My first term of school

Well, being a college student is all I thought it would be. Lots of thought provoking conversations with some great teachers, late nights doing papers and so much reading. I am being pushed outside of my comfort zone and finding challenges for myself. Finding balance has been a challenge as well, but I have finally said "no" to meetings and work commitments that I normally would have said "yes" to. I continue to seek out the proper balance as our family enters in to yet another transition of Zach's final year of high school. I am more than halfway through my first term and could not be happier!

Letting go and saying "NO"

As I embark on this "journey" of a global project for the World Forum and start back to college full-time I continue to search for the perfect balance. Trying to let go of things you used to say "yes" to is a huge challenge and difficult to do. You feel honored when people ask you to be part of a special committee and people can gain incredible experience from this type of participation. I have backed way off from saying yes for a variety of reasons. I feel the time is needed to focus on the mountains of homework that has started even before classes started! The need to continue to exercise while trying to focus on all of this is the biggest challenge.

As I embark on this college experience I feel fortunate to have found some balance...I also am feeling bitter sweet about missing out on some great meetings of the minds in the community. However, my realization is that I must keep the balance in order to be healthy and happy!

1st week of "real" homework

So my official start of school for me is next weekend. I am enrolled at Springfield College and will be a student full time as I work on my Bachelor's degree-FINALLY! I am realizing that on this crazy journey called life that there is learning curves that I am just attempting to get to the top of. One of them is learning to post assignments up before the actual class. I have read 2 books and have 11 chapters to read in another and have written 3 papers, 2 introductions (and posted them) and still have 1 longer paper to write and a project to do by next week.

The one online class I am taking is primarily reading and writing papers. It is a bit of a challenge as it is Urban Ecology and is pushing me out of my comfort zone. I am using my time wisely and am trying to balance a lot but am learning to say no.

Off to do more homework....

and then there was the end!

1,000 Sheraton employees
5,680 cups of coffee and tea
320 attendees at international dance
825 attendees at the World Forum

All-of this=an amazing experience!

We went to our closing luncheon. Food was on a huge lazy susan-it was a variety of foods. We enjoyed a great lunch and sat with author Diane Trister-Dodge at our table. We talked with her a bit about our global leaders project and she seemed genuinely interested in the work we are doing with NAFCC.

Sara and I headed out for our "Mai Tai" Catamaran cruise in the evening with 25 other world forum delegates. Claire Worden who is another author of some amazing books on nature-she was also on the cruise. There was never a shortage of friendly people to meet at the World Forum, that is for sure! Sara and I chatted with a very funny women named Sophie from Bombay. She is a real kick in the pants. We drank many mai tais and enjoyed the incredible scenery. We also met a group that were out celebrating a friends last weekend before he leaves to Afghanistan. They were in the Navy and were certainly having a great time. Sara and I departed from the boat and said good-bye to our new found friends in search of Kim and her friend Stacy who had flown in from California, after a search around our hotel. We decided to head to the international market and then stopped in at Margaritaville for.....yes...margaritas. As we are sitting there we spot Stacy and Kim on the other side of the bar and big surprise Jeff and his Navy buds were also there. We danced and sang. Made our way back to the hotel and bid farewell to Jeff. Somehow Kim and Sara got separated from Stacy and I. Good think Jeff got us back-we walked in the rain and Kim and Sara ran back.

We all reunited by the pool the next morning in hopes of soaking up a bit more sun....yeah-we just got rain and no sun! Loved learning more about Kim and Stacy and talk about our families with them. After hours of rain we headed back to the international market and ended up separated...sadly sara and I had to leave to catch our shuttle to the airport. So happy to have had the time with them though and am already trying to think of all the awesome things we can do when they come to visit!

Sara and I headed to the airport and started our long trip back to the mainland!

It has been a great trip and I look forward to sharing more about this journey as it continues in so many positive ways. I am starting school in 2 weeks and could not be more excited to start that journey with Laura!

Last days of world forum.

Thursday night was our last meeting with our global leaders, we met in our North American region and then as a whole group to hear about everyone's project. It seems that everyone's project may change a little. We did some group pics in our regional groups and the entire global leader group. Sara and I went to lunch at The cheesecake Factory which was a nice getaway from the hotel and the restaurants at the hotel. Too full for cheesecake, but a great lunch! We turned in very soon after our night meeting. Friday would be our last day of the world forum.

