Day 59

No offense to any of my fellow Americans, U.S. Olympic junkies, and overall patriots, but. . . Im pretty thankful that Canada won the gold mettle today in the final day of the 2010 Olympics! Sometimes it's kind of fun to go against the majority, root for the other side. Not that I am really anti-American, but in all honesty I had a hunch that Canada was going to win and so I listened to my gut and bet that they would win. Sure enough my hunch was right! And what did I win you might ask?? Well my friends I don't have to think about or plan dinner for tomorrow! Figuring out what to do for dinner has become quite the thorn in my side these days, and so, Will and I bet on the gold metal game; loser has to take care of dinner tomorrow. Now that I think of it, should have bet on dinner for the whole week! Glad I listened to my gut, bet against America (no offense US hockey, good game) and don't have to think about what to do, or go to the store for dinner tomorrow!

Day 58

Oh man! Plain and simple, after falling five days behind, I am so thankful to finally be caught back up! Hopefully I can take this as a lesson, and try not to fall so far behind! Yet, after reflecting on the last week, it certainly was a busy week, and a good week! So maybe it was good looking at the week all at once as a whole, but really I think I prefer reflecting on each day as it coms and taking this blog thing one day at a time!

Day 57

I am so incredibly thankful for all the amazing exchanges that occurred throughout today. Today was a very amazing and exciting day. There were so many exchanges and confabulations that occurred today, and they were all so positive, energizing and positive! From my husband, to my professor and mentor, to my peers and friends, and even if possible the way I interacted with myself. Every time I had any exchange of any sort with any one, things always went well, were amazingly positive and just overall filled with love. What a wonderful way to go through the day! And, for this I am so very thankful all these exchanges/interactions, big and small, that I had with every single person I came across today! What a lovely day!

Day 56

Lately I have been busy, really really busy, and so I am thankful that I am not longer going to be as busy and will finally have my "after school" time back! Some may remember back on Day 48 I mentioned I was teaching an after school art program. While I loved being abel to participate as a teacher, go to so many interesting locations and work with such a variety of students, Im really thankful to have that time back; if not to do homework and plan for my regular students, then to just relax! It was hard being at school for 8 or so hours, then going and teaching a mini lesson as quick as I could for 2 hours! I loved working with those kids, but am really, really, glad it is over! Ever stretched your self thin with obligations, not having any time for your self except to sleep? Isn't it great when that's all over!?!

Day 55

Blah, blah, blah, kids, kids, kids, and Im not even a mom! But seriously who can't be thankful for kindergardeners? Sure they can really push your buttons, and having a bunch of them in the room all together can be a bit overwhelming on occasion. But at the end of the day one of my favorite things about being at an elementary school right now are those little guys! Those kids are hilarious!! They are such little adults sometimes, I just love sitting and talking to them while they are working on their art. To hear their stories and what there work is about, to see their amazing imaginations and creativity come through, or to just hear what's up in the world of a kindergardener is such an enjoyable experience! Do you remember kindergarten? I only remember little snippets of what it was like in kindergarden, what the room was like, who I was in my class. I wonder what it would be like to go back to that class and see what we were all like back then? Kindergarten is such a big part of growing up and being a kid, and man am I thankful for the time I get to share with those kids, they make me smile and laugh each time I get to see them!

Day 53 & 54

So I am going to combine two days here, there will still be one thing I am thankful for fro each day, but the two days are better presented together. Easier for both me the writer to and you the reader to read!

Currently at my school I am part of an amazing experience with my seventh and eighth grade students, and a project stemming from Redline gallery. I am very thankful to be part of this project and having the experiences I am as a result. For this project we are working with artist in residence Gretchen who does amazingly beautiful abstract pieces. For me I am working as a sort of facilitator, communicator between my two middle school classes and Gretchen as they work together creating contemporary and innovative projects. In this project we are asking the students to connect to their classroom study of the Israeli / Palestinian conflict and big ideas that emerge from that conflict. This is tough, no matter who you are, especially if you are only in seventh or eights grade. To think about ideas and concepts from this topic, internalize them, reflect on abstract art and come up with a creative artistic response, huge! And on my students behalf, I am thankful they are able to be a part of this experience. For some of them they are excelling and truly pushing themselves, beyond comfort. Im thankful they are a part of this experience, and I am thankful to also be guiding/facilitating for them through this process. I feel I am part of something big here, and I hope that at least a few of them can also see this too!

