Good Thing! Inspiration from a Bunch of Kindergarteners
Every Tuesday I get to be a room mom for my son Bennett’s Kindergarten class. It’s one of the highlights of my week because I love getting to see him in the classroom setting, chatting with friends, actually listening to directions and soaking in all of that knowledge like a sponge. When I initially volunteered for my Tuesday spot, those are the things I looked forward to. Most of the time, though, I’m taking a couple of kids at a time to the library so they can check out a new book to take home. What came as a little bit of surprise to me was how quickly I would love all of his classmates too! I look forward to chatting with them in the hallway on the way to the library about what they’ve been learning that day, how lunch was, who they played with at recess and whatever little tidbits they want to share about their family and life in general. I’ve gotten to know a lot of their tastes in books too so it’s fun to help them find “Pete the Cat” or something about puppies or anything “spooky” or whatever book is purple…
Bennett’s first day of Kindergarten!
It has to be bittersweet to be a teacher because I imagine it’s hard to say goodbye to these kids you end up bonding with year after year (okay, some are probably easier than others!), but then it’s Summer vacation, so… WORTH IT! No but really, I’m always in complete awe of Bennett’s Kindergarten teacher; I’ve never met a more patient person in my life. The end of day routine is always the same and every kid knows exactly what needs to be done. My favorite part of this time is when they all sit on the carpet and a few of the kids get picked to share a “good thing!” It could be anything from the day worth celebrating - maybe the snack was good, they played a new game at recess, learned to spell a new word, sang extra loud in music class, and so on. After each kid shares his/her good thing, all of the kids chant “good thing!” and it’s the cutest thing ever!
But more than being cute, it’s teaching the kids to focus on the positive. Every single day there is something good. Something worth chanting “good thing!” about. It may be small and it may not be obvious at first, but there’s always SOMETHING. I want to adopt this idea in my own family at dinnertime (and even on my blog!). I feel like we can all stand to be a little more positive at the end of our days and I’m excited to work towards shifting our mindsets and finding the good in the day-to-day.
Today my good thing is that I committed an hour to my mental health. It’s hard for us moms to put ourselves first now and then and truly focus on our own well-being. So I see it as a GOOD THING! that I set aside time to make myself a priority today.
Look out for my Good Thing posts to come and please share your own Good Thing for today in the comments! I would LOVE to read all about it!