Category Making Opportunities

Coloring Connections

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Coloring Connections

coloring with my kids.jpg

Tonight I sat and colored with my three year-old son for an hour. That’s right an hour. My other kiddos were playing secret spies and watching Nick Jr. in the other room.

As we colored my little guy talked and talked and talked.

His conversation was very revealing. He does not like purple dogs. He does like orange, blue, red, and yellow dogs. He does not like the blue that I colored the sky, but likes his Paw Patrol blue color for coloring the sky. All of the dogs he colored are named Charlie the Ranch Dog (based on the character in Ree Drummond’s books).

It was fun to just listen to him. If I stopped coloring, he would ask, “Mommy, are you taking a break? Are you done taking a break?” He wanted so badly for me to like and do the same things he was doing that it really bothered him to see me stop.

So I kept coloring.

I colored seven (7) whole pages and watched and listened while he colored on eight or nine different sheets. It was relaxing, but most of all it gave me time to create and connect with my little boy. Rarely have I taken the time to just color with him since Christmas and most of our conversations lately have been about what episode of Paw Patrol he wants to watch.

As I colored with him, I thought back to coloring with my sisters when we were young. I remember coloring in coloring books on the floor of the first house we lived in and comparing my work with my sister’s. We believed that when you stopped coloring people’s hair blue and purple and were able to color inside the lines, you were a big kid. We colored pages and pages of images. I can’t even begin to try to remember all the art we created.

As a parent, coloring dates with your children offer time to connect and talk. The conversation while coloring flows out of the crayons and into the words being shared. It is almost like the opening of the coloring book is the portal to a dimension where your kids and you can be honest and candid about what is being seen, felt, or thought. It is a quiet activity that allows for freedom of expression and for bonds to form.

Last October I had the opportunity to visit Walsworth Publishing in Marceline, Missouri. They were printing millions of copies of adult coloring books. Since my visit I can’t help but notice all of the adult coloring publications lining store shelves and endcaps. It makes me smile to think of grown men and women coloring on their lunch break or while watching the evening news. After coloring with my son tonight, I think there just might be something to this Crayola-driven craze.

As an adult, it is so important to create connections through experiences like those found in coloring. Taking time to fill in the lines with the hues of your choosing and shading in the undefined areas with colors that come straight from you gives you a greater sense of control and creativity. Making something that you are proud of is so healthy for our emotional psyche and embracing a childlike pastime brings peace to our hectic world.

Maybe you won’t run out and buy a box of colored pencils and the latest edition of stained glass coloring creations tonight, but maybe take a few moments to doodle or sketch or even just make cool shapes with the paper clips on your desk. If you have children or younger siblings create some original art of your own together.

Take some time for innocent imagination and your energy will find an intent that is pure and positive and guaranteed to add a brighter spectrum to your day.

By: Melanie A. Peters

 

 

 

 

The defintion of “fine folks”

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The definition of “fine folks”

fine folk definition

Recently our school carried out the annual battery of standardized tests. My colleague and friend Nicole sent me emails, as the tests were being conducted, to check on my emotional and mental state. Testing is stressful for teachers!

Long ago I decided to not let standardized tests get me too worked up. Yes, I worry about them and fret about the results, but I do not let anxiety overwhelm me. It only adds to the duress of my students. I simply express faith in their abilities and confidence in my coverage of all necessary topics to prepare for those evaluations.

I messaged back to Nicole that I had done my best and I was going to let God and my students do the rest. Her reply brought tears to my eyes and a swelling of my heart.

Nicole told me that I fit the definition of “fine folk” because I did the best I could with what I had. I know this sounds like a derogatory statement towards my students, but it was really a literary allusion of the greatest magnitude. fine folk book definition

Nicole and I have both taught and LOVE the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, and in Chapter 13 Scout states her belief that fine folks are people who do the best they can with what they have, no matter their race, gender, or religion. Scout’s immeasurable sense of justice has always appealed to me, and the fact that Nicole believed I was living up to that level of civility was amazing to me.

