Casual Community

I've been much better at writing in my journal this year. For accountability purposes (I do better when I report out what I've been doing!), this is the frequency with which I've been writing in my journal: 

• 2/15
• 2/3
• 1/31
• 1/26

The other day I was writing about how grateful I am for my family and the life we have in our house (lots of time connected to each other, proximate to trees, space for the children to roam). But I also started thinking about the one dream I left behind: my dream of building a pocket neighborhood and to live more in community. 

Part of me still dreams of building something like that, but it would be so incredibly expensive to recreate everything we have been able to build at our house (which we were able to do relatively inexpensively because of luck), and I don't want to cut into our travel budget, which is a huge way in which we are trying to savor our children's childhoods. 

So then my mind goes to: Well, what exactly am I trying to have that I don't feel like I have right now? 

And I think my answer is: Casual Community. I would love the option to opt into community when we are feeling social (that's the beauty of a pocket neighborhood; everyone has their own personal space, but there are also lots of common spaces). 

I'm wondering how I can create that feeling where I am instead of building something new. 

Right now, we have monthly Saturday Suppers, which I love. I think those are a start. But what else? 

• I'm wondering if we should try to facilitate monthly potlucks (on a school night, so community doesn't just feel like a weekend thing) with the neighbors on our cul-de-sac. They are such a diverse group. We are very connected to each of them individually, but we never do anything collectively (I think in part because we are all so very different from each other). But I honestly think it could be a lot of fun. 
• I'm wondering if I should sometimes try to invite friends to our house after school, especially when the weather is nice. I could throw a quick meal in the Instant Pot (this Mexican beans and rice meal comes to mind), have chips and salsa on hand, and they could bring something or not. 
• What if I built a text list of neighbors with families and sent more casual texts like: "We are jumping into the pool until 6pm. Come through the back gate if you want to join us!" Or "We are heading down to the creek if anyone wants to come play around with us!" 
• Hmm...I wonder if I should create some kind of online directory of families in my neighborhood whose children are born within a certain range. I wonder what the best way to do that would be? Our neighborhood is already on Nextdoor, and it looks like I could create a private sub-group within my neighborhood. That might be awesome! I could do a range like two years older than Henry to two years younger than Tate? 

This feels like a good starting place! 

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Want to Be Neighbors?

I'm serious about this one!

There's a two-story house going up next store. It's on an acre of land that backs up to a beautiful creek. It's near three major thoroughfares, so it's easy to get around town. It's two miles away from the city's only free public Montessori school (serving infants through 8th grade).

We could build a gate between our yards and share a pool. I'm also happy to share the garden beds in our front yard.

E-mail me if you are interested!

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Go Out and Make It Happen for Yourself!

As I mentioned earlier this week, I've been informally coaching some of my friends to help them figure out what they want to do next in their lives. 

One of my friends just found out that she got her dream job! It's been a long journey, but I am so, so proud of her. 

It started last July at my Reflection & Rejuvenation Retreat. We spent time envisioning what we wanted in our lives, and my friend explained that she really want to move with her family to a different state, and she wanted to work at a very particular place in a particular city. 

Usually, the envisioning part is the hardest. I usually have to coach people about how to get over their fear/parallelization/indecision and just choose a path. There are so many possible paths for each of us; we can't waste too much time trying to find our One Authentic Path (just like there is more than one awesome Life Partner for each of us). 

So it seemed pretty easy when my friend already had everything figured out for herself. I said, "Great! So make it happen!" And that's when she explained that it was nearly impossible because they never have positions available. 

Through the years, I have found that you can't take no for an answer too quickly if you want to create or build something for yourself. We then started to work on the idea that she could propose a new position for herself. The first step in the process was to help my friend realize that she had nothing to lose. She already didn't have a job! What were the real risks associated with putting herself out there? Just embarrassment and insecurity. And those are not real risks. 

So she crafted a possible job for herself and reached out to her dream work place. I have found that so much can happen when you reach out to someone with genuine effusiveness. It was easy to do in my friend's case because she felt so passionate about working at that particular place. 

Long story short, it was a very long and difficult process (10 months!) to get from that initial e-mail to a bona fide job offer. There were many, many times when she felt like they were not interested and minimally interested because they weren't following up. I kept pushing her to go back to them (in a friendly, not annoying, way). I kept reminding her that she would be an amazing asset to their team, that she had so much to bring to their organization, and that she had nothing to lose. 

