Weekly Photo Challenge Letters

All words when broken apart are a bunch of individual letters that when separated don’t deliver any type of impact, but when strung together, create excerpts that can resonate with the reader long after they have read a particular piece of writing! That is the magic within letters. They can unite to create a poignant piece of poetry, or a riveting edge of your seat thriller of a story. Letters combined into words can elicit immense emotional responses from an individual coupled with the tone and the manner in which one delivers them. These tiny insignificant letters are not insignificant at all! When presented in sentences such as, “Will you marry me?” They cause a euphoric reaction within an individual. They can cause intense pain when presented in sentences such as “You are fired!” Letters are powerful when united into words. Be sure to use yours wisely!

As a previous kindergarten teacher, I had the pleasure of introducing children to the magic created when combining letters to form words. This initial introduction for children to the concept of taking individual letters to create words, and from there form sentences, paragraphs, stories, and so on, is essential. Teachers are entrusted with the task of educating tomorrow’s leaders. The elementary process of connecting letter sounds together to formulate words may be something many people have long since forgotten about because it is practically innate in us. These new learners however must be enlightened to the secrets behind creating words using 26 letters. Their journey to incorporating letters into words has just commenced!

If you ever enter a kindergarten classroom you will see the alphabet prominently displayed for these eager new minds. Additional posters on how to correctly print these letters, along with cute eye-catching pictures depicting characters whose names begin with each letter of the alphabet to help students make the letter-sound connection, are seen gracing the walls of the classroom. Last year, courtesy of Pinterest, my colleagues and I took the letter craze one step further. We built crate seats for the work centers and found fabric depicting the letters of the alphabet to cover the seats with. This is what you see pictured above. The students now had another additional reminder of letters whenever they went to work centers! Letters may seem small and unimportant when encountered individually, but together their importance and strength comprises endless possibilities! Letters are small but mighty!

Celebrate the Earth Today!

                   Happy Earth Day!

     Happy Earth Day Birthday to all! I wanted to showcase the beauty the Earth provides for us in this post!  It seems fitting that Earth Day is in spring when the world is lush with vivid colored blooms, the grass is a vibrant shade of green, and the trees start to grow buds again.  The Earth puts on a brilliant display of beauty found everywhere you turn!
     As a former teacher I always felt it was important to teach even my youngest students about ways to save the Earth’s resources so they would always remain plentiful.  If we educate the children of the world on recycling, reducing, and reusing resources, then they in turn can educate their children creating a cycle of wisely caring for the Earth, trees, plants, and animals for generations to come.  So today as we celebrate Earth Day, consider what you do already or can start doing to keep this beautiful planet of our healthy!

     If you already recycle, then that’s one step towards helping the planet.  What are some other ways to keep Earth healthy you might wonder?  I’ve compiled a brief list of ways to ensure that our Earth is around for a long time.  Ways to Improve the Earth
– Plant new trees to improve the flow of oxygen and beautify the land.
– Plant vibrantly hued flowers to add color.  This is prime planting time for various varieties of flowers!
– Create a compost pile so certain types of biodegradable foods break down naturally! DO NOT PUT DAIRY OR MEAT PRODUCTS IN YOUR COMPOST PILE!
– Plant a garden to grow your own vegtables.  The churning of the soil helps to spread nutrients.
– If you’re not already doing so recycle bottles, cans, newspapers, junk mail, and glass.

There are many small ways to help improve the Earth that will result in a positive impact! The animals, trees, and plants will thank you and future generations will be grateful as well!  So celebrate Earth Day by giving back to the Earth that has given humanity so much of itself over the decades!

Happy Earth Day All!

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Spring Shows of Splendor!

Spring is my absolute favorite season! The world is renewed and reborn awaking from its long winter nap.  The colors seen bursting forth from the various different flowers carpet the Earth in a rainbow of colors! The grass takes on a lush, vibrant green hue and songbirds sing sweetly.  Beautiful elements of nature are found at ever turn. 

The flowers are my favorite thing about spring.  The magnificence seen through their brilliant colors and varying shapes is stunning to witness!  The singular beauty found in an emerging blossom is breathtaking!

Spring makes us grateful for each vividly hued petal, the feel of cool grass under our toes, and the realization that another segment in the cycle of nature has begun!

HAPPY SPRING TO ALL!!

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Smile Baby Smile!

A smile is the one universal understood all throughout the world.  It symbolizes the same meaning in any language, breaking down barriers and thawing out the chilliest personalities.  Smiles are meant to be shared and can be quite infectious.  They spread like wildfire throughout a roomful of people!

