Amazing Moments

It all started this morning with a tweet to @mr_fines, a Kindergarten teacher in my PLN on Twitter.  Within minutes, Mr. Jon Fines, was tweeting back lots of great technology lesson ideas to use with K-kids. At that moment, collaboration went global and energy surged! My colleague Jenny and I had been brainstorming and planning together for a bit before we tapped the Twitter network.  When Fines chimed in, it was energizing, like a firework exploding with bright colors in a dark sky. Our exchange went like this: “ I teach them to open Word,  increase font size, change font, then type the letters of the alphabet in order. Keyboarding+ Letter Assessment,” Fines tweeted. “GREAT ideas!!! Thanks so much! We have Paint and Word, so will give that a try. Any Christmas ideas?” I asked. “This is one of our Christmas favs. I use on IWB but PC's are great http://sprintsweets.com/ & http://bit.ly/8YSLHV is also a fun one,” Fines replied. “You made my day!!! I LOVE these sites...

I was on Twitter yesterday and ran across a link from @cybraryman1 on Random Acts of Kindness. The story I read was about a couple who gives a new crisp $50 bill to a waitress at a random restaurant right before Christmas.   What a great idea!  Giving something nice to someone who is not expecting anything is just as much fun as receiving a gift.   Giving a $50 bill not only made that person’s day, but will be a story they will share for the rest of their life. I was once a recipient of a random act of kindness and I will never forget the joy, disbelief, and happiness that flowed through me.  Here is my story. I had dreamed of owning a piano for many years. After I was married, I visited our local music store and fell in love with a Baldwin Acrosonic piano.  I picked up a glossy flyer with the beautiful cherry piano that included all the details and started saving for it.  I would go to Schmitt Music often and play the piano on the show roo...

Our first snow of the year ushered in a calm start to the week-end.  It was the perfect kind of day to just stay home, snuggle up, read a book, or even clean out a crayon drawer. Our crazy crayon drawer was overflowing with crayons,  like foam running over the top of a glass of bubbly soda.  Every end of the school year, the kids dump the contents of their pencil boxes into the crayon drawer, so to say it was full was an understatement   Every color had to be represented at least two dozen times if not more. My son looked up at me and said, “Mom, are we crayon hoarders?” I had to laugh. “No, son, but we could be if we keep buying more than we need and don’t share, “ I replied. Having a sea of crayons got me thinking about a time when there was only one special crayon box. This special crayon box had exactly eight colors. They were the fat crayons, perfect for all sizes of fingers that would use them over the years.  These crayons resided in the top...

Recently I ran in the Race for the Cure. Every corner I turned there were cheerleaders right there to give all of us runners encouragement.  Their enthusiasm and energy were invaluable.  As I was running a steep hill in the middle of the course, I felt myself losing steam, just like a balloon with the air seeping out.  I was going flat.  Then, there they were, the cheerleaders telling me I could do it and that the top of the hill was just ahead. I soaked in those encouraging words and replayed them over and over as my feet pounded in rhythm up the hill.  They knew I could do it and so did I!  Because they believed in me, I knew I must keep going. I needed to dig down deep, push through the pain, find a new gear, keep the legs moving, and finish the race. The encouraging words from the cheerleaders were personal and meaningful and inspired me to keep running the race.   Educators are like those cheerleaders, they have the ability to encourage student...

What can be said about the calloused hand from a life time of hard work? This hand belonged to my grandpa who was a German immigrant to the United States shortly after the end of World War I. Times were tough in Germany and he embarked on a voyage to America in hopes of finding a better life.   A non-English speaker with only a second grade education, he was at the mercy of those he met. His path eventually took him to Kansas where he worked on a farm, met and married my grandma, and started a family.  Needless to say, they didn't have much. For shortly after arriving, the stock markets crashed and World War II began.   He worked long hours as a farmer and a heavy equipment operator to support his family.  Even though he had a job, things were scarce.  They had what they needed, but luxuries such as toys, new shoes, or new clothing was something unheard of.  Kids had to use their imagination and pretend.  Toys R Us was decades from opening and...

“Always date your mate,” a wise woman whispered in my ear at my wedding 20 years ago.  The words she said as well as the timing of her advice struck me as bizarre at the time.  “Seriously? Who wouldn’t go out on dates with their husband,” I thought, dismissing the comment.   Twenty years later, that advice is so welcome and needed.    I heard myself recalling those words one Friday night last fall, as I headed one direction with a couple of kids to high school football game and my hubby took off with the other two in another direction.   I don’t even think we said hi as we met each other in the garage ready to zoom off in different directions.  When we finally got home that evening, it was late and we were exhausted.  We collapsed into bed and we were out in seconds. I don’t think we moved all night. I woke up in the morning reflecting on those words, “date your mate.”  When was our last date? Why did we quit dating?  The answe...

Someone once told me a long time ago that it is impossible to be grateful and unhappy at the same time.  I have found this is so true.  No matter how bad a day I had, I could always find something to be grateful for, even if it was as simple as an earth to live on and air to breathe.  Every time I was grateful, I felt so much better. It naturally raised my spirits.    As a family, I started a tradition of sharing what we are grateful for at the dinner table when the kids were very young.  This tradition still stands today. Each person gets a turn to share what he/she is grateful for as we begin the meal. The only rules are that we need to listen when people share and  there are no repeats. The kids look forward to sharing and even start sharing without being prompted.  Tonight, it went like this.  “I want to start,” said my son.   “I am grateful that I get to play basketball,” he said.  And then we went around the ...