Mistakes Happen-- and that's OK

This week and next, in First Grade, we're talking about mistakes.  Everyone makes them, and we can fix them.  Sometimes we can't fix them all by ourselves and need to get some help.  But no mistake is beyond help.

I went to Ms. Albracht's and Ms. Stanford's classes this morning and read Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg.  It's a really fun story about turning mistakes into something amazing!

Then I showed the students this "very important" (albeit out-of-date) paperwork from my daughter's school---

I explained that I accidentally spilled my coffee all over the papers.

We talked about the lesson I learned from my mistake: Don't drink coffee near important papers.

And we talked about my reaction to my mistake:  I didn't throw the paper down and stomp away.  I didn't cry or call myself "the worst mom EVER" just because I made a mistake.

In fact, I decided I would use it as a learning opportunity for the kids.

I outlined the stain in marker so that it would show up if I made copies, and I made 125 copies of my mistake.  My spill.

I challenged the kids to turn my mistake into something amazing.  And-- WOW-- am I impressed!!

Kids made people and jellyfish.  Magic wands and asteroids. Birds, parking meters, robots, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Fossils and bones.  An island under attack. There was no limit to their imagination!!

I thanked them so much for helping me turn my mistake into a "beautiful oops".  Now I can't wait to hang them on the bulletin board in the hallway!!

Facing fear

This month at Christie we are focusing on what it means to have a growth-mindset.  Stretching ourselves beyond our limits.   Believing nothing is out of our grasp.  We love learning!  We love challenges!

A year ago (almost exactly) I was going through a personal time of pushing my limits.  For me, this seems to be the norm more than the exception.  I feel as though the majority of my adult life has been spent adapting and reinventing myself.

One thing that has held true since I was 5 years old is my fear of heights. When I was a classroom teacher, I was rarely on playground duty.  It made me sweat to watch the kids climb on the playground equipment. What if they fell??   I was always assigned to the soccer field.

We live in a 2 story home.  You will never see me leaning over the railing to say something to my family downstairs.

I have a death grip on the railing of an "up" escalator.

I can't watch my husband climb a ladder.

You'll never catch me on a high diving board.

I don't want to be on a ski lift.

I. Don't. Do. Heights.

Enter "iFly".  The indoor skydiving experience in Frisco.

I was determined to face my fears.

I went with my husband for his birthday and decided I would go into the tube of 100+ mph winds and "fly".  What you can't see from videos of iFly is how the floor of the tube is nothing but basically a chain link fence.  You're 2 stories up and when you look down, you can see that you're 2 stories up.

 Not ok.

When I did the iFly introductory course with my husband, he let our instructor know how scared I was.  And our instructor was not surprised.  Apparently my ashen face gave me away.
 
I've attached the video of my iFly experience.  Falling into the tube as instructed and trusting this relative stranger to catch me.  Then he "flew" me.  Took me up in the tube where I didn't want to go.  And made me walk on the floor where I didn't want to walk.

When you watch this video, it'll look like I'm smiling.  I'm not. That's the side effect of 100 mph winds flapping your cheeks back. You look happy, even when you're scared.

On the flip side, when you watch me walk, it will look like I "messed" my pants.  I didn't.  It's just hard to stand up straight in 100 mph winds.

Watch til the end.

When I'm back on solid ground and so proud that I was pushed beyond what I thought was possible.  And hugged the jerk  the instructor who pushed me and the jerk my husband who told him to do it.

It's pure joy!

I have a new appreciation for believing in being limitless.  For staring at deeply rooted fears and seeing them as mindsets to be pushed past.

May we all aspire to push ourselves and believe that anything is possible, regardless of our age.