May Currently

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This is my first 'currently' challenge.  There were so many ideas running through my head that it was difficult to pick just one for each category.  It definitely made me think though.

Listening:  Right now I am listening to the quiet of the house.  My baby boy is sleeping, and it is quiet! I love listening to him breathe.  It is a wonderful sound.

Loving:  I am loving my weekends at home.  My 7 year old recently broke his leg, and this past Monday was the first time he had been back to school in over two weeks, so I was glad to see Friday come for the whole family.  We are enjoying the 'at home' time while he recovers.

Thinking: May brings feelings of warmer weather and summer time, especially for a teacher like myself.  The end-of-year countdown begins, and the final days of school seem to fly by.  I love the emotional feelings that come with May.  :)  Summer is just around the corner.

Wanting: Many months ago, my husband and I decided we were going to add an addition to our home. I'm excite about it, but it seems to take forever and a day for the builders to get a move on!  I want this addition complete before I go back to school in the fall.  Let the building and excitement begin already!!!  lol

Needing: As I mentioned above, my oldest son broke his leg.  He has been in a cast above his leg for several weeks, so we will all be glad when it lowered to below the knee.  We are also thankful he will not be in a cast over summer break.  Nor will he have to wear a cast while we are at the beach.  I look forward to much family time over the summer.  We have been though a lot during the month of April, and I am excited about summer picnics, talking around the fire pit, swimming, the beach, road trips, and just over all, family time.

Summer Bucket List: I admit it---I do not read much for pleasure.  There's too much going on during the school year, and with a wee little one, my time seems to evaporate.  I'm not complaining.  I love being a mommy, and a good mommy at that!  I just don't take the time to read for pleasure like I should.  So, this summer, I really want to read at least 2 good books (maybe more).  I want to get caught up on my Nicholas Sparks reading before going back to school.  And, yes, I want to read my new book I purchased through Amazon called Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids by Chris Biffle.  WBT has changed the way I teach, my outlook on teaching, and has turned my classroom from BLAH to AHHHHH!!! in a matter of months.  If you need help with classroom management or you are looking for brain based learning strategies to help your students, THIS IS THE ANSWER FOR YOU!!!  With this being said, I want to read this book from cover to cover.  If you have never heard of WBT and you are an educator, it is a must.  Head on over to this site, and check it out.

Photo credit: Melinda Sprinkle

I really enjoyed explaining my current thoughts.  I rarely journal about myself, so this current monthly blogging is very invigorating for me!  I'm glad I stumbled onto such a creative idea!  :)

Life Changing Events and WBT

The last week and a half has been a whirlwind for me.  I just wanted everyone to know on Wednesday, April 10, my 7 year old went for one more bicycle trip down into our subdivision, and in an instant I could hear him from our yard.  When I got to him, he was laying to the side of the road in pain.  He had look down away from the road, and when he looked back was plowing in to a neighbors 'homemade' mailbox.  Needless to say, the mailbox won!  He could not get up and did not want to be touched.  I was horrified!  After an ambulance ride to the hospital, a wait in the ER, and x-rays, we learned he had broken his right tibia bone (the large bone in your lower leg).  It is never fun watching anyone be in pain, but when it is your own child, it is worse.  They kept him over night because he was unable to manage his pain.  He was suppose to get a cast after one week, but the Dr. said he would rather leave him in the splint for one more week.  He will go from the splint to cast above the knee then a walking, boot cast below the knee.  The good news for all of this is--Ean is very, very lucky.  He was not wearing a helmet and had on Croc shoes.  He didn't have a scratch on him outside of breaking his leg.  The mailbox has to be replaced.  He had to hit it pretty hard because the 4x4 post it was on was damaged.  We say many blessings on this day, and one of them was that he did not have any damage to his head or spine.  Funny thing is, the bike doesn't have a scratch on it either!  Ean will also have his cast off by the time we go to the beach.  He was really worried about not being able to get in the water.  

I have been out of school more than I have been in, and my heart has certainly not been with teaching.  I was honest with all of my classes, as I wanted them to know the importance of wearing good shoes and a helmet when riding any bike or scooter.  I also wanted them to know why I would be missing days in near future.  They all know Ean because he comes to my school just before our dismissal bell, and they like him.  They have been so kind and sweet--making him cards and signs and sending him little gifts.  

The whole accident altered my teaching and enthusiasm at school.  For the past several days, I have not been using WBT very well.  Honestly, I have been using Class/Yes and that is pretty much it.  The substitute did award stars for good behavior for my SIW class, but I have not been consistent with WBT since the accident.  What positive can I take from not using WBT, you ask?  Well, it reaffirms my action research.  Any day using some WBT is a better day than not using it at all.  I there will be days like this.  We teachers are human, right?  These last few days have allowed me to reflect back to teaching before I even knew what WBT was.  The more WBT strategies I use, the better teacher I am.  The class runs more smoothly when I use the Scoreboard, and the kids love it.  My sixth graders especially love WBTs 4Core, the 5 Classroom Rules,  It's Cool!, and Ten Finger Woos.  I have faith that it is OK to have 'not so good days' because I will pick up my speed and return once again to what I know best-Whole Brain Teaching.