OLW with Students

You may have been hearing a lot about the concept of the One Little Word lately since it is a new year.  I love the idea and have been possibly driving the people around me a little crazy with it.  If you haven't heard about it yet, one great place to read about it is on Ali Edwards's blog.  Debbie Macomber talks about it every year (I first learned about it when I went to her Fan Retreat Weekend in August), and The Today Show interviewed Jon Gordon, an author and motivational speaker about his book, The One Word That Will Change Your Life. 

  

Many bloggers have joined in and have chosen their one words.  My OLW is JOURNEY.  You can read my blog post  about it.  My daughter, Libby chose FEARLESS and has created a blog around it, called Fearless Possibilities.  Megan Ginther inspired me to talk to my class about it. I explained the process and concept.  They were immediately receptive and on board.  We wrote a Quick Write about it, talked at tables, and created images around the word.  I was so impressed and excited about their words.  Here are a few pieces of artwork they made.  On the back of each card, students wrote why they chose their word and something they will do to focus on it.  I just love my students!!

 



ADVENTURE - I will focus on adventure by spending less time inside, all cooped up. 
STOP - I chose this word because I want to slow down and not be rushed.  I need to stop and organize my thoughts.  Sometimes you need to smell the roses.
MEMORIES - I want to focus and remember all the good memories I have, especially with my dog, Lucy.  I want to remember her when she was happy, not in pain.  I want to discover new memories this year and throughout my life.
CHRISTLIKENESS - I picked this word because I'm a Christian and this word is mentioned a lot at my church.  I want to be more Christlike, so this word is really important to me.
FUN - I chose fun because one of my goals is to have more fun with my family.
FOCUS - Something I will do to achieve focus is to slow down and take time to plan things out and stick to that plan.
FEARLESS - I chose fearless because I'm always afraid of what others will think or that I'm not good enough.  I'm going to try to be more bold.
COURAGEOUS - I chose courageous because I want to try new things.
ATHLETIC - I chose athletic because I need to be athletic to be happy.
BELIEVE - I chose the word believe because I think I haven't been believing in myself a lot this year.
QUIET - I picked quiet as my word of the year because I have had so many words, thoughts, actions going on, I just want to close my eyes and ignore it and go into my quiet zone.
IMAGINATION - I feel like I am losing my overactive imagination.  One thing I will do to stay imaginative is to draw more.
DREAM - I chose dream because I haven't had much time just to sit and think and daydream.
STRONGER - I chose the word stronger because this year I want to make my opinions heard more.
DISCOVER - I will do stuff differently, make my life more interesting, and actually go outside and discover new things.
ORGANIZE - I need more organization. Being organized will save me time so I won't be scrambling around in the morning looking for stuff.  "A place for everything, and everything in its place."
TRUTH - I am going to be more honest.
BOOK - A lot of my life and school is based around books.  I want to be inspired by books.  I will get my ideas from books and ask questions.
LIVE - Try to just live with what I have and not moan and groan over what I don't.
ENFORCE - I chose the word enforce because there are kids all around me being bullied, and I always say I will help, but I never do.
THINK - I need to just slow down and think about things like fighting with a sibling.  We need to stop fighting over stupid things.
LOVING - "Do everything you do to bring glory to the One who made you."
RADAR - I'm going to talk less and listen more.
VALUE - I want to value the time I have with people.  Every moment that is special I will take a picture and write what I value on the back.

I could go on and on; they're all amazing, and don't YOU love my students, too?!  I'll end on this one, though:  CHEESEBURGER.  "What?!" you ask.  Listen to this: I chose the word cheeseburger because each layer is your life and you want to savor each bite.  I think I should look at the positive side of things more often.