Flamingo Friday

Qs:  "How many hats do you have, Mrs. Broam?" "Where do you get your hats?"
As:  "I have no idea!"  "They sort of find me . . .?!"

Thank you to Mimi for sharing this great hat with me this week!!!  I can't wait to wear the frog one too!  Glad you're "in the pink" and feelin' better, Mimi.  You sure put a smile on my face when you put a crazy hat on my head!  Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!!  #mrsbroamhats

THINKING on Thursday

I have on my thinking cap, brain earrings, dendrite necklace, mindful t-shirt--ready to learn at the Institute for Brain Potential's workshop: "Calming an Overactive Brain". . . Do you THINK I'm in the right place??!! #mrsbroamhats

Feelin' Ducky on Wednesday

Take care of your "mental health!"  PHES 1st and 2nd Graders are learning ways to keep their thinking strong!  Sometimes we have "owies" in our head like we have "owies" in our bodies.  It's easy to see when someone's body is hurting . . . not so easy when someone's thinking is broken . . . We know feeling safe, having good friends and loving families helps keep our brains healthy!  Feeling encouraged and confident is also a part of keeping our thinking strong.  Play and unstructured time during the day positively contributes to our mental health.  Plato quote~You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.  Don't DUCK your mental health on Wednesday!  Thank you, http://www.mha-sc.org/ , for how you make the world a better place! #mrsbroamhats  

Silly about your Circle of Control on Tuesday

Here's a FALL story for SPRING!  Silly Sidney tries to stop FALL from coming by putting leaves back on the oak tree.  The wise, old owl reminds Sidney managing the seasons . . . OUT OF his Circle of Control!  Managing other people's business . . . OUT OF your Circle of Control!  "My business is enough business to keep me busy" on Tuesday.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CncHPlChNkk

Breathing like a BUNNY on Monday

Get your "ears" ready . . . 

take sips of air in your bunny nose to pump up your bunny ears!  

Exhale to deflate the ears and begin again!

BRIGHT Idea on Friday

There was a third show on PBS when I was growing up called "The Electric Company."  There was a part of the show where silhouettes put together words or parts of words to make words:

(1)

(2)

(3)

So here's a BRIGHT idea, you could almost say "ELECTRIC," for Friday!!!!

It takes YOU!

It takes ME!

Working together . . . 

SYNERGY! 

(Roll your your wrists in a wave or double dancing worm!  Need to see what that looks like? Click and watch:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG75W95c0qs)

SHINE your light brightly on Friday!

Watch D.O.G.S. on Friday

Be a SMART COOKIE on Thursday

This character is Cookie Monster from "Sesame Street," another children television show I watched growing up!

Cookie Monster loved to eat cookies . . . http://giphy.com/gifs/hungry-cookie-monster-EKUvB9uFnm2Xe

So when considering self-regulation . . . do we want to be like Cookie Monster?

Cookie Monster is mostly in his UPSTAIRS brain . . . 

Take a deep breath, maybe three or four, to get to your DOWNSTAIRS brain where you can make a better choice . . . 

Breathing calms your body, focuses your mind and makes the world a better place . . . not just for cookies?!!!

I will YOGA here or there!

Watch D.O.G.S. on Wednesday

HOPPY Spring!!

Spring has SPRUNG!  HOPPY 2nd day of Spring!!  Here's some unFROGettable stories we thought about during today's Love & Logic session:

Nanette's Baguette by Mo Willems -- Great for sharing SELF-CONTROL!  What we model, our young people do . . . Being the best we can be is how we can encourage young people to be their best selves!

AH HA! by Jeff Mack -- You only need to know a couple letters to read the entire book?!  This story illustrates the ups and downs of every day.  We are constantly solving problems -- "There are gonna be PROBLEMS!  BUT . . . we are PROBLEM SOLVERS!"

Too Many Frogs! by Sandy Asher -- a Mrs. Broam's FAVORITE Read Aloud!!  When you are struggling to get along with others, this story reminds us it's better to be TOGETHER, struggling to get along, than not.

Kathryn Otoshi's books for working in community:  One (published 2008), Zero (published 2010), and Two (published 2014) -- EVERY one COUNTS!

I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal -- this beautiful author passed away last week  . . . this particular work is a tribute to why we do what we do as parents.  Hand those problems back to children for the OPPORTUNITY to solve a problem and make the world a better place.

Mister Rogers' Birthday

Mister Rogers (1928-2003) would have been 89 years old today!  "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" was a television show I watched as a preschooler.   It ran for 30+ seasons.   I enjoyed the trips into the "Neighborhood of Make-Believe" with "X the Owl" and "King Friday XIII!"  In his book, The World According to Mister Rogers:  Important Things to Remember, many words of wisdom are shared, including:

"Imagining something maybe the first step in making it happen, but it takes real time and real efforts of real people to learn things, make things, turn thoughts into deeds or visions into inventions."

May you exercise your imagination and put on your metaphorical cardigan and comfortable shoes today, celebrating how "simple is better" as you interact more kindly with the folks in your neighborhood!  Thank you, Mister Rogers, and Happy Birthday!