Today I want to challenge others to fulfill the definition of “fine folks” in their lives. Use what you have to the fullest of your abilities and treat all those you encounter as if they too are “fine folk.”

Appreciate all that is “fine” in your world and only the best will show itself to you in each experience and encounter.

Thank you, Nicole, for believing in me. You, too, are the finest of folk!

By: Melanie A. Peters

 

Go the direction of your own spinner

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Go the direction of your own spinner

spinner

Each year I assign a board game project to my 9th grade English class. The students are put into groups. Each group is to design a playable board game based on the short stories and vocabulary from our fiction unit.

For this assignment I provide a cardboard flat box, note cards (cut in half), one long-pronged brad (to make a spinner), and dice. Most groups simply rely on the dice to establish player movement but some groups are daring enough to create their own spinner with the brad. Almost every group that has ever attempted the brad spinner has made their own hands and poked a hole through so that they spin around the prongs under the head of the brad. This year I had one young man who used excessive creativity. His name is Noah.

Noah turned his brad upside down and colored one of the prongs so that the player would spin the prongs already attached to the brad head. His spinner worked very well and was revolutionary to the spinner development of all our groups.

After attaining success with their spinner, Noah’s group sought to find other methods for making an exceptional version of Shoots and Ladders. Their excitement was contagious to the other groups and lead to some terrific submissions for the project.

This new method for creating a board game spinner inspired me to encourage others to use everyday things in remarkable new ways. Make the most of the things around you. Find new ways to use what has been provided for you.

Put your energy into discovering “new spinners” and you will find purpose way beyond your expectations.

By: Melanie A. Peters

“Don’t wish away your days” – Wise Words Wednesday

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“The trick to enjoy life. Don’t wish away your days waiting for better ones ahead. The grand and the simple, they are equally wonderful.” – Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Don't wish away your days

As the school year winds down, students start suffering from severe senioritis.

(Senioritis n: student’s innate desire to be a graduating senior)

Every day I find myself saying, “Don’t wish your days away.” My students just shrug me off or rudely comment back (in most cases) and do not realize that I speak from experience. I was a terrible teenager. My teen angst was almost completely self-imposed and I had no clue why I was in such a hurry to get out of high school but I was dead set on getting out of that place and away from everything that had to it. I wish I could have some of those times back and dedicate a much more positive outlook on what life had to offer. I would have gotten so much more out of high school and its lessons.

As a mom of young children, I often have to remind myself to not wish away these days. My babies are only young once.

If you are a student, parent, teacher, or struggling professional, do not wish your days away. Enjoy the simple things that are available to you now and embrace the experiences that present themselves daily.

Don’t wish your days away. You can’t get them back!

Put your energy into appreciating the now, store your cherished moments in your heart, and you will find that your purpose and intentions will have a much grander meaning.

By: Melanie A. Peters

 

Growin’ Green Grass

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Growin’ Green Grass

“The grass is greener where you water it.”

Growin Green Grass (5)1.jpg

As the perpetual optimist, this quote is ideal for my blogging pursuits, but it also makes me think of the not-so-green times.

Yes, happiness rained down equals greater (a.k.a. greener) times but what about the times when tears rain down? Or when the fertilizer gets too deep?

“The grass is greener where you water it.”

Dance in the rain or say a prayer of thanksgiving for the multitude of poo. The rain and refuse serve as perfect precipitation for appreciation of the good times. Let your happiness be found in memories and knowing that opportunities to get past your current situation are there to bring you cheer.

So so in the words of JoDee Messina, “Bring on the rain.”

“The grass is greener where you water it.”

By: Melanie A. Peters

 

 

Don’t Set Yourself on Fire

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Week of Wise Words

“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.” – Unknown (but really, really wise person)

Don't Set Yourself on Fire image

Don’t set yourself on fire.