Friday started with some networking....I have gotten to know a woman named Chris from Nebraska who works with Nature Explore. I am so interested in learning more about what her organization does. She is awesome and I look forward to seeing her again in Miami at our regional meeting.

The final workshop I went to was on Parent Partnerships, it was interesting to hear about partnerships in Fiji and Australia. The speakers all agree that positive partnerships with parents is best for children....however, the value placed on those relationships in where they come from are different. In some of the Jamaican classrooms parents are not allowed as they are seen as a nuisance. In Australia it is highly encouraged. As a matter of fact, in Australia it is written in to their early childhood framework. In Fiji the framework is called "Manola Manticiva" meaning "children our are pearl." The other thing happening sadly in Jamaica is that children are growing up afraid to go to early childhood programs as the discipline allowed there is still hitting. It changed in K-12 classrooms but not in early childhood programs. Teacher's roles as seen by parents is to be the disciplinarian and to teach children how to conduct themselves in public. The teacher's obviously feel very bitter about this as they feel while this is their role in some aspects it is a share responsibility. Another growing issue in some areas is the growing issue of their native languages and cultures are dying. One of the speakers started school in a village over from hers, she spoke only Fijian and when she started school it was an English speaking only school. If they did not speak English they would get hit. So she hated school and just did not speak. This whole discussion was thought provoking.

Following this workshop we headed to the closing ceremony, we saw a series of dances by African dancers and a parade of international representatives. By far one of the best speakers was Lillian Katz about her new book Intellectual Emergencies. I could have listened to her all day! I took pics of a lot of her slides because i could not write fast enough and wanted to absorb as much as possible. Here are some pearls from her speech:

"There is evidence that people teach the way they remember their childhood."
"You can't begin your teaching as a veteran when becoming a new teacher."
"Teach the learner how to tell you where he is."
"Life is a series of errors in which you choose."

Lillian told us a story from when she worked in Head Start in 1965. A parent brought her son and said "Don't let my son play with a doll?" This is known as a type of intellectual emergency. She then said of course this child was naturally attracted to dress-up and babies. She observed a lab school in the Caribbean where there was a 4 year old who would not speak, the teacher like clockwork would go around everyday and offer the children crackers. She said to the little girl "You can only have 1 if you use your words." She then asked us-what would the theorists think? Lillian said to the little girl. "I know you don't want to talk to me today, but I will be over there if you change your mind." She used many examples from her son as intellectual emergencies. She said that insight is important as is the content of the relationships. Her son Steve asks her "Hey, Mom-How do you decide who to Marry?" She responded, "you have to decide whether you can continue growing in the relationship first." She said in that example to think about the content of that relationship.

Lillian was a vibrant speaker with great stories. This was a great one: "mom, does it make you feel good to have people listen?" She replied, "What if I'm wrong?" We come together to share our ideas, to argue, clarify, modify and examine is what she tells us. Her closing points for as we return to work: "Adults know more than what if feels like to be a child."

-Meaningful relationships need content. We have to relate to each other about something.

-In teaching as in life we make decisions to carry errors, we need to look ahead and choose the least worst error."

-we only have our best judgment.

-Coaching involves conflicts, we need to decide what we should make an issue of and take a stand with clarity.

-Speak to children as people with minds-genuine, direct, respectful.

-goal of education is to engage mind of learner

-optimal environment for children must be optimal for teacher and satisfying.

-Never take someones opinion or view more than your own.

-We must care to care for all.

Inspiring to say the least!

It's a beautiful life!

I titled the post as "It's a beautiful life" because we heard that song 4 times today-but I will talk about that later. The plenary sessions today were just as moving as yesterday. Michael Kelly from Zambia spoke on Children, Aids and our Priorities. Again I found the statistics and facts associated with these countries to be mind blowing! He told us that their are three diseases that people are fighting-HIV, Aids and Stigma. Two of them they can treat well with drugs, the third you can not." "Early Childhood Education is a medicine for stigma.

