This week the letter is "S". After the day I had on Monday, I just had to choose the word SMILE. Sometimes, a simple smile can make life seem that much better. Try it.

Does one of your children get up on the wrong side of the bed, mad at the world? How about a hug and a SMILE? What if one of your precious cherubs is not acting so nicely? Maybe a gentle reminder followed by a SMILE might help. Does someone cut you off in traffic or beep at you because you are driving too slow? Wave and SMILE. How about the extremely rude person who walks quickly to get in front of you in line at the grocery store? Let them ahead and SMILE.

I've found that smiling can cure many of life's ills - or at least make them seem not so bad at the given moment. And guess what? When we smile, it's contagious. The more you smile, the more others around you smile, and that's a good thing!

The next time things just aren't going your way, SMILE. You'll be amazed at the difference it will make in those around you, and the how much better it will make you feel, too!

So, would you rather have THIS.....

or THIS?

(I couldn't resist throwing in two of my all time favorite pictures of my sweet girl!)

The students this year at Homegrown Learning Academy are Miss B, Fifth Grade, and GMan, First Grade. Rather than get them all dressed up for "formal" pictures, I decided to snap some shots at our favorite place, the ballpark! I'd like you to meet my two favorite children in the world:

Miss B - Age 10

You have never met a child with a bigger and more compassionate heart than my daughter. Her understanding of people with differences makes me such a proud mother. Her favorite things to do are play piano, read (on her Kindle!), swim, and create anything possible with whatever materials are on hand! She and I are very much alike, but she lacks her mom's competitive streak (and I am thankful for that!). She is introspective (like her father) but is also quite social and easy with people she doesn't know well. When she finds a friend, she is quite faithful to that person. She doesn't have a ton of friends, rather just a few GOOD friends whom she cherishes. Her dad and I love watching her mature into such a sweet young lady.

This year in school she will probably love science and history the most, and do whatever she can to wiggle her way out of math!! She's also learning to knit and wants to learn to quilt. I love that she keeps me on my toes, always wanting to learn new things, which in turn keeps me learning, too!

GMan - Age 6

My little guy, GMan, is my weakness! As you can tell from the picture, he LOVES baseball, whether it be playing the game or learning as much about the players as he can. He is definitely the wild child in the family, but his sense of humor and gregarious ways make him a people magnet. It seems that he is always doing or saying something that makes us laugh. His favorite things are (of course) baseball, anything sports related, playing Legos, swimming, and math. Anything that has numbers involved intrigues him. He is helping me to see the world in new and different ways!

This year in school he will definitely enjoy math the most, with history and spelling coming in a close second. He is truly my joy, and I'm blessed to be able to spend my days learning beside him.

It is Student Photo Week at Heart of The Matter! Have you shared your students' current photos?

One Little Thing Can Make All The Difference

My Two Favorite Children

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