Math is SCARY!

Alright, time to make a little confession here. I'm terrified of teaching math. I teach it. I try my best. BUT I worry that I'm not doing the best job all the time. When I was growing up this was the most difficult subject for me to learn and I remember my brain hurting A LOT!!! Phew, feels good to admit that out in the open.

Giving my best to teaching is something so important to me, so when I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't giving the best to my teaching when I was ignoring my fear of math I knew something needed to change! What did I do? Well, I signed up to take an Additional Qualification course in Mathematics for the Primary/Junior level learners. And was it ever the right choice! I'm one week in and I already feel more confident. I've met other people who experience some of the same feelings surrounding math. I've also learned a bit more about myself and how NOT scary math is...boy is that a relief!!!

I am a creative thinker and everything but a mathematical thinker. At first this made me really nervous to enter a course with people who were probably really MATH SMART....however, some sort of magic led me to the right course, where I got to meet a colleague/professional who is also a creative thinker BUT she is also a math thinker...does this give me hope or what?!

This week has been a reminder for me. A reminder that we do the best we can with what we know and where we are. As long as we strive to do better than our best we are doing a big favour to ourselves and students!!! I can already tell that this course will make me a better teacher and person...

If I could figure out how to upload my first powerpoint presentation that I created for my course to share I would...instead I will share a link on how math and our emotions connect...we have to take care of us before we are in a state of mind to learn...Heart Math

5 Pics that make me smile...

 So, I decided to join in on a link up this week to share 5 pics that make me smile...the past 4 weeks have been pretty busy with back to school (I know this word "busy" seems to be a pattern in my posts - maybe I need to evaluate some things). It was really nice to wake up this morning and not have anything to do - except get a hair cut and enjoy a trip to the farmer's market! Mmm fresh baked goodness and fresh produce from local farms! When I came home I noticed that my good friend Shaunacey had shared this link up and I thought - yeah I'd like to look through my pics and find some that bring a smile to my face, and share them!

This is a flower one of my students gave me at the end of the last school year. It pretty much sums up my blog and I was incredibly grateful for this gift of appreciation. It brought a smile to my face the day she gave it to me and it still brings a smile to my face!

Here's a picture of me thinking my groove moves are so cool. Just your average day in Brooklyn ;)

Clearly I'm sharing my expertise on solving crime with Spiderman!

Ahhh the joys of allowing an 8 year old to doll you up!

Hair and makeup...I'll share her number if you ever need to be pampered...lol

My sweet little niece, how could you not smile at such a beautiful angel!

Looking back at pictures makes you think about people, moments and special memories...and sometimes it causes you to feel gratitude or makes you want to pick up the phone and connect with people that make you SMILE...seems like a nice start to my Saturday!

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?" - George Eliot

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?"
                                                                                                    - George Eliot

I came across this quote the week before school started. It is so powerful and thought provoking.  When I read the quote, it made me think about all the ways that I extend and help others. It also made me think about the amount of people that I know that spend WAY too much time thinking about themselves and way to LITTLE time thinking about how to help others or how they might be impacting the life of another both positively and negatively. This needs to change.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't take care of ourselves - my blog is about taking care of yourself...what I am saying is, we need to constantly recognize the light in one another and we need to understand that life is abundant and there is enough for everyone. There is no need to be intimated by what others have and what others are. We all hold beauty in our being, there is no need to compete for it. Beauty shows up in all of us in unique ways, we need to celebrate that for ourselves and for each other.

And sometimes, just sometimes - we need to remind one another that we each hold beauty...because sometimes we forget and need someone to lead us back in the right direction.

Don't ever forget...

                                                                                          ...and so is everyone else.

This quote also made me think about where I could work on this, and how could I make things less difficult for both the people in my life and the ones I meet along the way...at the risk of sounding conceded I think I do this naturally, I'm always looking for ways to help others. Can one do this too often? Hmmm...perhaps in my case that might be true, except it's something ingrained in me and I believe I can't help it. I've tried to not be as helpful or caring...it backfires and makes me feel awful. And so, I find myself extending a helping hand before I even realize what I am doing...the part that I am challenged by is the lack of people in the world who are like this...while I respect that we all show up differently I can't help but wish that people were just a little nicer. And sometimes it feels like I don't know many people who try to help make life less difficult for me when I am going through a tough time. Maybe people do try to make life a little less difficult for me. It's just I just don't see this showing up in my world all to often. This makes me wonder whether it is happening and I'm not open to receiving it or if what I'm noticing is actually a truth...perhaps I need to practice being open to the same amount of help as I give out. Meditation time? I think so...

