Disconnect To Connect & A Winner

Happy August!
First things first; we have a contest winner.


Congratulations, Sarah. 
I'll be in touch to connect you to my friends over at Carson-Dellosa Publishing. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and commented.

How have you been spending your last few summer days?

Quote by Ivan Turgenev 
Have you seen the video clip called Disconnect To Connect
{You may have to be on FB to get that link to take you there.} 
It's a poignant piece about how disconnected to those loved ones in our presence we really are when we're connected instead to the virtual people on our hand-held technical devises. And though I personally still use a flip phone and don't take WiFi with me wherever I go, I know I'm guilty of spending waaaay too much time on my laptop and online. In the past two years, 
I've written 738 posts.

That's a lot of screen time.

I started writing at the Corner in the first place to see if intentionally seeking inspiration would make me more joyful. And I think it has. But now I'm ready for a brief break from the blog, a couple of weeks, maybe more, to invest my time in continuing to recover, playing a few more hands of Canasta 
with our youngest, launching Jacob into his college career, 
and getting ready for my 30th year in education.


Click graphic for more icebreakers at Wilderdom
Before I go, here's a bonus icebreaker to introduce new faculty or connect a new class family. I hope I can explain it well 'cause it's great fun. Instruct participants to find someone in the group to shake hands with, practicing eye contact and a good, firm shake. As they shake hands, 
they introduce themselves with their first name:
 Hi, I'm Barbara. Hey, I'm Jennifer. 
With our handshake, we trade names. So I leave the interchange and find another participant to introduce myself to using Jennifer's name. 
And Jennifer becomes Barbara. 
Jennifer gives my name to the next person she meets and takes that name. And so on. 

The goal is to remember who you are through the confusion, shake hands with some new friends, and ultimately get your own name back. If you already all know one another, use adjectives instead:
Hi, I'm trustworthy. Hey, I'm optimistic.

Get ready to reconnect with laughter and joy.
Click {here} for more intriguing icebreaker ideas 
and {here} for Marissa's Memory Circle activity.

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Feel free to stay for a spell and 
read the posts that you might have missed, 
drop me an email just to say hello, 
or leave a comment to let me know what you're thinking about 
and what you'd like to see more of at the Corner when I'm back.

Want to help your kids unplug? Click {here} for advice 
from my go-to parenting expert Michele Borba. 

It's Throwback Thursday. Enjoy these inspirational posts again: 



Thank you for being here with me on my journey 
and sharing my favorite experiences. 
Happy 2013-2014 school year. 



3 comments

  1. Well, I hope you have a joyful, relaxing end of the summer Jacob and the rest of your family. and come back energized!

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  2. Enjoy your time "away"...it is much deserved!

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  3. Good luck this upcoming school year. I hope you don't stay away for too long. I find your blog so refreshing, inspirational and genuine. We all need that in our lives. Hope you don't mind an email every now and then. Stop by my blog to take a look at the beautiful Northwoods of WI.

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I really enjoy hearing from my readers; thanks for sharing your reflections with us!