Amara Amarasinge from Sri Lanka also addressed the delegates of the world forum. She spoke at length of the struggles in Sri Lanka and how they are dealing with the traumas of the tsunami of 2004, landslides, flooding and a 30 year civil war. 300,000 people are displaced from homes, with 60,000 of those being children. 10,000 between the ages of 0-3 years old and 15,000 between 3-5 years old. Amara talked about the need for working with these parents as they are in extreme stress which results in abuse of children.

Ellen Hall presented each of us with her new book called Seen and Heard, a book about children's rights in early childhood education.

Over the past few days I have been to trainings on outdoor classrooms....it is brought to a whole new level in Scotland. Their children nap outside in geodomes even in the winter. They dress them up warmly even in cold temps. Children is some areas sleep in hammocks for naptime. It was inspiring and thought provoking. I have many ideas-how many I can implement will be the question as there is still the ongoing struggle to remind myself that this is my backyard shared with my family! The other workshop I attended today was on leadership styles and using those styles to recruit the talents you need. It reminded me that it is important to seek out talents different than your own in order to get a job done....big picture thinkers are needed as are the detail oriented list-makers.

Last night Sara and I attended the International dance. We had a good chuckle as we walked in. We were greeted at the door with some Black Eyed Peas blaring and they gave us beads and put glow bracelets on us. By the sounds of the music, it was going to be a good dance. We walked in and quickly saw that no one was dancing, there were chairs lining the walls. Balloons decorated the dance floor...people stood around talking for quite some time. We decided that a drink was in order first off. Well.....we repeatedly kept saying this feels like a middle school dance. I knew I came to represent....I danced like a fool for the 2 hours. A woman from Australia who had sat with us the night before at dinner said to Sara: "she's a real circus, isn't she?" "Is she a circus with children too?" Sara started laughing and could not even respond. I am going to go ahead and take that as a compliment! We perfected some dance moves-the sprinkler, shopping cart, some disco moves...it was very fun! The song It's a beautiful life seems to be the theme song of this conference. The Nature group did a beautiful video to it-some of the pics from that slideshow are in my pictures. But needless to say, they played the song 3 times during the dance. They also played some waltzes, arabian music and some other stuff that I have never heard...no worries-I danced anyway!

Tonight we met as global leaders one last time for this trip. Sara and I learned that we will need to meet with our North America group again in 1 year and at the next world forum will present our completed project. We heard what other global leaders will be tackling for issues-all sound truly wonderful and inspirational! I am looking forward to starting to gather our research and get started! Tomorrow is our last day of meetings and we have a closing reception/luncheon....it has been a fabulous week but am ready to get back to some normalcy.

Incredible people, incredible stories

This morning stared out with the plenary session with all of the world forum delegates. There were so many highlights in this 2 hours span of time. We saw some Taiko drummers that were absolutely incredible...it was amazing to watch how carefully and gracefully they executed every single move. I did not realize though how the speaker that morning was going to move me to tears. It was very unexpected since I don't tend to get emotional during a person's speech.

Sakena Yacoobi is from Afghanistan and speaks on poverty and children from Afghanistan. She encounters traumatized children in refugee camps that have not water and often have rodents and spiders where the children are sleeping. The basic needs of the children are not even being met. She works on empowering women through education on how to care for their children, she says it is not uncommon for mother's of 15 children to only have 4 that are still alive. She said through simple health education about why they should not drink dirty water and how to wash. Sakena works hard on teaching women leadership skills, health and empowerement. Naturally there is a trickle down effect that benefits the children. When women get stronger so does the family. There is no electricity in many of these areas. Sakena also spoke of the 160,000 people that also are addicted to opium. She said the rate of depression is very high. "we must work toward a long term goal to break the cycle and we do that through early education."

Another really fun thing going on here-Lakeshore Materials brought a project for all the delegates...blank white books with a ton of supplies for us to decorate and make a memory book to take home. Mark the founder and president of Lakeshore was in Hawaii with his wife to carry out this project. Some people are using their books as a place for the people they meet to leave a message. I love mine and am keeping it to make a scrap book to share.

Another thing that is being shared is that we were urged to bring a children's book for a book exchange program. I can not wait to find out what books I end up with. I shared two of my all time favorites-Miss Tizzy and The Three Questions. I hope that whomever ends up with them will see why I chose those two books!

