever the complaint is
• It is a waste of time to worry about things we do not like about our life and community.

We must be willing to be part of the process of change, to reap the reward of that change.

MONTESSORI

• Determination
• Diving head-long into a project
• Sense of urgency

I often see 'determination' on the face of the children I am privileged to work with.  Whether it be to in learning a new song about Venezuela or to place the smallest cube on top of the Pink Tower, just so.  This is a beautiful thing to watch.  We give the children a safe, rich environment to bring that determination and accomplish amazing things.

Children frequently dive 'head-long' into a project and get consumed with finishing that task and accomplish so much more in the process.  Think about a child that finishes all of the Cube Chains.  He/she has counted, organized, laid out and put away, so much work, rugs, counters, number arrows, over several months time.  The child can be truly proud of work well done.

The sense of 'urgency' can be good and not so good.  If it come from the child and he/she is following that voice inside that tells us all when we need to "get-er-done, then that is the voice to listen to.  If the sense of urgency is an impatient parent or teacher, that can be a negative influence on the child's natural development and growth.  This is the delicate balance we contently have to maintain. 

But it is so rewarding and FUN to be a part of the kind of educational system that cares about the child at this basic and unchanging level.  

I am proud to be a Montessorian!

Quilted Hearts

Quilted Hearts

Quilted hearts. I made these Christmas ornaments to use in a charity event.  They will be mine to use after the event. Quilted hearts--it just made me think:

quilted hearts::what we all need

layers of fabric::layers of love

hand crafted::loving effort

secure stitches::security found in loved ones

creative designs::creativity feeds my soul

each one is unique::we are all unique

pretty::beauty is need in life

loop as a hanger::the circle of life

heart shape::two halves that fit perfectly together

The "::" symbol is used in word analogies. My children, who are adults not, are very good at these. One even won an award in elementary school for their analogy prowess. I will not clam to have gotten this exactly right, but I hope all my readers 'get' what I am trying to say.

"quilting is to our needs as our need are to quilting"

Something like that anyway

MONTESSORI

How do I relate this to the classroom.  Quite easily, if fact:r

We need to layer our lessons so to each each child's  learning style.

A gental hand is always better than heavy handed control.

children need and want a secure environment to grow and learn

We need to be creative to make our classroom fresh and inviting.

Each child, each teacher, each family, each school, is unique.  We need to concentrate on appreciating those differences--not trying to standardize the system.  Lots of different learning environments will work. Like parenting--there is only one wrong way to educate--that is--without care and love.

Beauty is a necessity--not an option.  We need the "arts" in our lives and in our classroom.  Lessons about famous artists, appreciation of music, artfully arranged work, and a pristinely clean classroom is beautiful and respectful to the children in our care.

We sit in a circle to share our stories and lessons. We teach the life cycle of animals and plants. We walk "around" each others work. Circles are definitely important in the classroom.

Heart shapes are se-metrical--the same on both sides [not the ones I made--or the organ-but the valentine kind].  Fairness is like that.  We need to have a classroom that is fair. We must create a culture of fairness.

Loss

It is better to have loved and lost rather than to never have loved

My family lost a wonderful person this week.  My brother-in-law passed away on Tuesday evening.


He lived and loved well. He and my sister were married   when I was quite young, so he was a part of our family most of my life.  He was the 'strong silent type' that said only what really needed to be said.


He touched the lives of a lot of people during his too short life.  We will all miss him greatly.

Colorado Has.....

Colorado Has:

Majestic Mountains

Crisp Dry Air

Blue Lakes

Yellow Aspen Trees

Friends and Family

BUT

best of all--two of my kids 

a small plate of love--apple crisp I made for Mackenzie and her roommates

Early on my last morning with Mackenzie

Down town Loveland--a nice place--especially when my daughter lives there.

 This whole semester my Friday class is “studying” SA

Fresh faces all lined up to learn about Argentina, South America!

I am happily enjoying a trip to one of my favorite places on this earth.  COLORADO.

I am additionally pleased that I now have many close friends and family members that call Colorado, the state of mountains and aspen trees, home.

I can successfully ‘couch serf’ for 1½ weeks without overstaying my welcome on any one couch.  You see, I go by the adage that fish and visitors ‘spoil’ after a few days.