I know intimately how it feels to feel insecure. To feel unsure. To feel under-qualified. It's not usually easy to do something big. But you have to persist. You have to flex your courage muscle and make yourself do it. It's worth it! 

Photo courtesy of Hank + Tank Photography (my husband)

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Write the Story of Your Life

An awesome friend of ours came for a visit during SXSW, and he started coaching Matt around how Matt wanted to develop and grow. Matt identified photography as a way in which he would really like to develop.

I encouraged him to sign up for a class. He also started taking free portraits of our friends and even created a website.

It’s such a simple yet difficult process to identify an area in which you’d like to develop and grow and then make it happen for yourself. And yet it feels like a fundamental part of how we create awesome lives for ourselves.

I’ve come to believe over the years that this ability—the ability to set a goal for yourself and then make it happen—is a muscle that can be exercised and strengthened. I started out small: “I want to plan a birthday party that does something to make the world better.” And got bigger: “I want to save up my money and spend a year taking a self-subsidized sabbatical to travel.” And got huge: “I want to start a national organization that changes the conversation about what’s possible for schools.”

I invite you to leave a comment about what you’re hoping to create in your life next—no matter how big or small! Go ahead; have courage!

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The Benefits of Envy

I love this short video about the benefits of envy. The world we live in is full of images of other people's lives (via blogs, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.). It can either lead to depression or inspiration. The choice is yours!

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Life Tune Up

I love this Facebook gem (thanks for sharing it, Jennie!). It provides some good food for thought.

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How to Set Goals and Stick to Them

If you can trust yourself to do what you say you want to do, a whole world of possibilities opens itself up to you. You can set big goals and trust yourself to accomplish them. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true! 

If I can stick to my New Year's Resolutions, I will feel so proud of myself at the end of the year, and I will feel more healthy. 

I find that I am most successful when I take my goals and break them down into "where," "when," and "how." If I can answer those specific details, then executing on my goals can become more automatic. If I say I want to run once on the weekend and once during the week, but I have no plan for where that's going to take place, exactly when it's going to happen, or what is going to be happening with the boys, then I create so many more barriers for myself that get in the way of getting it done. 

I will already face a barrier every time I go running. Most of the time, I won't want to do it (even though I feel great afterward). If it's overcast, I'll have even more excuses (i.e., barriers). "It might rain in the middle of it! I should just stay home." 

If I also have to figure out when I'm going running, where, and what the plan is for the boys, then I will never do it. That's too many barriers all piled up. 

However, if I decide that I am going to run on Sundays when we first wake up and that I will take Henry to ride his bike with me on the running trail and that Matt will take Tate to the dog park, then I reduce my barriers. The behavior can become more automatic. 

If I take it one step further and decide on a back-up plan, I reduce the barriers even further. For example, if Matt has an early morning soccer game, then we will go on Saturday. 

So what are the other barriers I can anticipate and solve for myself in order to set myself up for more success? Here are my goals again:

1. Start the year with the 21-day cleanse from Clean and work through a book about breaking the emotional eating habit. I tried to set up a support network of people to work through this with me at the same time. I also selected all the recipes in advance. Then I ordered the groceries in advance. Having the food and the recipes in place takes away all the excuses. Then I just have to focus my energy on actually following through.
2. Eat more salads with dinner. I need to identify salad ingredients that we like. Then I need to do as much prep as possible on the weekend.
3. Drink at least 80 ounces of water each day. I need to have a water bottle at home and at school.
4. Run once on the weekend and once during the week. See plan above....
5. Go to yoga once a week. Find the specific class I want to go to at the YMCA and get it on the calendar. Invite a friend!
6. Do 15 minutes of strength building once a week (either MommaStrong or my back exercises). I need a schedule for my exercise. Run on Sunday and Wednesday. Do yoga on Tuesday. Do my home exercises on Thursday. And I will need to do these right after I put Henry to bed. Otherwise, I will not do them! I also need a good podcast or book on tape to listen to.
7. Cultivate a daily meditation and gratitude practice. I downloaded Insight Timer, and it is going to change everything! It makes it so easy to do a guided meditation every night (even just five minutes). I think we need to start a gratitude practice during dinner to highlight the positives from our day, and then I want to review my gratitude as I'm falling asleep at night.
8. Publish five books. Hmmm...this one is a little overwhelming. I think I will need a whole separate project plan for that project.
9. Clean and organize our house before the boys go to bed each night. I need to leave work on time so that I can cook dinner on time so that we have enough time before bed to get everything cleaned and put away.
10. Track our expenses in Mint.com daily so that we are able to hit our saving goals. We should do this while Matt is showering each evening. We have a little ledge in the bathtub that I can sit on so we can do it together.
11. Invite friends over monthly. When I sit down to reflect on my goals each month, I can plan the next get together. I also want to keep a list of all of our acquaintances so I can be sure to rotate through different people.
12. Use my work time in the evening to clear out my inbox and do bigger-picture planning. Try to move all projects into slots during the work day.  
13. Reflect each month about how I'm doing toward these goals. 

