Dr. Elizabeth Green

Instructional Designer, Writer, and Free Spirit

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Self-care for Teachers: A Lesson from my Peach Tree

August 3, 2015 by Elizabeth 3 Comments

2010-01-01 00.00.00-312Some years the single peach tree in our garden produces so much fruit that I make enough jelly for our extended family and close friends. Other years, drought, warm winters, or a late freeze prevents the tree from bearing. Early this spring, we were delighted to see hundreds of pink blossoms turn into tiny fuzzy peaches. The bumper crop was due to the right number of cool winter nights and plenty of winter and spring rains. I counted the days until the flesh would ripen and the green fruit would morph to peach and cream, fuzzy, deliciousness. I imagined the first bite of the fully ripe fruit so juicy that the nectar would dribble down my chin. I purchased half-pint jelly jars from the local dollar store, envisioning the delight of my family and friends as we presented homemade jelly as gifts.

This year, the tree produced hundreds of peaches no larger than a golf ball. The tree dropped most of its leaves and looked sickly. I researched gardening websites to figure out what we had done wrong. Did we need more fertilizer or water? The answer was that we should have pruned some of the fruit. To be exact, we should have clipped away much of the small fruit allowing each peach six to eight inches of space on the tree. The gardening experts state that the tree cannot provide enough nutrients and water to grow the fruit the proper size. I’m concerned that our tree might not survive the remainder of the hot Texas summer and fall.
My fruit tree taught me a lesson in self-care. While I’s counterintuitive to prune and discard what looks like perfectly good fruit, sometimes I need to do so. Sometimes I do so many things that I don’t do any of them well. Pruning my schedule and my to-do list helps me focus on quality rather than quantity. What do you need to prune from your life and teaching practice?

Back to School Vision Board for Middle and High School Students

August 19, 2013 by Elizabeth Leave a Comment

 

istock climbing

Vision boards are a powerful tool to help pre-teens and teens set meaningful and achievable goals for the new school year.  The basic principles are the same for younger children creating vision board.  See my previous post, Setting Back to School Goals with a Vision Board. Adolescents are ready for abstract thinking and enjoy imagining themselves in the future, so you can have fun with this exercise and take the vision board to a higher level.

  •  Brainstorm goals for the year – such as grades, school events, how you want to dress, etc.
  • Also write goals for parts of yourself you want to develop.  True abundance is not just having more things or accomplishing more.   We are not human havings.  We are human beings.  What do you want to BE?  Do you want to be kinder, more creative ,honest, trustworthy, helpful, patient, wise?  How about more even-tempered, more relaxed, have more fun?  Write these things down.
  • Next, set some intermediate goals, such as plans for two or more years ahead – this may include plans after graduation, college or technical school.
  • Now, set at least one, big, hairy, audacious goal.  Something so large that will stretch your imagination!  It will be fun to watch this happen!
  • These goals need to involve you and what you want rather than someone else.  For example, don’t set a goal to have a certain boy or girl ask you on a date.  That is a goal for someone else.   Write goals for yourself, such as I want to spend more time with friends or make new friends.
  • Be as specific as you can for now.  If you want more time with friends, write how many more hours per week you want to spend with friends.  Instead of I want to have more fun, write how you want to have fun.  Is it sporting events, camping more, hiking or swimming?  I will write more on goal setting on a separate post.  You can update your vision board later.
  • Find or create visual representations of what you want.  Be specific.  Think through all the details including dates you want this to happen.   Cut out pictures, words, symbols from magazines or use your artistic talents to draw what you want.
  • Post the pictures on poster board, bulletin board, or make an online poster.  You might even use Pinterest to create your board.  Place your vision board somewhere you see every day, such as your locker door, bedroom, or near your toothbrush.
  • Write dates of when you want to achieve your goals next to your picture or symbol.

I would love to have pictures of your vision board to post in this community.

Setting Back to School Goals with a Vision Board

August 16, 2013 by Elizabeth Leave a Comment

Bulletin board

One of the best ways to help children and teens start the year right, is to take some time to set goals using a vision board.  To manifest a peace and success, we need some time to think about what we want.  I am sharing how to do this with young children to upper elementary age children in this post.  Tomorrow, I will share how to do this with teens.

  1. Set aside some quiet time to do this activity without the distraction of television or other media.  It is great to do this with siblings or a small group of children, as they can share ideas about what they want for the new school year and stimulate creativity.
  2. Ask children what they want for this school year.  This may include making certain grades or marks, reaching goals in sports, or participating in activities such as choir or even an item such as a skateboard or bicycle.  Children will write down their ideas.  For young children, the parent or teacher may record the answers for them.
  3. Share the idea that abundance can also mean what we are, as well as what we have or achieve.  Perhaps we want to be kinder to others, raise money for a cause, or share more.  As children begin to talk about their dreams, record the ideas and introduce the concept that we can make a vision board to help us achieve our dreams.
  4. When we develop a vision board, we use symbols to represent what we want.  The board can be a bulletin board, magnetic marker board, or as simple as cardboard or paper.  Cut out pictures, words, symbols to represent what we want.  Children may also draw pictures of vision board items.  This is even more powerful.  Add these to the board.
  5. Ask children to be specific.  If we want a bicycle, note the color, style of seat, and any other details.  Note when we want to achieve our vision.  If we want to make the A-B honor roll, note which grading periods.  If we simply want to be on the honor roll, this may not be until the last grading or marking period.  We need to write, I want to make the A-B honor roll every grading period this school year. 
  6. Ask children to make one really big goal for the year that seems impossible, something that will really stretch their imaginations.
  7. Post the vision board in a place the child will see every day.  Some ideas include inside the locker door or in the child’s bedroom.  Seeing the board every day will remind students of their goals. 
  8.  Observe the Law of Attraction work for children as well as adults.

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Hi! I'm Elizabeth. ...a researcher, educator, instructional designer, writer, mom, activist, and optimist, and this is my personal blog.  I mostly write about educational issues, but can get sidetracked into issues that I find interesting or timely.   Disclaimer This is my personal … Read More...

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Hi! I'm Elizabeth. ...a researcher, educator, instructional designer, writer, mom, activist, and optimist, and this is my personal blog.  I mostly write about educational issues, but can get … Read More...

From the Blog

  • Experiencing Shame and Compassion
  • Leaving Shame Behind
  • Avoiding Burnout – Getting Real About Your Schedule
  • Self-care for Teachers: A Lesson from my Peach Tree
  • Insist on Educational Excellence

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