It seems like every time I go to Whole Foods I end up in the bathroom. Maybe the conditions are just right in such a green environment that I simply hear the call of nature...but I think more than that I simply want to see if the water saving, poo composting, granola eating crowd is being true to hardcore environmentalism. If the average person can subscribe to the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" tenant then shouldn't the more hardcore of the environmental movement take it a step further? But, each time I go into the bathrooms there the water is as clear as Jessica Simpson's face (post Proactiv of course). This got me thinking-maybe I should make my contribution to the movement in a way that will inspire true hardcore environmentalism to take hold. So, next time I am in Whole Foods I hope I have to go #2 so that I can post my little sign "if it's brown don't flush it down." After all, shouldn't we be willing to deal with a little more stench in order to save the whales and stop climate change? As a bonus, maybe I won't even use toilet paper. I mean, don't we need to save the trees as well?
When talking about the beheading of John the Baptist, Ivan said that he wished that God’s big hand could just pick up John’s head and put it back on.
This is the answer I got when I asked Timothy the definition of a mustache. A mustache is something that stays on your nose for a lot of days.
Amiracle’s feelings got hurt the other day. She said, “Everyone is laughing at me except for me.”
The children were talking about special things they could do for their moms in honor of Mother's Day. Their suggestions included: flowers, cards, doing mom's chores, giving her a hug and kiss. The best suggestion was from Timothy who is an avid fan of the "Bibleman" movies. Timothy said he wanted to give his mom a sword for Mother's Day. I asked him if he she would really like a sword or if that is something he would like as a gift. He assured me that his mother would love to have a sword so that she can protect herself.
During lunch time, Gabriel and Timothy were trying to remember the three members of the Trinity. Gabriel said, “Holy Spirit, Jesus and …” Before he could finish his thought, Timothy suggested, “Bibleman?”
During nap time I told Gabriel (who had not fallen asleep) that he could read a book until I woke up the other children in five minutes. He said, “That’s what time my church ends, at five minutes!”
Whenever Nicholas gets distracted in the classroom, I tell him that if he keeps his eyes on me, then he will learn. If he does not keep his eyes on me and participate, then he will not learn. Recently I assessed him on his letter recognition. I noticed a significant improvement in his ability to identify letters and their sounds. I asked him if he and his mom had been practicing with the letter flashcards I had sent home. He said, “No, I have just been keeping my eyes on you.” This was a reminder to me to keep my eyes on Jesus. I will learn and grow if I stay focused on the Lord. If I get distracted by all the worries around me, then I will become stunted, never reaching my full potential. The truths I teach my students are the truths I need to hear and practice myself.
My students keep complaining that they have the "hook-ups" instead of the "hick-ups."
Timothy informed me that he could count to 1,009. I told him to try. He counted from 1 to 109 perfectly, then skipped to 1,000 and ended up with 1,009! J If only it were that easy.
I told my students I would be taking pictures of them outside on the playground. Gabriel commented that if I had their pictures then I would never miss them.
My students and I were talking about the kind of food that makes you healthy and strong. Timothy told me that he was “strong and mighty in the Lord’s power.”
Amiracle informed me that her brother was “seven for a long time, and now he’s eight.”
This is how Ivan said that God made angels: he made them, painted them yellow, put wings on them, the put lightening on them to make them bright.
I read a story to my students called, “Katy No Pocket.” There is a crocodile in the story that is friendly and smiles. Timothy wanted to make sure we all knew that the story was pretend. He said, “In this world, crocodiles are mean and don’t smile.”
Ivan comment during prayer time, “Mrs. Gant, you prayed so fast. Did God hear you? I think he did because he has big ears.”
A volunteer was working with Amiracle on recognizing opposites from pictures on cards. She did so well on them that the volunteer encouraged her to make up her own. She came up with a couple of good ones and then looked at the volunteer and offered emphatically "truth and lie." I had been teaching the children about what it means to be wise and foolish. I told them that when you are wise, you know what is right and what is wrong, as well as the difference between the truth and a lie. A foolish person chooses what is wrong and believes lies. I was so excited to hear that wisdom is blooming in this little girl’s heart.
