I see you, I hear you, I'm praying for you

 

To say things are challenging is an understatement.

Maybe you're going through a debilitating health challenge, and you're whispering between the tears, "please God, help me."

Maybe you're going through a financial difficulty, you're drowning in bills, life is too expensive, and you need to buy a new stove with money that doesn't exist.

Perhaps you're managing your finances and health by the thinnest of hairs, but your job is toxic and draining, and you don't have options right now.

There's a family situation that feels impossible right now.  Sleepless nights, endless fights, responsibility for a sick loved one, children who need extra support and guidance.

You go on social media to distract and forget yourself, and yet, you feel worse because either people are living their best lives or there's someone who is dealing with a more horrible situation than you. Guilt and jealousy compound your situation.

Let's not even touch national and world events: apocalyptic wars, natural disasters, pain, suffering, and injustice.

At the end of each day, you ask yourself, "how did I get through today?" 

At night, you force yourself to pray.  Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner.

You try to find something to be grateful for.

You ask God to lighten your load, to grant you the strength to endure, to enlighten your darkness.

And then you wait.  You hope.  You want your suffering to have meaning.

I see you.  I hear you.  I'm praying that merciful Lord envelops you in His love.

Please DM me @workshopclassroom if you would like me to pray for you.

Teacher Appreciation, Inspiration, and Motivation

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Day 2017, I've collected some great quotes to keep us teachers inspired and motivated to persevere through this profession's challenges and society's misconceptions of us. 

Alexander the Great basically says his greatness comes from his teacher, Aristotle!

Truly, I can't even count the number of facets of my life that have been impacted by teachers!  And it is my humble prayer that I do the same for today's youth.

These educators who teach with their hearts not only make us smarter but they make us better people.

Teachers, let's ignite that fire that makes our students lifelong learners and overall happy, successful people.  Finally...

This is super important to me: as educators, if we don't motivate and support each other, then NOBODY else will.  As challenging and draining this profession is our lives, I hope that we can find a flicker of positivity with our inspiring colleagues. 

Thanks, teachers, for all that you do, have done, and will do.

The best part of summer...

The best part of summer for teachers is the opportunity to show the multiple facets of their personalities and lives without worrying about lesson plans, professional development, observations, classroom libraries, report cards, assessments, PARCC, parent conferences, back-to-school, grading, staff meetings, classroom management, technology integration, interventions, contacting parents...etc.  For me, it's family time, traveling, and the ocean...

Family wedding!

Washington, DC

Yay for teachers!

So, I've forgotten what it's like to be a blogger.  One day, I'll get my act together.  Sigh.  In the meantime, I have to make sure that I mark this story for posterity.

 

I am so thrilled for Deanna Jump!  She is truly an inspiration, and I wish her so much more success in the future.  There is an awesome article here with tips for success.  And of course, Teachers Pay Teachers is the venue that made this all possible.  Please, please, share this wonderful story with others!

I think you should all get a nickel every time I start a post with "It's been a while" or "I've been busy" or some other concocted excuse for not blogging.  Let's just say it's been one of those...years.  Not bad necessarily, just hectic and tiring.  I've been creating blog entries, TpT products, and free resources in my head for the past few months, and I've been itching to actually post them.  While I get my act together, here's a small sale, in appreciation of all the wonderful things that teachers do for this world.

My products are 20% off and I will also extend my sale until Thursday.  I hope you enjoy all the Teacher Appreciation promotions that are out there this week.  I know that I'll be on the look out, in between state testing, writing my professional development plan, filing papers, going to meetings...

Inspiring Stamina During the Workshop

Last year, I felt like my job as a first grade teacher was to take kiddies who were needy kindergartners and turn them into independent students, ready to work hard in second grade.  The jump between the kindergarten and first grade standards alone...enough said.  And the curriculum is demanding:  I certainly don't remember writing a how-to book or an all about book on an "expert" topic for 20 to 30 minutes each day.  I remember practicing my spelling words on ice cream paper and the Superkids.

So how do we get these five, six, and seven year-olds to work so hard for an extended period of time?  I think that's a question that we will forever be answering, but I know my colleagues and I would try some nifty tricks to motivate students to remain focused for an extended period of time.

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