In the meantime...

The suggestions have begun to pour in! Thanks to some amazing primary aged students, I have received dozens of suggestions for the 27 Acts of Grace project. I am so moved by the excitement of my students as they thoughtfully consider ways to show grace.

As I prepare for the big day, November 13th, I am swamped with the regular goings-on of life. And yet, since sharing this project with the school community, I've been so much more aware of the little things I can do in the meantime. I mean, why wait till mid-November to start showing grace, right?

How are you showing grace each day?

I used to challenge myself--and sometimes my students--to compliment at least 3 people every day. Now I'm focusing more on the same 3-a-day goal, this time with graceful acts. Try it; I think that you'll be amazed at the return.

I'm so tired of ME!

I have a confession: lately, I've been pretty self-absorbed. Selfish, even. And that is not the person I want to be! Here's what I mean:

This December, I will be marrying my best friend, Mr. Connell, and guess what? He's a teacher, too! We are so excited for our big day! My students, friends, and family have been supportive and excited right along with us; it's been a lot of fun. While Mr. Connell has been a great help in the planning process, naturally, I am much more concerned about every little detail of our wedding day! I think about the wedding constantly. And I don't think there's too much wrong with this.

Unfortunately, with all of the decisions to make--the flowers I want to carry, the cake I want to eat, the dress I want to wear--I've been thinking a lot about myself. The result is that I'm rather tired of me! (Good grief, even this blog entry is about me! Ugh!) Do you ever feel this way?
 
This is just another reason that the 27 Acts of Grace project is so cool. Finally, I'll be spending an entire day thinking about others. How great is that? :-)

Defining GRACE

So what is grace? Though we may have an idea of how to show grace or what grace feels like, it may be hard to put it into words. This has proven tricky for me as I try to explain the 27 Acts of Grace project to my young students.

As someone who grew up with computers at home and at school--I'm just 26, after all!--of course I turned to Google and online dictionaries to help me out:

                                                  GRACE:

                                                  1. A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.

                                                  2. A favor rendered by one who need not do so.

                                                  3. Love bestowed freely on people.

                                                  4. Honor or favor.

                                                  5. Mercy.

                                                  6. Beauty, elegance, or charm.

                                                  7. A pleasing or attractive quality.

                                                  8. Elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.

Explaining this in elementary terms requires some assistance. Thanks to our fabulous school librarian, I've acquired a few literary resources for young students to check out:

Author Amy Krouse Rosenthal, along with illustrators Jane and Brooke Dyer, use the concept of cookies to define tricky words for little ears in:

Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons

Sugar Cookies: Sweet Little Lessons on Love

Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holiday Lessons

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Author Carol McCloud and illustrator David Messing encourage positive behavior and daily expressions of kindness in:

Have You Filled a Bucket Today: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids 

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Additional thanks to our super school guidance counselor, who has displayed the following quote about grace on a school bulletin board:

Grace has been defined as the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul.

I hope that all of us here at school, myself included, will have a better understanding of grace as we work to complete this project. In the meantime, how do you define grace? Feel free to post answers below!

27 Acts of Grace

Welcome to the official 27 Acts of Grace blog! Here I will be posting updates, photos, and information related to this exciting project.

27 Acts of Grace is a project inspired by the blog of this woman, who on her 38th birthday performed 38 random acts of kindness, 1 for each year of her life, documenting the day along with her children. Inspired by this selflessness and creativity, I have decided to do the same for my upcoming 27th birthday celebration!

As an elementary art teacher, I am even more excited about the teachable aspect of this project. And so, joining me on this exciting journey is my elementary school family, including my colleagues and hundreds of young students, who are participating to celebrate the act of grace.

I hope that you, too, will join the journey as I prepare to complete 27 acts of grace!