Pondering on cows

Posted on February 18, 2012 | Leave a comment
two cows

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Just around the corner from where I live is a pasture with several cows in it.  Every year around this time all the baby cows start being born and I love to watch them as I drive by.  There used to be a big dirt pile on the property and I noticed several times as I drove by that the baby cows would climb up on the hill.  And one day it looked like the cows were playing king of the hill because one cow was sort of trying to push the others off as they tried to climb up.  It looked like they were playing.

Today as I drove by, all the adult cows were congregated in one area and the baby cows were over in another area and I frequently have seen that.  But today it made me start to think about that.  Even cows gravitate to their own kind.  The young cows were with their friends maybe talking about who was going to be king of the hill today and the adult cows were all over probably mooing about adult things.

Have you ever noticed that about people?  People who are alike gravitate together.   If you go to a party people usually search the room for someone they know or have something in common with because it’s comfortable.  Mingling with people you don’t know is hard.  I have to force myself to do it because it doesn’t come natural to me.  Oh, I know there are some people that are good at it but I don’t think it is the majority.

The exception to the rule is children.  Try watching children for a while.  Yes, children are drawn to other children but they also go up to strangers and people with disabilites and people of a different color than they are or who don’t speak their language.  They are taught to be afraid of strangers.  They don’t do it naturally.  They aren’t afraid of people in a wheelchair until someone shows them that they should be.  That happens around age 4 when they start to be a aware that maybe they should be afraid.  Yes, again there are exceptions to this but again I don’t think that is the majority.

So, as I watched the cows and started thinking about this I thought that since this isn’t natural then I would have to work on this area more often to make it become more natural.  It’s good to meet new people and it’s good to be able to invite someone on the outside to come into the circle.  We have to be intentional about it.  But the first step is admitting that we aren’t good at it and acknowledging that this would be a better way to be and then start practicing and mooooooving forward. I’m going to try to be better at this.  I’m going to try to let the children lead me and become childlike, not childish but childlike.

Wow, who thought cows had so much to teach us.  Yeah, cows!!

Have a great day!

Barbara

 

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Let’s Buck the Rules!

Posted on February 10, 2012 | Leave a comment
"Rules and Regulations...Threshing Commit...
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We had a visit from the Fire Marshall today.  Our annual inspection.  Just to assure you, we passed.  But it got me to thinking about rules and regulations.  I know we have to have rules and regulations and there are many good reasons for having them.  But I also have experienced rules and regulations that inhibit or stifle things.  Let me give you an example.

One agency that we are accountable to requires handwashing all day long…when the children come through the door, before and after snack, before and after playing in the discovery table, before and after going to the playground, before and after they leave their classroom and go to chapel, etc.  And I could go on.  But if we followed all of the rules of handwashing the children would spend 1/2 of their day just washing their hands.  Because remember, we have to multiply that time for handwashing by the number of children in a class.  So ten children washing their hands at the same time is 10 to 15 mintutes every time.  So, you get my drift, right?  This rule is a rule that was meant to have the children develop cleanliness habits and instead has snowballed into something out of control.

So, when do rules and regulations become a strangle hold on our lives?  I think we all have to take a look and determine that for ourselves.  There are many rules that I have to uphold in the Preschool and have no choice but to follow or I might get a fine or be closed down.  But then again, there are rules and regulations that I have a choice to follow or not.  And I have to weigh those and decide whether the quality or our school is enhanced or hindered by those rules and regulations.  Are they helping the child?  Does choosing not to follow them compromise the safety of the children or the health of the children?  I have to excercise my judgement at those times.  When that happens I usually discuss it with one or 2 other people and then come to a decision about what our center will do.   I may do some research on it to make sure that my decision is based on good information.  And then I respectfully make a decision to not follow the rules.  Is that a bad thing, not following the rules?

I don’t think so.  People are not all alike.  Preschools are not all alike and to try to make us all conform to the same thing is, in my humble opinion, ludicrous.