I'll leave you with this...how are you making life less difficult for others? What are you doing to increase the joy and success in your life by lifting others up? Are you doing it enough? Could you do it more? Are you receiving and not giving? Are you giving and not receiving? Where can you work to hold balance in this idea of working to help others and humbly accepting the help of another without fear of judgment...

Back to School: Behind the Scenes

Many people have been preparing over the last week for back to school...Parents are getting all the gear ready for the hustle and bustle to begin, while teachers are getting the rooms and supplies ready for all the little munchkins. While I recognize that most parents respect and have some idea how much work goes in on the teachers behalf, I'm not sure they fully understand the amount of preparation that goes in on our behalf - it's A LOT!

For the last 3 years (I've been a teacher for 6, yet only teaching for 3 - whole other story) I have spent so much time and energy setting up a new classroom. This isn't just including the material things, like the bins for workbooks, table bins with supplies, it's so much more. I want my room to be inviting for the children, so here is a glimpse at all that it takes for me to prepare: climbing up a ladder to put up bulletin board paper and borders in those hard to reach places - this is physically exhausting when done alone (which is almost always the case), rearranging desks (sometimes including the table height), shelves, organizing books, materials, writing out the poem of the week, posting inviting posters around the walls, etc.

It is so important to me to create a space for learning that is inviting for my students - it needs to be calm yet stimulating in just the right way, it needs to provoke creativity and a desire to learn, it needs to make them feel safe and respected. For me, it takes some mental preparation and I usually rearrange the furniture about 100 times before it's just right for the year. It's like classroom feng shui. My classroom is made up of colours of purple, blue and green - my three favourite colours...not actually allowed to have 3 according to most children...but I like to bend the rules ;)
Sometimes I feel like pulling my hair out during the process of setting up my class and perhaps I shed a few tears of exhaustion but in the end it feels good - because of "the moment".

The moment when...those little faces see their classroom, their desk, when they soak up the excitement for another year - it's totally worth all of the effort that I put in. It really is amazing to see the children become so excited for a new classroom and eager to learn. The back to school buzz is pretty awesome.

Back to the 'behind the scenes' part of this blog...the amount of work that goes in on the teachers behalf is pretty much endless...Besides setting up my classroom, preparing notebooks, name cards, pencil bins, etc. I've spent about 2 hours a day over the long weekend getting some things ready for the first week. I've made play-doh, a little treat for the teachers, first day activities, day plans, I've laminated, I've gathered, I've meditated on just the right welcoming for my little ones this year, I've worked on a calendar, I've gone supply shopping, and literally dotted my i's and crossed my t's with all that I can think of. Will it be enough? It never is in teaching. There is always something to do, plan, prepare...it's the nature of the job. Do I love it? Bottom line - yes I do - I even get excited about back to school and planning for my students. Is it hard work? You bet it is...Will I sleep tonight? Probably not...I'll be playing over the day in my mind and stressing over whether I've forgotten something.

So for all you parents out there who have excited little children tonight...know that the teachers are excited too...we won't sleep well either, and I hope you respect that. We won't sleep because we are preparing for how best we can care for your children this school year...how we can transform their lives and bring magic to life ;)

Wishing all you little ones and your families a happy first week of school!!!

This Baby...

On January 6th, 2014 the sweetest baby was born into my family. My sister, whom I love dearly had her first baby, a little girl named Abbigail Jane...most of my colleagues were waking up on the 6th to head back to school after the Christmas break. When I woke up to get ready for work I received a call from my brother-in-law letting me know that my sister was in labour...it was go time!

My family and I drove through quite the snow storm with great anticipation to meet the little peanut! Okay, so I know that the arrival of a new baby has beauty and all sorts of good feelings for most families, but this was beyond a normal level of beauty for our family than you can imagine. Both of my parents are only children, whose parents passed away before we were all born. This meant, we didn't really have grandparents. My mom was raised by her Aunt who became our 'Nanny' and someone we loved very much...so I'd say, I got to experience some of what it was like to have a grandparent but our family has been small and baby Abbigail means our family was getting bigger...

Growing up, it was pretty much just the 5 of us...with a lot of great friends surrounding us, it was great! When I got the news that our family would grow with my brother in law, I was ecstatic! However, when I got the news that our family would grow with a new baby - I was beyond grateful, happy, excited...every possible positive word you can think of...insert here...lol

Abbigail is now 7 months old, and because my sister lives so far away we haven't seen her as much as we would like. This makes our visits so much more meaningful in a way. From the moment I met her I knew she was special, it's just now that she is a bit older she is more interactive and engaging. She has a smile and giggle that can light up a room! She is a pretty happy baby with a very nice demeanour. Her smile is instantly contagious! While she was spending a week with us we brought her to her very first Jays game, the little cutie lasted almost the whole 19 inning game. That's right...the Jays decided to stretch out the game and really develop Abbigail's love for the sport...thankfully they won at the end of it all...

