Inspiring Words

Here is a collection of just some of the many poems and quotes that I have found to be inspiring throughout my lifetime.  

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Mother Teresa poem
Click here to read this poem in Norwegian

The following is one of my favorite fables that teaches us about working together.
Taught this lesson at school and have used this as a lesson for Family Home Evening. 

STONE SOUP
A kindly, old stranger was walking through the land when he came upon a village. As he entered, the villagers moved towards their homes locking doors and windows.
The stranger smiled and asked, “Why are you all so frightened?” I am a simple traveler. “I am looking for a soft place to stay for the night and a warm place for a meal.”
"There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," he was told. "We are weak and our children are starving. Better keep moving on."
"Oh, I have everything I need," he said. "In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you." He pulled out a big kettle and filled it with water. He began to build a fire under it.
Then, with great ceremony, he pulled out a stone from a silken bag and dropped it into the water.
By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of the villagers had come out of their homes or were watching from their windows. The traveler sniffed the "broth" and licked his lips. Hunger began to overcome the villager’s fears.
"M-m-m," the stranger said to himself rather loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage, that's hard to beat."
Soon a villager approached hesitantly, holding a small cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place and added it to the pot.
"Wonderful!" cried the traveler. "You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of beef as well and it was fit for a king."
The village butcher managed to find some beef and so it went, through potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on, until there was a delicious meal for everyone in the village to share.
As he left, the stranger came upon a group of the children from the village. He gave the silken bag containing the stone to the youngest child and whispering to the group, “It was not the stone but the villagers that had performed the magic."
MORAL: By working together, with everyone contributing what they can, a greater good is achieved.

Steve Jobs

"Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage 

to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the 

smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a living and an 

attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a 

willingness to die manfully, but as the determination to live 

decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he 

thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. 

Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face

their fears with dignity have courage as well." 

~President Thomas S. Monson~

(The following is something I heard in a talk at church back in 2001 and I just HAD to get a copy because I loved it so much and gave a talk using this in 2006.  Makes you really think about LIFE!)
"I JUST NEED ONE MORE THING TO MAKE ME HAPPY!"

~By Jerry Johnson~

I wish it were summer time. Is this snow ever going to melt?!

If it would only snow again!

If I had a mountain bike I’d be happy. That’s all I want… a mountain bike.

Boy will I be happy when I get a car. No more begging for rides.

I’d be happy if I could stay out later at night. One hour later. Is that too much to ask?

I will never be happy until I have a boyfriend.

Once I’m out of high school I’ll be happy.

I need a job. If I could just find a job, I’d never complain again.

I want to go to college.

I’ve got to get out of these dorms. The rules are getting me down. Once I get an apartment, I’ll be happy as a lark.

I need a place of my own.

I want to get married, settle down. I’m tired of roaming and living alone. I’ll be happy when I’m married.

If only we had more money.

Children will make me happy. As soon as I have a baby, I’ll be satisfied.

If only you could talk.

I wish you were still a baby.

If you buy me a second car. I promise, nothing else… ever!

A dishwasher. How can I keep up with all these dishes? I need a dishwasher.

Boy, will I be happy when the children go to school.

I wish the kids would come home.

I’ve got it! A camper will make us happy. We could sneak off, enjoy one another.
Motorcycle, that’s it! Hmmm… or maybe a boat.

Once we get out of debt, we’ll be happy.

I need to get more involved in the community. If I just had a church responsibility.

I wish I had more time to spend with my family. I’d be happier, they’d be happier.

I want a divorce. Then, I’ll be happy. I’d never ask for another thing if I could just be free again.

If I could just find a steady companion, someone to talk to. That’s all I need.

A second chance at marriage. I’d make it work this time. Only a second chance. Is that asking too much?

I’d be happy if the children were more independent.

Our children never come to see us. Always off only heaven knows where. After all of the things we have given them, they ought to visit us at least on holidays.

Listen, if we had a few grandchildren we would never ask for anything else.

Why can’t they understand, we don’t want to raise our grandchildren?

When was the last time the grand children came to visit?

We won’t be satisfied until we set aside money for retirement. I would rest easier knowing our cemetery plots are selected and paid for. Once we retire and slow down, we’ll be happier.

There is nothing to do… I need a hobby.

I wish I felt better, I’m always taking medicine. If I felt better, I’d never complain again. I’d be happy if we could catch up on these doctor bills.

We better sell this big house. We’ll move into an apartment. Things will be easier in a smaller place. 