Sara and I attended the Welcome reception , while exhausted we found it quite fun sitting with some aussies! They kept the table alive for sure!

Lei Aku,Lei Mai (Lei received, Lei Given)

Today was yet another amazing day. It was “Super Tuesday Tours”. A few weeks back we selected from 20 different tours that we could take. There were tours on how ukelele’s are made, games, indigenous people, tours of programs, and groups that built gardens at programs just to name a few. I chose to go visit Nakamale Discovery Gardens. It is a Family cooperative program. The bus ride took about an hour and the traffic in Hawaii tends to be a bit congested until we got out in to more remote areas. The mountains were incredibly green and can commonly be seen with cloud cover over the tops.

On the way to the program, we were instructed about the tradition Hawaiian greeting. We were instructed to repeat “Aloha-aaaa” a series of times followed by a chant of sorts. The morning was planned down to the minute. The other thing shared was what the greeting would be like and the meaning behind it. There is a touch of foreheads and a breath taken.

Upon arrival we were greeted by 2 girls dressed in brightly colored dresses with kei kei nut lei’s. Once we were greeted with a friendly “aloha” we moved in to an area that was a circle of palm-type trees. In that circle were some of the “elders” and representatives to greet us. As the group had been told, we were greeted with a touch of the forehead and a cheek to cheek kiss. 3 groups were formed and headed off to spend some time learning about the culture of the program and the philosophy.

Our group was a likely group and luckily for me had a few of my fellow global leaders in it. One being, Kim Nall from California. The group headed in to an area where picnic table were covered with bright green tablecloths. Fresh flowers and palms were on the table. We were given the palms and shown how to braid them with a fancy fold to them in to a headband. (maybe there is some hawaiian name for them) We put fresh flowers in them and wore them for the remainder the day. Some of us were a little more challenged with this task them others. We also got a lesson on the Kei kei nuts. They are what our leis were made out of. A lovely woman told us all the uses for this nut. Oil, a pergative (we found out that meant laxative), a spice, and even candles. We were shown what the leaves look like and how they look fresh off the trees. We changed groups and finally got to see what I had been waiting for...the discovery gardens...it was worth the wait! In Hawaiian culture it is believed that you give to the earth and the earth will give back to you. On this day it was quite rainy and this is also thought to be a blessing for the future children of the island as the rain waters the aquafor which will provide drinking water in 20 years. It is called WaiWai pronounced Vy vy...which mean "the water of life". It put new perspective on the rain situation that day. The gardens were amazing and were pristine. Guava trees, banana trees, watermelon, sugar cane and vegetables are just a few of the crops that could be found in the area. There were tunnels and many interactive areas for the children. We had a change to watch the children and teachers interact and how they run an outdoor classroom. Because it was rainy and all was very wet, they were under an sheltered area on straw mats. The children sang hawaiian songs and did fingerplays while we were there. They happily performed for us. The children attend with mothers, fathers or grandparents and come from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Following the tour of the gardens and the visit with the children, we were escorted over to wash our hands and get ready for a blessing. The blessing is a sacred time where we thank the earth and those who have prepared the food. The food provided was traditional Hawaiian food or a choice of a box lunch. While we ate we were entertained by a local native "Uncle Benny". He played his ukelele and one of the elders who is a board trustee showed us a traditional hawaiian hula dance. We continued to dance and celebrate the day-they played the electric slide and the macarena which got many people out of the chairs and moving on the dance floor! Everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly and I believe the staff, board and children were very happy to share their beautiful space with us.

I could not continue to share all the pictures so I have added a link to my facebook page where the pictures of this trip are located.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150603347125160.678216.888240159

I urge you to check them out!

All in all it was a fabulous day and I feel so lucky to have been able to check it out. Here is the website for the program we visited.
http://www.nakamalei.org/

Global Leadership

This is our US global leaders meeting to talk about challenges of our project and thinking about the trickle down effect that the U.S. in a worldly sense.

Today was again nothing short of amazing and truly awe-inspiring. The day started with the same group of 60 or so global leaders that we met yesterday...by the way, we are all becoming fast friends. I have never had a friend from Zimbabwe or Uganda. The layout of the day was the basis for the work that is to come for the global leaders. The morning worktime was spent on learning more about public policy and how to influence decision makers through using evidence based research along with studies that show the value in putting funding toward early childhood development.