Abbigail smiling away!

Little Abbigail loved the crowd...she loved the clapping and the energy of the people...it was really neat to see her so interested and happy about it all. (I think she has good taste in sports) She was really well behaved and quite the trooper even after we left the game...we stayed until the 16th inning and then had to leave given the concessions closed at the bottom of the 7th inning...we were slightly hungry. Abbigail was an angel through dinner, the subway and finally zonked out in the car...actually she may have out lasted her Auntie...lol

Essentially, my point is..I'm absolutely in love with this baby. She has brought so much light into our family, the world and I'm so lucky to call her my niece. I am excited to see her develop and help her learn and grow...and what is also really great about this baby is that she has a pretty awesome Mommy...I never saw how loving my sister was until she became a Mom, and let me tell you...she is such a good one. She loves Abbigail so much and is gentle, kind, caring, giving, receiving all the greatness that comes with being a Mommy. (she has a pretty awesome Daddy too) I'm so excited to watch them grow as a family and I'm beyond excited to watch Abbigail develop into a little lady and can't wait for her to start talking!!!

Abbigail and Auntie Becca

Abbigail and Mommy

Kids make life pretty awesome...especially when they are apart of your family <3

Little Yogi's that Groove n' Give Summer Camp 2014

Throughout my teenage years and my early 20's I spent time running summer camps for big companies or for other people. While, it is still a fun and different experience than working in a classroom during the school year - it definitely doesn't beat opening your own summer camp! About a year an a half ago one of my best friends and I were having a conversation about our summer plans. She had been battling a very bad lung infection and slowly overcoming the damage it caused for her lungs and I was gearing up to apply for summer jobs. We were talking about what type of summer jobs were out there and what we could do...when suddenly we came up with opening our own summer camp!!! Not just any camp though, it was going to incorporate our new ventures and our personal ideals. We started collaborating about what this camp would look like. What would we wanted the campers to learn and experience? My friend Amanda and I met through Yoga (something so important to both of us) and she was about to complete her teacher training and I was about to become a Groove facilitator (dancing as a way of awesomeness). We knew we wanted to share our love for Yoga and Groove with the campers. We started thinking about what else we could incorporate? This was seriously a time that we got to design what we shared and I was over the moon excited about it!!!

Amanda and I celebrating St. Patrick's Day 2012

After much scribbling and creative babbling we decided to call our summer camp experience 'Little Yogi's that Groove n' Give'.
https://www.facebook.com/LittleYogisThatGroove?ref=hl
groovin.yogis4kids@gmail.com

Our idea was to have the campers Groove and do yoga everyday and MUCH more. The more just kept getting more and more exciting as we thought about what to incorporate into our camp. The campers would of course have the daily crafts that help make memories. Except, we wanted the campers and families to receive more than the normal camp experience that we all know and love - something that would impact they way the children live, be, interact, and love. We wanted to help raise awareness of how they treat others, themselves and help raise their awareness of the community and globe around them. For our first year of camp we decided that one way the campers could give back was to raise money for another child in need of help. We chose to work with Make-A-Wish foundation. We collaborated with them and arranged a 2km race for our campers. They operated the whole thing! They raised the money and with our help they trained for their race. Eventually at the end of camp, they ran their race and raised over $500 in one month! It was truly magical to watch the selflessness become a part of our campers being.
Make-A-Wish: https://makeawish.ca

The next thing we wanted our campers to learn was how to respect and interact with elders in their community. We decided to have the children volunteer in a retirement community. The campers met a variety of people and listened to their stories attentively. The smiles on both the faces of the campers and the residents was heart warming. We taught the residents yoga, Groove, about the provinces, we made crafts and most of all...we shared love.

Our first year of volunteering at the retirement community

Last year we also had our campers visit places in the community to learn more, we had a visit with the police, firefighters and nature...By nature I mean, the children chose something to do to give back to it...they decided to make birdhouses for the park and hang them.

Above all else in camp, we wanted our campers to feel safe, loved and supported while they develop and find part of their authentic self. To do this, we encouraged listening, caring, and helping. We gave out love bombs (giant group hugs - with the conscious thought of love and healing) when campers were sad, hurt or in need. We shared strategies for resolving conflict in peaceful ways and encouraged sharing feelings and respecting them (think back to my post on the 7 Habits..."seek first to understand, then to be understood"). Overall, we left camp last year with a complete buzz of energy, and the feeling of success. The success came from positively impacting the lives of children of a variety of ages.