Day 52

My car? I feel a little shallow, or materialistic saying I am thankful for my car. But in all actuality I am pretty thankful for my car. And all the schizophrenic qualities that go with it! Crazy as it is, I feel that it allows me to go places I other wise would not venture to go. Gives me more time to sleep in in the mornings! I would have to leave so early if I had to take the bus. Ugh. And it gives me more freedom to do things more on my own schedule, not the bus schedule. What is the materialistic object you are thankful for? Your car, phone, tv. . . . . So many to chose from! I think it may be wise to recognize we are thankful for these things. They can come into and pass out of our lives so quickly! We should be thankful and show are appreciation for these things like our cares, because without respect they may soon be gone. Maybe I should go clean out my car?

How is may car crazy? Here are the top three ways my car is crazy: 1) You must pull the drivers handle 3 times before the door will open. 2) To lock the drivers door using the keyless entry you must rapidly hit "unlock, unlock, lock" to get it to actually lock. and 3) after exactly 60 min of driving, my radio automatically shuts off! Ok and a small one for the road, pretty sure my clock runs on a slightly shorter than 60 second min. about every week I have to add an extra min to the clock because it starts running late! Random stuff!

Day 51

So I was brushing my teeth today and I suddenly realized that in the last few months there have ben several instances in which people (slightly older people) have commented in how lucky I am to have grown up with fluoride in my water! Random. I'm not really too sure how I feel about chemicals being pumped into may water for me to guzzle down in 8-10 glasses of water each day. But that's besides the point. I see where these "adults" are coming from, that there is proof that my teeth are much stronger, healthier, and better of. I love, well really like, my teeth and for them I am thankful! My parents worked very hard nagging me to brush as a child, and spent a good clip of money making them straight. For all this I am thankful. I really would prefer not to imagine what it would be like not to have teeth, or maybe only have 7. Dentures freak me out, their weird. SO maybe I should take a little better care of my teeth. Really who brushes twice a day and flosses every nigh? Ill try harder to take care of these little wonders, cuz today I'm pretty thankful for them!

Day 50

Have you ever been talking to someone, then realized you both have a friend in common, went to the same summer camp, grew up vacationing in the same place. . . . have some crazy "it's a small world" thing in common? I love that! I love that moment when you are talking to someone, realize you were at a meeting with their friend, and are going to their gallery for a completely other friends show! Well, not that that specific incident has actually happened to anyone other than me, but hopefully you know what I am talking about. I'm really thankful for those moments, when things come together and the circles we live our lives in eloquently collide with others. When I realize that I am somehow even more connected to someone through small instances of coincidence I feel a bit of purpose to our knowing each other. I love that feeling of connection, realizing what a small world it is, and I am thankful for those instances we realize the intertwining paths our lives take us uniting us as a stronger whole.

Day 49

So, obviously education, teaching most specifically has become a very large part of my life these days. And so yet again I am finding myself thankful for something involving teaching, sorry all who are not interested in this genera, but this is my life right now! I am sure each and every one of us is a teacher in some way, if not formally in a school or classroom, then to others in your life. Maybe at your work, do you help people figure out how to unjam the copier? Are you a parent, or a sibling that has in some way taught your family? Do your friends come to you for guidance and advice? We are all teachers in some way or another.

Today though I am particularly thankful for one specific aspect of education, and that is the process of revision or adaptation and the chance we have for change each time we teach a lesson. Whether you teach something and then put it away till next year, I am certain it will be better the next time around. Or you are able to teach something 5 times in a row, and each and every time we teacher it, it gets better and better. We weed out what did not work, try new strategies, and adjust the way we teach till we are the best we can be. And once you have reached that point, I think it is time to start something new, but thats just me!

So no mater where you are, or what you do, some how I think you are a teacher. Take a moment to reflect on what you teach. Maybe things didn't go as planed last time you taught it. How could you adjust that the next time you are faced with the same situation? I'm thankful we are granted this process to reflect, and improve, really helps us improve and grow as teachers!

