Rainy days

A rainy day is not the end of the world. However, when you start working in Early Education, you quickly learn that a raining week can cause havoc. The words wet play send a chill down any teacher's soul, as she comes up with images of children bored out of their minds attempting to destroy everything in sight and get into trouble through all means available.

As we grow in our career we begin to learn tricks. Chop up playtime into different chunks, adding calming activities in the middle of them. Rotate toys often to offer variety. Bring in new items or explore them in a new way. Some teachers use the Netflix approach, which I am not a fan, but I can understand the despair sometimes.

I find it quite interesting, that when we have a day or two of something, such as rain, it's quite ok. Sometimes it's even welcomed. However, as the days turn into weeks, all of a sudden, we all act like those kids. We get restless. We get bored. And we begin to find ways to entertain ourselves, even if they aren't the most helpful or healthy ways to go about it. 

The lesson I learned was to bring that same bag of tricks into my own life when I notice the restless-ness coming. Chop up my chores so I don't feel overwhelmed. Cave in and delegate. Call up friends I haven't seen for a season. Help somebody in need. Take a blogging break. Anything that shakes things up and makes you change perspective is game.

Five Minute Friday: Worship

Today we are joining Lisa-Jo Baker for her Five Minute Friday. Here is what she has to say about it:

This is where a brave and beautiful bunch gather every week to find out what comes out when we all spend five minutes writing on the same topic and then sharing ‘em over here.

Rules:

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on: WORSHIP

I am the only grown up in the room. Other than me, nine smiling faces, aged three through five fight over play dough  share building blocks and make endless circles on scrap paper. They roar with the dinosaurs and hammer the house center a little bit too aggressively  but hey, that's how you hammer something, isn't it?

Every day, every minute, I learn something new. How it is hard to share your favorite Max Steel toy, when you can't even go to bed without it. How it is a drag to have to stop to go to the toilet when you are in a world of princesses and pirates. How the same book with a handful of pages can have a mesmerizing effect on you for weeks.

And how the human heart is made for song. Put on some music in an Early Childhood Education class and you will have no doubt that we were made to sing, to praise, to hum. Silence is overrated. 

Yet, somewhere along the way we lose this. We become all serious business people and singing is demoted to car trips and washing dishes. It becomes unnatural. Contrived. So I ask you Lord, to bring it back into my life. Let me sing as I pick up counters from the floor or teach little ones to brush their teeth. As I enjoy a sunny day or mope over cleaning spilled juice. Let's all praise Him. All. the. time.