36 Days ’til 40: Helping or Crippling Our Children???

 

Helicopter parents….. I do not need to say anything else and I can assure you that there is a group of educators around the world moaning – just at the term.  We all know them, sometimes we are them, and we struggle with them all the time.  What is a helicopter parent?  A helicopter parent is a parent who is always on standby, ready to swoop in and catch their child before they fall.  At first glance, a helicopter parent is a fiercely devoted, highly loving adult – and this is true, but, sadly, their love can cripple their child, instead of empower their child.

 

43 Days ’til 40: Making Chores Fun

 

I LOVE it when my daughters teach me important lessons or remind me of lessons I have previously learned, but somehow “forgotten” as I go about my daily routine.  The photos I have included in this blog are visual representations of the lesson my older daughter reminded me of this week: Chores should be fun!  

 

57 Days ’til 40: Desperate for Winter Break Entertainment

We all have those days – those days when it is cold, miserable and wet outside, yet the kids need entertaining.  I had one of these days this week.  The challenge was exacerbated by the fact that our cleaner was coming, for six hours, and wanted us OUT of the house so that we would not be in her way (she is smart).  So, that left me, awful weather, and two kids desperately needing to be entertained (without breaking my pocket-book).  So, what was the solution?????  MALL HUNT!  Have you ever played??? 

 

61 Days ’til 40: Balloon Games

I have discovered that you are never really too old for balloons – I am sure there are readers out there who would agree with me!  Adults can have as much fun playing balloon volleyball as children can.  So, when the balloon games come out at our school, sometimes the teachers have more fun than the students!  That is a good thing! 

 

68 Days ’til 40: In Memory of CT Students

As an educator, I am deeply saddened to hear of the school shooting in CT today.  Our schools MUST be safe spaces for our children to learn and grow.  It is heartbreaking when we are faced with the knowledge that we, as adults, have failed to keep our children safe.  May we learn from this and diligently work to protect our children in the future.

~400daystil40

 

98 Days ’til 40: Leaves on Asphalt

 

Another sign of autumn……  I love it when the leaves pile up.  I must confess, when I was a young child I would look for those freshly raked piles of leaves on the lawns of my neighbors…..  AND, I MUST confess, it is possible that, as a young child, I accidentally (on purpose) altered the states of those said leave piles……  by jumping, squealing with delight, and tossing them into the air.  What great fun for me, and somehow the neighbors never caught me!  (Note to all of my former neighbors, I apologize profusely!)

 

105 Days ’til 40: Election Hoopla

 

Elections are always a touchy subject… even more so when the elections are as close as they were this year.  I find it interesting that US elections can be a touchy subject not just among Americans, but among many individuals from other countries as well.  Sometimes I just want to run and hide so that I can avoid all the conversations, as I learned early on that political and religious opinions are sometimes best kept private.

 

106 Days ’til 40: Palm Berries – Acai???

 

This morning I was grumping.  I was grumping because we have a palm tree on the path that leads to the main entrance of the school and it is making a mess.  There are purple berries everywhere and as the students walk down the path they stomp on these purple berries and then track them into the school.  I was grumping because the gardeners are not sweeping the berries aside, and I was grumping because our poor custodians are going to bear the brunt of the realities of floors stained with deep purple juice.

 

108 Days ’til 40: Childhood Dreams, Adult Fulfillment

 

We plan our lives according to a dream that came to us in our childhood, and we find that life alters our plans.  And yet, at the end, from a rare height, we also see that our dream was our fate.  It’s just that providence had other ideas as to how we would get there.  Destiny plans a different route, or turns the dream around, as if it were a riddle, and fulfills the dream in ways we couldn’t have expected. ~ Ben Okri

I had this rare privilege of being able to pursue in my adult life, what had been my childhood dream. ~ Andrew Wiles

 

110 Days ’til 40: Slumber Parties

 

The older you get, the few(er) slumber parties there are, and I hate that.  I liked slumber parties.  What happened to them? ~ Drew Barrymore