Are You Building Walls?

Building Walls

I realize this blog post has nothing to do with teaching, but it does have to do with life. :-)  I love to reflect and even go back to rethink things I have thought much about before.  This is a recycled blog post from my 'mom blog' that I used to keep up with.   I have several others I will be posting over the next few weeks.  I hope you enjoy. 

Are you Building Walls only to have them Knocked Down?

Do you ever see people that have what you want?

Do you look at them and wonder, "How can I get that?"

You know what I'm talking about.... you see some people and you think they are simply blessed beyond belief. You start to desire what they have.

You want to build a successful business just like they have.
You want your marriage to be happy just like theirs.
You want the funds in your bank account to runnith over exactly like theirs.
You want deep faith to lead your life just as it leads theirs.
And, you want your family to have close bonds just like you witness in theirs.

So, what's the difference?

Why do they seem to have it all when your walls are crumbling down? Do you find yourself asking, "Why can't I get ahead in these areas of my life?"

Maybe your marriage is in turmoil.... maybe it's even your third marriage that is falling apart.
Maybe your bank account is overdrawn.
Maybe your family doesn't find the time to be a family.
Maybe your business is filing bankruptcy.
Maybe you just don't have the faith.

For these areas of your life to grow, it takes sweat. It also takes consistency. And that means it's not going to be easy.

Let's just focus on marriage, and then you can apply this metaphor to the rest of your life.

The blocks on the left represent a man who is devoted to his wife. He is there for her and wants to see their relationship grow. The blocks on the right also represent a man who is devoted to his wife. He is there for her and wants to see their relationship grow.


A year passes. The man on the left continues to be devoted to his wife. He starts to put sweat equity into the marriage. He asks her how she is doing on a daily basis. He pours her coffee. He asks her out for date nights. He prays for her and their marriage. The man on the right expects that his marriage will work, but there is no consistency in his actions and he is not willing to sweat. He is sometimes late for dinner and doesn't call. He sometimes forgets to greet his wife when he comes home from work. He doesn't ask her directly how her day went but does talk about how hard his was. His wall are destined to start to crumble.

2 years later

The man on left, his marriage is growing. He has something to show for his sweat. The man on the right, his marriage is falling apart. He will have to work hard, put things in overdrive, to build his walls back up if he wants his relationship to work.


3 years later

The man on the left now has a firm foundation for his marriage. He will continue to devote the time, energy, and be consistent in his actions in order to build this lasting relationship. The man on the right has backtracked. He now has to recover from all his inconsistencies and try to make things work. He can build the walls again, but keep in mind, he is still on the first floor.


4 years later
It's a vicious cycle of inconsistencies for the man on the right.

five years later
Which set of blocks represents you? Are you the blocks on the right, and you find yourself having to rebuild everything from relationships to your bank account to your faith just because you are not willing to work at it? or maybe you have to work extra hard to make up for the lost effort. Is it time to break the cycle of inconsistencies in your life? After 5 years, the man on the left has something to show for his hard work. The man on the right builds his walls only to have them fall down... time after time.

You might have even noticed that the man on the right came close to building five floors himself. The problem was, his inconsistencies kept those floors from growing. You have a choice, you can work hard and have one floor, or you can work hard and build a high-rise. The high-rise gets you closer to the sky. The high-rise is what you get after many years of sweat equity.

So, what is the answer?

prayer, sweat, consistency

Apply those to your life and you will build your business, your finances, your family, your marriage, and your faith.






Share the Sweetness!
Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.
We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest.

teachers pay teachers store
For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

If you are a teacher and you like what you see, please visit often

1st Facebook Posting Party

Welcome to the Party!!

I am so glad you found me through the Facebook Posting Party.  I hope you will become a new follower of my Teachers Pay Teachers Store (which you can visit by clicking HERE), as well as become a frequent visitor to my Classroom Confections teacher blog.  I add new material all the time, and even though I teach 4th grade, I am addicted to making cute stuff for all grades, so you are sure to find something.

Scroll down to my blog post from last night or click HERE to get my newest FREE game for the younger elementary kiddos. It's an alphabet game they are sure to love. You can download from the blog post or get it from my store.

And, just for visiting for the party, here are some cute desk name plates I hope you can use.




Share the Sweetness!
Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.
We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest.

teachers pay teachers store
For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

If you are a teacher and you like what you see, please visit often

Printable Alphabet Matching Game

FREE Fun Alphabet Game

This is just a basic partner game to reinforce lower case and upper case letters.  If you decide to download this alphabet game, please share the sweetness by liking me on facebook or leaving me some love notes in my comment section below. :-)  You have my permission to share about this game on your blog with a link back to my website.  Thanks so much. 





Share the Sweetness!
Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.
We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest.

teachers pay teachers store
For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

If you are a teacher and you like what you see, please visit often

 

Classroom Bulletin Board Border

Bulletin Board Border
Calling all teachers! If you are looking to have the cutest bulletin board border around, you have got to check out my new line of classroom borders.  The colors are bright and the graphics are adorable.  I am thinking you are going to have a hard time finding borders as fun and colorful as these to wrap around the biggest displays in your classroom......  you know what I'm talking about...those huge rectangular boxes that we go in and decorate each year.

So, hop to it....  :-)
 check out my new bulletin board shopping page.  Click on the pictures and you will be taken right to more details in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.  They are inexpensive, and guess what else?  Because they are downloadable files, you can print as much as you like... year after year!!

Click here to view border choices:  BULLETIN BOARD BORDERS
Here is a sample printed and laminate.

Here is an example of a set of bulletin board borders.

Share the Sweetness!
Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.
We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest.

teachers pay teachers store
For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

If you are a teacher and you like what you see, please visit often.



Classroom Management

Classroom Management Idea

Need an extra component to add to your behavior/classroom management system?

Everyone likes to be told they are doing something good, right? Well this idea was devised for that very reason. I am a believer that if you tell kids they are doing something right, give them compliments, their next behaviors will follow that same pattern. When you see a child smiling, tell them how much you loved seeing them smile, or when they made someone else smile. :-) When you see a child doing something brilliant, tell them..... 

This package includes 26 words that go along with each letter of the alphabet. Hence, the name... The ABC's of Positive Thinking. Each piece of paper has 2 word that can either be cut apart of left on one whole piece. There is a title page as well that can also be hung with the words. 

The idea is that you would hang the words on the wall either vertically or horixontally, leaving enough space to hang cards below or beside each word. This can also be used on a bulletin board. When you see a child displaying one of those words, write their name on one of the coordinating cards and hang it with the word. Say in front of the class, "Johnny really brought JOY to our class when he....."

You will find that this behavior management method of positive thinking forces you to be a positive thinker towards your students. If you have a word that is left with no names, ask the kids why they think no one is displaying that behavior and that the goal should be to work your way under that word. 

Even if you just put up 1-3 words a day, you will have accomplished positive thinking. You can also start over each nine weeks if you wanted to, so that the names don't stretch around your room.

Another suggestion is to laminate a bunch of the name cards and write on them with a Visa V marker that will erase.

I hope these cards will bring lots of compliments to your classroom and help you with your classroom management/behavior management.

Check out my Teachers Pay Teachers by clicking the link below to purchase this item.



Share the Sweetness!
Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.
We appreciate you 'liking' us on facebook, tweeting about us, or pinning us on Pinterest.

teachers pay teachers store
For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store.

If you are a teacher and you like what you see, please visit often.