However every one of us has days when we are down in the dumps and just can’t fathom the ability to muster up even the faintest of grins.  This is when we need something or someone to rely on to help us find our spectacular smiles! This object or individual should be your go to source to bring your spirit out of the slump you may have hit and help return world to happiness once more.

My source of happiness that helps to uncover my hidden smile is my cat Kasey.  He is twelve years old and I rescued him from the ASPCA at two months old.  He is definitely a unique personality! At twelve, he is still as lively as ever! He tears through the house  chasing balls, twirling in circles attempting to capture his own tail, and head butts me in the morning insistent about getting treats.  He always seems to sense when I am upset, refusing to leave my side, and instead flops down next to me or on me twisting himself upside down and gazing up at me eyes filled with unconditional love.  It’s hard to stay sad or not smile at his cute face.  He provides the extra dose of attention my soul needs at times to make me forget my worries and bring a mile wide grin to my face.  One can’t help but smile as they listen to the contented rhythmic purring emitted from a cat.  So when life seems to get me down I always snap my fingers, and Kasey appears within seconds to curl up next to me, a warm fluffy ball of pure heaven!  Kasey helps me see that life really isn’t so bad and reminds me not to take myself too seriously! Life is short so enjoy it while you can is the message cats send.  Smile, be happy!
🙂

Daily Post Make Me Smile

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Creativity Allows Your Soul to Sing!

The ability to allow ourselves to express feelings through creative means is what helps us to grow as individuals.  Having a creative outlet is not only fun, but healthy! Through creative activities we are able to release pent up emotions that threaten to upset the balance of our universe.  Whether your creative outlet is writing out your thoughts, painting an amazing piece of art to release the emotions inside through each stroke of the brush, putting on music you love and just letting your body get lost in the rhythm through dance, or going for a run to let the fresh air clear your mind rejuvenating you to once again tackle life’s tasks, we all need a release of some sort.

I personally have several ways to release stress through creativity.  My number one creative outlet would be my writing.  Since fourth grade I have kept a journal of my thoughts.  It helps me to transfer those emotions that threaten to fester inside onto paper.  Over the years this technique passed from writing in journals to writing poetry and stories.  As I write I can physically feel the stress caused by these various emotions literally leave my body and be transferred to the page, leaving me in a state of bliss.  The best part of writing put your feelings is that what you put down on paper doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, its just thoughts that have to be extricated from inside to allow one to feel human again! But writing your feelings doesn’t have to be due to negative feelings.  Sometimes you feel so happy about something that you want to tell the world, but no one is around at the time. Share these musings of merriment with your journal or in a poem of thanksgiving.  Writing has always been my go to creative device, to be able to feel human again!! Writing doesn’t judge you for your thoughts and emotions you are experiencing.  Writing simply soaks them up like a sponge depositing them upon the page through your pencil which acts as the device to ciphen out excessive thoughts residing in your mind. Writing is my go to outlet at all times allowing me to make it through another day.

My other form of creative release is through dancing.  Something about music containing a great beat just makes me feel free, forgetting all my worries.  I started dance lessons in fourth grade, actually I really went for the first time when I was two years old but didn’t enjoy being separated from my mom! I returned to dancing when I was ten and haven’t stopped dancing since! Music just releases euphoric endorphins making me feel good.  The blood pumping through your body and the workout one gets through really dancing hard, gives you a great workout and makes you feel positive about life again.  I recently was entered in a dance competition while on a cruise thia past Dec and placed second.  Having to create on the spot routines with a partner who you’ve never danced with was tricky but the experience made me feel so alive!  Music has the magical ability to transport us back to certain moments in our lives.  Dancing will always be a big part of my life, and provides yet another means for me to creatively release pent up feelings!

Daily Post Prompt

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My Published Poem Released!

I am beyond thrilled that my poem “Courage of a Snowflake” is now published and available to the world in the East Coast Literary Review Spring Edition 2014! There is something magical about creating a piece of writing then seeing it in front of your eyes in print!  Granted I’ve has articles and writing published on websites, ezines, and blogs, there is something intrinsically different when you can hold a physical book and know that your writing played a role in causing the final result of this work of literature coming into fruition. It is an amazing experience  that has no equal! 🙂

The East Coast Literary Review Spring Edition 2014 is now available for purchase on CREATESPACE (an affiliate of Amazon), and set to be released for Kindle in the new future!

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