My first stop on this trip was three nights on the very comfortable couch in my daughter Mackenzie’s home.  She and her two roommates welcomed me with great enthusiasm and hospitality.  I in turn made myself useful by cooking and doing light yard work—both of which I enjoy.

Next stop began yesterday. I arrived at my nephew’s home in the mountain village of Silverthorne  in the early afternoon.  He and his family, sadly, are off to other parts of the world to visit and play golf. I am taking advantage of the situation by staying in their great home with a 360 degree mountain vista.  I will be writing, singing, resting, and just enjoying myself. 

Happily, part of George’s family will be here to visit with on Wednesday, a day before I need to get back to my ordinary life.  I am looking forward to both the solitude, and seeing them for part of my visit.  I am hoping to get a lot of work done in the next two days.

Speaking of work, I made a side trip on the way up the mountain to visit Montessori Education Center of the Rockies, a training center in Boulder, Colorado.  It was very worthwhile.  I met a delightful woman named Dot. She visited with me, showed me the center, and listened to me explain my ‘life plan’ as it has to do with my music, Montessori, and teaching.  She was encouraging, informative, and supportive to my vision.  This fact should not surprise me, after all, we are both Montessorians. 


Mackenzie has decided to join me for one night and part of tomorrow.  Super Great!!!

ENJOY YOUR DAY AS I AM!

Steller Day

This as another stellar day!


I am fortunate to do what I love.  Life can be hard, but it is easier when you feel that you do even a little bit of good in this world.  


We have to recognize good days and think about what we did right.  This will help us have more and more stellar days.


What makes a day extra special--stellar?  For me it can be several small things that add up throughout the day.  I had a great time giving my Music program this morning, so that set the tone for a great day.


I think that one thing really does lead to another.  Having a good time giving my music program gave me confidence and wellbeing for the rest of the day.


I have studies The Tao, the eastern philosophy that is very inspirational to make real changes that lead to a happier life for yourself.  The Tao says, "you attract what you are".  I take that to mean that we need to be confident and happy with yourself to attract positive people into your life.


The Tao also says, "There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way".  Isn't that true. We often 'chase after happiness" and get nowhere. I call it the treadmill affect.  Then we just get surprised by happiness out of the blue.  


So, I will:
>>attract goodness into my life by being good
>>attract cooperation by cooperating with others
>>attract happiness by acting happy (even when it is 'an act'


So simple but so profound at the same time--I love that!


Montessori


>>>There is no Way to HAPPINESS, HAPPINESS is the Way.
>>>You ATTRACT into your life what you ARE.


This is good advice for a classroom (and for all of us).


The children in our lives--or in our classroom--look to us often to see 'how they feel'.  They take their cue from us.  Even if you are not 'jolly', put on a happy face every day.  Now, I am not talking about being 'sparkly' and overly 'bubbly'.  That will seem insincere and can not be maintained over the long haul.  


I am talking about a pleasant look on your face when you feel like frowning.


This simple conscious act will do so much for the children in your care. Happiness tends to be contagious. 


As for "attracting what you are"--well this is so GREAT!  If your children are not "cooperating" with something--look at how "cooperative" you are being. Are the children having to work hard to get what they want?  How can you cooperate with them? Think about it.


Yesterday I cooperated with a child during my music program.  She was being a little 'wiggle worm' so I said, "it looks like you want to dance to my music".  So we all got up and 'danced' for two verses.  This solved my problem--she was much more attentive to the rest of my lesson. It was so great!


Have a HAPPY day. I hope good things for you today and tomorrow.

Being Appreciative

It is so important to appreciate the gifts we are given.

It helps us have a positive attitude about life, or work, and the people around us everyday.

I suggest we each 'take stoke' of what we have to appreciate.  I think this should be done often.  We should pay special attention to appreciable events, people and gifts when we are 'down in the dumps' about something.  It can help us see the 'big picture' and not feel so discouraged or sad.

I have a wonderful life and want to honor that life by being appreciative of the people, things, faith, and gifts I have.

Montessori

Being appreciative is a wonderful thing to teach the children in your classroom.  Of course, like so many things, modeling this behavior is the best way to impart that lesson to the children.

We adults need to make sure we are saying things like, 'I appreciate how quiet you were during this lesson", or, "I appreciate the wonderful warm weather we have today". Remember, language matters. Children soak up vocabulary.  Using the word, 'Appreciate' will help your children understand the meaning of the word and eventually apply that meaning to their thoughts about their own life.