I forget.

I was going to write a big long thing about busyness and about helping and then I had a thought. I forget sometimes that it is more important to pay attention to How I am Being than What I am Doing. I get lost sometimes in the helping and doing, in the teaching and yes, the correcting. I forget the listening, the smiling, the breathing and laughing. The deep noticing that comes from connecting. We have two more days before the holiday and I am moving so quickly. There is time.

Calling all schools! Anyone interested in a mailing exchange with us?

Since we live in a geographically isolated location (on a rock in the middle of the ocean) we are constantly trying to find ways to make geography come alive in our classroom. 

 

A few years ago we did a cultural items exchange with one school from every continent around the globe. We exchanged boxes with several different schools and it was great fun putting together our packages and taking a field trip to the post office to mail them, AND THEN receiving the lovely packages from our friend schools around the world.

 

 

We would love to do it again this year! We are looking for schools to collaborate with! We would mail you a box from Aruba containing the following:

1 cultural item for decorating the classroom
1 map of the country
1 food item that is mailable and non perishable
1 letter hand written by the students
1 photo of our group of children
1 cd recording of the children singing a song in their language

If it is something that you would be interested in doing with us please comment below! 

Learning to talk and to listen.

“Preschool teachers in Finland are free to focus on what’s really essential: their relationship with the growing child.“

Loved THIS article from the Atlantic because it reminded me that the most important thing we can be focusing on in the classroom is conversation, to talk and listen to each other, to develop understanding of each other and to build our relationships.

My mom had recently sent me a wonderful TED talk about how to have better conversations and it was also exactly about this. Seems that the message is coming in from everywhere at once!

Overheard a parent say

"Is there anything you want me to do differently to help you out? Or am I doing ok?"

And just felt those were the most helpful words I had ever heard an adult say to a child.

It is actually with kindness towards ourselves- rather than condemning ourselves- that we make the most progress.

Sharon Salzberg