The piece about advocacy that followed really sparked my thinking. We all advocate in our own way and it really made me think about what was going on at home and who was speaking and advocating on my behalf. (Thanks Elsa) We advocate for children and families, we advocate for our own child, we advocate for changes in program policies, we advocate for public pilicy changes. There are all kinds of ways we advocate-through personal stories, voting, petitions, face to face interactions and using language others understand. "You must believe change is possible and you can make a difference." Funny how a quote makes you pause and think....and how about this one..."advocates may not have all the answers, but they know what they want." The 60 of us broke up into pairs with people we did not know. I was paired with Bonita, a lovely lady from Uganda. Our task was to talk about a time we advocated....Bonita told me a story that not only made me think in context about the very different issues her region faces, but again caused me to think about the book I read on the plane called Mountains Beyond Mountains. So strange that I have been drawn to think about the similarities to what I read. It seems ironic in a weird way...but anyway-Bonita is passionate about reproductive health for women in Uganda and family planning and access to birth control that is reasonable and easy. It is a huge issue for them. Depoprovera injections were a good alternative for these women who wanted to avoid pregnancy-the larger issue was the remote areas these women live in and the difficulty of travel in order to get the shots. Allowing someone else to give the shots in the village would risk infection and unsanitary practices. Work with an anthropologist and health care officials made it possible to provide a way for women to continue to get these shots. This has been a proven technique in reducing pregnancies and has been expanded to other areas. I know that Sara had heard similar stories that she related back to me-

Sara was paired with Patrick, a young guy from Zimbabwe...he talked of how their is issues with children not being registered. After some discussion Sara discovered that this is what our birth certificate is. Only in Zimbabwe to get one, both parents have to be present and if you don't have one that you will not be allowed to go to school. This is a huge issue for them. We both learned a lot from these two individuals and find their stories and experiences enlightening, inspiring and really puts the issues we face in to perspective.

Youseff is from the Arab countries and is very worldly and knowledgable. He spoke at length about leadership to us.

Our next session or meeting time was in regards to leadership...."leadership is enabling others to face challenges and achieve results in comples conditions." From Managers who Lead. In our understanding of leadership we had to pick 2 ingredients we would need. Our list went something like this: inspire, empowerment, knowing when to stop or move, encouragement, advocate, imaginative, out-of-the-box thinker, positive role model, passionate, self-starter, visionary, can be a follower, sensitivity, delegates, open to constructive criticism, conviction and permit failure. The two most ingredients in our group are passion and empowerment.

By lunch time I would have to say most of the global leaders brains were a little mushy and were grateful for a break to reenergize themselves. Once back in our meeting room we listened to past global leaders and what they had chosen and followed through with for projects. We heard from India, Mexico, Africa, Uganda, Lebanon, Brazil and Fiji.

It was then time for us to think about our own projects and start defining what that would look like. For Sara and I, our project is loosely laid out for us as this was part of our application process. Others are just starting to create ideas and brainstorm. Sara and I met with our regional leader and reviewed the ideas, outcomes and next steps. It was a good end to the day.

On another note-it has not rained but maybe 6 times since January-guess what? Yes...it is pouring buckets...flash flood warnings and 2 inches of rain an hour. Hmmmm...did we bring it with us?

Tomorrow is called "Super Tuesday Tours". Sara is headed out to visit early childhood programs and I am headed out to visit and tour discovery gardens. I am very excited!!

Aloha

Have arrived in beautiful, breezy, sunny and magical Hawaii!  Have come in contact with only friendly, happy people...maybe it is the sun! 

I was a little jet lagged and headed to bed early on Saturday, arrival day and woke up early, found the gym and then started the most inspirational day of meeting, greeting and just absorbing the greatness and power that is surrounding me. 