The Shaums visited Austin this weekend and they flat wore us out. Trinity is 7 and already smarter than me. Zeke is 3 and already bigger than me. Eden is only four months old and has redder hair than me.
We took them to the pool on Saturday and Zeke wanted to ride the water slide. This will go down in history as the day Zeke became a man.
Demonstrating that he has more mettle than I did at his age, he climbed the stairs to the top of the slide while we watched from below. We were wondering how high he would get before realizing what the hell he was getting himself into. From where we were, at the end of the slide, we lost sight of Zeke momentarily when he reached the top, but we saw the lifeguard toss aside a life jacket that looked suspiciously like the one Zeke was wearing (not allowed on the slide). Surely the lifeguard, who as far as anyone knows is PAID to keep people from DROWNING, would not jettison Zeke’s life jacket?
Heck yes she would. The next thing we knew Zeke was careening toward us, sans life jacket. He plunged into the pool where Craig snatched him up. I was still kind of amazed he went through with it and watched to see if the look on his face was exhilaration or terror.
It was actually confusion.
Apparently he was as puzzled as we were about the lifeguard’s decision to remove the life jacket because when Craig lifted him out of the water and he caught his breath, the first thing he said was, “I can’t swim.” This was not a panicked, “I CAN’T SWIM!” like someone may invoke while being pulled away by the tide, but more like a general statement of fact, like…, “not sure what that broad was thinking, but I can’t swim.”
The second thing he said was, “she took my life jacket!” This was a little closer to panic, though tempered now that he was safe. He repeated it a couple of times, as if trying to make sense of why on earth an adult, someone who is SUPPOSED to take care of him, would do something as STUPID as send him down a gigantic water slide without a life jacket, essentially signing his death warrant?
Then, in what I think was a gesture of defiance to his would-be assassin, Zeke hauled his stones back up the stairs and went again.
Donna is in the process of shopping for some new wheels, and that is a post for another time, but it got me thinking about how utterly UN-interested in cars I am. I don't think it's uncommon for guys these days to know almost nothing about cars, not like our dads who could rebuild carburetors blindfolded. But something happened with my generation and along the way we never mastered this skill. At least I never did.
Last night I noticed my friend Nason had a scar above his eye, the kind of scar that usually comes with a good story about how it got there. What he told me qualifies as one of the funniest things I have ever heard.
I was explaining to my students about the Easter tradition of dying Easter eggs. I quickly realized I should have defined my words first when one student exclaimed, “Why do you want to kill Easter eggs?!”
My class was thrilled to take care of another class’s pet fish, Samson, for a few days. Since we had just recently read about Samson in the Bible, they made an instant connection about the name of the fish. One child said, “God will have to tell Samson (in heaven) that there is a fish with his name.” Several children then offered ideas of what they would name a pet fish if they owned one. My three favorite names were: Biblefish after the movie character “Bibleman,” Thomas after Thomas the train, and Mrs. Gant after me, of course.
One day it was very foggy outside. Several students told me it was “froggy” outside. Then another student told me that there must be fog outside because “God is smoking up in heaven.”
Children respond in a variety of ways when they have to sit in time-out for misbehaving in the classroom. Some of them go peacefully, others may kick in anger, cry, or refuse to move. One child showed his resistance by loudly signing our school’s hymn of the month, “O, Victory in Jesus” at the top of his lungs. It was hard not to laugh.
Among the many life skills I teach my students, slicing an apple with an apple slicer is one of their favorites. They love to be splashed by the juice of the apple as they slice it. One day when observing a juicy apple being sliced, one student commented that “the apple is crying.”
Here are some of the response to my question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
a kite flier, a princess, a doctor, a doctor AND a princess, cut down trees and kill ants
I was informed recently by a four year old that “There are two kinds of B’s. There is the letter “B” and the bee that stings you.”
