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The Gift

“When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.”    ― Mitch Albom , For One More Day As the minute hand inched its way to 2:00, third grade students perched at the edges of their seats.  They stretched tall and peered around the table stacked high with handmade gifts in lavender tissue paper, eager to spot the guests of honor. Great care and attention to all the details went into transforming the library into a beautiful venue for this special day, similar to preparing a nursery for a new baby! What these special guests will soon learn is that the children have been preparing for this special day since the first month of school.  Nine months of careful preparation and love have been poured into poetry, songs, stories, and art work now carefully hiding under the tissue paper in beautiful handmade scrapbooks for one special person. “Mom is here!” one child excitedly exclaimed and they began to wave. Young faces erupted i
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When I was a young girl in Council Bluffs

When I was a young girl in Council Bluffs Owning one car was considered the norm. Staying at Grandma's for a week in the summer was vacation. Watching Wild Kingdom with Marlin Perkins and an enormous bowl of stove popped popcorn was the highlight of Sunday nights. When I was a young girl in Council Bluffs A box fan was my air conditioner. Playing kick the can until the street lights came on was a typical summer night. A lucky day was having enough money to get a treat from the ding ding man. When I was a young girl in Council Bluffs Swinging on the swing set was my favorite way to enjoy a summer morning Hide and seek in the cemetery with the black angel was terrifying. A quarter for a game of Pac Man would last an entire grocery trip. My days were happy, my family was great, and my worries were small. 
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The Tornado Siren

I drove down the winding gravel road toward the white two story farmhouse to pick up Stevie for the day and bring him over to my house.   This car ride would be an adventure in itself.  You see, Stevie has  his share of struggles in life with the cross he bears: autism.   This morning,  he willingly climbed into the front seat of my van,  then turned his body to face the window and away we went. We drove from his house to my house and he began to point out tornado sirens along the way.   As we passed the sirens perched on the top of wooden poles, he began to talk excitedly about the type of siren it was, how sirens are made, how it works, and even who manufactures the siren.   Every time we drew close, he would launch into another energetic talk about tornado sirens. I have to be honest, up until this point, I had never noticed the sirens before, nor had a burning desire to become a siren expert.   Why did I want to keep listening to Stevie?   It was Stevie’s energy and
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In the Game?

“Devices down,” Matt shouts.       “I said DD (devices down) everyone!”   Sounding like he was about to melt down, I headed into the kitchen.     “What’s going on everyone?” I asked observing all the bent heads.   “We are playing Clue, but everyone is texting,” ten year old Matt complained.   “It’s like playing a game all by myself.”   Whether they are aware or not, they are sending him the silent message that playing Clue with him is not as engaging as what is going on in their network.   He is quickly annoyed that they are so tuned out , so much they must be prompted when their turn rolls around.   They are drawn into their virtual world to the exclusion of the real live people sitting next to them in the same room.   Being checked out can happen without a device too!   Kids are great judges of people who are present in the present moment and those who are not.   They can spot those who are just going through the motions anywhere.   One of the best places to spo
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44 Things I Have Learned About Life in 44 Years

There is no day like a snow day!  You are never too old to be excited for snow days!   When you are happy, people around you feel happier.   Nothing is more comforting than to hear your mom’s voice , especially when you're s ick. Look forward to something.   You can't be grateful and grumpy at the same time.  Be GRATEFUL! People are put in your path for a reason. Relationships are as important as air.  Soak up the people you are with when you are with them.  If you wait until people are sick, old, and tired you miss the memories. Give someone a 10 second hug every day! Money is not worth worrying about.  You can focus on it, stress out about it, or just let go! You get good at what you spend time with.  Think about how you spend your minutes. Family time must be protected like gold. Fret not! It is what it is.  Just roll with it. A homemade card says it all. Sunrise and sunsets are amazing.  Take time to enjoy them. UNPLUG - I mean it!   Too much of anything
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Mission Possible

I sit.  I look at things. I don’t really engage in any reading.  I wait.  One minute, two minutes, then I hear “Mom, can you take a look at my math?” And so it begins, the school night homework. Three backpacks today held a novel with several chapters to read, lots of math, vocabulary worksheets, a science project, and a new song to learn on the recorder.   “We better get that math started,” I said.  “We will get this done in no time.” WE Being an educator and a mom, I get to see both sides of the homework issue. In the teacher’s lounge, I hear daily about kids not completing homework.  Teachers are baffled. Why don’t kids do their work? Why don’t they get this homework done.  Why don't’ they care if they get a detention.   So what happens when students get stumped? For many kids, an Algebra class can feel like AP Calculus and be as confusing as trying to read Arabic.  If no one is readily available to help, it is easy to get frustrated, feel overwhelmed, and
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YouTube IT

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“Mike, how did you learn to solve the Rubic’s cube?”, I asked my 7th grade son.  “I YouTubed it,” he said. YouTube is a verb. YouTube it. Anytime and anywhere there is a connection to the Internet, learning can take place. Never has a time existed where there is such open access to information. YouTube, Ted.Edu, and access to SMARTphones are changing the culture of the how and where learning takes place. How fantastic is it to be able to pause, play, rewind, and play a video again?  Now it is truly possible to learn a topic at your own pace without feeling silly about asking questions. With the advent of the i0S devices, the ease of using YouTube, and network speed contribute to creating a culture that is transforming how, when, and where we learn.  Accessing and streaming videos is as simple as changing a channel on a TV. I decided to give YouTube learning a try and master a new song on the piano. I started at YouTube.com and did a search for “Apologize Piano Tutorial”.
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