I feel better prepared to actually execute on these goals!

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Join us for the upcoming Purposeful Parenthood course! We'll be reflecting on the kind of family we are and the kind of family we want to become. Learn more...Register now! We start on Monday!

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My New Year's Resolutions

The New Year is upon us. I love this time of year. As much as I love getting cozy and creative for Christmas, I am always eager to clear out the tree, take down the holiday decorations and have an uncluttered space both physically and emotionally. I love dwelling in possibility, planning, and being intentional about the kind of year I want to have. 

(Side note: I often think about how unpredictable and fragile life is, how everything could change in an instant and my life could be completely derailed, but I tap into the fear and the worry to find the energy to face forward and live the life I've always imagined while I have the opportunity to do so.)

I start the process of looking forward by actually look backward. Here were some of the highlights of 2015:

• Hosting a Reflection & Rejuvenation Party for a group of wonderful women
• Hosting a concert in our living room
• Traveling to the AMI Montessori Refresher Course
• Hosting a ton of visitors at our school for SXSWedu
• Traveling to the AMS Montessori conference
• Traveling to San Diego with my family for Spring Break
• Traveling to the Yale School of Management education reform conference
• Taking a Britney Spears dance class
• Traveling to Lake Tahoe with family
• Attending the Montessori Unconference
• Hosting a Reflection & Rejuvenation Retreat
• Traveling to Puerto Rico with just Matt
• Traveling to Florida for my grandparents' anniversary party
• Hosting two Backyard Movie Nights
• Taking Henry on a canoe trip with our school to see bats under the bridge
• Lots of date nights to the Alamo Draft House
• Joining our school camping trip for the afternoon
• Traveling to the Pacific Northwest for Fall Break
• Hosting a Halloween Party
• Finishing my Purposeful Parenthood Course

My goal for this year was "Balance." I definitely feel like I took major steps toward finding more balance in my life. My life is no longer just all work and mothering.

This year, I want to focus on "Health & Wellness." I want to get into the best shape of my life and figure out how to sustain it for the rest of my life. Here are my specific, measurable goals:

1. Start the year with the 21-day cleanse from Clean and work through a book about breaking the emotional eating habit. 
2. Eat more salads with dinner. 
3. Drink at least 80 ounces of water each day.
4. Run once on the weekend and once during the week. 
5. Go to yoga once a week. 
6. Do 15 minutes of strength building once a week (either MommaStrong or my back exercises). 
7. Cultivate a daily meditation and gratitude practice.
8. Publish five books. 
9. Clean and organize our house before the boys go to bed each night. 
10. Track our expenses in Mint.com daily so that we are able to hit our saving goals. 
11. Invite friends over monthly. 
12. Use my work time in the evening to clear out my inbox and do bigger-picture planning. Try to move all projects into slots during the work day.  
13. Reflect each month about how I'm doing toward these goals.

I know the research shows that New Year's Resolutions last about five minutes, but I think it's incredibly powerful to set them anyway. I went back to my journal from eight years ago, and this is the vision I wrote for my future:

1. We live in a beautiful house. It’s beautiful because it is surrounded by green and it is washed in natural light. And we have a very pleasing aesthetic sense. And it’s full of comfortable spots. Our home is our sanctuary and our inspiration and the center of our entertaining life.
2. We have friends over for ugly sweater parties and scavenger hunts and fondue and Scrabble and dance parties. We entertain outside with Christmas lights.
3. We have a garden. We grow food for ourselves. And lots of herbs.
4. I have time for projects during the weekends. I am not consumed with work.
5. I can work at home a few hours every day.
6. I have significant time for vacation.
7. I am passionate about my work. It does not feel like work. It feels like breathing.

The trick, I think, is to revisit these goals throughout the year. I want to get back into my monthly reflection posts. It helps me a lot!

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Join us for the upcoming Purposeful Parenthood course! We'll be reflecting on the kind of family we are and the kind of family we want to become. Learn more...Register now! We start next Monday!

