How Do You Know if You Make a Difference?

I write, A LOT, in my head...I just don't always have time to write it down, or in today's way, blog it.

I have had so many inspirational moments this last week that shout out, "Pick me! Pick me!" for which I truly plan to enact, only to be won over by sleep. Which, by the way, is not going well according to FitBit. I swore last night was a little better amount of sleep...than the night before but FitBit yet again proved me wrong, citing that I was only truly asleep for 4 hours with 17 restless cycles. Seriously?? Seriously??? I really need better sleep, but I digress...

I had a parent share a post to my Facebook that made my day. It showed, in a real, concrete way, that I do make a difference in my students lives.

We like to think we make a difference, we hope, sometimes we even pray, but we don't always know the end result. Feedback is not just for students, but imperative for teachers too. Although this example should have you chuckling...I do teach kindergarten. :)

Sorry for the sideways video...I attempted...many ways...to get it into an editing program to no avail. I seriously need a computer tutor. Apply within :)

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

My principal is always talking about moving the cheese. Maybe you are familiar with the story? I'm more in the party of the "I moved your cheese."

It's all about change and the inability, or refusal, of some to accept it.

I'll admit, change is hard. I'd love to move somewhere warmer, but you don't see me packing my bag...yet.

Yet, I am more than willing to shuffle my cheese for the students. It's something we do (or should do) on a daily basis. Try X, reframe, change it, try again for a better result.

I was thinking of my upcoming K kiddos when I realized I was really missing last years class, you know, the ones already trained?

For those of you unfamiliar in the newly discovered dwarf planet, it's called kindergarten, and it indeed exists. It's the only place where you experience the inexperience of kiddos first hand as you attempt to teach them how to drink water from a fountain, how to use the bathroom with the door closed, and how to help them understand you truly do see them digging for gold even if their hand is in front of their nose.

Then it hit me...how about a video for my students showing some major fundamentals in my class. A video that could be referred to over and over if need be.

It was hard, seeing my face on the video, getting past the, "I'm an utter dork" phase to see the point and purpose. It's not how I look that matters, it's getting across the important parts of classroom survival.

I uploaded the video Friday night and got many positive comments.

Even though half the folders were still missing from the cubbies, I didn't think about the video this morning. But later, when I asked if anyone saw it, about 50% of the class raised their hand.

As the day came to a close I stood there, feeling successful. After a hard first 3 days of wrangling kittens, during which I questioned my ability to manage, teach, or otherwise be in the same room as kinders, I felt calm...eerily calm for the 4th day of K.

I moved the cheese and it felt great.

It happened...I'm in Love

I didn't plan it.

On the contrary, I was definitely against it.

I stood firmly on the edge and vowed not to falter.

It wasn't going to happen to me. Not this year. Not today.

See, I was already in love...in love with summer, all things warm, all things beautiful, and happy, and unscheduled.

So when I showed up to my classroom today, after over a week of working from 10 am to 10 pm on class set up, to meet my first new student during our orientation conference, I was not expecting much.

In all honesty, my mind was racing with thoughts of what was to come...images of children running amok, short staffing, minimal help, and most likely a kid lost on a bus...(it happens).

And then in she came...short, very short...dark brown hair, a single pony tail, little almond shaped eyes, with a smile that spread from ear to ear. She was beyond excited to come in, and I, all serious and dedicated to my infinite love of summer, fell into a puddle at her feet.

She was why I became a teacher. She was the reason I come back each year after surviving the first 6 weeks of kids using the bathroom with the door open, eating their nasal discharge, and running amok, all the while speaking the constant threat of turning into a Starbucks barista.

She is the reason Starbucks is still hiring, because there is no better feeling than that of a student eager to learn, whose eyes are filled with wonder and promise, and whose lips carry nothing but kindness and sweetness.

Thank you, little C, for reminding me of what I forgot...

Making My Way in K: It's the LAST Day, Please Help My Fantastic Friend...

Making My Way in K: It's the LAST Day, Please Help My Fantastic Friend...: Hey all, I've never done Donors Choose before, but I jumped in! I am attempting to get 3 Nexus Tablets for my kiddos to use in our cla...

It's the LAST Day, Please Help My Fantastic Friends!!

Hey all,

I've never done Donors Choose before, but I jumped in! I am attempting to get 3 Nexus Tablets for my kiddos to use in our class.

When I signed up, I didn't know it, but it's DOUBLE DONATION week. That means if you give $10, the Gates Foundation gives $10, so it's like you get 50% off!! (But you get nothing but the good feeling of helping others.)

Helping adorable little kiddos like this:



Notice most kids not looking? This happens when you ask the janitor to take the picture. Ha Ha.

This kiddos come in eager to learn and are so deserving of the best. However, I'm not in a place where I can buy things I would like to give them.

So here is where I beg, plead, and offer friendship in exchange for money. Who said money can't buy admiration?

Can you help?

10 people at $100 would cover it, 20 people at $50 would too, but if they give TODAY, the LAST day, did I mention LAST?? 10 people giving $50 would cover it because you can tell Bill Gates to Pay the REST!! Wouldn't that feel good?

Here's the project:

Fantastic Friends Need Technology!

To have your donation matched, enter the promo code SPARK on the payment screen. This offer is good through August 30.

My students and I would be so grateful for your support!
Sincerely,

The Fantastic Ms. Foley

Honesty as the End of Summer Approaches...

I'm not ready...I'm not...I'm seeing kids all over my Facebook and Twitter and Instagram accounts heading back to school and I'm not the least bit excited. I'm being honest. At this point, from this place on my couch, in my jams, hair and makeup not done, I am not excited.

