This year has been a year of finding Zen in munchkinville. The last blog was during a low trying couple of months and finally I've found my place again.
Valentine's Day came with love in the air but it quickly vanished. The munchkins had a great time passing out their Valentine's Day cards and shoving into their little bellies cookies, candies, cupcakes...oh my! I'm lucky no one threw up! heehee
Valentine's Day fell on the 100th Day of School...that being said, it was a pretty wacky day! The snow days pushed the 100th Day to Valentine's Day. It was wacky but fun and it flew by. The munchkins got a kick out of wearing their 100th Day hat, doing 100 exercises in the classroom, eating 100 Cheerios, playing the 100 second quiet game, and YOGA! ~Yes, I said yoga! To get them to do the 100 second quiet game I had them all sit on the rug, since they already were sitting criss cross, I thought ~hmmm...bring some of my yoga class (KungFu Fusion) into the mix and see if it works with these little ones. I briefly explained what yoga was and was surprised to see a few of them already knew what it was and started to pretend to chant ~ohm! haha So of course I went with it and told them..~ Close your eyes, rest your hands on your knees, block everything out (especially the loud class next door..heehe), try to be as still and quiet as can be.... ~Breathe in, breathe out. My oh my did it get silent really quick... they all looked like little monks sitting in the dark. heehee Of course I couldn't stop there...~Who can show me an upside down letter V using their body? Little bodies started popping up from the rug and bending to make the letter V. One did it, then they all wanted space on the rug to show they could do it too. :) I did a few more poses with them and they did great. I think I've created little yoga munchkins because they ask me ~Are we going to do yoga today? heehee
The school Science Fair last week was fun for the munchkins. It was cute to see them get up and explain their projects. Yes, mom and dad usually do everything but most of these munchkins knew their projects and loved doing them. Four munchkins were picked from our class and out of those four, two won 1st place in their respective categories and they were both girls! Yay!!
Talking about yoga...today as a matter of fact was when they asked for it the most. It was TAKS day for the 4th Graders so that meant we were on lock down mode. Meaning the entire school is placed on mute..haha, no lunch recess, we eat with our munchkins, no PE, and group restroom breaks...ugh! We did make it through the day though without anyone digging their way out or escaping through a window...ok, so maybe I tried once! heehee It was a very long day. They kept asking if it was yoga time...haha had to giggle at their request but had to push it off for another day because we were getting our Dr Seuss hats ready for tomorrow. My favorite time of year....Dr Seuss's Birthday and spring is right around the corner!!!
In regards to my munchkin and his mother who have created havoc since day one...well, I made a pack with myself to release it a "let go" (which I learned in my own yoga class recently...thanks V!!). Not to waste anymore energy on it, I will try and sum it all up in 3 sentences or less. haha Munchkin suspended once again, mom created uproar, child lied about another teacher, police involved, worse day ever, things turned out ok, realized I need to end this and protect myself, pulled my trump card out, which in 13 years have never thought I'd use, stood my ground, requested munchkin out...breaks my heart but I've done everything possible and now I'm letting go. For a moment I felt like I failed. Such an awful feeling...failure! I thought I could crack his disruptive behavior, help him learn to make right choices, and feel compassion...but I couldn't. I know it's not all his fault but it's hard to see how it's evolved from what has been learned at home. In my brief moment of feeling as if I failed, I was also reminded of the crazy drama/lies that happened last week = major eye opener! While sitting during yoga I learned to "let go" to all things I cannot fix. Somewhat like the Serenity prayer ~God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. I've accepted and I've found the courage to let go. I do hope and pray he learns to make some better choices and mom learns she's doing more harm than good. Ok, so I went a wee bit longer than 3 sentences...haha
Finding Zen...do we ever find it? Especially as a teacher, as a student, as a person? It's not an easy process but I think slowly we make small steps toward it each time we breathe in and let go of those things we cannot control. I see the light at the end of the tunnel...but I'm not ready to run toward it. haha I'm ready to get back to my munchkins and just breathe.
Stick around for future adventures...
XOXO's
