M is for Maddening, Melancholic Misgivings

Mindfulness meandering

moves maddening, melancholic, misgivings

Marching them away and leaving peace.

As I am also now a "teacher" of Nordic walking, I thought I should include something in my A-Z to reflect this and half way through seems an appropriate time to do just that.  It's been lovely learning that just by walking outdoors that this is helping so many people not just physically but in their mental well-being too :)

How do you chase your demons away?  Does being outdoors give you that feel good factor too? Leave me a comment below because you know I'd love to know :)

L is for a Little Laughter

A Little Laughter Lifts and Lightens

Lessens, Loosens, Leaving

Us free from our worries and fears.

via GIPHY

L could also have been for "Lending your Laptop" to your oldest child - which is why this post is Late because said Laptop was not returned until today!!

When was the last time you had a good laugh? Was it because of something you read? A joke someone told? A cat video you watched?  Leave me a comment below and let us all know :)

K is for Kids' Kingdom

Knocking Knuckles, Kiss-chase,

Knaves and Kings, Kneeling Kangaroo

Kids’ Kingdom on the tarmac playground 

I thought this might be one of my trickier letters in the A-Z but it turned out fine and brought back a whole load of memories of playtimes both of myself as a young child and for my times surveying the school yard as a teacher.  It's not so much an asphalt jungle as a Kids' Kingdom in my mind. What are the playground games you recall?  Any serious mishaps occur on that hard tarmac?

J is for Jurassic Jaws

J is for Jungles, Jokes and Jurassic Jaws,

Jumping Jacks, Juggling and Jolly Jigsaws

Things to make learning Joyful with that Just a bit more!

All the weird and wonderful things I have done as a teacher to try to tap into getting children learning with joy and happiness.  Some have been games, some have been themes, some have been activities but all have often come from the children's likes themselves and what I can remember enjoying as a child myself.  What were some of the themes or classroom games/activities you really enjoyed when you were a pupil or if you are/were a teacher what do your pupils love engaging with?

Leave a comment below - you know I'd love to know :)

I is for Idiot

Idiot, Imbecile, Ignoramus,

Incompetent ... ipso facto

The child becomes what it is told

Not surprisingly, children if told they are stupid when struggling to learn new skills or put them into practise, will soon stop trying and therefore will become more incompetent than others who are given praise ad encouragement.  It always saddens me to hear parents call their child an idiot and for a child to tell me they are an idiot when struggling with doing something. It makes my blood boil if I hear a teacher use such a word when speaking to a child.  Of course at times we all behave idiotically or may be incompetent at something but it needs to be seen for what it is rather than define who we are!
So when was the last time you did something idiotic or do you think you are incompetent at something and wish you could master it?  Let me know by leaving a comment below :)

H is for Helpful Hugs

Hugs heal hurts and harm

Hugs hide hopelessness and horror

Hugs herald heroic heights

Hugs help 

It suddenly struck me as H is for Hugs came to mind for today's letter and I wrote this poem that I might have used this before in a previous A - Z Challenge and lo and behold I did - Last Year!!  A different poem but all the same sentiment that Hugs are an important part of being a teacher who children can turn to when they are in trouble, when they are hurt or when they are so full of joy they simply want to share it with you.

I have seen my own 10 year old child run into the outstretched arms of her headmaster to share her absolute joy when overcoming a sports day catastrophe - my heart still wells up when I recall this moment - what a wonderful headteacher he was :)  And in my classrooms hugs were always received kindly or given when needed as the last line says - Hugs Help!

Now it's your turn - tell me when you last received or gave a hug?  Do you think you are a "huggy" type of person?  I'd love to know so leave a comment below :) 

Celebrate #9

Hi Everyone :)  It's time to hop over to Lexa Cain's blog and ...

I think there are several of us also participating in the A-Z Challenge so hopefully no-one minds me posting on a Sunday instead of the Friday.

This week I am celebrating:

1 - Diving into the A-Z Challenge

I really didn't know what was going to happen this year and I certainly thought I'd missed the boat for signing up and let people down for not volunteering to be a minion  (when I'd been one last year) and had no idea of a theme.  But out of the blue I took a look over at their web page and ...

this year - no list and no minions needed!

So I took this as a sign and dived right in and I'm so glad  I did because despite no list I'm finding blogs I am really liking, I'm getting quite a few comments and visits to my blog and most importantly I'm reconnecting with many bloggers who I haven't visited since last year and it's been wonderful catching up :)

2 - Getting into the Garden

We've been having some really nice gardening weather recently and I've been able to use it and get some good weed puling done as well as mow the grass properly for the first time this year.  This year I feel I am likely to reap the reward fro the previous two years of trying to get the garden back from Mother Nature and I've even had some time in the deck-chair - so something worth celebrating I feel :)

3 - Receiving Feedback

Due to more funding bids being put in for me to increase my Nordic walking "taking over the world" initiative - I had to ask for some feedback from those who walk with me - and I was really overcome when reading some of the things they wrote about it. I really didn't know how much it meant and what it has helped them do - so a really lovely outcome and I'm sure their kind words will make a real difference to whether I can get some more funding to spread the walking further!!!

Here's hoping everyone is having a great weekend and if you are doing the A-Z Challenge - well done on completing the first week :)