Thursday, January 31, 2013

February Challenge

I hate February.  No, not because of past horrific Valentine's Days (and honestly, who doesn't have at least one war wound from that holiday?).  I hate it because it is supposed to be the shortest month of the year, but it drags on and on.  I have had enough winter and and am ready for spring, and yet here is February standing right in the way.  This year I am determined to have a better February.  My goal is to have an inspired February, instead of a cold, bleak, interminable February.  To that end, I am going to comment every day on this post with a positive of the day.  For those that know me well, you know this is a bit of a shake up for me.  But February calls for drastic measures.  I challenge anyone who reads this to join in.  Together we might all just end up with a pretty good looking month.

35 comments:

  1. Feb. 1 - Substitution. Not a single algebra student likes substitution at first, but the joy is that so many look back on it fondly. Mostly because it proved once and for all that algebra is not impossible, it just requires an insane attention to detail. That and hearing about how Mr. Miller can still solve a linear system with the best of them made my day.

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  2. Feb. 2 - Speech. Had a great time at the Aurora Speech Meet today. I saw several students really break out of their shells and give an amazing performance. I am always inspired by their courage to put themselves out there and take the risk to be awesome.

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  3. Feb. 3 - Friends. I received a really nice message from a childhood friend today. He messaged all the teachers he was friends with on Facebook thanking them for all they do. On this Super Bowl Sunday he was thinking about how many cities spend tax dollars on their teams and he would rather see that money spent on education. It is amazing how a simple message of thanks to those in your life will make their day, if not their week.

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  4. Feb. 4 - Will Grayson, Will Grayson. A high school student who volunteers at the museum gave my wife 2 John Green books to read. This student is a huge John Green fan and wanted to share with my wife the experience. Anyway, since my wife was in the middle of another book I picked up Will Grayson, Will Grayson. It is a great read. The premise is that a kid named Will Grayson finds by chance another kid named Will Grayson and the book is how their stories unfold. What made me love this book is that at first you think it is just teenage drama and silly infatuations, but really it is about best friends and the impact they have on you. Overall, a great story with a great ending. Read it.

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  5. Feb. 5 - Museum Fundraiser. Really this is a bit of a cheat because the fundraiser was yesterday, but the final total came in after I was in bed so I'm counting it for today. Huge congrats to my wife and the fundraising committee who put on a great event last night that raised almost $10,000 for the museum. I am so proud of what she does and all the hard work she puts into that place. It is really great when the community turns out and supports their mission.

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  6. Reading all of this has really brightened up my day and I am glad that you are doing this thread!

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  7. Feb. 6 - The little things. Today a student commented that he would love to be just 1/4 as positive as me. When I think of positive people the first thing that comes to mind is the saccharine image of POSITIVE PEOPLE who ALWAYS use smiley faces :). And that is so not me. So I guess I am the atypical positive person. Having someone recognize this and comment in an off-hand way made my day. Thanks for the little things. Mental note - be sure to say something nice to someone else so that they have that experience too - but no smiley face emoticons, thank-you very much.

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  8. Feb. 7 - Khan Academy. Today I rediscovered Khan Academy with the help of Mr. Stahl. I was inspired by this site just over a year ago, but like so many cool things on the web, I sign up and then drop out. Today I am setting up my account to be a coach and my students will have the opportunity to work through units for bonus (yes more bonus - be sure to ask!). I can't wait to see some students use this tool to get better at math.

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  9. Feb. 8 - Fridays. After a long week, very little can top a Friday. Today was no exception. So thankful for a few days off with my family.

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  10. Feb. 9 - Fixing Things. My father taught me at a very early age that being able to fix things around the house was a very valuable skill. He used to call it the high price of being poor - but I now know the huge satisfaction that comes from being able to bring something back to life. This weekend I replaced the heating element in our dryer. For just the cost of the heating element I was able to bring our dryer back to life. Thanks dad for all you taught me.

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  11. Feb. 10 - Legos. Today my daughter and I spent some quality time putting together a model of the solar system using legos (sans Pluto, don't even get me started on that). The model is kind of to scale - the sun is much too small and the first four planets are a bit bunched up, but the basic idea is there. I was reminded of how much I enjoy playing with Legos. As a kid, these were my go to toy. I never had a lot of toys, but I did have quite a Lego collection. I spent countless hours building things. Today that joy was brought back. Simon even got in on the action. The finished model can be seen here: http://instagram.com/p/VkmqQYD8Yt/

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  12. The legos solar system is really cool I would have never though to make it out of legos.

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    1. It was my daughter's idea actually. She really is a genius.

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  13. Feb. 11 - Indie Rock - I haven't really enjoyed the radio since the late 90's. I can't say the music was bad - that is a bit too judgmental, even for me - but I can honestly say I just didn't get it. But lately I have really enjoyed pop music again. At the risk of over analyzing, I think it is because so much of it reminds me of the music I loved when I was in high school. Whatever the reason, I am so glad I can turn on the radio and enjoy the music, even sing along sometimes.

