Chalk Art Video for Perception and Paradigm

click here to watch chalk art video
This 4 minute video is a great one just to sharpen your saw and enjoy the creativity, but it's a wonderful discussion-starter, too!

click here to see CBS spot on Julian Beever
This interesting 5 minute feature by CBS tells more about Julian as an artist and how he accomplishes his work.

Discuss with your leaders:
*Is the perception of this final picture the true reality?  How is this similar to each person's personal paradigm?
*Why is it important for this artist to begin with the end in mind?
*Could he reach this amazing final product without doing each small step along the way?
*How is persistence important for long-term projects and goals?

Do with your leaders:
*After watching these videos, your students may be inspired to use colored chalk.  Why not give them some and set them loose to create on the playground?  Maybe they would like to write a quote, draw a scene, or decorate a habit.  Having time to create is a great way to sharpen the saw.  You may want to have them begin with the end in mind and create a draft on paper first.

7 Habits on Quizlet

Click here for a set of Quizlet 7 Habits Cards
Are you familiar with Quizlet?  One way my daughter and her friends survived science last year was making flashcard sets together on Quizlet.  After your cards are made, you can test yourself or play games to do some more studying.  The other day I was on Quizlet and found this set of 7 Habits cards.  Give it a try, or make your own set.  Think of subjects you teach where students need to memorize vocabulary words
and their definitions.

Bruno Mars Sings "Don't Give Up"

Click here for the video of Bruno Mars Singing
You've gotta love the street, Sesame Street that is.  Bruno Mars sings a song with the Muppets about not giving up.  I think this would be a great song to have playing on a loop as our students are entering the cafeteria for an assembly.  Even though it is aimed at younger kids, the tune could get stuck in anyone's head!
In case you want the lyrics:
Lyrics and Music for "Don't Give Up" click here
Lyrics with music are a great way to promote reading fluency.
And whatever it is that you have been trying lately - don't give up!

212 Degrees

Click here for 212 Degree Video

Perseverance is not a long race:
It is many short races,
One after another.
-Walter Elliot
This video is perfect to show if students have been turning in assignments that show minimal effort.  At 211 degrees, water is hot.  At 212 degrees, it boils - and can power a locomotive.







Discuss:
*What does it mean that one degree of effort separates the good from the great?
*Who is responsible for the results in your life?
*What does the video say about attitude?
*What does this phrase from the video mean?
            We can never help another without helping ourselves. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
*How does it help to have a clearly defined goal to help us reach the extra degree?
Do:
*Have students write down areas in their lives where they need to turn up the heat.  To help inspire their writing, replay the video again, but only so they can hear the music.  Encourage them to try to keep writing the entire time the music is playing.  Ask if they need to have it played a second time to continue writing.
*Have students redo an assignment that was mediocre

Just the Way We Like It

My son left for Nicaragua today.  I hope everything during his trip is just the way he likes it.  Let me explain...
Last year my sister-in-law taught us that when you are traveling, and things are unpredictable or go wrong, if you say, "This is just the way we like it," you feel better about the situation.  I was fortunate to have a sabbatical that winter, so I took my family to Costa Rica.  At one point we were kind of lost, looking for our lodging, walking and sweating in the heat, rolling our suitcases down the road, surrounded by rainforest.  My son looked at me and said, "Hey mom, this is just the way we like it."  It made us smile.  And truly, it was just the way we liked it - we love the story of how a man found and helped us by carrying our suitcases the rest of the way in a wheelbarrow!  Next time things aren't going the way you want at school or at home, give it a try.  Say, "This is just the way I like it."  (If you want to see the cute open-air bungalow where we stayed, see my earlier post about being off the grid).

Our kind wheelbarrow helper...just the way we like it!

This is just the way we like it - hot, sweaty, a little lost.

Synergizing - Chairs for Charlie

Click here for video: Chairs for Charlie
*How does this neighborhood use habit 6 to synergize and help Charlie? How do they show that together is better than what just one person can do?
*Explain how this story is also a good example of habit 5, seek first to understand.
*This community creates a win-win situation.  Explain how each of the following win:
1.  Charlie
2.  Charlie's neighbors
3.  The dogs

Opportunity Looks a Lot Like Hard Work - Begin with the End in MInd

Video: Ashton Kutcher Teen Choice Awards Speech
Lately I have been talking to other parents about our teens and jobs.  There are a few that embrace working, but others just don't want to do it.  Or, once they are working, they want to quit when it becomes boring or before they have another job lined up.  Sometimes they feel like the job they have is "beneath them."
It reminded me of Ashton Kutcher's four minute speech that he gave at the Teen Choice Awards one year.  Although he uses the words sexy and crap in his message, he uses them in a way that is appropriate for teens.
The highlights of his message:
     *Opportunity looks a lot like hard work. (Be proactive)
     *He was always lucky if he had a job, and he never had a 
      job he was better than.
     *Every job was a stepping stone.
     *He never quit a job until he had another one lined up. (Put first things first)
     *The sexiest things in the world are being smart, thoughtful, and generous. (Win-win)
     *Build your life, don't just live it. (Begin with the end in mind)
I just may need to use this video before the next "job discussion" at my house.

Youtube Clip - The Lost Generation - What it means to be proactive...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA

When we are proactive, we are in charge of our lives.  If we are not proactive, we let others make our decisions for us.  When using this youtube clip with my leaders, I ask the following questions:
1.  In the first part of "Lost Generation," how are people told to be "victims?"
2.  How does the second part of "Lost Generation" change to being proactive?
If you use this clip with your leaders, let me know what they think!

Quote and Book Recommendation of the Day

"What is right is not always popular 

and what is popular is not always right."

-Albert Einstein

This is such a timeless quote.  If you have not yet read Wonder by R.J. Palacio, it makes for a wonderful read aloud to your class.  This quote by Albert Einstein is perfect to refer back to while reading.  There will be many opportunities to talk about Habit 5, "Seek first to understand, then be understood."

Big Styrofoam Leadership Letters

We wanted to put up big "Leadership" letters in our school.  Last year my husband went to Lowe's and bought thick styrofoam.  He then glued two layers together to get some nice, thick letters (although I used a single layer in my own classroom).  We chose a font on the computer, and blew up the letter sizes to get patterns he could follow with his jigsaw.  We love how they turned out.  If you would like to see them painted and on display, go to the provided link of our school.  You will also see the "Lead" letters I mounted above my white board.  Leader in Me - Leadership Letters

A Fourth of July Reflection

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free;
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless,
Tempest-tossed to me
I lift my lamp beside the golden door

These words from The New Colossus, written by Emma Lazarus, can be found on a plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.
Reflect
What do your student leaders think these words mean?
What are some ways that individuals can show leadership with the poor and homeless?
Can a nation be a leader?
Create
Have students make a sketch of the Statue of Liberty's lamp.  In the flames, have them write their ideas of ways individual leaders can be welcoming to people who are from other countries.

Kids These Days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G22Q92VCFyY
Are your leaders preparing to write personal mission statements?  To get their juices flowing and help them begin with the end in mind, show this video clip.
Discuss before the video:
*When people say, "Kids these days," is it usually positive or negative?  Can you give an example?
Discuss after the video:
Why do you think this phrase was chosen for the video?
*People are waiting. Will you wait or lead?
*You will fail.  Why is this phrase included in the video?