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How to Self-Publish a Book

I am a sucker for dreaming big and dwelling in possibility. Our lives are so short! I have pushed myself to dream big (and be plenty scared and insecure) many times while taking a year-long sabbatical to travel by myself, planning a $2,000 wedding when everyone thought it was tacky, publishing a book about our tacky wedding, self-publishing another book with some awesome gals, building a house, starting a school.   

So when I got an e-mail from one of my internet friends with an opportunity to interview another woman who dreams big, I jumped at the chance. 

Everyone, meet Gena! Gena had the audacity to publish her own children's book, and I invited her here to share her story with us. Enjoy!

1. Gena, what was your inspiration when creating The Rainbow’s Journey?
 

• I’ve been obsessed with rainbows since a very young age, so creating a rainbow themed book felt like a really natural concept to me. One of my earliest memories is being awoken from a preschool nap so that I could get up and see a rainbow outside. My parents printed my birth announcement on rainbow stationery, and don’t get me started on Rainbow Brite! 

2. When did you begin to assemble the images and poetry that make up the book? 

• A few years ago I took a break from my job as an art teacher. My husband (then boyfriend), Brad, and I traveled throughout Asia for a year. About half-way through the trip we were on an ayurvedic retreat in India. I was sitting down sifting through my photographs when I realized they were almost all monochromatic. Seen as a collection, the images were a rainbow. We spent the rest of that day organizing images by color and Brad began writing the poetry to accompany them immediately. It’s been a lifelong dream to create a children’s book, but we definitely didn’t set out to do that while we were in Asia. Making this book wasn’t a conscious decision; it had momentum of its own. Inspiration hit and in under two weeks the rough draft was done! 

3. It’s quite a journey to leave your secure job and then create a children’s book. What inspired you? 

• I decided to leave the stability of my job and my life in the Bay Area because I was craving challenge and the personal growth that comes from that. We had just lost a close family member at a very young age and we suddenly knew we needed to embrace our lives and live them to the fullest. Traveling in Asia definitely felt like a daring opportunity, and anyone who has traveled there for a year will tell you it’s not a vacation! There was food poisoning and language barriers and a lot of missing home. Facing the obstacles of getting the book published felt like a natural continuation of the journey we embarked on in Asia. Some people thought it was crazy to leave stable jobs to travel for a year, and the same people thought it was crazy to try to publish a book. Most people would say I’m a pretty normal person, but every once and awhile, I like to do crazy!

4. What were the most challenging aspects of completing The Rainbow’s Journey? 

• The most challenging part of the creative process began when we returned to the U.S. and realized how difficult it is to get a children’s book published! Especially one that strays so far from the typical layout and content of most children’s books. Our story relies on photography, not illustration. The accompanying poems are complex and rich in detail and often incorporate the many languages we encountered on our trip. We talk about colors like chartreuse and saffron, and rhyme with words like the Indonesian “batik.” A book agent I spoke with told me “If Barnes and Noble doesn’t immediately know what shelf to stock it on, they won’t buy it.” Essentially the book was too niche to appeal to large publishers and no one would touch it. I considered taking the advice of many “experts” and re-working the entire layout and format to make it more marketable, but in the end, we decided to stay true to our vision and find a more authentic way to share it with the world. 

5. How did you publish the book? 
 

• Ultimately, we chose to self-publish and raised the money through a crowd-funding campaign. Kickstarter had just established itself as a successful crowd-funding platform and it was serendipitous timing. The ability to self-publish The Rainbow’s Journey with this amazing resource was a game-changer. I am so grateful to all our friends and family who supported us through the process. 

6. What new skills did you learn completing this project? 
 

• One important skill was learning to let go of some creative control to collaborate with other trusted artists. I had initially planned to do all the graphic design and typography on my own. I also had to figure out how to take this finished product and get it out in the world. 

7. What advice do you have for others with audacious goals?
 

• If you don’t believe in your goal wholeheartedly, there will probably come a time when it’s not worth the effort and energy to continue trying to accomplish it. Find the people in your life who are bold risk-takers and lean on them. Embrace the discomfort of trying something new. At the time, publishing this book was the most bold and intimidating thing I’d ever done (second now to having a child). The strength and determination I cultivated to succeed in that effort have propelled me into many more adventures since!

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Live the Life You've Always Imagined

I loved reading Kelsey's recent post at Rising*Shining (Kelsey, let's please plan another visit when you are in Austin!). She and Chris have decided to save like crazy for five years in order to pay off their mortgage. Once their mortgage is paid off, Chris will continue working his job, but Kelsey will be freed up to work for herself. 