I am part of a group of 60ish selected global leaders.  There are 22 from the United States, some of those 22 are from indiginous groups or soverign nations.  The others are from Bangkok, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Trinidad, Yemen and Singapore-just to name a few  of the amazing leaders here.  There was some great activities that drew us together in the morning.  We spent some time in our regional groups coming up with accomplishments and challenges in our region.  In the U.S., it is clear some of our greatest accomplishments remain our biggest challenges as we continue to deal with funding and a recession.  When the larger group came together to share it was eye-opening.  Not only are some of the challenges similar in nature-even though the U.S is clearly ahead of many other nations.  There was also the very real issues in these countries of violence against children, HIV and aids and emergency preparedness.  In the U.S. we have those issues, but not to the degree that some of these other areas deal with and have the extra element or layer to the ongoing issues. 

Last night we were at a reception...a beautiful, very jet lagged young lady from an arab country sat at my table.  We had an small group exercise-to again talk about accomplishments and challenges-keep in mind...a different mix of people.  She said a challenge is getting people to understand the importance of relations with a child.  We discussed what she meant by that-she said "the important connection a child has with the person caring for them."  WOW....it seems so simple....but really, what do relationships look like in other countries?  Not just between caregivers and children, but what about with the families, peers and government?  It raises lot of ideas and questions for me.  There is many working groups that are formed out of the work done at the World Forum.  One is "Men in early childhood."  What about those relationships?  How are they the same or different then those of women and men from other parts of the world? 

The other ironic thing that happened that has my brain sparking in lots of crazy ways.  I read the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracey Kidder on the plane.  It is a required reading for a class I am starting when I get back.  Paul Farmer who the book is about was an anthropologist/doctor who spent time in Haiti and Peru along with other countries leading movements in how medical services are delivered and his humane approach to dealing with each patient and the relationships he formed remind me in some ways of what is happening here.  There are people that are making huge differences one person at a time and inspiring each person they touch to do the same.  The World Forum has grown from 7 global leaders in the early 90's to 60ish and that does not count the 800 attendees that will be here in the next few days to attend the forum. 

Last night Sara and I were able to enjoy a walk on the beach-we were given fresh lei's by 2 teenage girls trying to raise money for their high school basketball team.  I guess you could say we were an easy sell...

So for today...lots of coffee to keep my eyes open and my mind sharp.  My mind is swirling but this is an incredible opportunity I have been given and am going to soak up every bit that I can!

5 days

5 days until I leave for the trip and opportunity of a lifetime!  I am beyond excited about the rich learning experiences I am sure I will gain!  The fact that the weather in Vermont has been so gray and wet makes going to Hawaii that much sweeter.  Lucky enough, I got some great information from Bridget about places to visit and things to see-I am thinking this will be exactly what I need the moment there is spare time.  I know there will be very little! 

I also managed in the past week to complete my registration info, my STARS application, my school district paperwork, do a heck of a lot of laundry and at least make a pile of clothing needing to be packed.  Remembered to buy sunscreen, children's book and a piece of artwork done by a child.  Am in the process of figuring out what exactly I need to bring with me in order to get the assignments done that will be due.  12 hours on a plane should be enough time to read a book and write one of the papers, right? 

All of this and still trying to get plenty of exercise in!  Was so happy to get to Shannon's thursday night class.  Good for the body and the soul!  

24 days and counting

24 days until the big journey starts-funny how i say big journey when it seems that it is just the beginning!  On April 30th my journey with the World Forum begins.  It is exciting beyond anything I have experienced thus far...maybe because it is being paid for and it feels like such a huge honor!  I have purchased 2 children's books to bring and have a piece of artwork done by a child to share and leave as part of a traveling exhibit!  I have bought some new clothing to fit my new body!  I am mentally ready!

As we face the start of Spring there are new awakenings and things happening on a daily basis.  Lacrosse has started-a new season for Dylana and Zach!  I also start school full-time very soon...all of this is bringing lots of great things and a bit of anxiety to our lives! 

I know one day we will look back on this crazy time and be glad we did it all!

moving in and out

Moving in and out....sounds crazy.  Seems like I am always floating in and out of meetings these days....all subjects I am so passionate about and important work.  I am so happy to be at the table with the groups I am contributing too! 

As time marches forward to the big trip to Hawaii a lot has been happening!

We have firmed up our space for our conference which is in September, we did a survey monkey (first time ever and so successful)  and have contacted a potential keynote.  Within all of this I have taught workshops, co-lead a retreat, attended countless meetings and will start school in 6 weeks. 