Day 48

I think today that I am thankful I am getting to see the other side. So many times in our lives we are only shown one side of a perspective, one opportunity or option and we rarely research or are shown what is happening on the other side. Do you ever just go along with something because you are too lazy to figure out the other side, or forage a new path in the other direction? That work is hard! For me where I am right now, I am student teaching in an amazing school! A school with wonderful teachers, which amounts to a school with equally wonderful students. Im in an environment that fosters respect, inquiry, and excitement and passion for everything, especially education. Don't think I am at some Pleasantville school, sometimes I run into a brick wall here, no teaching is ever going to be 100% perfect. Then it would be boring. But, today I saw another view. On the other side of the coin I am working teaching some after school programs, for kids that are at completely different schools. I don't know anything about these schools, but I feel I can generalize a little. They are predominantly, or all, shall we say "at risk" students, or maybe you would say "free and reduced lunch" kids. They are coming form low income homes, families that most likely don't look like the Cleavers, and schools that are tough. Teaching them is a whole different story! The firsts time I went in teaching them it was an up hill battle! But now that I am thinking about it, I am thankful I am having the opportunity to teach them. That I see this other side, and don't become jaded by my current situation! It helps me see what the majority of teaching might be like out there, and helps me appreciate the amazing current situation I am in and see the fortune I have been given!

Day 47

Am I beating a dead horse? Today I am really truly very thankful that I had yet another day off to finish working on things and start to feel a little more caught up on life! Today I was actually very productive and it really felt good. Maybe the house is sill a little disorganized, however, the work load is definitely looking a little smaller! Feeling productive helps me feel better about myself, like Im positively contributing to my life and to the world. Confident in myself and my position here in the world. So at the close of this day I am thankful I was abel to get school work done, prep for my real work, have a wonderful diner with friends, and even pick up a little around the house!

Day 46

I am so thankful that I was moderately productive. I am finding that I turn into a pretty bitter and frustrated individual when I do not live up to my goals of productivity. Although you may not be able to look around and actually think that the day was productive, sometimes productivity comes from chaos! Right? I hope. While it was definitely a struggle to do things today, doing nothing sounded pretty wonderful all day today, in the end things actually got done today! As I mentioned before this has been a long weekend, thankfully it is turning out to be moderately productive and not be a complete loss. Although I would prefer to look around and not see pieces of my bedroom and closet all over the table, at least things are happening. Hopefully the single remaining day of mini vaca I can finish out this trend and start the short working week in a positive and satisfied mood. I prefer that me over the bitter and frustrated me!

Day 45

I am thankful for love. Love is everywhere, and all around us, yes on Valentines day, but also on every other day of the year too. Sometime all we have to do is open our eyes, and our hearts to it and we will see that truly love is all around us. All you need is love, right? Really, from the beginning of our lives love is a very important factor in our lives. Im not overly optimistic, we are not all fortunate enough to be borne into love. But if in the unfortunate experience of not being borne into love, that lack of love is still an influence in your life. Thus, love effects your life no matter who you are, no matter what. But back to to positive! Love is every where in our lives, we are borne into the love of our families before we can comprehend what love is. Whether you have a significant other or not if you look around I am certain love is somewhere in your life. A best friend always there for you, a family member you know loves you by the look in their eye, the stranger in the grocery store you have yet to say hello to. Love. Even when you are scorned by love, feeling alone frustrated and angry, love is there. It fuels you to continue on no matter how much you hate it, in your heart there is promise of renewal and we venture forward in a quest of some unification with another.

I am thankful that we can find this connection with others, with relationship partners, friends, family, strangers, people everywhere, heck even pets! no matter if you love it or hate it, love is a present in your life and the pivotal moment in complete happiness is opening your eyes and heart to this love and accepting it! Not that I think I am fully to this point, if you ask me it is a life long journey. But of you look around today, I am certain you will find love somewhere, if not everywhere around you! XOXO

Day 44

I understand that not every day can be rainbows and butterflies. Cheery and smiling! Today was not bad by any means, a pretty enjoyable day over all. But in the end, I am really thankful that this weekend is a long weekend because I was not nearly as productive as I should have been, or wanted to be today. I just feel like I have copious amounts of things to do piling up before me these days, and sometimes I really just don't want to do any of it! Maybe I am just too overwhelmed, so it is easier to do nothing. Which just adds to the vicious circle giving me even more things to do! At least this is a long weekend, and I fully intend on taking advantage of this fact and getting more done this weekend then I did to today! Wish me luck! I think though that the threat of just adding and growing the "To Do" list is enough to get time to chink away at it on my coming days off!