I love examples of people deciding what kind of life they want to create for themselves and then building a plan to make it happen. [As a side note, our world is set up in very unfair ways that advantage certain people to be able to live this way (based on race, parents' education levels, etc.) But I believe all people should be able to live this way, which is why Montessori For All exists.]

Back to Kelsey and Chris. Her story made me go back to Matt for another conversation about the kind of life we want to build for ourselves. "Are you sure you don't want us to save up so you can work part-time?" We're sure that's not the path for us. 

Then this weekend we were invited out to a lake house in the Hill Country. It was stunning. As we passed through tiny Texas towns, several questions came up:

• Should we move to a tiny town to build more intimate connections as a family?
• Should we save up our money and buy a lake house retreat for weekends? 

Our answers are no and no. But the questions are worth asking. We only get one chance at this little life of ours.

I think our big goals right now are to keep investing in our house as a mini-sanctuary. We want to come home from work every day and feel like we can escape from everything together as a family with games, books, and swimming. We still have several things that we want to do on our house, such as adding umbrellas around our deck and pool. We want to feel like we are on vacation on the weekends, and we want to invite friends over frequently.

We also want to keep traveling. We've got a fall break, winter break, spring break, and summer break. I want to explore with my family and experience adventures together. Then there's the 6-month sabbatical I want to go on when our children are older.

And date nights! Our monthly date nights are expensive between the babysitter, Alamo tickets, and food! And we aren't even fancy food people. These feel like the right things for us to be prioritizing right now. 

When September rolls around, we need to get back on top of using Mint.com to track our expenses. Our budget reflects all of our current priorities, but we need to make sure we stick to it. Easier said than done!

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Don't Know What We Need Till We Get It

I keep singing "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone" but I'm realizing that, for me, I haven't been understanding what I need until I get it. 

It happened first when I accidentally picked up the book Little Bee from the Little Free Library in our neighborhood and realized how deprived I've been without fiction in my life. 

And then it happened this past weekend when my husband and our boys traveled to a wedding in Indiana and I stayed behind. Four whole days to myself? What a gift! Of course I miss my boys terribly and my life is most certainly better with them in it, but I needed a break. I needed a couple days where I could pick up the house and it would actually stay picked up. I needed to be able to call my neighbor to come over at 8:30pm and swim and chat together about our lives and how hard motherhood is. I needed long, uninterrupted (and guild-free!) time in front of my computer to do personal stuff (hello, Blog!) and professional stuff (hello, a million performance reviews that need to be written!). 

Every couple of years I like to step back and make a list of what I need on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis in order to fill fulfilled. The truth is, I'm scared to do it right now because I'm just not sure that I can actually accommodate what I need. Well, that's no reason not to do it! 

Let me take a stab at it: 

Daily

• 8 hours of sleep
• Time to really talk with my husband 
• Relaxed quality time with my children
• A healthy and home-cooked dinner as a family
• Meaningful work that contributes to social justice
• At least 1.5 hours to myself of free time (reading, designing e-courses, watching movies, etc.)
• Stretching
• A picked-up and de-cluttered environment

Weekly

• Running at least two times
• Catching up with my mom
• A relaxed weekend with lots of quality family time
• Time in nature

Monthly

• Interesting get-togethers with friends and neighbors
• A date night with my husband

Yearly

• Travel with my family
• Travel by myself (like the Reflection & Rejuvenation Retreat!)
• Time at home by myself with my family out of town
• Travel with just my husband 
• Time to reflect on the past year and set intentions for the upcoming year

Surprisingly, these aren't much different from what I said in 2010 and 2012.

The truth is, I'm not doing terrible on these things. The main thing I'm not doing is the 1.5 hours of free time each night, and that's making me feel like my whole life is off-kilter. That makes sense! 

Well, I'm just going to crawl my way toward summer vacation (literally because I really hurt my back last week). School ends on Friday! 

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Join us for the First Annual Reflection & Rejuvenation Retreat in Austin, TX, July 10th to 12th!

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Movie Recommendation: Maidentrip

We watched a great documentary about a 14 year-old who sailed around the world by herself. It was a powerful reminder of what we're capable of as humans. We can identify our authentic path and pursue it with passion. 

It takes a lot of courage. And courage is something we have to build over time. It's a muscle that needs to be exercised to get stronger and stronger. 

