It's a CATCH!

I have be an active all my life!  My parents instill in me to be active and since they were both physical education teachers it was easy for my family.  My brother and I had the best of both worlds, our parents and our own little imaginations.

We belonged to a fitness club with a membership and we didn't even know it at the time.  How?  It was our parent's gym with all the physical education equipment any little heart desired.  We were blessed!  The best part was when we got to go with my Dad to the football lockeroom.  We played hide and seek in the lockers, totally fun!  Dad worked and we made up our own games on the other side of the lockeroom.

Well, today is a different story for our kids!  They have too much technology to keep them busy and engaged.  What happen to getting outside and playing old games like "pickle and ghost in the graveyard"?  Totally fun and imaginative games that were played outdoors.

This is good news in my school district.  We are blessed to have received a grant for CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health).  It will not only emcompass the physical but the nutritional value that we must educate our youth to get up and move and eat right.  If we, as educators don't take a stand, who will?  Parents are busy with either working many jobs or our searching for one.  They need our help to educate their children on how to eat right so, they can outlive their parents.

This is the program and I am such a strong believer in it, that I hope to one day be a trainer for CATCH and help spread the word.

What are you doing to help your family, your community?  Get up and move to shake things up a bit.

Rock on!

Teachers!

Teachers, have you ever heard that you have an easy job?  I mean, come on, we get three months off a year plus the holidays.  I mean, let's face it, you relax during those times, don't you?

Let's tell the public the truth.  We need to not only educate our youth, but we have to let their parents know what we do during our down time. 

If you're a classroom teacher and you have 25 students, I bet you could have fun figuring out how many papers you grade in the course of 9 months.  How many special projects you grade, how many parent contacts you make, phone calls included during the day. Special requirements during the day from your building principal, extra duty either before or after school, organizing them all during the day and take that times 25 times and then some.

Your job isn't finished when you get home, you have a family to take care of , too. Take your kids to practices, lessons, maybe you have meetings to attend because you're involved in your community so, you attend those meetings, then come home to grade more papers and put those grades into the computer. 

I can only speak for myself but during my "down time", I am planning for the next lesson, looking for grants, reading new approaches on fantastic games and activities to engage my students during their physical education classes. Put those grades into the computer, did I mention, that is for 500 students with four different areas of grading.

No, I am not complaining, I love my choice of work, I picked it back when I was seven years old!  You see, I come from a teaching family.  I saw how my parents took interests in other parents kids, I saw the guidance that was happening in my own home, when those "kids" stopped by to talk with them.  To this day, I have people stop me on the street to ask how my parents are doing and then they tell me a story about them, back in their school days.

So, take those comments, that teachers have it easy and just remember how many things you do during the day and then some and just remember, how many lives you are touching!  Hold your head up high and repeat, I am a teacher, I am a teacher and I love it.

Down time?  Good teachers are always looking for new challenges for their students and themselves....down time to us, is creative time for our students.

High Fives, everyone.

What's Next?

Create a log book!  Make it yours, place pictures of yourself doing your fav things!  Make notes, write down your dreams, make it colorful -this way it draws you in! You want to do take action to make things happen that are in the log book.

Gather your thoughts, put on some of your favorite music and get started. Find magazine articles, internet articles that inspire you to create your own dream for your log book!

Life experiences are great, go through them, then move on to the next one. Find your "fire", find your passion, I know it's an overused word but it's so true. What makes you get up in the morning, ready to go. You must find that "thing" that makes you exicted, makes you want to create, makes you think, engages you and then takes you away.

Remember when you were a kid and when you were having a great time, that time just flew by. Don't you wish your work was like that?  It can be, go out and find it.

Let me know.

High Fives, Everyone.

Motivation!

Have you ever wondered how to motivate yourself? Do you get stuck in one place and it seems you cannot move forward?

Well, how do you get out of this mode?

You need to try something new, something that will not only challenge you physically but mentally. Get out of your comfort zone, do it afraid. You'll be amazed at your first step.

But what if you're afraid to take that first step? Then tell a friend, co-worker or your boss what you what to do, then step out. You'll have support and guidance there to help you along the way.

What are you afraid of? If you don't take that first step, you are living your life on the "what if's".

Go ahead, step out and watch what happens!

Go For It!