Day 43

Today I felt thankful that the state of Colorado is finally advancing, moving forward, and changing their state standards for teaching visual arts. I know there are many that disagree with this change, that are going to have problems adjusting the way they teach when they look at the new standards, have issue with proving or measuring the learning of the students. But, in the end I hope they see that all all these changes are moving our state forward for the better. I'm really excited by the changes and hope they are accepted well! Fortunately for me I was able to sit down with some fellow educators and go through the standards, the structure of them, and brainstorm some applications today. I think that here I am in an ideal situation, I am in a progressive school, teach applying a progressive pedagogy, and am excitedly looking forward to having standards that will better support the way I already teach. I know this all sounds very educational, some or many, may have no idea what I am talking about. To me it might be like always choosing to eat the same kind of thing for lunch, people question what you are eating, ask a lot of questions, support you but don't really care to change themselves; there are others that eat the same as you, your not alone, but you are seen as innovative and progressive in what you eat. Then finally something comes along that everyone in the state had to read and follow, and in this literature there is back up that supports what you have been eating all these days for lunch, explains the benefits, and gives support to others as they embark on the journey of trying new and progressive ways of eating lunch. Hope this makes a little sense. Right now education is a large part of my life, and after my investigation today into the future, I am finally feeling supported! Thankfully.

Day 42

Im so thankful for my entire in-law family today! I am really not entirely sure how to express how lucky I feel, and thankful I am. I really feel like I have been fully accepted, sort of adopted into a family. How can you not be thankful when your invited over for diner, and end up sitting down to eat to the Black Eyed Peas? This occurred as a result of an on going joke within the family, a banter revolving around age, music selection and, well basically at what age you are no longer aloud to listen to certain music! Im thankful that we have this relationship, and that I am part of such a fun, loving, and welcoming family. Love that our dinners rarely run dry in conversation and are often filled with enduring teasing, intelligent conversations, and caring for for one another!

Day 41

I am really thankful I think for two sorts of things today, the people that at this time are charged the task of coaching me and giving me feedback, and the the feedback I am receiving. Although at times critiques, criticism, and feedback can be difficult to hear and process, yet when looked back upon is always rewarding. Or sometimes the feedback is great, a boost to the ego, a steady stream filling your self esteem bucket! Today I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of the later, and just at a time when I needed it! Don't you love when things come your way, just at the time you need them most? Today I was observed by my supervisor, and she watched a lesson I taught to forth and fifth graders doing printmaking. I planed, and had everything figured out, or so I thought. The class happened, we printed, ink was flying and art was being created. Successfully? that would be up to you. The class happened in a whirl wind, time flew by, suddenly I was frantically having kids clean up and trying to get them out the door. Then I met with my supervisor.

Feeling like chaos had just ensued, that there was complete craziness to the point my supervisor had had to interject with students, I was not so confident. Apparently from the outside, things had not been as intense as they felt. I received wonderful feedback, great support and a helpful fill to my self esteem bucket the kids had just been dipping from. There were areas for improvement, to not acknowledge such parts would be ignorant, but overall I felt a million times better about all that had just happened. For the feedback I have been receiving, I am so very thankful. I think I am often hard on myself, and to here I am on the right track and doing well is reassuring and motivating. Hearing the right thing when I needed it most today I am thankful for!