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  14. Feb. 12 - My kids. Both Willa and Simon impressed me with what they did at school. Simon played paleontologist with play dough. His teacher put "bones" (an assortment of items found around the room) into his play dough and he worked on digging them out. Willa faced an unfortunate situation with poise and confidence. I would give more details, but she would kill me if I did. regardless, I am very proud of how she handled what could have been a very bad situation and came out a much better person.

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  15. Feb. 13 - Learning. I love watching a student learn by doing. In computer class today there were several "Aha!" moments (another exclamation point, they are really creeping into my writing). As a teacher there are few things better than seeing your students really grasp a concept and then do something with it. Especially if they have struggled a bit before, it makes the learning that much sweeter.

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  16. Feb. 14 - My Wife. I am so luck to have someone in my life as awesome as her. Not only did she make this day great, she was quite all right with our mediocre supper of Runza. We ate on the couch (not real common for us) and watched Hugo with the kids. A great movie and a great night with the family. Hope everyone else had a good day too.

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  17. Feb. 15 - Algebra. Both in Alg. 1 and Pre-Calc we have been doing some serious algebra (on 2 different levels of course). I have been quite pleased with the growth of all my students. It is awesome to see a student go from struggling with a concept to being comfortable with it. I love algebra and I love to see students begin to appreciate how much they can do with it.

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    1. I just had a former student stop by and tell me that all the tears in pre-calc were worth it because her college algebra class was all review. Said it before, but I'll say it again - I love algebra.

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  18. Feb. 16 - My Wife (again I know but she is just that awesome) - So I spent most of today moping around because my stomach hurts. My wife had to work all day and so I watched the kids and did as little as possible, including a big nap all afternoon. After working all day, my wonderful wife came home and made supper for us and took care of me and the kids. I am super luck to have her.

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  19. Feb. 17 - DuoLingo. If you haven't read my Captcha post do so. I downloaded the DuoLingo app and must say it is really cool. As my stomach still hurts, I spent a significant amount of time reviewing my Spanish skills on the couch. It is a great way to learn a language - fun and educational. All you taking Spanish should totally have this on your phone and/or ipod as well as go to the website on your computer.

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  20. Feb. 18 - The Circus. I so lucked out with my daughter. Her good friend invited her to go to the circus. I am not at all a fan of the circus and so she was able to go without her boring parents. She had a blast. She rode an elephant and a pony, got her face painted, and bought a pretty cool light up magic wand.

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  21. Feb. 19 - New Clothes. Who doesn't love new clothes? Last night Simon and I bought a new shirt and hoodie for him. This morning he was out of bed and dressed way before his normal time. He is usually a bear in the morning, but this morning he was so excited to wear his new clothes it was smooth sailing.

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  22. Feb. 21 - Snow Day. A snow day is such a gift. It is a day off that is unplanned and thus must be spent enjoying the time with your family. Today was no exception. Hope everyone was safe and warm for theirs.

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  23. Feb. 22 - NetFlix. We don't pay for TV, but we do have NetFlix. On a snow day like today, it has been really nice. Right now the kids are happily watching The Lorax. Earlier today they watched Phineas and Ferb (a regular watch in this house) as well as Mr. Bean. Love being able to pick and choose your show and never worry about commercials.

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  24. Feb. 23 - Hockey. Tonight we are going to meet up with Megan's family at a Storm Hockey game in Kearney. We are not big into sports, but this really is good fun. We are still unsure of what icing is or how all the penalties work, but it is fun to see all the kids skating around. Not to mention all the crazy things they do during halftime.

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  25. Feb. 24 - Sunshine. One of my favorite parts of Spring is the lengthening of the days. About this time every year you really notice that the days are getting longer. Nothing makes me happier than a good dose of sunshine, and right about now I really need it. Thank God for the sunshine.

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  26. Feb. 25 - Birds. Today as I dropped Simon off at daycare I was surprised to hear a flock of birds chirping away in a pine tree. It wasn't the first time I have heard birds this month, but it really struck me that winter is almost over. Spring is coming soon. I am so ready. . .

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  27. Feb. 26 - My commute. Almost every day I take Simon to the babysitter before school and pick him up after school. The 20 minutes we spend together every day are priceless. Most often in the morning we just listen to music (his favorite this week has been Mumford and Sons) and then in the afternoon we talk about his day. I will sorely miss these times when he is in school and I don't get to spend that time together with him.

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  28. Feb. 27 - Family. Just when you think you have your family figured out, they go and surprise you. It is looking like our Easter will include more family than we first thought. I am looking forward to some good times.

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  29. Feb. 28 - The end of February. All in all, this was a pretty good February. Having said that, I am still very thankful it is over. We have survived another one and Spring is almost here. Here's to a great March.

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  30. Mr Sharp that was so cool. I'm doing this every February now! Maybe you should make this viral, and have it be a national thing to really think of what you are grateful for each and every day. Im just disappointed that you didn't have a day completely dedicated to me. Much sadness.

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  31. i love how positive you stayed though your most hated month. this is a really good idea to do for my most hated month!

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  32. There are good months and bad months but you just have to stay strong and stay positive. The year 2013 is just off to a bad start every month something has gone wrong but i just have to stay strong and deal with it and not take others down with me. I can honestly say that January and February and my most two hated months and i think i hate February more so your not alone. On the bright side February is over and lets hope things go better.

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