Week one was nothing less than amazing! I absolutely loved seeing our kids, and I loved watching you do what you do so well. We are off to a great start helping our kids love well, lead well and learn well. At our assembly on Wednesday, I shared the music video "Roar" by Katy Perry (on last week's blog). Midway through the song, the kids were singing along and smiling. After the song, we talked about how this applies to our school. They talked about "Having the eye of a Tiger", and the line, "I am a champion". We talked about how we "ROAR". We discussed that our actions, the way we treat others, our words and our work ethic all "roar" who we are and what we stand for. It is moments like Wednesday morning with our kids that make me so proud of what we do at Parma Elementary. Call our answering machine at school. You will hear Drew let anyone who calls us know that we are leaders, and that "We are champions, and you are going to hear us roar."

The following is a post I read early in the summer and have thought so much about how we teach these lessons to our students. Please read the post and consider how we can encourage our students to consider whether or not they have loved well, led well and learned well every day. How can we get our students to question this and be aware of how they have given to and cared for others as well as how they have learned and led? Could we ask, "Did you love well this weekend"; "Were you a good leader at your sleepover"; "Were you a leader at your game, how did you treat your opponent?"; "How did you help your parents last night, did you do some chores without being asked?"; "Did you read, wonder, seek more information on something this week?" I want them to become aware of loving well, learning well, and leading well. This can happen if we are asking the right questions and helping them think about it.

Why “Did You Have Fun?” is the Wrong Question

by LAURA on AUGUST 19, 2012

*************

Sweaty heads and dirty feet tumbled into the car after an evening last week at BHJ Girl’s Home in SE Asia. And we waved goodbye out the window as the gate was closed behind us, and I asked my three kids in the backseat, “Well, did you have fun?”

And, immediately, my son started in– “I didn’t like the food. And they wouldn’t play with me much. And I didn’t get to play soccer. And thosedogs were there.” {I assumed that was a “no.”}

Deflate Mother-Dreams-of-Kids-Serving-the-World Balloon.

But, then, I asked {well, fired-back} a different question, “Well, did you love well?”

Pause.

“Wellllll, not really,” admitted one.

“I think I did. I helped with the dishes and played with Yada a lot,” said another.

“I totally did,” claimed the 4-year-old who just figured that “yes” was a better answer.

Drop Parenting-Revelation-Bomb.

Because every time my kids have gotten in the car after soccer practice or a school day, a playdate with friends or even a night spent with impoverished girls in SE Asia, my default question has always been about their own personal fun. I’m typically asking, first, about their good time, the friends they hung out with, the general awesomeness of the event itself.

And, ultimately, though subtly, I fear I’m communicating that their pleasure should be the focus of hours spent with others. And is that, really, what I want to be teaching my kids–

That if their _____{insert activity here}_____ wasn’t “fun,” then it was a waste, a thing to complain about on the car ride home?

Cue Mom’s New Brilliant-Master-Plan.

My kids will be getting a different question from now on when they plop their taekwondo belts or their book bags or their soccer cleats into the backseat. I’ll be asking first, “How’d you love?” {or some non-cheezy-version of the same type of ask}.

Because shouldn’t our default be more about what we gave, than what we got?

And if we really believe that, shouldn’t the questions we ask our kids reflect it?

*****************

What’s the default question you ask after an event? How do you shift your kids from being self-focused to others-focused? Uh, how do you shift yourself?

Questions to consider every day:

Have you loved well today?

Have you learned well today?
Have you led well today?

Articles Worth Reading:

Super Powered Attention Getters - Love this idea for getting students' attention....Knock Knock....

Back to School with Ipads - shared by Miriam Sailers

Online Timers - shared by @mattbgomez

Reasoning about multiplication and division -

Math game for learning numbers - shared by @davidfifeVP

Free Educational Apps for Kids - shared by @quirkymommasite

Videos Worth Watching:

Have you LOVED Well Today? Sweet Lorraine - Sure to make you smile and cry....go ahead, try not to!