I recently read an interesting metaphor about courage in a magazine (I was waiting for Henry to get his haircut, so I don't even remember which one it was!). A little girl had mustered the courage to be part of a performance. Afterwards, her teacher explained that she had just added a brick to her courage wall. The idea is that every time we exercise courage, we add a brick to our courage wall. So the next time we need to do something that requires courage, we can stand upon our courage wall.

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My 20-Year Plan

I love plane rides (especially when I don’t have a toddler crawling across my lap!). They give me time and space to reflect and plane and knock out some tasks that require an extended period of focus and concentration. (And sometimes I just don’t do anything except watch Fixer Upper on HGTV).

I recently flew to Connecticut to meet with the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector, tour public Montessori schools, and attend the Yale School of Management education conference.

On the way back home, I opened my journal and filled a whole page with years: 2015, 2016, 2017… I realized that I had filled the page with 20 years. I then proceeded to brainstorm what direction I would like my work to take in the next 20 years. Next to the year, I also included my sons’ ages.

Y’all, it’s going to go so quickly! We only have this one chance with our wild and precious life.

I started by making a list of what my strengths are. I recently heard that we should spend 80-90% of our time on things we’re good at and 10-20% of our time on tasks that stretch us. I looked at what I think our organization will do over the next 20 years and my skills might be the most useful.

At the Yale School of Management conference, I ran into many former colleagues—one of them taught with me in rural South Louisiana back in 2003. It made me reflect on how old I’m getting (37 this year). My bio says that I have “more than a decade” in education reform, but it’s now been 16 years. I’m getting so old!

I’m glad I found my way to Montessori For All. I’m pretty sure my career is set for life (unless I get fired), but I know that my job will continue to evolve and look very different from year to year (our organization has a four-pronged theory of change, including opening public charter schools in diverse communities nationwide, codifying and disseminating our approach, creating a Montessori teacher training center, and then working as consultants for public districts who are interested in strengthening or creating Montessori programs.

As my work life becomes more sustainable, I look forward to freeing up more time for personal projects. I’ll figure out what those will be on a year-by-year basis. 

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Ideal Workplace

School is starting in 165 short days! I'm still pinching myself. 

Our team is working really hard to get everything in place for the beginning of August, and I was hoping you could help me with something. 

What makes your workplace awesome? Or what do you wish your workplace had to make it more awesome? I'm thinking about the big things (onsite childcare?) to the little things (surprise masseuse on site for a day of chair massages?). 

Thank you in advance for any ideas you are able to share! 

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Job Openings

The other day, I e-mailed a longtime blog friend to see if she had any leads on potential staff members for the school I'm working to start, and she mentioned that she and her partner might be interested once they finish their graduate school programs. It gave me the idea to put the request out there to all of you! Perhaps Magnolia Montessori For All is "the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet" or you might know of someone else who might be interested! 

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Do you believe that schools should educate the whole child? Do you want to support learning that is hands-on, differentiated, and student-led? Do you believe that how we educate children today determines what kind of world we live in tomorrow? Do you think we can cultivate children academically, intellectually, socially, emotionally, creatively, ethically, and physically--all while ensuring stellar results on standardized tests? Even in diverse, low-income communities? 

Join the founding team of Montessori For All as we collaborate to build an innovative pre-K3 through 8th grade model and prove what's possible. We are seeking to blend the best of what's happening in high-performing charter schools for economically-disadvantaged children with the best of progressive approaches to pedagogy that focus on educating the whole child for success in college, the 21st-century, and life as leaders in their families and communities. Our model incorporates personalized learning, hands-on materials, student-led projects, multi-age classrooms, and dual-language development.

We are currently recruiting their founding staff and offering a unique opportunity to participate in this innovative vision as we open our flagship school and then grow into a national charter management organization. Alex Hernandez of the Charter School Growth fund named it one of two schools to watch in 2014, schools that are doing some of "the most interesting, complicated and messiest work going on in K-12 right now." He called it "education R&D for the next century."

We are looking for talented people who have a particular passion for a more individualized, holistic, sustainable approach to teaching and learning. In particular, we are looking for:

• Director of Student Affairs & Services: This position is essentially an AP position--great for someone who wants to be on the principal track and is really strong with classroom management, culture-building, connecting with families, and coaching teachers. Bilingual in Spanish/English, preferred (although all candidates will be considered).
• Director of SPED & Intervention: We are looking for a SPED guru who is passionate about working with students with special needs and also has the skills and strategies necessary to set up and manage the entire SPED program. 
• Lead Teachers: We are looking for amazing teachers who are more interested in being a "guide on the side" as opposed to a "sage on the stage." The school is willing to pay for individuals to undergo their Montessori certification the summer before school starts.
• Associate Teachers: This hands-on fellowship is a great opportunity for someone who is looking to become a teacher but needs more experience. The fellowship involves working alongside a lead teacher while undergoing professional development and a gradual acquisition of responsibilities. 

