As a mom and a teacher, I love this quote by Robert Louis Stevenson:

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.

Looking for something to give up for Lent? I love these ideas!

Give up resentment and become more forgiving.
Give up hatred and return good for evil.
Give up complaining and be more grateful.
Give up pessimism and become more hopeful.
Give up worry and become more trusting.
Give up anger and become more patient.
Give up pettiness and become more noble.
Give up gloom and become more joyful.
Give up doubt and turn to God.

There is no greater Valentine!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well.  Psalm 139:14

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff – including the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then he carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.

Such a compliment that Mrs. Clinton chose our class to lead the chapel song today!

I tell all my classes that my most important job is to keep them safe. Their parents entrust me with their care, and I will always do my best to protect both their bodies and their hearts.

Our words are powerful, and they can tear others down or build them up. We should taste our words before we spit them out. Are they sweet?

Then we discussed the poem in this picture. We shared how words have hurt our hearts and our hearts take longer to heal than our bodies.

I cut out a large paper heart. We passed the heart around and as each child recalled a time his/her heart was hurt, he/she crumbled a piece of the heart. In the end, the heart was all wrinkled and even had a few tears. We passed the heart around again and as we stated encouraging words, each of us tried to smooth out the heart. Although it looked better, we realized that it would never be the same as it was when we started.

We finished by reading the story, Heartprints by Hallinan. The author explains that we leave a heartprint behind each time we do something kind.

  Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.
1Thessalonians 5:11