I continue to also try to balance taking care of myself and getting enough exercise-I have worked really hard to get to this place an need to embrace it!


So much to do, so little time and time is literally flying by.

I vow to keep this going throughout my trip!!!

Obsessive survey monkey

I am obsessively checking the results from our survey-I love this tool.  I love the way you can click your way to finding the results of each question.  I love that in 1 day 43 people have responded!  This tool is one that will be used again....

Venue research is up next....it seems that once a place is found all other aspects will follow!

How many journeys you ask?

Life in itself is a journey.  Where I am in my life... there are a lot of journeys all wrapped in to my being.  Sounds crazy but so true.  I think at 41, I am figuring out finally who I am, what I need, whom I want to spend time with...some things are steady in my world...my own fantastic children, my wonderful husband, my lifelong friends, my extended family.

I have ventured out on some journeys more recently that have had a combination of goals....the goal to be healthy, the goal to be active, the goal to exist without one of my children living under the same roof, the goal to prepare for the other child to fly the coop next year.  The goal to become more educated in the field that has brought me so much reward.  There are probably a million more....In this process I have met some amazing people that I am sure are now what will be life long friends.  I feel like a very wealthy person, not in the way that I have expensive cars-I don't!  or that I have fancy clothes-definitely don't! or that my house is perfect-it isn't!  I am rich because of the people in my life....in every aspect.  Each person touches my world in a way they truly may not know and I am so fortunate.


I often refer to the book "The Three Questions" By Leo Tolstoy.  I use it when reaching adults even though it is a child's picture book.  It talks about the three questions in which a boy sets out to try and answer...they are:   

"What is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all times?"

"Remember that there is only one important time and is Now. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion. The most important person is always the person with whom you are, who is right before you, for who knows if you will have dealings with any other person in the future. The most important pursuit is making that person, the one standing at you side, happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life."

My journey continues....

Ellen

surveys and other stuff

Today I learned how to use survery monkey to create a survey in preparation for the planning of our Vermont Family Child Care Conference.  My favorite part of that process (my favorite word again) was reading the questions back to my professional cohort and one of my best friends Laura and hearing her say, "You are so good at that!"

beginning stages of planning our state conference

Tonight at a training that my co-facilitator and I did we started to talk about crunch time in planning.  There is a lot of work to be done in a short amount of time for our state wide conference.  I am learning the values of our world wide web, social media and the ability to have instant contact with people.  Trying to figure out what questions we need to ask family child care providers in order to figure out what should be offered for key note speakers and presenters.  Trying to appeal to a large group and attract a good number will be the challenge.  Venue and food seems almost too easy of a task....it is the other logistics that tend to be the challenge!  Am focusing on ways of using the people I know to get what is needed and to draw on past experiences of what people have enjoyed.  Wondering how people would feel if we tied it in with quality standards or some other type of core standards????  I guess they would have to really understand why the two would be connected.
 Off to sleep on it and come up with a list of survey questions.  Dreaming of Hawaii in 8 short weeks!!
Until next time~
Ellen

What does the future hold?

I am venturing out on a new journey.  A journey that I hope will gain a few followers along the way.  I am sure that as with any journey, there will be a lot for me to learn in the process. 

Process is a word I like to use often-I use it to describe how I go about teaching young children and even parents of those children.  Describing process and the steps that go in to a process says a lot about a person's  (children and adults) development.  Out of process sometimes comes product-sometimes this is a reward from hard work.  What I hope though, is that the process will be a journey of learning to be a humble leader, a strong follower and to use my lessons learned to inspire others.

For me this process is about a \ project that was born out of a little proposal.  What has transpired since it was submitted to The National Association For Family Child Care (NAFCC) has been exciting, nerve wracking and is shaping up for what will truly be an adventure like no other .  NAFCC made the decision which proposals were forwarded to the World Global Forum for Early Care and Education.  I was informed about 2 weeks ago that I would be attending the World Forum in May, 2011...in.....wait for it.....yes, Hawaii.  This is exciting news for a native Vermont girl!

The project at this point and time will be to implement a regional conference that will use a Vermont model that is currently being developed.  There will be more details to follow about this.

For now though I will focus on the process of preparing for a trip to a new place, for a new adventure. I could not be more excited!
Until next time....
Ellen