Yesterday we all went shopping.  My wife and I have three little ones…two “big boys” and a little girl.  We needed a Meijer run & a Costco run this weekend (five bellies require lots of food).  My oldest went with his mom for the groceries at Meijer.  I took the toddler team for the bulk stuff & a Costco brunch buffet.  I’m always amazed by how much variety they offer at their sample stations.  We ate Italian sausages, quesadillas, pretzels, totally yummy apple strudel bread for dessert, and some skinny pop…just for fun.

Walking into Costco with two kids and a Coach diaper bag…my how times do change!

When we picked big brother & momma up at Meijer, we also got to have some lemon pound cake for the ride home.  A morning of fun & treats!

You might be thinking, “What’s fun about shopping?”  I’ll tell you.  Singing songs, playing I spy, making silly faces, counting to fifty, speaking gibberish, pretending that the cart is a space ship & a race car, identifying the parts of our faces, pushing on daddy’s nose to make it beep, tickling our sister, tickling our own tummies, showing every our belly buttons (not mine incidentally), and among lots of other stuff…just plain old being together.  In fact, especially just plain old being together!  And by the way, for those of us in education, when we’re enthusiastically engaged, our students enjoy just plain old being together too!

I started thinking about how fortunate we are to have each other, and what incredible outlooks children have.  They can have fun doing just about anything!  Again, when adults are enthusiastically engaged, kids tend to follow.

When we got home little sister needed a nap, so the guys decided to unload and unpack while momma put her down.  We made several trips to and from the car. We made sure not to take too much at one time so as not to limit the number of trips we had to make.  It was a part of the plan as articulated by my boys.  The more time we could spend together, enthusiastically engaged in a fun activity (unloading, unpacking, and putting groceries away), the better.

First we brought everything into the family room.  Then we formed assembly line.  The five-year-old took the each item out of its respective bag and handed to his three-year-old brother, who handed it to me.  I put each item away; one container of yogurt, an apple, a snack pack of crackers, and so on.  It stayed fun the entire time.  We were super excited, reminding one another of how to do it right when necessary.  I never realized how wrong I had been doing it all these years.  Thank goodness for these kids!

Last week at our district’s opening day introduction, Dr. Adolf Brown reminded us that kids spell “love” T-I-M-E; a great reminder.  As we embark on another year of learning and fun, I hope that we are all able to keep that in mind.

It’s not a secret to any of us.  We all already know that enthusiastic engagement perpetuates enthusiastic engagement.  We all already know that when we genuinely listen to, participate with, and care about those we serve, everyone’s learning and growth is enhanced.  We all know that sharing out time in meaningful ways is the foundation of joyful teaching and learning.  I’m ready to work extra hard at connecting that knowledge with my actions this year.  I’m ready to engage…enthusiastically!!

Live.  Learn.  Lead.

 

Dream Big.  Work Hard.  Be Well.