P.S. I found it interesting that Fred Rogers composed all the music and songs for the shows.  When watching an episode recently, I didn't remember how much music is incorporated!  I also don't think I knew he was a puppeteer?  I really believed he stayed behind, waiting for us to come back from the "Neighborhood of Make Believe" on the trolley . . . :-)

My Lucky Day

What would be your "lucky day?"  Finding a dollar in your pocket?  A present comes in the mail?  Mom fixes pizza for supper? Or how about a "bubble bath, spaghetti dinner and massage?!"  Everybody's "lucky day" is different.  You'll enjoy a chuckle when you read about a clever pig in Keiko Kasza's My Lucky Day.  It'll be your lucky day when you read this good book! #mrsbroamhats

Watch D.O.G.S. on St. Patrick's Day!

Thinking THREE on Thursday!

Shamrocks have three triangular leaflets!  Triangles have three sides.  What THREE things can you do on Thursday to make the world a better place? #mrsbroamhats

Watch D.O.G.S. on Thursday

ShamROCK ON!

 My hat is floppy today! It looks more like this:

How do you keep "rockin'" when you are challenged?!  What do you do when yucky things happen, you get bad news, something doesn't quite go the way you hoped . . .

ShamROCK ON!
(1) Recognize and acknowledge the "yuck"
(2) Remind yourself it's temporary
(3) Remember you don't have to like it or want it, it's just what's next . . .
(4) talk to someone about it or "move" it in another "okay way" -- listen to music, sing, draw, exercise, read, pray, sleep, BREATHE, spend time with a pet, spend time sitting quietly, play with your toys, or think about a happier time :-)

You ROCK on Wednesday!
#mrsbroamhats

Happy Pi Day!

Give me a "G!"

Thinking GREEN with St. Patrick's Day coming up on Friday!  What else starts with a G??  How about another someone BOLD, BRAVE, STUBBORN and SMART?  In 1999, BBC organized a poll that recognized Indira Gandhi as"Woman of the Millennium." Her father, Jawaharial Nehru, was a leader in India's struggle for independence of British rule and then first Prime Minister of the Union of India, later the Republic of India.  She served as the FIRST and ONLY female Prime Minister of India.  Her years as Prime Minister, 1966-77 & 1980-until her 1984 assassination, make her the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of India after her father.  She is NOT related to Mahatma Gandhi, but she also lived her life with extraordinary courage and service.  While she may be flawed, her "dash," 1917-1984, was significant and noteworthy.  Quotes by her include: "You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist." "The power to question is the basis for all human progress."  "Forgiveness is virtue of the brave."

Feelin' GOOFY on Friday!

ALL Feelings are OKAY!  Take a deep breath and then another and you'll feel less GOOFY in no time . . . 

Watch D.O.G.S. on Thursday

Thank You to the "BOLD, BRAVE, STUBBORN, and SMART!"

Thank You to the "BOLD, BRAVE, STUBBORN, and SMART!" Who are those wonderful women who have made a difference in your life? Think of ALL the lovely ladies . . . I appreciate Sarah Hale. She was a superhero who "fought for playgrounds for kids, schools for girls, and historical monuments for everyone. She argued against spanking, pie for breakfast, dull stories, corsets and bloomers and bustles, and very serious things like slavery." She raised five children. She wrote poetry, children's books, novels, biographies. She also was the first female magazine editor in America! Her secret weapon . . . a PEN! It took her thirty-eight years and thousands of letters, but she SAVED Thanksgiving in 1863! Thank you to the BOLD, BRAVE, STUBBORN, and SMART women, like Sarah Hale, who make a difference for all of us. #WomensHistoryMonth 

We are PROBLEM-SOLVERS!

"There are gonna be PROBLEMS . . .  BUT we are PROBLEM-SOLVERS!"  It's a CHALLENGE but we EAT THE FLIES for BREAKFAST.  Everything else, for the rest of the day, will be EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY!!!  When you have a problem to solve or something else hard to do, don't delay, git 'er done right now.  Be PROACTIVE on Wednesday!

Watch D.O.G.S. on Wednesday

Your Story

Judy also recommended this book!  It's the history of stories:  how they were shared around campfires, recorded in caves, printed and bound, acted on stage, etc.  I love the idea of thinking of your life as a story.  Last Wednesday evening my pastor shared the dash poem: http://www.linda-ellis.com/the-dash-the-dash-poem-by-linda-ellis-.html   YOU are the AUTHOR of YOUR STORY.  As Mo Willems shares in Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs, "if you're in the wrong story, leave." You have the power to create a happy ending, even with plot twists beyond your control . . . Make YOUR STORY one worth retelling!

Yakety Yak

Share Animal Word Pairs to explore homographs!  Our mouths enjoyed trying out new vocabulary today.  We did not know quails could shrink from fear or apes could mimic? In the back of this book there is great info about the history of each word!  Yakety Yak on Monday!

Watch D.O.G.S. on Monday

GREEN Eggs on Friday!

Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham on a $50 bet that he couldn't write a book with 50 words or less!  http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/05/dr-seuss-wrote-green-eggs-and-ham-on-a-bet-that-he-couldnt-write-a-book-with-50-or-fewer-words/   What can YOU do when you put your mind to it???? #L1reads

Watch D.O.G.S. on Friday

Happy 113th Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

We enjoyed many guest readers this year to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday!  #L1reads 

I enjoyed sharing how Dr. Seuss created stories to solve problems!  Did you know Horton Hears a Who celebrated individualism and the need to be the voice of the powerless . . .  The Lorax was shared at the start of the environmental movement.  The Cat and the Hat was written to excite and engage young readers!  We moved like happy cats and angry cats, fish, birds, bears, elephants, and trees with these stories!  

Here's a candle for Dr. Seuss' birthday cake:

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!