I asked my students to tell me how God created human beings. Some of the answers included, “He squished us and put our skin all over us.” “He made us out of sand, he touched us, and we changed into real life people.” “He made us out of wood.” Then I asked, “Do you mean like Pinocchio?” The child replied, “Yes. Our nose does not get longer like Pinocchio, but our fingernails do.”
Often when my students pray, they tend to use random phrases they have heard others pray. The sentences do not always flow together very well, but you can usually pick up the child’s general meaning. I imagine that God understands them perfectly. One little boy prayed before lunch, “God, give us this day. Help us not be silly and have self-control.”
While I was teaching my students about the events of Holy Week, one student commented that “They (the Roman soldiers) put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head even though it did not fit. One thing the Roman soldiers did was nice. They got someone else to carry the cross for Jesus.”
I have been trying to explain to my students about how Jesus took the punishment we deserved for our sin. I believe one student in particular has really latched on to the concept. He said, “It broke my heart when Jesus died on MY cross for MY sins. Was I alive when Jesus died in my place?”
I informed my students that we would be watching a movie about the life of Jesus. The next day a little boy told me, “I know what we are going to do today. We are going to watch a movie about someone who can do miracles just like his dad—it’s Jesus!”
If God is my heavenly Father, then who is my heavenly Mother?” one child asked me. After I explained that we only have a heavenly father, another child replied, “If God had a wife, we would call her Mrs. God.”
March is Child Life Month, a time of year designated for promoting the importance of child and family development. Donna was featured in the news release below about the importance of child life specialists and the addition of these services to the new hospital. This does a good job explaining her role and I thought you all would be interested in reading about the field she has dedicated herself to.
Newest Hospital First to Offer Child Life Services in Williamson County
Round Rock, TX (March 27, 2008) – Difficult or unexpected experiences, such as a trip to the emergency room or the hospitalization of a family member, are upsetting for all involved, but children are particularly vulnerable. To support the unique needs of children during stressful situations, Seton Medical Center Williamson (SMCW) offers Child Life Services.
Trained professionals, called Child Life Specialists, are vital members of the healthcare team at SMCW. These certified specialists are experts in child development who help children cope through play, preparation, education and self-expression.
“When I work with a child, one of my goals is to help them understand and cope with the hospital environment on their terms,” said Donna Brown-Looper, one of two Child Life Specialists on staff at SMCW. “For example, if a child arrives at the Emergency Department with a broken bone, I help them prepare for the procedure by explaining what will happen or how the medical instruments will be used – all on a level that the child understands.”
Brown-Looper also offers children their choice of coping strategies which gives them some control over stressful medical situations. Children can choose to be distracted by a toy, book or music, squeeze stress balls or practice deep breathing. Stress can be a major inhibitor in the ability of a patient to heal and stay well.
“Sometimes giving the child a simple job during a procedure, such as holding a bandage for the nurse, can help alleviate stress,” she added.
Since opening in February, more than 340 children have come to SMCW’s Emergency Department, making this area a key focus for Child Life Services. In addition, the Child Life Specialists provide support to children who are admitted to the hospital’s pediatric inpatient unit or children who have family members in the hospital.
The hospital’s playroom is a refuge for children trying to deal with these difficult circumstances. “It may sound simple, but encouraging play helps children normalize their environment,” said Brown-Looper. “It’s a setting where they are the leader. They have the opportunity to act out anxiety and fears and express their feelings.”
“The Child Life program is a great example of how Seton Medical Center Williamson combines the best in complex care with a more holistic healing approach that addresses the mind, body and spirit,” said Michelle Robertson, vice president and chief operating officer, Seton Medical Center Williamson.
As the program grows, Brown-Looper hopes to expand services to more areas of the hospital, as well as offer much-needed community services such as support groups for children with chronic illnesses and infant/child car seat checks to ensure proper use.