This year, Amanda and I couldn't wait to start planning out our camp adventures. We had full enrolment with returning and new campers. It was amazing to see how the campers shifted throughout the school year. How they became more of their authentic self and we are so happy we got to meet new campers that really made this year's experience enriched with AWESOMENESS. Our focus this year for the community came from something that I saw in a 7 Habits school. We created Boxes of Love...the campers brought in things they no longer needed and we talked about what we could do with it all...they decided to donate them. We donated old clothes, shoes, toys and books. We donated food to the local food bank. Our camps took a tally of what they had and took care to organize and package their donations.

We also had contact with an orphanage in Africa that Amanda's family runs. We had a Skype date with the children, wrote them letters and made them bracelets. The campers were so interested to learn about life there and many of them decided that one day they might find themselves in Africa sharing and helping. This really touched my heart. To immediately see how passionate the kids here became on helping and connecting with children who need extra love and support was amazing. The campers couldn't wait to volunteer again and remembered some of the folks from last year. This year they did piano performances and questionnaires. And our last learning for the week was about a ReTHINK campaign that Amanda's brother is doing. He is riding a 'elf' across North America to promote sustainable living. Our campers got to learn about his journey and decide what they were going to 'rethink' in life about how they use our resources.
Tumaini Children's Foundation: http://www.tuchifo.com/index.htm

The week was filled with learning, understanding, compassion, love and SMILES. As exhausted as Amanda and I were by the camp's ending, there is nothing in the world more rewarding than embracing the interests of children and helping them learn and grow into better more aware, authentic and loving people. It makes my heart full of love, energy and it makes me want to share our message and experience with many more children. In sharing with many more children, I hope to someday shape their lives by helping them become more conscious, loving, authentic beings!

Where Is The Summer Going?

So this summer has become a busy one..a good busy though. Since school ended so much has happened. I spent 2 weeks scoring EQAO testing (provincial testing for the little ones). As tedious as the scoring was, I felt that it was a really good experience. My favourite part of the 2 weeks was meeting a handful of colleagues that I now get to call friends. Each day my dear friend Amanda and I would arrive and meet up at break times and slowly our table of two grew to a table of 3, 4...5, 6 and then 7...knowing that we would meet at break kind of helped us get through all the scoring. I'm sure that I will continue to get to know my new friends and I'm really looking forward to our first dinner night!!!

After the scoring was done I returned home and spent an amazing week with two little girls that I truly adore. I've been a Nanny for 2 families in my life (both experiences come with incredible stories) and one of the families are from Barrie. It has been 6 years since I have been the Nanny for Lauren and Victoria. When I was their Nanny they were 3 and 5 years old. I love spending time with the girls so I have spent about a week each summer with them, something they like to refer to as 'Becca Camp'. This week has become a week of adventure, fun, learning and lots of LAUGHTER! I enjoy hearing about their year at school and sharing the things that I have experienced throughout the school year.

I always arrive early Monday morning during Becca Camp to a mini book that acts as an itinerary for the week. This past week included a day of cooking, a trip to the ranch for some horseback riding (both of them had their first experience riding a horse), a pj and movie day, Wonderland and a day of pampering. As you can see below the girls really know how to pamper me...

What I love most about our visits is that the girls feel completely safe to share with me. They tell me how they are feeling, what makes them feel happy, sad, scared and curious. I also love see how much they grow into the women they will be one day...each year they become more beautiful, kind, loving, understanding and respectful. Even though the week we spend together goes by so quickly, I know I will see them again and we will continue to laugh about anything, create little movie theatres. Okay, a little back story here. When I was the girls' Nanny I would help them build whatever they imagined...we built a pretend campfire in the middle of January once (including fake sticks and real marshmallows for roasting), we built a rocket ship that was life size - it had buttons and everything! And, their favourite was the movie theatre - which they continue to run every time I visit. This past week the show was in 3D - so I had to wear a pair of sunglasses for the entire movie.

It means so much to me that they admire the things we did so much that it will forever be a part of their memories and I look forward to creating more as time and age shifts...I wonder what I will be able to convince a 11 and 13 year to build next...

p.s. this week I am running a summer camp that I opened with one of my best friends and colleagues called 'Little Yogi's that Groove n' Give' so my up coming blog will talk about all of the fun adventures from camp this year!
Check out our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LittleYogisThatGroove?ref=hl