Teaching Conference Task: Bring Inspirational Quotes

I am attending a teaching conference tomorrow about positive engagement tomorrow. We received an email today saying that we should bring inspirational quotes for an activity we will be doing. We are also encouraged to bring copies for our tablemates. Here is the list I quickly compiled this morning...meaning most of them were saved to my various Pinterest boards.

I just wanted to share some of the quotes I enjoy. Please feel free to post some of the quotes you find inspirational. I will post more about what these were used for at the conference and more about the conference later.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. –Aristotle

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.  –Dale Carnegie

A ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. –William Shedd

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. –Dr. Suess

Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s a great balancing act. –Dr. Seuss

Either you run the day, or the day runs you. –Jim Rohn

You can never be overdressed or overeducated. –Oscar Wilde

Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together. –Liz Taylor

Why worry? If you’ve done the very best you can, worrying won’t make it any better. –Walt Disney

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. –Winnie the Pooh

What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create. –Buddha

We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.       –Carlos Castenada

You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine. –John C. Maxwell 

-Miss Kapua 

Valentine's Day Mail

This year for Valentine's Day, I set up all the supplies to make valentines in our writing center. Last week, the children created their own valentine holders to hang on the door. Throughout the week of Valentine's Day, the children were able to make and deliver valentines for their friends. 

Valentine Holders: 

The children painted a paper plate for their holder. I cut out the letters on different colors of paper to spell each child's name. They had to look for the letters to make their name. They were also given valentine stickers to decorate it. 

Children decorating their valentine holders.

The children loved making and delivering valentines. I supplied them with letter cut outs, valentine stickers, valentine stamps, colored masking tape, heart print duck tape, scissors, and pencils. Many hours were spent this week making valentines. I will definitely be doing this again next year. 

Bonus: I got to make valentines and surprise the children with them in their holders. The children insisted that I make and hang a holder so they could make me some too. How sweet are my kiddos?!

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Miss Kapua 

Book Review: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

The second book I read for the 2015 reading challenge was Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan. It is a fiction novel following New Yorker Rachel and her crazy rich boyfriend, Nick. Nick takes Rachel to his home town in Singapore for a friend’s wedding where Rachel learns just how crazy rich her boyfriend’s family is. This novel is the epitome of the “mo’ money, mo’ problems” mantra as it paints a picture of how the high-society socialites live.

I was definitely wowed by this debut novel from Kevin Kwan. I couldn’t put this book down. It was very funny and I loved how he made footnotes to explain certain words, places, people, or anything that needed a bit more of an explanation. I found that the footnotes added more humor to the story. Some of the footnotes were rather long and I just skimmed those, but for the most part they were helpful. I was entertained throughout the entire story, but I was really emotionally drawn in towards the end.

I would absolutely recommend this book to someone looking for a funny read. I loved reading this book at the beach and on the bus ride to and from work. I am looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation of this book as well as Kevin Kwan’s next novel. 

-Miss Kapua 

Book Reveiw: The Right Fit by Kay Albrecht

I decided to start off my reading challenge by reading a book for my professional development. I am at the point in my career where I am finding it necessary to find resources to assist me with certain aspects of my new position as preschool director. The biggest challenge of the job? Staffing! I thought this book would be a good way to start off the book challenge...boy, was I wrong!

Don't get me wrong, this book shed some light on things I was guilty of doing (*ahem* warm-body syndrome anyone? *ahem*) but it was not a good way to start off my challenge. Note to self: do not start off a reading challenge with a professional development book. I did get to mark my non-fiction book off the list though.

Now for the review...

The book was a short read and provided a lot of information about how to choose the right teacher when going through the hiring process. There were a few samples of how to organize and compare information on different candidates throughout the interview process. This is definitely something that I will be doing when I am conducting another round of interviews. There was also a list of great questions to ask during interviews.

What I really liked about this book was that it gave information about all different stages of staffing, from interviewing to performance reviews.

Recommendation: Yes, to new preschool directors!

-Miss Kapua