Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

Where have I been???!!!??? I have been lost and trying to find my blogging heart again. If I really think about it, I have really not blogged much this year. I am sure I could come up and share with you oodles and oodles of excuses to help explain WHY I have not blogged but excuses only help one to understand a problem....they do not make the problem go away...for that problem to go away, you need to take action and make a commitment.

Do you know people who make excuses for a child's behavior or even their own behavior?

Do you think there are excuses for a person's behavior?

The last month of school I heard this phrase often....I even said it myself once!!!!

We have been in school 167 days! You should know how to walk down the hall quietly by now!!!

or

I just don't understand why you cannot sit still and on your bottom when you have been doing it ALL YEAR long!

I think often we think to ourselves Well, they should know better than to do that!!!

I know there have been many, many, MANY times when a child has done something and I looked at that child like they must have lost their mind. Seriously, there are many times when I have no words to say to a child after some of the crazy things they have done or said....but then I have to remind myself they are 6 and school is so much more structured than what they face at home. They need our high expectations but those also need our patience.

Think to yourself for a minute if you have ever done something recently that you know you should not have.......

Anything pop into your head???

Have you driven 1, 2, or even 5 mph over the speed limit?

Talked or texted while driving?

Sped up at a yellow light when you really had time to stop?

Stood in the Express Line at the Grocery Store when you have more than 20 items?

See...just like our kiddos that "forget" how to walk quietly down the hallway, we all do some things that we probably shouldn't...but we are human and get caught up in life or forget to see how our behavior and actions might effect someone else.

Those are some things I have done before but they are also things that I have been frustrated about when someone else did it and it effected ME. We all make mistakes, do things or say things that are hurtful, make excuses when we just to do a better job.

It is so easy to make excuses for ourselves and even easier to blame others or become judgmental of their behavior....especially when it effects us and our expectations.

I know at times we might find ourselves making excuses or saying things like My kids cannot do that! or If you understood their home life, you would see and understand why they are acting this way.

Teaching at-risk kiddos can be tough because so much of what they see at home are the behaviors they are repeating in the classroom that we don't like.

Yes, their home environment helps me understand why that behavior is happening but I need to let that child know that I love them enough to let them know that a hurtful behavior is not okay.

Have you ever heard someone say this:
Well, they just don't understand me if I talk to them in a quiet, calm voice. The only time they get I mean business is when I yell at them and get in their face.

I have watched adults yell at a child in a mean and ugly way about the child talking to another child in an ugly way....um, do as I say but not what I do doesn't really work. One of my favorite things about Conscious Discipline is the reminder to be the person we want others to become. We are mirrors.

Commitments are a HUGE part of Conscious Discipline. We talk daily about making commitments to be kind and help keep others safe. We make commitments as a School Family and we have made individual commitments.

I hope to share with you this summer a post about how to use commitments in your classroom because it will really make an amazing difference.

I am making a commitment that I will post more often. I have missed everyone and your sweet and encouraging words. =)

Here are some pictures to help you think of your week ahead and to reflect on any excuses you might be making:

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Thank you for always being here for me. You are each a treasure and a blessing.

From My Heart To Yours,