T is for Truly to Hard!

So this week we learned the letter T as in Tiger.  We have only been in school a few weeks and so our little ones are still learning exactly how things work and we are still learning what all they can do by themselves.  FYI, don't give them paint by themselves this early in the year, ask them to paint a rainbow, and expect it to actually look like a rainbow.  It will actually turn out looking something like this:

So this week I decided to take a break from the paint and since we were learning the letter T, I thought it would be fun for them to build some type of tower out of stick blocks.  I put the blocks in one of their centers and let them get creative.  Some of them turned out really good and most of them had so much fun doing it; notice I said most of them.  I was doing something with my reading group and when I looked up I noticed that one of my little ones, was just kind of sitting there.  He had blocks in his hand and had discovered that he can make really cool noises while moving them, but NO Tower had been built.  The bell rang to switch groups and when he got to my group next I asked him why he didn't build a tower.  His response: "well.....I tried......but it was truly to hard."  It wasn't that he didn't want to, or that he was tired...oh no....it was truly to hard.  I mean how can you even get mad at that?? :)  So my plan for the upcoming week(and hopefully Adam will not read this lol).....I think when it comes to laundry and cooking and whatever else comes up...it is going to be truly to hard!  I'll let you know if it works for people over the age of 5!

Cake...good for the heart, not the jeans!

Alright...I know some of you are thinking that this girl just likes to eat.   Although I do love me some cake; and  pretty much anything that is sweet....here is what "sometimes we just need to eat a little cake" actually means.

Well last year, I had one of those change your perspective Forever kind of moments.  It's kind of cool how  God can use the smallest most insignificant thing, and make it into something so BIG!  I was out on the playground with my class.  It was one of the last days of school and so my kids were getting ready to be big 2nd graders.  If you aren't a teacher you may not know this.  But when you teach kindergarten, you tell your kids that we gotta be ready for first grade; we need to practice reading, and put our good listening ears on, etc.  We have to be ready for first.  If you teach first grade, you tell your kids that we gotta be ready for second grade and pratice that reading, etc.  It is one of the many teaching tricks that I have learned.  Well my kids were getting ready to move on up and show those second grade teachers how smart and responsible they are.  Well we were outside on the playground on the second to last day of school and I was talking to one of the teachers (who happened to be in second grade).  As we watched the kids play; one of my kids came up to me and said, "look Mrs. Walsingham, I made you some cake."  I looked down and sure enough there was a big bucket of dirt.  She had made "this cake" just for me!  I then had to decide, do I play along with this child (and possibly make myself look silly in front of this other teacher) or do I tell her that "we don't eat cake in first or second grade, now go play with your friends."  The decisions we have to make on a daily basis :)  Well, yall know me.  I put my hand down and took a big ole pretend bite of that dirt cake and told her how delicious it was.  She hugged me and went on to make some more cake!  It may have been just some dirt cake to her, or maybe to you.  But that day, that little girl reminded me, that sometimes we just need to stop what we are doing and eat a little bit of cake.  I know that as teachers, we get so bogged down with all the standards, grades, papers, plans, meetings, ect that we have to do; that we forget to stop and just enjoy spending a little time playing and having fun with our kids.  I also know that as a wife, I get bogged down in trying to keep up with laundry, dinner, paying bills, etc; that I don't always stop to enjoy the little things in life with my husband.  The list can go on as a daughter, friend, mother, father etc.  So, my challenge for this year.  Instead of worrying about all that BIG stuff anymore,  I'm going to start to enjoy the little things in life that fill your heart with joy.  I'm going to start to stress less, and laugh more.  I'm going to stop, slow down, and eat a little bit of cake...and then I'll hit the gym :)