Do you know that book, Everything I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten? I'm thinking about writing my own version, except changing the title from Kindergarten to 2nd grade. (Just kidding!) I spent a couple of hours last week helping in my daughter's classroom and was so inspired by her wonderful teacher. My experience in the classroom got me thinking; balancing children, work and home responsibilities is a challenge for us all. What if we ran our own lives as successfully as she runs her classroom?
Some of the things that stuck out in my mind:
- Every kid in the class knew where they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to be doing.
- I heard her say to a student more than once, "You are in charge of yourself. Are you telling yourself to do the right thing?"
- Big projects that weren't completed in time were put in the child's "work in progress" folder.
- Small assignments not completed were put in backpacks for homework.
- The teacher was willing and able to change the plan if needed.
- Even though there was lots of structure and lots being accomplished, the kids - and the teacher - were still enjoying their work.
The biggest reminder for me was the importance of having a PLAN. It may, or may not, happen, but at least there is a clear direction for what's the most important and what to do first!! To me, that is one of the biggest challenges to working from home. There are so many distractions that you can be busy all day and yet have no idea what you've accomplished.
Keeping with this idea, I'm working with a friend of mine of accountability for the next few weeks. Could be interesting. More to come...
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