Winning Ways
I am so pleased to have Strictly Come Dancing back again. While I enjoy the music, dancing and costumes, the part I look forward to most is watching the contestants becoming more confident week by week and listening to the words of encouragement and motivation from the judges. Although it’s too early to pick a possible winner, there have been some amazing dances one of which was Sara Davies’s foxtrot. Sara’s dance the previous week had been far more impressive, she was lucky that nobody had to leave the competition.
“The glory is being happy. The glory is not winning here or winning there. The glory is enjoying practicing, enjoy every day, enjoying to work hard, trying to be a better player than before.” ~ Rafael Nadal
Having seen her in action on Dragons Den I wasn’t surprised to see her up her game, and like Rafael Nadal she was prepared to work hard to achieve her goal - delivering a winning performance. In November as we “race” towards the years finishing line, another motivating champion is Usain Bolt considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. Powering towards the finish line, looking forward to victory and not backwards with regret we can all learn a lesson from this super – athlete.
“Great things will happen when you get up, dust yourself off, & go after life with determination and courage.” ~ Billy Cox
Picking yourself up and getting going again is not easy. It requires grit and determination to stay positive and carry on when you have had a setback. For many of the children I work with the road ahead is difficult and frustrating. Lacking confidence in their abilities, to quote a colleague they would rather “hand over their brain” to a parent or teacher than try to power through on their own.
“I think I can. I think I can. I know I can.” ~ Watty Piper
This quote comes from one of the most famous motivational books – The Little Engine That Could. This week I retold this story to a little boy I was working with. He had been struggling with repeat addition and need a lot of encouragement. Working out the answers was challenging and even with clues, drawings and number chart he was finding it hard going. Suddenly, his little face lit up, he had reached the top of his mountain. “I know the answer! I can do it!” Confidence growing, he sped along finding the answers until he had worked out the whole number line. Then with a smile and a goodbye to Scooby off went the happy champion ready to face the rest of his day.
“You’re off to great places, today is your day, your mountain is waiting so ………. Get on your way!” ~ Dr Seus
While mastering the 3 x table may seem like a small hurdle to us, persevering in order to overcome his challenge was a real achievement for Morena. While we are likely to meet challenges along the path to success, if like the strictly dancers, star athletes, struggling school children and the little engine we can find the strength to keep moving forward when things get tough we will eventually get to the top of the mountain.
LESSONS FROM THE GARDEN
“Gardens and children need the same things – patience, love and someone who will never give up on them.” ~ Nicolette Sowder
Sharing a hobby you enjoy with your children is a great way to connect with them. Setting aside time each week to work in the garden or visit nurseries will help you to unwind and your children will love having your undivided attention. I like having some colour in my garden and to me there is natural magic in watching small seeds and cuttings grow into beautiful flowering plants. In a way it’s like watching your children grow up. Once so small and look at them now!
Watching flowers grow is an amazing science lesson for your children. While you can speed things up by buying seedlings, I prefer to grow my flowers from seed or use cuttings. When growing flowers from seed, it is important to choose seeds that grow fairly rapidly. Another consideration is their size, which should be big enough to pick up easily between their thumb and finger. Flower seeds which are tiny will be tricky to plant.
If a flower is fun to touch, smells interesting, makes a particular sound, is beautifully coloured or has an interesting flavour, the children will be captivated.