For more detailed job descriptions, visit: http://magnolia.montessoriforall.org/about-us/staff/.

Or contact Founder & Principal Sara Cotner at saracotner@montessoriforall.org for more information.

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Snapshots of Joy & Gratitude

When I used to teach 3rd grade, I read Cam Jansen with my students. Cam had a photographic memory, so she would go around taking snapshots in her mind. She would later use these snapshots to help solve mysteries. 

Lately, I've found myself doing the same thing (well, the mental snapshot thing, not the solving mysteries part). I find myself taking a mental photograph of a situation as a way to pause and soak up the joy. The intentional pause also gives me a moment to acknowledge the gratitude I feel. 

It happens in simple moments, like when Matt, Henry, Tate, and I are "making a tent" on the bed by going under the covers or like the time Tate grabbed at Henry's breakfast taco and Henry said, "I guess we need to make him some guacamole to eat." Or it happens when Henry, Tate, and I are driving in the car, listening to Henry's favorite song on repeat and rocking out with clapping, singing, and fist-pumping. 

I am overwhelmed by my luck sometimes. I feel like it's all too good to be true. I don't know how I managed to give birth to two healthy boys and marry a man who is pure light. 

I don't talk about the contentment I feel regarding my life in blog posts very often because it feels like bragging. It also doesn't feel useful to me as an exercise. I gravitate toward blogging when I need to puzzle through something, think out loud, hold myself accountable to accomplishing something. I try to make other space in my life for expressing gratitude and celebrating the joy of living. Every night as I fall asleep, I try to reflect on the things I am grateful for. That practice--instituted as part of my New Year's intention process--has helped me focus on gratitude more throughout the day, too. Hence these new "Snapshots of Joy & Gratitude" that are popping up in my life. 

This weekend one of my friends posted on Facebook a request for wedding venues in Colorado. I recommended Sunshine Mountain Lodge and included a link to the story of our wedding there. Rereading the story, I was reminded of how much insecurity I felt as Matt and I forged our own path. I was reminded of how much hustling it took. We had to have a vision of what we wanted and we had to make it happen for ourselves, despite the resistance we experienced. 

And I don't mean to harp on this fact, but only spending $2,000 on our wedding put us on the trajectory that has led us to where we are now. We closed on our house in Houston just days after our wedding, which cleaned out our entire bank account. If we had spent any more on our wedding, we wouldn't have been able to afford the downpayment. 

Three years later, we were able to sell the house for a significant profit (we saved 3% on realtor fees by selling it ourselves), which allowed me to stay home with Henry and pursue my passion to open Austin's first public Montessori school (which was a volunteer effort for the past two years). 

We committed to living frugally for a year, so that we could save up to build a family home together.

And all the fights (caused by the restrictions of living on a tight budget), the insecurity ("Will we be able to save enough money for the downpayment on our permanent loan?"), the judgment (people write mean things about me on the internet every day because of the choices I make for myself) and the hustling (working part-time while volunteering for my school part-time while taking care of Henry after school and being pregnant with Tate--all while facing obstacles head-on and persisting) were all worth it. Life was still enjoyable while all of that was happening, but now we get to watch it grow and blossom. 

We hosted Matt's birthday party this past weekend. He wanted to throw a 1980s movie party--pizza, soda, candy, popcorn, and Goonies on the big screen. Our friends crowded into our home and congregated around the island. I used to daydream about that kitchen island while we were building our house. It wasn't the object itself that excited me; it was the potential of the object to help cultivate what I want more of in life--connection and community. 

Several months ago, our friends told us about a giant movie screen that was deeply discounted on Woot.com. We decided to purchase it because we had visions of hosting movie parties (mainly outside). In preparation for Matt's birthday party, we decided to research the possibility of purchasing a projector. We were able to snag an awesome one off Amazon for $322. 

As all of our friends crowded onto our giant sectional couch with blankets and popcorn, I was once again overcome with gratitude that we have been able to create the kind of life we want for ourselves. It was so great to spend quality time reconnecting with old friends and connecting with new ones. One of our friends stayed the night, and we all enjoyed waffles together in the morning. 

