We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because
we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
Walt Disney quotes
If you love first grade, then read on.....
First is Best
Yes, I teach the first grade.
Where else would a handsome and very young man put his arms around me and
ask, "Do you know that I love you?"
Where else would I tie so many hair ribbons and belts and daily get to see a
style show of pretty dresses and shirts?,
Where else could I wear the same dress day after day and be told each time
that it is pretty?
Where else could I walk up and down aisles and have warm hands touch me?
Where else could I have the privilege of wiggling loose teeth and receive a
promise that I may pull them when they are loose enough?
Where else could I eat a soiled piece of candy from a grimy little hand and
not get ill? (I have to eat it because he watches to see that I do.)
Where else would the future look as bright as it does amid an energetic
group to whom nothing is impossible?
Where else could I guide the first letter formations of a chubby little hand
that may some day write a book or an important document?
Where else could I forget my own aches and pains because of so many cut
fingers, scratched knees, bumped heads and broken hearts that need care?
Where else could I forget taxes and even "the state of the nation" because
Stevie isn't grasping reading as he should and other methods must be tried?
Where else would my mind have to stay so young as with a group whose
attention span is so short that I must always keep a "bag of tricks up my
sleeve"?
Where else could I feel so close to my Maker as I do each year when, because
of something I have done, little children learn to read?
Yes, I do teach the first grade, Mr. and Mrs. America. And I love it!
by Mrs. Janet Gorell Meyer
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Searching for Gold
Look beneath the freckles
Look beneath the grin
Look for that which sparkles
Buried deep within.
Look beyond the whining
Look beyond the tears
Look beyond the runny nose
The frowns, the mess, the fears.
Search for that which glitters
Treasures to unfold
Search beneath the surface
Search and find the gold!
by Jean Warren
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The Gift of the Memorable Child
The child that is my challenge is a gift.
Only he can give me
The gifts of patience, tolerance, and acceptance -
If I let him.
He will be the one to make me into a true Teacher
And challenge my very soul.
I can learn more from this child
Than from much of my college coursework -
If I choose to.
A child is not something that is "broken"
For me to "fix".
This child comes to me a unique individual
Worthy of love - just as he is.
Will I choose to rise to the occasion?
Or be yet another to throw my hands up?
Do I have it in me to maybe be the one
that can make a difference?
Is he maybe the one
that will make a difference in me?
Will I choose to let him?
Cathy Abraham
THE RULES FOR BEING HUMAN
These rules, I have been told, are handed down from ancient Sanskrit.
Please, try to live by them.
#1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be
yours for the entire period this time around.
#2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time, informal
school called life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to
learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.
#3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and
error, experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the
process as the experiment that ultimately "works".
#4. A lesson is repeated until it is learned. A lesson will be presented to
you in various forms until you have learned it. Then you can go on to the
next lesson.
#5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not
contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.
#6. "There" is no better than "here". When your "there" has become
a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that again, looks better
than "here".
#7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something
about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate
about yourself.
#8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and
resources you need; what you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
#9. The answers lie inside you. The answers to life's questions lie inside
you. All you need to do is look, listen and trust.
Five (5) Simple Rules to be Happy
1- Free your heart from hatred.
2- Free your mind from worries.
3- Live simply.
4- Give more than expected.
5- Expect less.
I've learned -
…that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who
can be loved. The rest is up to them.
…that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
…that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life
that counts.
…that it's not what happens to people that's important, it's what they do
about it.
…that you can do something in an instant, that will give you heartache for
life.
…that you should always leave loved ones with loving words, it may be the
last time you see them.
…that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
…that either you control your attitude, or it controls you.
…that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the
passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.
…those heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be
done, regardless of the consequences.
…that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
…that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best
time.
…that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that
doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
…that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
…that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and
what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many birthdays you've
celebrated.
…that you should never tell a child their dreams are unlikely or outlandish.
Few things are more humiliating, and what a tragedy it would be if they
believed it.
…that your family won't always be there for you. It may seem funny, but
people you aren't related to can take care of you and love you and teach you
to trust people again. Families aren't biological.
…that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once
in a while, and you must forgive them for that.
…that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to
learn to forgive yourself.
…that no matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for
your grief.
…that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but
we are responsible for who we become.
…that two people can look at the exact same thing, and see something totally
different.
…that no matter how you try to protect your children, they will eventually
get hurt and you will hurt in the process.
…that no matter the consequences, those who are honest with themselves get
farther in life.
…that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
…that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon.
…that it's hard to determine where to draw the line between being nice and
not hurting people's feelings, and standing up for what you believe.
…that sometimes you follow your heart and it takes you to wonderful places.
…that in order to appreciate the rainbows, you have to experience the
thunderstorms
…that guilt and worry are useless emotions I could never change what was
with guilt, nor control what was to be with worry.
…the two most inseparable gifts one can give are friendship and honesty. You
just can't have one without the other.
…that life is only what we make of it, not the material possessions, not the
status quo or earthy wares. But the solitude discovery of self-worth.
…it only takes a second to make someone feel good but it can effect a person
for life.
…it takes less then a second to hurt someone and a lifetime to repair the
damage done
…That sometimes loving someone means letting them go even if it means
forever.
…that daydreams are possible if you stop dreaming about them and act on
them.
… that the greatest enemy we can have is ourselves. And our greatest friend
is knowing that.
….to take nothing for granted for what is here today can disappear tomorrow.
…that love isn't two people gazing at one another. It's two people looking
down the same path.
…that apologies are meaningful only when the apology is accepted with
meaning and meant in fullness.
…the tranquility we seek quietly awaits us within.
…gossip is subject to spreading by those that have Nothing to say, listened
to by those that have Nothing to hear and the subject of gossip ends up with
the Nothingness.
…truth is never easy to hear, but much easier to speak.
…when you find something you want, but are unsure if it's achievable, it's
better to go for it and fail, than to never try, and never know.
…the most complex lesson in life is learning to accept the simplicity.
…the hardest steps we must take is taking the steps to correct a mistake.
…we should only look down on others when helping them up and look up to
others when needing a lift. the more I learn the more I need to learn.
…our children make it impossible to regret our past.