It's Summer!

I must admit I was a little saddened at having to take down the Independence Day decor at our place.  I absolutely adore all things Americana... with Old Glory at the pinnacle of my adoration.  Heck, my wedding was on Flag Day and was decked out in red-white-and blue!!  (This is not my house but I soo wish it were!)

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As soon as the bunting, wreaths, flags and banners came down I couldn't stop staring at the emptiness.  It was as if all the cheer had left the building!  In fact, it felt a little like the day after all of the Christmas decorations are packed away.  Sad.

To fill the hole left by loss, I spent about an hour making a new banner with items found around the house.  Pulling out the Cricut, and gathering my scissors and glue, I produced a banner in the spirit of the movie Frozen.

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That's right!  As if the world isn't already on a Frozen overload (I know at the mere mention of the movie's title everyone belts out "Let it Go!" in their own heads), here is another way to continue the magic!  I mean, it IS summer... right?!

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I gave the activity an academic twist by getting my soon-to-be-five-year-old involved.  I had three colors of bright card stock and asked her to create a pattern.  Together, we came up with the orange-green-pink pattern.  She loved it, especially since I told her it was to help get her ready for kindergarten.  She can hardly wait for kindergarten.

I cut the 8 1/2 by 11 inch bright paper in half and set it aside.  Then, I cut 5-inch letters from card stock using a Cricut.  The kids and I went to Google Images and looked for pictures of Olaf we thought were cute and of good quality.  We printed two to flank our banner.  Once everything was prepped, we glued our letters and images to the bright card stock.  Finally, we punched holes in the top of the flags, laced them onto a string and hung it in our window. Oh, and pay no attention to the nails from the previous banner.

Wallah!  The house now sports a bit of seasonal cheer and we can celebrate the rest of SUMMER!!!  (Yes, I do know you are now singing that tune in your head.)

FREEDOM!!!!!

 

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Mel Gibson as William Wallace is looping through my brain as I listen to media chit-chat.  Does our  American society understand freedom does not guarantee protection and safety?  Freedom is risky!


Thomas Jefferson had some thoughts on freedom.

He said,

"Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem."  

The translation? 

"I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude."

Heavy....     (Want to read Jefferson's words in the context he offered them?  Go here.)

I hope our country considers the repercussions of the legislation our administration is examining and has passed lately.  I believe so much of our country cares only about themselves or doing what is "in" at the time.  How tragic!  Constantly citing Europe as the gold standard for what we should be striving,  concerns me.  I am confident the majority of Americans do not know what it means to be American.

Freedom is messy.  Freedom is about sacrifice... about denying self for what is right.  Is it possible to be harmed in the process?  Yes.

Would you want it any other way?

Make it Work!

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I absolutely LOVE Project Runway. Seriously, the show is the highlight of my week. Not only does it showcase some of the most incredibly talented people but it pushes those talents to do more than even they believed they could.

I often wonder what a similar concept would look like in the field of education. Perhaps teachers would design lessons that would pull students out of the classroom and place them in unique situations and settings. Perhaps the lessons would look more like problem based learning with students designing the learning based on a topic, question, concept or challenge posed by the teacher. Perhaps there would be deep engagement and on-task behavior on the part of students rather than frustration and resentment. Perhaps teachers would experience feelings of fulfillment over their career choice rather than feelings of doubt.

Rather than more accountability, standardized tests, and legislation education could benefit from Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn issuing a challenge to help it move to the next level. Who knows, for the first time education might just be in rather than out!