“Take time for a tune-up.”

Just as your car needs a “tune-up” to ensure that it is operating correctly, you too need to take time for a tune-up and to recharge your battery. You are an important person in the lives of children. You are a difference maker.

Have a wonderful day and a wonderful week-end.

Maryln

“The turtle did beat the hare.”

In this fast-paced world, it’s nice to remember that it’s not the speed that always matters. It is just as important to be persistent. In the classic story about the turtle and the hare, the hare got tired rushing. The turtle persevered taking his time and in the end, was the winner. It’s not how fast a child learns something new, but how much stamina the child has even in the face of apparent failure. Children need to be helped to keep their spirits up, to believe they can succeed. That is where you come in. Your words of encouragement and support can make a world of difference in the life of a child.

Have a wonderful day.

Maryln

“Take a trip.”

Sometimes, you need to calm down really quickly. A good way to do this is to take a “mental” trip. Here’s how it works.
Picture yourself doing something that makes you really happy. It may be a vacation that you took with loved ones. It can be walking on a beach. It’s your vacation, so it can be anywhere and anything. Rehearse this over and over again.

The next time that a child gets you upset, take your mental vacation for a second or two before you speak. When you are really calm, speak.

Have a wonderful day.
Maryln

“Find the right formula.”

Fairy tales usually have happy endings. The prince and princess live happily ever after. The truth is that relationships take work for there to be a “happily ever after.” This is true not only for marriages but for all relationships, and especially relationships with children. Ask anyone who has ever had a baby that didn’t sleep through the night! That took a lot of work and a lot of patience. But it is so worth it! It is the same with all of the children you teach. Every child is different. Every child needs to have their own “unique formula” and it takes work to find that right one. Moreover, children keep changing, and as they change, the formula sometimes needs to change too.

Part of the joy of being a teacher is finding the perfect formula that will bring that connection between you and children and between children and knowledge. You are a difference maker.

Have a wonderful day.

Maryln

“I can do it; Yes, I can.”

Many years ago I recorded a CD that had a song I wrote called, “I Can Do Anything; Yes, I Can.” I recorded it with children who ranged in age from preschool through middle school. Some of the children were children with special needs.
The words went like this:

“I can do it: I can do it
Yes, I can; Yes, I can
I can do anything. I can do anything
Yes, I can; Yes, I can.”

When we finished singing the song, I asked children to call out things they could do. It was infectious for the children to do this and they called out all kinds of things they could do. We sang the song over and over again, each time pausing to have the children say what they can do.

Our company no longer carries that music, but the words lived on. I bumped into one of the mothers whose child was one of the children with special needs when we made the recording. She told me that her son sang it all the way through school to himself as a reminder that he could do anything, and he did!

Teach your children to acknowledge all they can do. Too often children focus on what they cannot do, and forget to reach out and do what they can do.

Have a wonderful day. You are a difference maker.

Maryln