July 2013 | Page 4 of 4 | AnabelJensen.com

5 Steps to Making Conscious Acts of Kindness

On July 12, 2013 / Uncategorized / 6 Comments

Twenty years ago when I began teaching in the graduate program at Notre Dame de Namur University for individuals earning a credential or master’s in education, I started a ritual.

It was the reporting of a conscious (not random but planned) act of kindness.

My reason for doing so is that being either a teacher or a student teacher is hard work and research is clear that going to the movies, having dinner with a friend, or bowling is fun while it lasts, but the effects are transitory. The ‘hangover’ effect from a good deed, however, goes on and on – much like the Energizer bunny.

If You Want To Know What A Child Is Thinking, Watch Their Fingers

On July 11, 2013 / Emotional Intelligence Strategies / 2 Comments

I went to a funeral last week.

Mary C. Laycock was a wonderful mathematician and teacher. I worked with her at Nueva School in Hillsborough, CA and knew her for many years.

Her students adored her and her ‘Mary’s Math.’ One lesson with Mary and you would develop an insight into math that would stay with you forever.

She knew how to get people to put on their mathematical eyeglasses. She knew how to help them see everything through a mathematical lens. She had the gift to transform students’ relationship with math. Mary emphasized the beauty of understanding the process of mathematics rather than the importance of getting the right answer.

The Importance of Coloring Outside The Lines

On July 11, 2013 / Emotional Intelligence Strategies / Leave a comment

I had my tonsils out when I was thirteen.

That’s significantly beyond the normal age to have tonsils out, don’t you think? I seem to do everything when I am older. ☺

My mother, to keep me occupied during the recovery, gave me a paint-by-numbers set. I loved it. Just follow the numbers and out came this gorgeous (that might be an exaggeration) painting of a horse.

For many years, I lived my life by ‘painting the numbers’ or something equivalent.

You want to make chocolate chip cookies? Here’s the recipe.

Attitude Goes Five Miles

On July 11, 2013 / Emotional Intelligence Strategies / 2 Comments

Last night on my way out the door for my ritual run (a euphemism for a walk/jog,) I stuck a $10 bill in my jacket pocket because, who knows:

1) I might want a lemonade from the two young female entrepreneurs, who live just over two streets or
2) a frozen yogurt (currently my favorite flavor is red velvet cake) or
3) an essential item from the grocery or drug store.

As I am jogging along, I think about the necessity of soap and toothpaste from the drugstore and I stick my fingers into my pocket to retrieve the $10 bill. Whoops. No bill.

Swinging in the Rain

On July 11, 2013 / Emotional Intelligence Strategies / 3 Comments

Fog hangs like a thick quilt over the morning.

You anticipate that you’ll return from your walk damp and cold. You almost don’t go, but then you decide not to allow the habitual rhythm of your day to collapse.

When you are only ten minutes from home and a cup of steaming hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows, you round the park comes into view. Its playground is shrouded in mist. Swings sway with each fresh gust of dampness. It is as if the swings are beckoning: “Come play!”

Usually, remembering the sting of that wooden swing connecting with your three-year old face, your lost teeth, all that blood, you avoid swings. But this morning, you brush the ghosts aside, grab hold of the cold metal chains and lower yourself onto the seat.