I Am The Teacher, You Are The Student - by: Jane Kifer

Have you noticed whether you are the teacher or the student, some classes are chaos and some classes are organized? Well, check this out- The teacher's desk should always face the door to have the "command" position. The students should have their back to the door. Since this understanding, I have noticed in my own classes, this phenomenon. When I am facing the door and they are between me and the door, everything is under control and calmer. When My side or back is to the door, NO ONE is listening and it feels like all hell is breaking loose with the 4-11 year olds! And that is not so much fun. So Now I intentionally make sure I am facing the door! It doesn't matter what direction or layout they are as a group as long as I , the great maestro am facing the door. Then we can all be present and offering our best selves for the class.

Feng Shui Your Purse - by: Jane Kifer

Seriously? Feng Shui your purse? What does that even mean? Oh yeah, it means clean the (excuse my language) shit out! And while you're at it- your car? I drove around with all those bags I so amazingly collected in my house of stuff I didn't want anymore, for about a month. Sure let's carry around extra weight everywhere we go, in my purse, in my trunk, let alone the crazy mess of children I allow in my car. When I bought a new car, it helped a little and we all try better to clean stuff up and out like my daughter's 5 pairs of shoes or food that gets forgotten on the way to school in a bowl that got missed for 4 days. YUCK! Bad feng Shui! Bad Feng Shui!, that's just bad everything, I don't need to become a master to see that those areas definitely need a little effort, and I mean a little, as in pick it up and put it in the trash or the sink. There is an absolute metaphor for the heavy extras you carry in your bag or purse, the random old papers, the 15 bracelets your daughter made you, the 3 balls, a skateboard washer that goes between the bushings that your son decided he didn't need anymore, the 2 dice from what? The crumbs from the toast you threw ON your purse as you ran out the door one day, CLEAN IT OUT! Or how about the tampons and pads you carry around in a pretty leather pouch "just in case" but never get used for whatever reason and because they are organic, they have already disintegrated and unraveled out of their protective papers and are worn and discolored from the purple leather pouch they are in . Geez. What am I actually trying to be prepared for since it has all been in there a year and never touched? Get rid of it all! Now if anything goes in my car, it goes OUT! I force myself. As much as I don't want to deal with it, I make myself, and it instantly frees mental space of my "to do"list. As much as it's easier to say you don't care and leave it all there forever, what it represents in not dealing has far greater impact on your life than a mere forgetting about it. You see the difference when you do deal with it. Take it from me, I am not a pack rat, But it has taken my whole life to be able to get rid of things. My mother got rid of everything, even things with a heart beat. I'll leave the story there. But as a result I held on to everything! It was an epiphany to realize I was holding on to everything because she let everything go! I moved 17 times before I left home at 17. I lived with everything in view to know it was there. I traveled the world as a teenager with my bag on my lap for security. I mean 9 hour flights to Greece and Italy. My stuff was my safety. I overcompensated for everything that left my life as a child. Holding on to my stuff was holding me back. It has been so incredibly freeing to let things GO! You can do it, let it go!!!! Good luck, be free.