Fun on the Beach!!

I just returned from a wonderful vacation with my family! We spent one week on the beach in Florida prior to going to Disney World. WOW! We had FUN! It was a great week spent with my wife and children!

While on the beach, I was reminded of several things to include:

1. Playing in the "big" waves is fun for a while, but then we must move to the shallow area to continue the process! Thus, being a part of the "small stuff (waves)" is what it is all about. Being in a more calm and relaxed environment is conducive to the needs of our children.

2. Providing a safe and secure environment is vitally important to our children. My children wanted either Mommy or Daddy (or both) to be in the water with them making sure that they were safe and secure as they drifted in the deeper waters. That is the way it is in life--parents need to be their to provide security for their children.

3. Building sandcastles and playing in the sand is huge to our children . Letting "my hair down" and playing with my children was important to them. They enjoyed having quality time with Mom and Dad.

How about you? What little things are you doing to provide a FUN, safe, and secure environment for your children? What "small stuff" are you doing with your children in order to provide quality time with them?

"Spring Fever!"

This is an exciting time of the year for all of us. And for our children, it is even more exciting! They can see "light at the end of the tunnel" as far as this school year goes!! Their excited behaviors can be trying to all of us! As I am traveling to different schools during this month of May, I constantly hear from teachers, "this time of year is very stressful and full of excitement." Even though this is a stressful time, we must remember that it is full of opportunities to make a difference in the lives of our children. This posting is a reminder for all educators and parents of some things to do to help our children during this "spring fever" time.

1. Remember that our children need to see a payoff for their efforts in order to stay motivated to do the things we need them to do. Reassure them that they can successfully achieve the intended goal, and remind them of your exact expectations. Continue with your high expectations.

2. We need to remain positive! We need to remind them that we trust that they can complete the assigned tasks and then be sure to reward them for their successes! These rewards should be personal and timely.

3. We need to continue fostering a risk-taking environment in which it is okay to make mistakes. Individuals should be able to seize the moment and not worry if they make a mistake while doing so. These opportunities should be relevant, worthwhile, and purposeful.

4. Continue providing the same enriched environment that you did at the beginning and middle of the school year. Challenging our children at the appropriate level of difficulty is important. Challenges should include varying degrees of difficulty, variation in the time required to complete tasks and projects, and variation in the amount of support given by the leader.

5. Have FUN and let your children do so as well!!

As a father, I continue reminding myself of the opportunities that are available for me during this "spring fever" time of the year. I ask myself, "what little things am I doing to assist my children make the best use of this time?" " What little things am I doing to enable an enriched environment that is both exciting and productive?" What little things are you doing that are making a huge difference in your child's life during this time of year? I would love to hear from you!

Extra Time

Recently, the time changed where I live in Central Indiana. The change has afforded us more daylight in the evening. Currently, it is still light outside whenever it is time for my little children to go to bed. The extra sunlight has given my family the opportunity to be outside for a much longer period of time than we were just a few months ago.

The extra time gives us the opportunity to do things for others. The extra time affords us numerous new and exciting opportunities to spend with our children. We can use this time to instill in our youth that time spent together on mutually acceptable activities improves our attitude. We have the opportunity, through our actions, to teach our children that attitude is how we view each and every opportunity afforded us. Charles Swindoll reminds us that we cannot change what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to it. We can use the extra time in the evening to spend quality time with our children that will ultimately assist us in teaching our children to make the best of all situations.

With this extra family time, we need to set positive examples. Our actions speak louder than our words. New research reveals that emotional states are contagious. Our social brain harmonizes itself in relation to the state of the person with whom we are interacting. Based on this research, we need to remain positive and set examples whenever we are playing and interacting with our children. We have the opportunity to use this extra time to assist our children in developing positive attitudes!

So, how about you? Are you using this extra time to spend quality time with your children? Are you doing the little things that make a difference in their lives? I would love to hear examples of what you are doing with your children to set positive examples!

March Madness

"March Madness" is an exciting time of the year! Many people watched the college basketball tournament and cheered for their favorite teams! Not only is March a great time to follow college basketball, but also a wonderful time to think about the success of a team whether it be a family, an organization, a school, or a company.

Most people agree that a team is a group of individuals working interdependently toward a common goal for which members are mutually accountable. Unfortunately, whenever a person mentions the "individual" element, he or she is quickly reminded that the individual's identity must be suppressed for the good of the team. Thus the phrase, "There is no I in team.

What we must remember is the unique individuals who make up the collective teams in all facets of life, including families. Each person is unique, learns differently, is motivated differently, and possesses his or her own attributes. To get individuals to work interdependently, the uniqueness possessed by each human being must be recognized. If the "I" is missing in the team, the team does not really exist.

As you reflect on your "March Madness" experience, please remember the importance of each unique person that is part of "your team." Please treat each person as the unique person that he or she is and you will find the overall success of the team improve. What are you doing to support each person on your team? Please share examples of how you treat each person as a unique individual.

Changing of the Seasons!

This has been a harsh winter in Central Indiana. We have had several severe cold days and numerous days of snow and/or freezing rain. Children have been inside more than most winters and, according to most adults you talk with, need to get outside and relieve some of their energy!

What better time to be a part of your child's life than now. Think about ALL of the things you have the opportunity to do with your child as the season changes from winter to spring and the weather begins to improve.

I encourage you to take the time to be involved in your child's play-time this spring. Think about all of the games you can play with your children that fulfill both their desire to have fun and more importantly, the opportunity to spend quality time with you!

Children are very creative and capable of deciding what activities they want to do. Instead of you, as the adult, deciding what you and your children will play, allow them to choose what they want to do with you. By empowering children to choose, you are enhancing an important skill needed to be responsible people. Unfortunately, adults normally make all of the decisions and develop all of the rules to the game. This spring gives us a new beginning and an opportunity to allow our children to be creative and make choices.

