Habit Number 1 Be Proactive!

Now we are ready to go a little deeper into each habit. For the next 2 weeks we will be focusing on Habit #1: Being Proactive.

 

As a mom of 1st graders, this is where my mom hat and my teacher hat are pretty interchangeable...it is SO empowering to KNOW what the teachers are teaching...and I USE it...I mean, poor Mrs. Gilliam (our principal)  and Mrs. Gahan (TnTs sweet teacher) were in our house a WHOLE lot this weekend...figuratively! Those amazing ladies were out of my "mom pocket", when one of my boys needed to think of what they would tell him if they saw him struggling with needing to choose a better attitude about just TRYING to ride his bike with no training wheels (we took them off a few months ago, before the temperatures here soared over 100 and stayed there!) and again when that same boy picked up toys he hadn't played with and hadn't been asked to clean up...that time he was reminded how proud they would be to see him do what was right with out being asked! Later on during the weekend, my other son (who maybe it is fair to say is more naturally 'gifted' in proactive-ness (he gets it from his daddy!)) looked at me, when he started to lay his book baggy book on the coffee table, and then stopped himself and said, "I should really put that back where it goes, so I don't lose it!"

 

For the next two weeks, we will be noticing when friends in our class are proactive, when characters in books show that trait, and brainstorm ways that we show that we are proactive. My little class of sweet hearts will learn that when a person is proactive they:

• Take initiative.
• Are responsible.     
• Know that they choose their actions, attitudes, and moods.      
• Do not blame others for their mistakes.       
• Do the right thing without being asked (even when no one else is looking!).

I hope that all parents (not just my group of students) will begin to think about ways that they can help their children become more proactive. Think about how great it would be if ALL of our kids grew up and did these things!??!? I know…pretty awesome, huh??

One Week down...Ready, Set, YOU BET!!

We had a fantastic first week of first grade. We read some great books and played some fun games and with this little group of AWESOME kids, we started our Guided Reading Work and math rotations. They are a hard working bunch of kids and I am SO glad that I get to be their teacher.

This year we are really going to be focusing on the 7 Habits...and we have already found ways to Be Proactive (choosing our attitude about new friends and no outdoor recess since the Texas weather is not cooperating with us!), Beginning with the End in Mind (setting goals for becoming stronger readers, reading books like Wolf! and Oh How I Wish I could Read), using Synergy (for many of the getting to know each other activities and by reading books like The Crayon Box That Talked), putting 1st things 1st (learning our schedule, setting up our desks and folders so they are organized and ready for learning to happen, making our class agreements with the help of the book Miss Nelson is Missing) and also learning about why it is so important to seek first to understand and then to be understood...we still have a few more habits to think about next week and then we will go into each one more deeply to try and get REALLY good at each one. That way we can all be leaders at Glen Oaks.

PHEW...if you have a child in first grade...you know how tired they were by the end of this first week of school...their teachers were too...but we have rested this weekend, spent time with our families and friends and gotten to the grocery store...all in an effort to Sharpen the Saw and be READY to GO for week two!!

Start Blogging...NOW! WHAT?!?

Now, what??  Now!??? WHAT??

The Blogger is prompting me with an orange arrow...saying, "Start Blogging" like if I click it, a blog that is good and important and helpful...will magically appear!

Why do I even want to blog?

I am a busy mom. I am a busy wife. I am a (sometimes) busy housekeeper.  I am a busy teacher. I am a busy dieter. I am a busy scrapbooker... (All in whatever order my to-do list is written in...I am busy at it. So, why? Why add another busy?

I think that having been a teacher, both pre- and post- being a mom, has made me ultra-sensitive to the parents who want a view into their kids life. I want to give the parents of my students an easier way to see what their kids are talking about; pictures of the classroom (the centers, the books, the games), samples of their work, ideas and articles to help all of us prepare these kids for the world they will grow into. We all want to make the best for the children in our homes, the ones we tuck in each night, and worry about each day. I want to do that too for my own two boys, but I also want to make a difference for each child that walks into room F103. ...and if adding one more busy to my to do list will help...?!? Then I will give it a shot! Stay tuned...

The school year is about to get underway and that means, my to do list is long and complicated...and BUSY! (But I thrive on busy...so what is one more thing on the list?!)