I'm so tempted to delete this entire post because--again--it sounds like I'm just trying to brag about myself. I promise that is not my intention. My intention is to say, "We did it! And you can, too!" Whatever vision you have for your life, it is within you to make it happen for yourself. That's such an incredibly empowering place to start. It's not easy to visualize the path and then follow it, but it's completely possible. 

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Dwelling in Possibility.

 

It feels like dreaming big is in the air. I've had many conversations with friends lately about their plans and dreams. One friend wants to stop working outside of the home and instead pursue a creative endeavor that will allow her to stay home with her son. Another friend is pushing herself to pursue her real passions, even though they are very different from her current day job and even though those passions are challenging and make her feel like quitting sometimes (Meghan, I love reading about your adventures, and I'm rooting for you!).

 

Another friend and I talked about the importance of being honest with yourself--really honest with yourself--about what makes you happy. She's realizing that the career she has pursued since college might no longer be how she wants to spend her days. She talked about how difficult it can be to admit that to oneself. Her career is such an integral part of her identity--both how she sees herself and how others see her. It makes it even more difficult to step aside and pursue authentic happiness.

 

Another friend seems to have the ideal job from an outsider's perspective and yet she's ready to brainstorm new paths to take. She's at that scary intersection where roads lead in all sorts of different directions.

 

Matt and I have also been having these conversations. He was recently offered a new job with another non-profit organization doing amazing work in the education sector. When he was contemplating the benefits and drawbacks of making the change, I asked, "What do you really, really want?" His answer was simple. He explained that he wanted to be able to run every day. Running is such an important part of his life, and yet it's been squished to the side with the expansion of our family. He still runs approximately five times a week and plays soccer on the sixth day, but his running has been relegated to extremely late in the evening (which means he has to run on a nearly full stomach from dinner and we can't relax together in the evenings) or extremely early in the morning (which mean he is even more sleep-deprived than the average new parent).

 

When we realized that such a simple thing--time to run during the day--would have such a profound impact on his quality of life, he decided to propose an alternate schedule to the awesome folks at his new job. We decided that it would be worth any pay-cut that it entailed because we are in a place where happiness is more important than more money (I'm so glad we've finally reached that place!). He will now be able to drop off Henry at school in the morning and then go for a run before settling in to start his work for the day. Although it was a scary thing to ask ("What if they think I'm not committed to the work? What if they say 'no'?"), it will undoubtedly make all the difference in his quality of life. I think it's absurd that we tend to push ourselves to work ourselves to the bone before retirement. I would much rather have time to enjoy myself when I'm younger and healthier. I'm so proud of Matt for going out on a limb to ask for what he wanted, and I am ecstatic that it's actually going to work out.  

 

I know every single one of us that I talked about in this post is coming from a place of privilege. Self-actualization can only be pursued when all of your other basic needs are being met. The fact that I have the privilege to pursue my dreams while there are others who have to struggle to get food on the table is unjust. That's precisely why my chosen path is creating educational opportunities that promote social justice. I believe all people should be able to live the kind of life discussed in the video above, and education is one way to help make that vision a reality.

 

 

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National Night Out

In an attempt to "put down roots" this year, Matt and I have attended monthly church potlucks, invited new friends over for dinner, and gone out of our way to meet neighbors. However, I'm eager to do more. 

Enter National Night Out. In Texas, we have National Night Out on October 1st because the thought is that it's too hot to have block parties in the summer. Our neighborhood is having an event at the local park later in the evening, so Matt and I are planning to host a potluck earlier in the evening. We invited all the neighbors on our cul-de-sac, as well as a couple neighbors we've met while walking in the neighborhood. We also went to a couple houses of people that we had only heard about from other neighbors. 

I made a simple handwritten invitation and used our copier to replicate it. Henry and I also made cookies and delivered them along with the invitations. 

I'm eager to get to know as many neighbors as possible. A couple years ago, we hosted a National Night Out at our house in Houston, and I ended up meeting a woman who later became an amazing friend (we got pregnant at the same time, carpooled to prenatal yoga together, and later collaborated with Kylie on Kids in the Kitchen). 

On one of our walks the other evening, we met a woman who has lived in her house since 1970. It's amazing to come across such deep roots just down the block! It's surreal to think about our family potentially being in this spot for Henry and Tate's entire childhoods. It makes the process of reaching out and connecting with those around us feel even more necessary and promising. 

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