Can we be honest? I just got back from an amazing vacation in California with family and friends. I got to visit a friend I hadn't seen in 15 years and spend time at her home (at the beach, insert jealousy here). I got to see and spend time with my amazing grandma who is 94, although the time was interspersed by thoughts of how quickly life ends, and wishes I could be see her more often, it was still a wonderful time. The sights and smells of her home bring nothing but happy memories of a childhood passed, a childhood remembered, a childhood wished for. Yet time cannot be stopped.

We spent two nights and 3 days at Disneyland where time seems to move in fast forward and slow motion all at the same time. Time spent in the hotel pool and on the water slides is always one of the best parts of the trip. Nothing beats floating in the water while the sun shines from above. Twisting and turning in the spiral water slide, with no thoughts except to hold your breath before you hit the bottom. Reality, for a few days, ceases to exist. There are no deadlines, no bills, no problems. Life is sunshine and rainbows. My daughter asks me why we cannot live there permanently and I explain the complex topic of bills, work, and vacation time...even though I secretly wish the same.

And so I think coming back to reality was, in some ways, a let down. A bell ringing for the end of summer. A reminder of the cold weather to come and the long days working ahead. And so I sit, like a stubborn child, refusing to comply. The rest of summer is mine, I whisper, and I'm holding on to it.

Fate, Destiny, or Divine Intervention: A Little TMI About Me!

My life experiences are an open book...I guess you can say anyone connected to the internet has a pretty open book nowadays. Google search your name and all kinds of stuff (fun, not so fun) can come up. If you have read my other blog you know I have been through some very rough patches this last 5 years. That said, I have come out a better person for it.

The best thing that ever happened to me was when I had my daughter in 2010 after a successful IVF cycle. She (and her potential sibs) were created in a lab with the help of amazing science. You see, in layman's terms, my parts are not so good. They didn't want to work how they should.

I'd like to thank the Christianson's of Hendricks, Minnesota for that. Genealogy is my FAVORITE hobby and it gave me lots of interesting tidbits about where I came from. The Christianson's were immigrants from Norway arriving circa 1871, settling first in Iowa, then moving to Minnesota.

 

Christian (center front, and whose name I would have used if I had a boy) was a successful farmer and served as mayor for the town of Hendricks. He and his wife Agnetha (Nettie) had 8 children. Now I don't know whether to blame Christian or Nettie, but out of the 4 girls in the photo, only two were able to have children. Betsy (on the far left) my g-g- grandmother had 4 children, 3 of whom lived, and Christine (on the far right front) had 3. Neither Bertha nor Emma (back row) were able to have children. And poor Peter (center, back row) died at age 20 from Diabetes. In my mind, we're pretty lucky the line continued on.

 

Had I been born then I would have just not had any children (which is fine, when its a choice, not when its chosen for you). Thankfully, due to science, Sierra and some potential sibs were created in a dish in a lab. 2 were implanted and 1 very strong willed child put down her roots and grew.

 

I always planned for another child. Perhaps a Christian, maybe a Sienna. I always wanted Sierra to grow up with siblings, like I had--annoying in your youth, blessings as you age. However, her potential siblings were destroyed in May. The last control my ex could exert: no him, no further kids. It was a very emotional time for me...

 

For the last 2 years or so Sierra has repeatedly asked me to get her a brother or sister. She was pretty sure I just had to go to the doctor and pick one up. With the ever present prodding I started to think about other ways a child could become part of our family, given that the option of a 1-night stand was out of the question. I was lucky enough to meet several adoptive parents and talk to them about their varied experiences. By happenstance, our paths crossed (I like to call it fate).

 

I started to think about the possibility of becoming a foster parent. However, honestly, I was put off by the requirements. A long list of trainings and paperwork and home visits. Don't get me wrong: I understand they have children's' best interest in mind. But when you repeatedly see reports of abused kids, in the foster care system itself, you wonder how well the current system is working. One would think a kindergarten teacher, with expertise in early child development, already back ground checked, might make it to a, "fast track" or something. Maybe get credit for college classes already taken on positive behavioral support instead of 40 hours of classes??

 

So I didn't act. I just waited.

 

I'm not sure what you might call it: fate, destiny, divine intervention, or serendipity, but those happenstances kept on happening. Across my path people working for the system, people fostering, kids in care, would end up on my radar, mostly in my face. And each time I would think, "well isn't that quirky." And each time I would negate it.

 

Today we were at the Goodwill...looking for games for my summer school "kids." Sierra was, as always, perusing the shoe rack...trying on high heels, hoping I would too. We were looking at the kids section when she picked up an obviously too small pair of shoes.

"Aren't they cute mom?" she said. "These could be for my baby sister." At which point I agreed they were indeed adorable but obviously not going to be used any time soon. She gingerly looked at them for a few minutes. I took her picture with them, as I often do for the many things she'd like to buy, but doesn't need, and she put them back.

We started to make our way to the cash register when I ran into a former college acquaintance. She was walking with a little girl, about two, and was looking for a particular toy. We began talking and (what's the chances) she does foster care. The little, sweet, happy child was a foster kiddo. I looked at that sweet girl and decided, "Ok God. I think the 20th time is a charm."

And I jumped in...

Now it may not go anywhere...they might decide a single mom with an incredible past is not the right fit...but who knows. As Sierra's latest (and most incredible--you must read it!!) book says...

"...if you love each other, then you are a family." Families come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. My style just might work for someone.