Love makes the world go around.

There’s an old song about love making the world go around. You all know that because your important work is a work of love, to help children. Today’s thought is a reminder on this Friday to remember as you help others, to help yourself too. Take care of you! The more you take care of yourself, the more you will have to give, and the more you give, the more you receive. It’s a circle, but it starts with you giving to yourself.

The next Thought will be posted on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

Have an awesome day and week-end.

Maryln

A special way to celebrate.

I want to share a very special story with you. Last week I shared that my daughter, Tobi, would have had her birthday on August 27th, and it was her first birthday for our family since she passed away last November. Two days before her birthday, I got an idea. I sent out an email to our entire family and friends who knew her. I asked them to help make her birthday meaningful by sharing special memories about her life, so that instead of a day of sadness mourning her death, we could instead celebrate her life. I also told them they could forward the email on to others that knew her. They could respond to all, and we would all share in the delightful stories and memories. When I woke up on her birthday, my email inbox was packed. It went on all day and into the next day. Instead of being sad, I was excited to see the next email, and smiled and laughed at some of the wonderful stories that made my daughter the unique person she was. One story of her seeing a homeless man on the street who wanted money really touched my heart. She didn’t give him money but she gave him something better. When she finished talking to him, he smiled and his day was better. That was just one of the many stories.

I am sharing this with you for several reasons. The first is that I’m happy to share with you the email letter that I sent out to begin this. You can go to our web site at http://www.atiseminars.org/en/cms/1631/ to print or modify it for your own use. The second reason is that lots of times when teaching, there can be negative situations that come up. It’s important to get out of that state for the children and for yourself, and to look for positives. The better you feel, the better the children will feel. Your attitude is contagious.

Have a great day.

Maryln

Be vigilant.

I was appalled to learn in the news recently about the girl who had been missing since she was eleven years old who appears to have been held hostage for 18 years in the backyard of a man on parole for sex offenses.

It made me think about all of you who work with children. Fortunately, most employees are screened by the organizations for which they work to see if there are any prior convictions. However, this is often not the case of your neighbor down the street, or family members who come into the schools and child care centers. There is a national registry that can help you to keep children safe. It’s free. You simply put in an address or a name, and it will tell you immediately the individuals who are registered sex offenders. The web site is http://www.familywatchdog.us/

I remember many years ago I was asked to appear as an expert witness for a group investigating a sexual abuse case in a school. They wanted my opinion on whether or not the abuse had occurred. While I was waiting for my turn to speak, I heard another expert witness from that state testify that the average pedophile abuses many children in his or her lifetime. Many are charged, but few are convicted because it becomes it’s so difficult for children to testify on their own behalf. This is complicated many times by the fact that the child may have a relationship with the abuser. Be vigilant. Look for signs of any type of abuse in the children you care for. Your vigilance may help save a child. You make a difference in so many ways for children.

Have a great day.

Maryln

Why do we do it?

In the past several weeks, I have had the privilege of working with so many wonderful educators in different parts of the country. One of the districts was on the verge of bankruptcy, but the wonderful teachers attended the training even though they did not even know if they all would be returning to work. In another district I had the opportunity to train Title I teachers K-12 who worked with at-risk students. At the other end of the spectrum, I went to a child care program, and got to watch teachers interact lovingly with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. All of this made me think about our children, and the dedicated teachers who work with them.

This sure is not a career that has the highest paychecks of any career. But it is a career that makes a difference, more of a difference than anyone can possibly know. So today I am launching a new survey to make a point that you probably already know, and that is “Why do you work with children?” Go to www.atiseminars.org and make your voice heard.

Regardless of the reason you work with children, know every day that you make a difference.

God bless you in the important work you do. You are a difference maker.

Have a great day.

Maryln

Building Bridges to the Future.

We are launching a new seminar this week in our early childhood division. It is called, Building Bridges to the Future. It’s an awesome conference packed with great information. It made me start thinking about teachers, not only of early child care, but all teachers from Kindergarten through 12^th grade. Everyone who works with children helps build bridges to the future. In many cases, you spend more hours in a day with children than their own working and/or busy families. Your role is one of the biggest and most important roles in the world. So today and every day as you walk into your early childhood programs, elementary schools, middle schools, and/or high schools, pat yourself on the back. You build bridges to the future. You are a difference maker.

Have a great day and a wonderful week.

Maryln