Look for the Helpers

Happy Friday Everyone! Yesterday I talked a bit about habits and today I want to start by sharing one I do each morning.  Every day when I get up, I ask my Alexa device, "Alexa, what's the question of the day?"  For those that have an Alexa, this is a fun skill that you should try.  Each morning I get a different question from several different categories...arts and entertainment, history, science, or literature.  I love challenging my brain each morning with quirky questions.  I'd say I get about 75% of the questions correct, and usually, when I don't get them correct, it's because I didn't go with my first instinct or I've narrowed it down to two logical choices and I just pick incorrectly. This morning the first question was a literature question.  It was a question about who ordered the Trojan Horse to be placed outside the gates of Troy during the end of the Trojan War.  The answer was Odysseus.  Got that one right!  Thanks, Mr. Varracho...

Happy Thursday, I started reading a new book last year.  It was a book recommended to me by a fellow educator family member.  I am only on page seven, but it already as me thinking about ideas to share with you. For sure this school year has been unprecedented and certainly, kids have continued to learn valuable information from desks (or kitchen tables, or couches, or beds) at home.  Clearly, however, the same opportunities that have existed in past years did not exist these last 9 weeks.  There were no hands-on science experiences, trips to Boston, group projects, trips to the Flynn Theater, and no orienteering around the school property.  There was no Velocity group or Girls on the Run and no reminders not to run in the hallway or pick up the lunch table because it's the right thing to do! Just because these opportunities didn't exist, however, doesn't mean that you weren't learning valuable things while quarantined at home, but there was certainly more ...

Well, I can't say good Wednesday morning anymore, 'cause it's already afternoon!!  It has taken me a long time to get underway with my blog today because it's been one big tech issue after another.   I couldn't make my first call - the individual had to call me...   I couldn't get my own kiddo logged on to her nine o'clock meeting from anything but my computer so I was left working with my thumbs on my cell phone... I got kicked off a student call and couldn't even restart my computer...  :( I tried to cue up a video to share with you all, nothing too earth-shattering, but just something to make you smile, but I couldn't get it to stop buffering and can do nothing besides simply  share the link ...enjoy! I have felt like every time I have tried to sit down and start my blog today, someone needs help with math, or someone is hungry, or someone is pestering their sibling.  It's been one of those kinds of days!    But despite all of that fr...

Happy Tuesday, Yes, that's right, it's not Monday.  It's a great way to start a week when we can start on a Tuesday!   Before I get long-winded, watch this quick clip... With only 13, yes count 'em, 13 days of school left, we all (students and teachers alike) are going to need all the support we can get to make it to the end.  This year has been long...this year has been weird...this year has been hard...this year has been oh so different, but we've made it this far and I know we can make it to the end.   While we finish it off, let's support each other, let's encourage each other, and let's help out a friend when they are in need of a little push.  If your buddy isn't showing up to class meets, text them, and encourage them to come.  If you friend says they aren't doing any more school work, encourage them to check in with a teacher to make a plan for success.  If your friend seems sad or our of sorts, email them and try to plan a socially ...

Happy Friday!   The long weekend is here, the weather is beautiful, and though the options for socializing with those outside your family are still a bit limited, I hope you and those close to you can plan to spend some fun time together this weekend!  Hopefully you can enjoy a campfire or do some grilling!  Have a burger or a dog, and enjoy your freedoms this Memorial Day weekend. This week I came across this funny cartoon... I giggled because hey, who doesn't think cats are funny - all sharp and soft at the same time!   Storytime...I used to have a cat named Theo when I was a kid.  I swear he thought he was a dog.  He would follow us around our neighborhood, walking with us to the pool, hanging out on the grass while we swam, and then walking back with us when we were finally soggy and tired!  He would sit on the hoods of neighbor's cars, sunning himself in the summer or warming up on a toasty car hood in the winter.   He would re...

Happy Thursday Everyone! Yesterday evening, my husband and I took our kids up to Cochrans to ride their new pump track.  We had gone to look at it the night before, so I knew what to expect, and though I was interested in trying it out, I was nervous too!  It seemed tight to me with lots of little whoops,  rolls, and berms crammed into a smallish space.   When we got there, we played in the parking lot on a bridge and a teeter-totter for a little while, and then we headed up to the pump track.  My son jumped right into it.  He's still a newish biker, but enjoys it and is interested in getting better, so he didn't have any hesitation.  My daughter took it slow as she is new to trail riding, but she was game.  I, on the other hand, was a different story.  Here I was, bike at the ready, and I felt nervous about dropping into this track.  I was especially rattled by three very experienced looking riders already taking turns with my son....

Good Morning Everyone!   Congratulations on making it to mid-week!  These days we take all the victories we can.  :)   Today I wanted to talk a little bit about closure.  In the field of counseling, we sometimes call it "termination."  When counselors and clients - in this case, you and me - have helping relationships, it's important to bring closure to those relationships in healthy ways.  Talking about closure allows people to explore their thoughts and feelings around the ending of a relationship well in advance of that ending.  It's not good to have a quick end to a relationship thus being left holding lots of unresolved feelings of loss.  One of the reasons school dismissal has been so hard - none of us got proper closure!  :(   The need for closure is not just reserved for counseling relationships.  Right now, teachers, administrators, and school counselors are all trying to find good ways to get closure wi...