"Teacher Talk" with Ken Newton
All about education in Elementary and Middle School for the 21st Century Student, Teacher, and Parent.
"Teacher Talk" with Ken Newton
Episode 8- "Embracing Gratitude: Student Stories of Thankfulness and Joy"
Imagine a world where tacos rain from the sky—sounds like a dream, right? Our latest episode kicks off with this delightful fantasy, setting a joyful tone as we explore the profound impact of gratitude in our lives. Joining us are Mr. Calvin and Breonna who share their heartfelt reflections on the little things that mean a lot—from family support at baseball games to a comforting dog's presence during anxious times. Miss Olivia adds to the warmth by highlighting the bonds with her family and friends, especially her beloved older sister. Their stories are gentle reminders of the everyday kindnesses that often go unnoticed but make all the difference.
As we embrace the fall season, the energy in the room is contagious with positivity and laughter. Our enthusiastic classroom discussion sees students reflecting on their gratitude for everything from ice cream to the invaluable support of family and friends. Adding to this are the voices of our three friends—Steven, Austin, and Aiden—each bringing their unique perspectives on thankfulness. This episode is your invitation to bask in the glow of gratitude and to recognize the beautiful people and moments that fill our lives with joy and warmth.
It's raining tacos from out of the sky. Tacos, no need to ask why, just open your. They just requested the most unusual song I've ever heard in my life, which I'm still waiting for tacos to rain down, and hopefully they'll rain down sometime soon, hopefully from some good local Mexican restaurants. So I have a couple guests here to talk about. What are they grateful for, what are they appreciative of as we head into the season of being thankful for things and being grateful for things? So I know they're grateful for their amazing, awesome teacher, but I'm just kidding. But hey, I have Mr Calvin here. Good morning, calvin and Calvin.
Speaker 1:What are you grateful for, what are you appreciative of as we kind of enter into October and November? I'm grateful for my family because they do all stuff for me they like wash my clothes, they cook my food and they take me to places like my practice and my games for baseball. I love it. So my suggestion but I'm sure you do it already is always say thank you and show your appreciation. Um, I love it. Thank you, sir um and he um. He's one of our awesome new students, along with his awesome brother um, mr calvin, miss brianna um, also known as spudge. We um, we were. We welcome you to our amazing podcast here about what are you grateful for, what are you appreciative of? So, so give us your take on this. What are you grateful for? Well, I'm simply grateful for my mom, who has been supporting me because I'm trying to make some books and publish them and be a writer, and I'm also grateful for my dog, who helps me with my anxiety sometimes. That's super cute and that's super cool. So I appreciate your take. So after the next break, we're going to have come on up and I'm share with us what she is grateful for and appreciative of. Hey, welcome back everybody. Hello, hello, class. I love it. This time no tacos, no food raining down from the sky, but a little bit of Justin Timberlake. So, hey, I have Miss Olivia to my left and Miss Olivia.
Speaker 1:The theme today is what are you grateful for? What are you appreciative of? Olivia always talks about her wonderful older sister. Appreciative of. Olivia always talks about her wonderful older sister, and I know you're grateful for her, but if you want to talk about her or other things, what are you grateful for? As we kind of enter into the fall season, what I'm grateful for is my family and my friends and my older sister, because they've been there for me for a long time already and I'm just really grateful for them. I love it. Beautifully, beautifully put. So let me end. Thanks, olivia, thanks for coming on up.
Speaker 1:I know that's a big deal, so I'm going to ask the class a couple questions what they're grateful for. So who's grateful for their awesome school? Me, I love it, I love it, I love it. But thunderous applause and that thunderous agreement. Who is grateful for? For their parents, right? Who's grateful for ice cream? Some ice cream lovers out there. And lastly, most importantly, who's grateful for their family? Me, absolutely, absolutely. Hey, so after the next break, our final break is we'll have another guest and we'll kind of close this week's episode on what you're grateful for. So we'll catch you on the last flip side. All right, hey, friends, we are back. Happy Friday, episode eight. What is gratitude? What are you grateful for? There's so much to be grateful for as we kind of enter the fall in 2024.
Speaker 1:So I have three friends. I'm going to ask them to say hi, this is Steven, hello, hello. And then I have Austin, hi, austin's wearing a pottery hat. I didn't ask him to wear a pottery hat, but he wore his pottery hat Just teasing. And lastly, I have Aiden K Hi. So can you believe, friends, I have three Aidens in my class this year. So it's kind of fun, kind of funny. And yes, I have two Aidens that are Aiden M, so we kind of have to distinguish between the three of them, kind of funny. So, hey, I have a few questions for you guys, and if you're ready, I'll wait very quickly.
Speaker 1:So, what are you grateful for? I'm going to ask you to respond in one word. I'm going to give you a second or two to think about what you're grateful for. Just one word, maybe two. But what are you grateful for? I'm going to go down the line here. So, first thing that pops in your head Family, family, I love it. Next person, I think of family and friends. Family and friends. Even though it's three words, that's okay, I'm just teasing. And lastly, what are you grateful for? Family, friends and shelter. Family, friends and shelter, I love it. They left out chocolate and ESPN, but I'm just kidding. But yeah, it's so important nowadays to be grateful for things. And there's some like just quick final thoughts that you want to share with our audience about what you're grateful for.
Speaker 1:What could you not live without and I know we've talked about shelter and food Is there something kind of non-essential that you're grateful for? Maybe, like it's okay to say Wi-Fi, it's okay to say video games, but is there something that you are really appreciative of, like whoa, I couldn't live without? I would say my dog, your dog, I love it, I love it. We all have our puppies that we love very much. What is something or someone that you can't live without? I would probably agree with Steven, with my dog and my cat, and my turtle, I love it. And your turtle, you said turtle. Oh, super cute, the turtle. I never expected you to say turtle, very cool.
Speaker 1:And lastly, aiden, what are you grateful for? What can you not live without? My bed, my blankets, and my dogs I love it. And direct TV too, right, I'm just teasing that. My dogs, I love it. And direct TV too right, I'm just teasing. That was fun, I had fun. Thank you, class, for being part of it. I appreciate it and I will send this out to your parents. All right, happy Friday, peace out people.