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"Karla, Thank You for Having Me" Two days after Easter this is the text that I received from my first cousin on my father's side, Harold Hayden.  I read the text and was immediately consumed with undefinable feelings.   It was me who needed to say, "Harold - thank you for reconnecting with me after 23 years."  I also needed to say many other things that were floating around in my head and in my heart, but I could not get them in an order that would make sense at the time - a jumbled up mess akin to pouring out the magnetic alphabet letters on the floor and desperately needing to place them in proper order on the refrigerator.  Isn't that life, though - messy at best, sometimes?  It seems to be my lot to constantly be attempting to put some order to the mess - at least to get things into their proper order or categories!  I decided that writing about Harold in this blog post would help me (and him) make at least a little sense of the power of reconnection. ...

Do You Need To Do Some Decluttering? Decluttering Hello Elementary Friends, The sermon series at my church, Saint Andrew UMC, for the weeks leading up to Easter is called "Decluttered."   The series is focused upon the fact that spring is often the time of year that we need to do some cleaning and organizing around our house.  The season of Lent, in a similar fashion, is the time to declutter the things in our lives that keep us from living an abundant life. Before I heard even one of Mark Feldmeir's sermons on the topic, I spent some time thinking about the act of decluttering.  It drew me to thinking about how we, as Americans, have a tendency to think we must surround ourselves with "things."  We then get so many "things" that we don't know what to do with them all.  We run out of room and we then have to move into a bigger house or we have to start the difficult tasks of determining what to get rid of to make room for more things.   When will i...

It Is Better to Be in "Right Relationship" Than to Be "Right" and... Should Teachers Change Grade Levels Every So Often? (Something to Think About) Hello Elementary Friends, First, Happy Spring to you in the USA and Happy Autumn in Australia!  Texas completed their spring break last week, and thankfully Colorado will have ours next week!  The scarf that I am wearing in this photo was given to me by my Year Two students in Australia just before I came home in December.  Of course, it was summer there, so the scarf is more of a spring/summer weight and style.  I told the children that it would be winter when I got home, so I promised them to wear it on the first day of spring in Colorado.  Well, that day is today!  So, here you go, Beaumont Road students - I am wearing your scarf! Something That Fills My Bucket May We Please Quit Fighting With Each Other? In my last blog I spoke about the "angst" that I was feeling in the air and presented some reasons for t...

What Do You Do When Angst is Around You? Something to Think About Hello Elementary Friends, Since my return from Australia, I have spent some time reflecting on how my work, activities, and (well) my life is different here than what I experienced in Australia.  As indicated in my weekly blogs from Australia, I worked hard while I was there.  In some ways I worked as hard or harder than I do in my position as elementary school principal, but the work was different.  It was different because it was primarily focused upon the needs and well-being of 23 Year Two students.  I was given the responsibility of teaching and the subsequent learning of the students assigned to my care.  I was able to get to know each child at a deep level - how they think, what motivates them, where they are on the continuum of learning, what their challenges are, and how to reach them.  Once I knew my learners, it then became clear to me what we needed to do together to reach individ...