This sounds like common sense. Common sense is not always common, and, often in our attempts to help others, we overlook what we know to be right and fail to avoid the flames of over-extending ourselves.

(Most people who know me are laughing out loud right now because I am the QUEEN of over-extending. I’m working on that. 🙂 )

“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.”

The message of Intentergy is to always put your best effort into your actions. Continue reading “Don’t Set Yourself on Fire” →

Lightin’ Candles & Cursin’ Darkness

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Week of Wise Words

“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

wish candle

This week I have been inspired to share wise words of others that I think should be brought to light. Eleanor Roosevelt was a woman of intelligence and dignity. I always enjoy her advice and today’s quote is no different.

“It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.”

If you are experiencing a tough time right now. Be it illness, work, relationship or lack there of relationship issues, or financial find a candle of happiness in your heart that you can light. The warmth created from a flicker of hope can spark a wild-fire of passion and inspiration that just might be your ticket out of your current darkness. Continue reading “Lightin’ Candles & Cursin’ Darkness” →

April Showers – Refresh Your Outlook

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April Showers – Refresh Your Outlook

The month of April is known for its dramatic weather patterns. Rain storms and showers are the norm and are needed to give the growing season a boost.

For spring athletes the rain can be problematic because it causes rain delays and game postponements. Farmers who need the precipitation are frustrated by rain (after a while) because they are hampered by the mud and muck that makes fields and pastures too soggy to plant or feed OR they are out-of-sorts because there is too little precipitation to kick-start their crops. Teachers wish the rain away because their students need time outdoors to burn some energy.

Today don’t wish away those springtime showers. If you are lucky enough to have a rainy day, be grateful for the nourishing and sustaining drops that fall around you. Enjoy the pitter patter on your roof or windows. Embrace the power of the lightening and thunder.

All of these things are miracles. We would not have those May flowers, if it were not for these April showers. Refresh your outlook and look forward to the rain and all it brings.

By: Melanie A. Peters

“It ain’t over ’til it’s over”

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“It ain’t over ’til it’s over” – Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra It Aint Over.jpg

Yogi Berra was known for his baseball logic. Most of what Yogi had to say was common sense but his words always possessed an underlying lesson for athletes and philosophers alike.

“It ain’t over ’til it’s over” is a statement that applies in most any situation.

You may be down in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but there is always that chance that a run is waiting to be scored.

In our professional or educational endeavors, we may feel like it’s over, but we always have a chance to get back into the action with another swing or an assist from a teammate.

Sometimes in relationships things are over, but you are still in the game of being loved and loving someone else. Give yourself a chance to find a winning strategy for successful relationships and you will find things far from over. Mr. Berra is also known for saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” That willingness to keep trying just might land you in a relationship that exceeds your expectations and brings greater love and value to your life.

An open heart and mind keeps us in the game. Put your energy into actively focusing on the positive and your successes will definitely be outnumber your losses.

By: Melanie A. Peters

Sidewalk Chalk – the great restart

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Sidewalk chalk – the great restart

sidewalk chalk (3)

Creative expression at work

 

Sidewalk chalk is wonderful! Your drawings can be big, bold, beautiful, wacky or simple. Sidewalk chalk possesses limitless creative potential (just like you).

The chalk is enviable in its ability to blend, conceal, or brighten. The best part though is that you can always start new. Sidewalk chalk washes away with the slightest rain or a quick spray from the garden hose. It is this re-freshability that makes it the best. Often mistakes happen in our daily activities and we wish we could wash them away. Here’s the good news. Each new day is like that sidewalk chalk. Our errors and missteps fade in the night, and we get a clean slate to start with in the morning.

Today do not worry so much about the picture perfect day. Worry about missing the small details and enjoy the opportunities that are present. Go crazy with your colorful interjections. Extend your boundaries of kindness and consideration. Widen the brush stroke of the positive mark you make on those you encounter. Put your energy into a glorious intent of positivity and there is no grander picture!

By: Melanie A. Peters