Smile!

I was reviewing shapes this morning using some of the great ideas found here when some of the kids guessed correctly and I smiled. That's great for them, of course, but the strange part is how alien it felt. Do I really smile that little? I thought. I thought about it and even asked my assistant who assured me that I do smile. But it made me realize the power of something as simple as smiling. There's a Becky Bailey technique for calming down we use with the kids called S.T.A.R.: Smile, Think happy thoughts, And Relax.  To be honest, I doubted its validity but that one little moment suddenly made my morning brighter and gave me clarity to think of what I needed to do that day.  There is a scientific explanation. Just that simple act of smiling fires those mirror neurons in your brain (they're responsible for empathy) and makes you feel better. So as you go about your day today or tomorrow, just smile. Hopefully this blog helps you but you don't need an excuse. Just smile.