Don’t you miss the old house?

I wish the children would stop by and visit more often. I’m so lonely. A few more visitors would make me happy.

Can’t people understand? I need my rest. I’ll be happy once I get into a good rest home.

I won’t be happy until I move back home again.

I wish I weren’t so sleepy all the time.

I’d be happy if I were young again.

I wish I had someone to talk to. I’d be perfectly happy if I had a friend.

I want to sleep…. rest would make me happy.

If this would all just end…. then I’d be happy.

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The Road Not Taken

~Robert Frost~

"In the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is

 not wealth, or status, or power, or fame, but rather how 

well we have loved, and what small part we have played in

 making the lives of other people better."

~President Barack Obama~ 
@The Tucson Memorial



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"Footprints"

Visual Aids for Elementary School

For the past year I was working at an elementary school as a school assistant for grades 1 to 7.  Here are just a few of the "visual aids" I made for the students to go with some of the activities we did in English (ESL) and Math.

 THE ELEVATOR GAME

Teaching the numbers in English from 1 to 20.

COLOUR BINGO

Learning the colours in English.  Matching the English word to the Norwegian word.

MEMORY GAME

Learning the body parts in English.  Matching the word with the picture.

THE FISHING GAME

Used a magnet at the end of the fishing pole line and a paper clip on each laminated fish.   You can choose just about anything to put back there; English words or phrases, songs, Math problems... etc.   You can use a white board marker and reuse the fish to suit each level or chapter.  (I actually made this for a daycare/barnehagen)

*Can also use other shapes and objects: apples on tree, flowers or vegetables in garden... just to name a few.  If you think it... create it!

THE QUESTION JAR

Had different questions in English written on each strip.  100+ questions to choose from. Each student takes a turn to pick a question from the jar and all the students in the group (4-6 students)  answer the same question using complete sentences.   If the student picks a blank strip, they must make up a question to ask.  

Examples: What is your favorite color?  What do you want to be when you grow up? What is your favorite subject in school?

You can click here to see what we did in my recorder class!
Recorder Fun!

Not pictured:
* I made a board game based on the concept of Balderdash/Kokkelimonke but instead of them finding the definition of a word, they were to find the Norwegian equivalent to the English word.  Examples: Balderdash = Kokkelimonke, competition = konkurranse 
* The 12 months game where they had to match the picture to the correct month. Example: red heart is February for Valentine's Day.
* Played the game, Charades-Telephone game.  Your team members line up behind you and each player describes the same object using actions. No speaking or noises allowed.  Last player in the line tries to guess the word. You can see how different each interpretion is from each player.  

Vinterlyd 2014 - Gjøvik

We ventured to Gjøvik so Lena and Camilla and their two friends could see Isac Elliot perform at the concert for cancer, called Vinterlyd.  Besides my feet hurting from standing all those hours and losing my hearing from all those screaming fans, we had a fun day.  

Sound check.

Madcon, Isac Elliot, Markus og Martinus, Raylee

Of the 400+ pictures taken by my husband, this is the collage that I put together.  
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Recorder Fun!

Here are some of the things we did in my recorder class at school for the 5th, 6th and 7th grades.  

Each student received a *recorder kit*, which included:

recorder

 fingering chart

simple musical expressions

rhythm chart

note flashcards

sheet music

miniature music stand

soap bubbles* 

*(soap bubbles was so they could work on their blowing technique

- no bubble means that they were blowing too hard)

  

I made this little game for them to learn the different notes on the staff for two players at a time.  I say a note they need to find on the staff and the first one who places the black note in the correct spot is the winner for that round and he/she gets to proceed to the next round to compete against a new player. The last one standing is the "winner".  

This is the flash card fingering chart I made.
I used a star stempel (because I had access to nothing else at the time haha) to show the finger placement on the recorder.  

We also played a simple rhythm game where I clap a rhythm and each person takes a turn clapping the same rhythm correctly.  This was harder than they thought.  

Blokkfløyte diplom

As a little treat I made this certificate of completion for each of my students.

If you own a recorder, you already have the "template" because that is all I used to make the shape.  I used a pencil and outlined the shape of the recorder.   I adjusted it a little to fit the paper size and made the width wider. On the back of the recorder I have listed their acheivements.  Examples: ♪ Scales, ♫ Reading music, ♪ Rythm, ♫ Performance etc.

"Music is the art of thinking with sounds."
♪♫♫♪