Day 40

I am so incredibly thankful for the amazing personal character I saw in one of my students today. Im thankful I was able to guide her through her personal struggle and see the strength of character and amazing personal quality present in a second grader! I don't think I have ever been so proud and inspired by someone so small. When faced with a drawing lesson she found challenging (mind you she is a perfectly capable drawer) she found herself hitting a self-imposed brick wall. She was stuck, not confident at all in her self and scared to try. A place I think we have all been and can understand. When I talked to her, she completely broke down, something very out of character. We talked, I tried to re-explain the lesson, but she was just too upset. So after she left the room, took a little breather, got a sip of water, she was back! Trying again, still unconfident, but trying again! I stopped by, to see how she was doing, and even though she was doing a perfectly fine job everything kept being erased and she was even more upset. I talked her through the lesson again, trying to instill some confidence with her, she started crying again, but was able to work; so I let her work. As the class came to an end and I was collecting the lesson she came up to me, a tear in her eye, and turned in a completed lesson! I knelt down to talk to her and she gave me a huge hug and broke down again, obviously still feeling unconfident, frustrated, and unaccomplished. The amazing thing to me here is that she finished, she persevered, she pushed through all those feelings of frustration and lack of confidence and successfully completed the lesson (maybe not to her standards, but she completed it none the less)!! Later that day I went to her main class and shared her experience with her and her homeroom teacher, we were able to recognize her for her amazing strengths and in the end she was proud of herself that day!

I wish we could all harness this personal character of strength and perseverance. Sometimes I really feel like I need to find these qualities in myself, sometimes I wish others could find these qualities in themselves. I am inspired by what I saw in my young student, and so thankful I was abel to watch her preserver!

Day 39

Im really thankful for the happiness of the present and the excitement ahead of my friend Michelle! May remember her form the beginning of this anthology, Day 2 I believe, and yet again I am thankful for all that is her. Maybe a bit jealous, definitely, who cant feel a little envious when amazing things are happening to those we are close to. Im really excited for her and maybe feeling a little like I can live a wee bit vicariously through her, thus I am excited and thankful for all that her immediate future holds! Im excited because she is a great person, and when you are good I think that good things come to you! You know, what goes around comes around? Great mantra, and very true. I think that when we live our lives with honesty and love, those gifts will be returned to us, Thankfully the universe is returning some favors and granting happiness. Today I am thankful for exactly that!

Day 38

Finally, a new closet!! I am so very very thankful that we (by we I mean mostly Will, not going to lie) are finally addressing the the totally inefficient closet in our bedroom. Not to mention we got all the hardware at 30% off, gotta love that! When we bought our place I had some reservations about the functionality of some of our spaces. The good thing about buying a place is, you can do what ever you want! How many times have you wanted to drill into a brick wall to hang something? Or wanted to paint a wall, but decided not to because of that lease? Thankful here that we own this place, and we can rip out the old awkwardly placed shelf and instal our own custom designed Elfa system in style and beauty! Sure that closet may have been a perfect size, maybe even large who knows, when the place was built. Too bad it isn't 1910 anymore. And two people with one little closet need to make some adjustments! I am so thankful we are finally doing this, (well. . . I guess I am also thankful Will is picking up the majority of the grunt work) and finally making this space ours!

Day 37

Im so thankful for the love, kindness, laughter, fun, generosity, and excitement that my sister shares with me! I am so thankful that she includes me, when possible, in her wonderful adventures, and now that our rolls in life are a little reversed, she is absolutely generous, loving and caring toward me! Sharon has a zest for life and an excitement and enthusiasm that is contagious, and I am so very thankful she includes me in many of her escapades. I love the time we spend together, it always proves to be fun, exciting and full of laughs! I love that we have grown up to be the sisters we are today, and Im thankful when we get to hang out together!

Day 36

Im relishing in the fact that I feel confident in knowing where I am and where I am going. I mean literally, like when I am driving around and am headed somewhere I know where I am going, and if I'm not 100% sure Im confident enough now to be pretty sure Ill find where Im trying to go! When I first moved to Denver, I had no clue where anything was, or how to get around at all! Growing up I thought anything outside of the mountains was Denver, and down town was this mess of one ways all a little bit crooked from the streets around them. While I still think this all is somewhat true, at least I am learning, or have learned, a great deal about the city and getting around. For this I am so very thankful! I used to be the one that had to call someone mid drive, totally lost and confused hopping they would be able to direct me to where ever I was headed. Finally, I am the one people can ask for help or directions! They may not be the best or quickest directions, but Ill do my best and feel confident in knowing where people are going. There are still some ares in Denver Im not completely sure about, that whole River North (RiNo) area, or up around five point, but other than that.... Im so thankful Im finally not the one calling for directions or to have someone look something up online mid drive! And, Im pretty thankful I haven't driven the wrong way on one of these one way's in quite some time!