The first day of spring is today, March 20th. As I enter this season, I must remember the opportunity it affords me to spend quality time with my children outdoors enjoying "Mother Nature." Also, I need to take the time this spring to reflect on the small stuff that I could do for my children to empower them in their "family-style" choice making. What examples do you have in regards to empowering your children? What fun activities have your children convinced you to participate in with them?

What's in the Backpack?

Currently, I am teaching a "Reading Across the Content Area" graduate class on Wednesday evenings. I am very fortunate having a wonderful group of teachers from across the Wabash Valley in Indiana. Last week, we were discussing the concept of schema and and how important it is to Reading, and in my opinion, in ALL learning situations. Schema is what we "bring to the table"--our prior knowledge and experiences. One of the participants from West Vigo Elementary School in Terre Haute, Indiana, shared that at her school, the staff members refer to schema as "what the students bring in their backpacks." I think that is such a neat and novel way to refer to what students bring with them to the classroom.

Last Sunday, my oldest son, Jared, wrote an article on his blog that he titled, The Sleepover. In his article, Jared shared about the weekend that my wife, children, and I visited him at his home. He points out that as the evening drew to a close and he was putting Jonah, my youngest son, to bed that the conversation that they had made him do much thinking. Jared stated, "...I thought about the past five years or so of my life and more importantly about what type of role model I've been for my siblings." It appears that he is quite aware of the importance we each play in the development of our children. Jared concluded his blog article with his thought for the week, "Everything you do in life, do it to make your future children proud."

The last few days, I have given much thought about my night class discussion concerning the "backpack" and Jared's comments about being a role model. I came to the conclusion that we should be sure our behavior is responsible--our children are watching. I have always stressed that we should model the behavior we want; not the behavior that we do not want. Our actions speak louder than our words. We need to maintain a positive attitude and demonstrate responsible behavior in everything we do.

In my last blog entitled Undercover Boss, I discussed the trust needed to develop positive relationships. Trust is a vitally important life skill. It is a virtue. We need to be able to trust, follow and learn from other people in order to succeed. We must model both trust and trustworthiness. One should be just as good as his/her word. Children respect people whom they can trust.

People with integrity are those that do what is right when other people are present. We often here that if one has integrity that he or she will do what is right when others are not around. I agree, but I also believe that peer pressure makes it much more difficult to do the right thing. It can be very difficult to do what you know is the correct thing in spite of the influence of your friends. Having good role models to emulate helps a person to distinguish between good and bad behavior while they are under the influence of their friends.

A picture is worth a thousand words. And so it is with our actions. The way we conduct ourselves leaves a lasting impression. Children will remember the way we acted long after they have forgotten what we said. We are ALL role models. We do not get to choose whether we are a role model or not.

This week has given me the opportunity to ask myself, "Have I been the role model for my children that will provide them the experiences to have a "backpack" filled with POSITIVE and APPROPRIATE life lessons? Am I filling my children's "backpacks" with the love they need to be successful in school and in life? What small stuff am I doing that makes a BIG difference in the lives of my children? How about you? Please share some of your experiences demonstrating how you have been a positive role model for your children and have provided the necessary schema affording them the opportunity to be successful. What have you been "packing" in their "backpacks?"

Undercover Boss

I normally do not watch much television. That being stated, there is a new television series that has caught my eye. It is a very interesting show that has intrigued me since the first episode. Each week, a CEO of a major company, goes undercover and "works" in various company locations performing various jobs without the employees knowing that he/she is the company boss. The individual tackles the everyday, thankless jobs that keep the company going. By doing this, the CEO is able to determine, first hand, the things that are going well, the problem areas that need attention, and at the same time, has the opportunity to become acquainted with the working staff.

In each episode, as the "boss" has gone undercover, he has been able to gain valuable information that he has taken back to the leadership team for review. From the analysis of this information, company policies have been modified, eliminated, and perfected to create a better working environment for the employees.

What has really stood out to me is the trust that has developed between the employees and the leader. When it is revealed to the employees that this person posing as a "working colleague" is really the "boss," they are amazed that he has taken the time to learn more about the grass roots of the company. At the conclusion of each episode, the "boss" summons some of the employees that he worked with to the corporate headquarters to inform them of his true identity. During this meeting, he tells them how much he appreciates what they do and how their efforts make a difference for the company. Each episode has afforded the CEO the opportunity to give something back to some of the employees based on their needs and dreams.

These "gifts" have included the opportunity to further a person's education, money to assit an employee's family situation, a trust fund to assist with an ill employee's child, an opportunity to be on a leadership task force, the opportunity to accept advancements within the company that are conducive to the employee's talents, etc. Each employee, when informed by the "boss" about the gift, becomes quite emotional and appears to feel very humbled and gracious toward the CEO. A trusting relationship has developed.

In my book, Putting the 'I' back in Team, I stress that an individual's vision for the future can be carried out if he or she has a strong sense of self-efficacy (one's "brightness" level--how good one feels about himself). Fostering self-efficacy by helping people have confidence in themselves is one of a leader's most important roles. To foster this positive feeling, leaders must first create an environment where individuals can place their trust in them. Leaders should live his or her life by doing things for others that develop a sense of friendship and confident hope.

This new show, Undercover Boss, has given several examples of giving people new hope and faith in their company leadership, but more importantly, more hope and faith in themselves. I ask myself, what am I doing to develop this confident hope in others? What small stuff am I doing that makes a BIG difference in the lives of others? How about you? Have you ever gone undercover to make a difference? Has anyone done this for you? Have you recently seized an opportunity to develop confidence in someone else? I would love to hear your results!