Welcome November
Crisp, cool mornings and a lot of gratitude is what come to my mind when I think of November. It’s one of my favorite times of the year as we’re reminded to be grateful, to be thankful and we seem to tune into these with more intentions. Personally, I work on a positive attitude and a good mindset to carry me through the day, and, as my grandma always said, “One day at a time Priscilla” she called me Priscilla, a fond memory of her with her being a positive role model in my life. Well, will you look at that, I had no intention to talk about her, but she brought me great joy and I am thankful for her fond memories.
You may ask yourself, “how do you put yourself in a better mindset with so much going on in your life and around you?” Choice, choosing JOY is my go to! Put on your favorite music, read your favorite verse, cook your favorite meal, phone a favorite person, wear your favorite color, write down your favorite word, there are oh so many ways to put yourself in a better mindset. I’m not saying it’s an easy thing to do, but it is a choice to at least try.
When I was in the kindergarten classroom, during the month of November we did an activity. We talked about all the things that were NO more in November. For example, NO more sandles, (we lived in the Midwest, although I myself wore them until the snow took over!) NO more shorts, NO more swimming outdoors, NO more mowing the lawn, NO more hot weather, NO more butterflies, etc. You get the picture. This did two things, brought in new vocabulary, and taught about a new season. Remember, everything you learned, you learned in kindergarten. (insert big smile)
This just brings me to share that November is a wonderful month and opportunity to talk about gratitude which surrounds us daily. You need not look to far actually. It’s the simple things that bring me so much JOY. Think about it, the thought of a memory, the sun shining, the changing colors of the leaves, the meeting of an old friend, etc. As an adult, we tend to focus on the stress of life, let’s try to change that not only within ourselves, but, within our children and families. I’d like to share a few simple ways to do so as I learned along my own journey. Don’t forget the tips from above as well, but because I’m a teacher, I love bringing in literacy, communication skills and thought provoking conversations and thoughts, too!
For your home or your classroom, share a space where you can put down your thoughts, start your day in gratitude or flip it and at the end of the day reflect on your day in gratitude. YOU are a role model.
Fill this space with crayons, markers and colored pencils, paper, perhaps a personal dictionary of words for your family or students. Meaning, a list of names, a list of items, a list colors, a list of places, etc. as a visual to choose from. This helps a child on so many levels! Sight words, literacy, sentence building are a few things that go along with building communication skills, too.
You decide, but, perhaps you have a fun Journal for the week or the month to communicate in. Make sure that the students or your family know where this is, in your space where you will be sharing thoughts of gratitude. Hopefully not only in November but throughout the year! What a simple way to be intentional about your thoughts, build literacy skills, communication skills and learn about yourself and your children.
When I was the “Lunch room helper” I took the 4th graders back to their class after the lunch hour for only about 10-15 minutes until the classroom teacher returned from her lunch time. We built a classroom Journal, kept it in a special place. The students were encouraged to write in it, the only rule was no bullying, no fowl language and no names. This simply allowed them to write down their feelings, their thoughts and their gratitude for the day so far. They could sign it if they felt comfortable. The teachers were so appreciative of this simple activity and it helped me get the classroom back to their learning environment. We had many wonderful conversations from this activity as it built a trusting relationship and open communications. As a parent, you choose how you would like to implement this into your own home. Life is busy, I get it! Many times our children feel left out, hurried or confused during the day. Write it, draw it or talk about it. Communication is important and trust is even more influential to build better communications.
Keep it simple at first, the trust, the open communications will follow. If I may, Characters of Character has created so many fun, colorful and simple composition notebooks, all of which have the character message on the back cover. They are filled with blank pages for you and yours to fill up!
Why not try this:
Show your children the journals or choose one yourself.
Start out by writing a message inside to your child, family or students. It can be a question, “How was your field trip?” we all know that when we ask, “how was your day? The usual answer is, okay.” Try to ask intentional questions to get more than a one word answer.
They will answer back. Have them ask you a question in return! It could be simple, “what’s for dinner tonight?” just keep encouraging communications and build trust, communication and literacy. How fun, how easy!
You might include things of importance on the front cover, the schedule for the week as a visual. Try to let your child ask questions or even write down reminders! For example, “mom, don’t forget to bring the snack for our soccer team!”
Try to make it a habit to include a word of gratitude. Maybe ask your child to also write down a word of gratitude and build off of this! Look at you, building intentional thoughts, engaging your children and working on a grateful mindset!
Yes, November is a month filled with gratitude, try to keep it going all year long though. Every month is filled with different opportunities to focus on a topic, an event, a Holiday, an occasion, etc. Remember, choose JOY. Below are some of our Journals to help get you started!
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TELL me and I forget, TEACH me and I remember, INVOLVE me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin and my favorite quote! Ms. Joni