I am having trouble this evening thinking about a topic to write about, so I decided to just write some thoughts and see what comes out.

Anxious children – we seem to have a few children who are demonstrating anxiety about school or other life issues. This is a very serious topic, and one that could be a topic of many blogs. Families and school personnel can work together to help these children become more resilient and handle the challenges that school and life brings. Patience, loving kindness and support will all help to ensure that all children can be successful here at Cleveland.

Playlists – What’s on your playlist? For the winter break, I went and did a bit of driving (5000 km in 2 weeks – with some golf too). Prior to the trip, I made several playlists, some of which included songs that I had not really paid to much attention to. I still like my Neil Young, Tom Waits or Peter Gabriel, but I enjoyed listening to songs from Armistice (Cry City Lights), Okkervil River (Unless It Kicks), Black Mountain (No Satisfaction) and moe. (Okayalright).

Litter – We have a lot of litter, and we have asked the students for help. We have some garbageless lunches coming up. Please talk about litter with your children and try and help us make this is a litter-free playground.

My French – I think it is getting better, but I still have a ways to go. I have been able to help children with their French work recently, and I am trying to spend time listening to lessons on grammar and verbs.

The start of our day – At the start of our school day today, the sun was shinning and lit up one of our cedar trees (see photo).

Doodling – Have you ever sat in a meeting and started to doodle? Many people think that you are not paying attention. One researcher (Sunni Brown) says that doodling is good for learning. Listen to her TED Talk – Doodlers, Unite.

I know hear one of our evening rental groups coming in to use the gym. That may be a sign that my day has been long enough, and it is time to go home.

Take care.