Thoughts & Prayers for My "Flyover State"

My “Flyover State”

The flooding in Nebraska has hit close to home. I was born and raised in Nebraska. The state slogan, “Nebraska-The Good Life,” could not be more true. I can't even imagine growing up anywhere else. The wide open spaces, the gorgeous sunsets, baby animals every spring, the flower and vegetable gardens my mom so lovingly tends to, riding my horse in the hills around our family farm. Sounds picturesque, doesn't it? I had the BEST childhood ever!! My parents still live on our family farm.

The devastation caused by both the flooding and the blizzard in the western part of the state is nothing short of catastrophic!! It will take years for our nation to recover.

Nebraska produces 27% of the nation's beef. It is calving season. Hundreds of calves have been lost to either drowning or freezing to death...hundreds!!

If you don't know a farmer, I can introduce you to several. They aren't thinking in terms of last finances. They think in terms of loss of life. The loss of life of any farm animal those farmers take to their very hearts. It takes a special man to want to be a farmer. A man who put in incredibly long hours caring for the land and the animals he raises. A farmer's heart is undoubtedly larger than other human's. He is the caretaker of God's land and it's animals. That takes a big heart.

Nebraska is also a leading producer of corn...the ethanol that you all put in your gas tanks, the food on your table. All of this has been dramatically compromised! Your produce prices are sure to go up. That's the process of supply and demand. It's not what a farmer thinks about. A farmer is concerned about feeding his livestock, of being able to care for those animals who count on him every day. If you have never fed an orphan calf from a bottle or let a calf such on your fingers with it's rough tongue, you are really missing out!

 

Then there are the roads and bridges. Nebraska's very infrastructure has been decimated! Bridges that have withstood waters for years have been completely washed away. Highways are half to mostly gone.

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Do you know that if I wanted to go back to the farm today, I couldn't get there from here in Kansas, unless I flew in to Sioux City, IA and came back into Nebraska from the north, and maybe not even then, but that would be my best bet.

The farmsteads that have withstood centuries of families who want nothing more than to work the land and care for God's creatures are gone. Yes, gone! Washed completely away! Centuries and generations of family farmsteads just gone. The pictures do not tell enough of the story. So many people are displaced. So many people have lost everything. (That's ice chunks in the photos below)

 

It's hard for me to even wrap my brain around.

I can't begin to tell you how sad I am for the good people in my “flyover state.” There are no words.

When Life Throws You a Curve Ball

Things are just clicking along, running fairly smoothly, and BAM! Life throws you a curve ball. 

 It happens to everyone at some point in time, often several times in one's lifetime. How you respond to those curve balls defines your character. 

You could curl up and ignore the world, hoping it will go away. However, the damage is done and nothing can change that. 

You could be pissed off and angry at the world. What's that going to solve moving forward?

Or, you could accept it as one of life's many challenges, learn from it, and move forward. As quote from Winston Churchill says, “If you're going through hell, keep on going.” Rodney Adkins even made it into a song.

Make your peace, scream, cry. Do what you need to do to come to a resolution in your own mind, but never give up!

The Kansas Division for Early Childhood Conference

Whenever I go to a conference or workshop I like to post about it, so here goes!

On February 28^th & March 1^st I went to the Kansas Division for Early Childhood Conference with two other preschool teachers in our district. The keynote speaker was from the University of Washington and spoke about a project there dealing primarily with children who had been identified and placed on the Autism Spectrum. Following her address, there were breakout session the rest of the morning.

The first session I went to talked about the positive aspect of flexible seating, which I would LOVE to incorporate into my classroom environment somehow. I am currently researching the cost and feasibility of this idea! Next, it was time for lunch.

After lunch, we thought we would attend a session entitled “Move & Grow Together: Creative Movement Groups for Young Children. We thought it might get our blood pumping after a delicious lunch. We were sadly mistaken. While the information shared was good, it did not involve attendee participation.

The next session I attended was “From Frustration to Success: A Social-Emotional Journey.” I was thrilled to hear the speaker talk about all of those piece of classroom practices that are near and dear to my heart. In addition, she mentioned my three edu-heroes: James Moffett for Derby Hills Elementary School in Derby, KS, Jim Sporleder my guru from Walla Walla, WA, and Rebecca Pancratz-Lewis from ESSDACK, right here in Hutchinson!!

The last session of the day that I attended was “Strategies to Meet the Social and Emotional Needs of Early Childhood Students. This covered some of the same ideas and strategies I already use in my classroom, as well as some other ideas I may look in to.

The next day there were just two sessions: “Beyond the Typical Preschool Classroom” and “Exploring Kansas MTSS and Alignment Through a Preschool Lens.” The one about beyond a typical preschool classroom was amazing and interactive! We learned about different ways pf engaging families, implementing flexible seating, and STEM activities for Preschool. So much fun!!

The last session we attended was, honestly, a stab in the dark, but we were so glad we went to it! The facilitator talked about how preschool is foundational in the public school setting. Since we will be having a district preschool meeting this next week, we are taking the ideas shared in this session to that meeting.

Reflecting on those two days, I would have to say that I learned a great deal, my brain is spinning, and I was blessed to spend two days with our fabulous preschool team...even though I missed my students terribly!!