Day 35

Im thankful that I am not going at this process of students teaching alone. That I have great peers and friend who are there beside me (well, at different schools but...) going through similar experiences and all of us are there for each other willing to share. The most important element here is that we are all there for one another to discuss and share, and I am finding in these discussions a stronger sense of who I am, who I want to be, and what kind of teacher I am building my self to be. I think it is wonderful that we are all so very different, and at different such schools. I think there is a right fit out there for all of us, and today I was able to really see this. We each have our own personal ways of dealing with situations. In seeing these differences, I am able to better se who I am. Do your peers or friends ever help you better see who you are? Maybe it was a big event in life that helped you define who you are. Regardless, I think it is very important to know how you have come to see who you are, to me this is am important process. Im thankful that all my friends are there with me, and that we are all so very different, and most importantly I am thankful that through the discussions we share I am finding the kind of teacher I am. I can grow and develop during this time into this teacher, and with the support of everyone around me become the teacher I want and intend to be.

Day 34

I am pretty thankful that I have the availability of a beautiful, clean and fancy gym to go work out at. No that I use it nearly as much as I would like to, or intend to, but I am so thankful that it is there when I need it, and more importantly that it is free (to me). Exercising is important to our lives. Not only does it help keep us looking good, make us stronger, but it also keeps us healthy, helps our bodies work better, more efficiently. To me, exercise is also a mental thing. It helps me clear my mind, focus my thoughts, or just zone out some times while I mindlessly feed my brain feel good endorphins. When I start to feel the stresses of life raining down on me, and Im at that point where I just want to sit like a lump on the couch, I feel the best if I can drag my ass to the gym and work out (even just for a short little bit). I am so much more productive, energized and happy after this. Have you ever been faced with that moment of do something, or sit and loaf? Which do you usually choose? Don't get me wrong, exercising is not always the choice I make, but when I do I feel great. So I am very very thankful that I have the opportunity to go to an awesome gym and work out in a great facility, again, for free. I don't know why gyms got so expensive, probably came about in 80's Im guessing when we all wanted to get our Jane Fonda on and people realized they could charge big bucks to provide people an exercising environment. And obviously people are willing to pay, so that's just the way it is now. Discriminatory if you ask my, but that's a whole other conversation!

Day 33

I am so thankful that I am working in, and will be working in an environment that provides me such a flexibly schedule! I am in no way the type of person that could work in an environment where I woke up at the exact same time every day, went and sat at the same desk every day, and did the exact same thing I had been doing day after day. Only to finish a the exact same time every evening, and return home to the same routine. That's just not me. I understand there are many people who like this repetition, and predictability, and are comforted by knowing exactly what to expect. Does change make you uncomfortable? Do you like knowing every Tuesday you will eat taco's for dinner? That's what makes us all different and unique. Personally I love variation in my schedule and routine, I love changing environments, and the excitement of doing different things all the time. I'm thankful that this ever changing environment is where I find my self now. There was a time when I was going in the direction of monotony, and I am so grateful I chose a different path and I am able to flourish in the ever changing environments all around me every day!

Day 32

I am so thankful for the motivation my student's provide for me as I carry along this journey! Today I continued teaching a lesson I have made up for my students, and as I was probing them for questions, engaging them in the concept and trying to keep them on task, they amazed me! To me these kids can come up with some of the most insightful, creative, complex, and crazy ideas out there. And that is what we need to recognize, value and take in as we engage with these little people. To hear my students truly thinking about the information I was presenting them, and coming up with wonderful ideas that I had not even thought of makes me even more excited to continue on. To push the concepts and questions we are coming upon and work to develop the best possible lesson I can. Seeing the excitement, wonder and passion in them instills all these same feelings in me and for this I am thankful.

I think we need to recognize this excitement children share with the world on a daily basis. We as adults need to recognize their love, passion, curiosity, enthusiasm, excitement and kindness. We need to recognize it, foster it, nurture these traits and allow them to continue on in our future. What could come of our would if all the amazing traits were combined with all the excellent knowledge of us adults? Personally I think we might be pretty good. Minus all the fake gun play and copious amounts of princess's, but..... you know what I mean! These little people are capable of much more than I think they get credit for, and seeing the potential within motivates me to do the best I can for them, and to these little guys I am thankful for this motivation!