Day 28: Finding a Focus

It's Day 28 of the  2016 Slice of Life Story Challenge. As I look back on my posts so far, almost all of them have been about my family. In all fairness, I had been on Spring Break for days 18 through 27, so it makes sense that my slices have been about family-related topics. Of course, that doesn't account for days 1 through 17, but my number-one focus in my life is my family, so most of my posts tend be about that part of my life.

However, as you can tell by the title of my blog, I am also a teacher. I spend every day with 27 first grade boys and girls. They are my own special source of entertainment. I admittedly have a very poor short-term memory, so when cute things happen with my students, if I don't write them down immediately, the exact wording is lost. My first graders crack me up in some way almost every single day, so it's a shame that I don't have more recorded stories about them and the things they say. The ones I remember most are the ones that I rush to tell my teaching team, but even they get tired of hearing the stories I'm sure.

There are a lot of people, particularly educators, who have embraced the practice of choose "One Little Word" to focus on for the year. Last year, my OLW was "Family". I concentrated my efforts on spending more time with my family, saying "yes" to the little things that would allow us to spend time together and bring us closer.

I haven't decided on my new OLW yet. I'm not even sure when the start and end date should be. Is it the calendar year? The school year? Just some arbitrary date chosen by whomever it was that started the OLW "movement"? And while I haven't chosen that one perfect word, I do know that it is going to be about finding the joy and capturing the childlike wonder of the children I am fortunate enough to be entrusted with every day.

There are so many negatives in the media, public perception, and government about education and educators. It's hard not to get overwhelmed and disheartened by it all. That is why I want to encase myself in my own little classroom bubble and be in the moment with my students. I want to remind myself every day of their youth and innocence and the possibilities that are ahead of them.