So, there you have it.  My thoughts for the day.  Ponder on this for you and your family.  Or for you at your job or club or church.  Here at the Preschool we try to help the children learn to be creative and to be individuals and think for themselves.  Let’s not forget how to do this as we grow.  Ask questions, try something different, buck the rules.  But do your homework first and get wise counsel.  Then break the rules and celebrate freedom!!

Have a great day!

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Cell Phones – wonderful invention or hazard to families

Posted on January 20, 2012 | Leave a comment
Closeup of a female speaking outside on a cell...

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Happy New Year everyone!  What a great holiday break, spending time with family and friends.  It was great reconnecting and finding out what was happening in everyone’s lives.  I hope you had a great break with family and friends as well.

Which sort of brings me to today’s blog.  Connecting with our families.  Families are priceless.  A price can’t be put on how much our families are worth to us.  But these days, I don’t always see that played out in our everyday lives.  This thing called the cell phone is coming between people and not in a good way.  Oh you might say it’s great because now I can talk to all of my family at any time of the day but to what end?  Have you ever noticed someone talking on the phone to someone and ignoring the person right in front of them.  Well, I have.  And I see it a lot at the Preschool.  Children who are at the Preschool are here because their parents need, choose, want, to work.  Or because parents want their children to have opportunities to connect with other children their age.  There are many reasons.  But the one thing in common to all of these parents is that their children can’t wait for them to pick them up and tell them or show them what they’ve done that day.  Yet, I see parents walk in the school on their cell phone and walk out of the school still on their cell phone.  Barely acknowledging their children.  This sends a message, LOUD and CLEAR, to the child.  “YOU ARE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THIS PERSON I AM TALKING TO”.  You’re thinking, No that’s not true, they don’t think that.  But it is true.  Children need to feel loved.  They need to be told they are cared about and they need to be SHOWN that you care for them.  If you’re with someone at dinner and they get a call on their phone and they sit and talk to that person for 5 or 10 minutes.  How does that make you feel?  Or have you every gone to a counter at the store where the sales person is on her phone?  Don’t you just want to grab it away and say “I’m the customer, I’m the important one right now”?  Of course there are exceptions to the rule.  But I don’t see the exception happening.  I see people doing it as an everyday occurrence.  Let me just say this right now in as recpectful a way as I can,  GET OFF THE PHONE!  It’s rude.  It’s rude to the teacher.  It’s rude to the other parents and it’s rude to your own child.  Put the phone away.  Let your child know they are the most important one right at that moment.  Let them tell you about their day, or their art project or about their new friend.  Show them how much you love them.  Please, please, please don’t let the cell phone determine for you how you are going to act to you beloved family or your wonderful friends.  The Preschool staff is important too.  Choose to rule your cell phone and don’t let it rule you.

Thanks for listening!!

Barbara

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Christmas Programs (what makes them special)

Posted on December 16, 2011 | Leave a comment
A Very Special Christmas 2

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So, I got a really great comment from our Pastor the other day about the Christmas program that our children did on Tuesday. He told me that it was the best one he’d seen and that he’d seen quite a few.  Wow, that was exciting!  He said that we told the Christmas story very well and that it was a gift to the parents the way we presented it.  Wow, again.  As I got to thinking on his comments it made me think more about just what was it we did.  The classes were divided into the Mary/Joseph, shepherds, donkeys, angels, camels and wisemen.  The typical cast of the story and each class sang a simple song and recited a fingerplay.  Very simple.  Of course, it was cute as can be and regardless of whether all the children sang loud or soft they were adorable.  But I don’t think that’s what Pastor Jim was talking about.  Being in Preschool for almost 18 years almost anything that the children sing or do is cute and the parents always love our little performances.  But there was something more this time.  And I think that something more was the power of the story.  What a story!  God sent His only Son down to earth to save us.  Anytime that story is told the power of it is magnified becuase of what that simple gift means to our lives. 

I’m glad we could share the story with the parents and families.  I’m thankful for Pastor Jim’s words about the impact that the story has on our lives.  And I’m grateful for the gift of that tiny little baby that has changed my life so dramatically.

Have a wonderful Christmas and if you haven’t opened the God’s gift up yet, please do it soon.  You’ll be glad you did.

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