Each Saturday Ruth Ayres invites us to share and celebrate events from our week. Looking for small celebrations has certainly improved my outlook on my week. For that, I am certainly grateful to Ruth and to all of you who choose to celebrate with us.
This week my celebrations revolve around One Little Word.
Celebration #1
This morning as I was getting ready to post my short celebration, I received a tweet from a writer I nominated for the Sunshine Award. After reading her message, I decided to add another celebration to my week.
Over Christmas break, I was nominated for the Sunshine Award. I was very much surprised and honored by those who thought about me. It came time to write my post and nominate the 11 blogs. Because many of the writers who inspired me had already been nominated, (many cases more than once) I decided to take a different approach.
My one little word for 2014 is REACH. When I first started blogging, I was amazed at the people who reached out to me and helped me get started and encouraged me to continue. While I was trying to decide who I was going to nominate, I remembered reading a few slices at Two Writing Teachers about new bloggers or bloggers who had been away for while and desired to write again. I decided to reach out to those writers.
It must have worked because some of the people I nominated have thanked me and told me the nomination was just what they needed to inspire or encourage them so share their words. If you get a chance, stop by their blogs and read what they have to say.
Today, I celebrate reaching out and having the courage to share words.
Chris Leish
Jen Ferguson
Loralee Landers
Bernadette Laganella
Beth Scanlon
Deb Bussewitz
Celebration #2
My class chose their own one little word this week. I was very impressed by their thinking and expressing their thoughts in words in their blog posts. They decorated cards with their word and we will put these up on our door as a reminder of our goals for the rest of the year. Some of their words were: believe, patience, challenge, play, listen, respect, focus, and reach. But the one that is the most dear to my heart is the student who chose the word "hope."
A few weeks after school started last fall, this student's father took his own life. My student was the one who found him. Losing a parent is hard enough as it is, but to lose one under these circumstances and as a ten year old little boy was heart wrenching.
It has been a long, tough road for him. He has missed a lot of school while trying to work this out for himself and as a family. Since we have come back after Christmas, he has been smiling and laughing, and he has been at school every single day!
When he showed me his word, hope, I was close to tears. It gave me hope that he is on his way to healing. On his blog post he said, "You need hope to do things that you have not been able to do in the past."
That is a celebration for my heart!
Have a great week and may you be blessed with many reasons to celebrate!
Happy to hear about your 'sunshine' spreading, Leigh Anne, & you must have spread more in your class, too, helping that young student make his way in his world of challenge. What a terrible tragedy for him and his family. Best wishes for you as his teacher and for him finding hope in your classroom and in his life.
ReplyDeleteSo much sunshine amidst so much sadness. Your student is VERY lucky to have YOU inspire and remind him that learning and growing may help him see hope even in the dark days ahead.
ReplyDeleteYour idea to reach out to new bloggers is so inspired. I plan to go to your links and visit. You seem to have inspired hope in your students, too. Your openness and reaching out will lead your student to the healing he needs in his heart.
ReplyDeleteIt's so great that when we are especially full of light and positivity we can reach out better to others to spread more happiness.
ReplyDeleteThinking about your student - and how you were able to create an atmosphere for him to begin to heal. Bravo.
ReplyDeleteLovely post Leigh Anne. Your connection to the past and present with your one little word is so true. So glad to see how the OLW worked with students. I think this is something that can be as powerful for them as it is for us. I want to do OLW with my students next week. Hope it goes as well as it did with yours.
ReplyDeleteYou are truly living your OLW! Reaching out to new bloggers and reaching out to your students. You have a true teacher's heart!
ReplyDeleteHe has certaintly taught us all an important lesson since you decided to share it today. Thank you --his strength will certainly inspire me.
ReplyDeleteClare
Wow. It's amazing the stories we come across as teachers. I am sure you'll have an incredible impact on this little one's life. Continue to REACH for this little guy. He'll be celebrating you one day!!!
ReplyDeleteOh this post made me cry. Hope for this little boy. What an important word as he rebuilds his life.
ReplyDeleteYour word has already worked it's magic. May all the words in your be equally magical for each student.
ReplyDeleteI cried too, when I read this post. What a tragedy. Praying for lots of healing and hope for this little guy! And I love your idea for the Sunshine Award. I was nominated (several times) but haven't done it, mostly because I can't think of 11 people to nominate.
ReplyDeleteHOPE!! There are no words for the pain this little one has endured...yet, he emerges with the word hope. YOU gave him the opportunity to share that and to live it. "You need hope to do things that you have not been able to do in the past." I love these words of wisdom. I am often humbled by what my students survive. Thank you for sharing such a powerful celebration. I'm saying a prayer for your student...that his hope takes him far!
ReplyDeleteOh, Leigh Anne, my heart breaks for this sweet student of yours. What a blessing it is that he has you as a teacher this year. Your reaching is working for him. I'm praying that hope will bless this small boy and his family. I still need to do my Sunshine post, but I don't think there is anyone left to nominate.
ReplyDeleteReach seems as a strong personal word, almost athletic. You show the kind and caring side of the word, and place others first. You make a difference in people's lives.
ReplyDeletePowerful.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea to reach out to new bloggers. I'll definitely take a look. And wow, what a sad ordeal for your student to endure. I can't imagine. HOPE is what he'll need, and he's lucky to be in your class.
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