June 23, 2025 • 18 mins
In one of the best mashing of two words unintentionally, Cindy's colleague created a great, new word - Intentionable. Are you intentionable? Join Cindy and Alison to learn what it means and join us in a campaign to make it viral and get it in the dictionary! Share this episode far and wide, Preschool Peeps!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to How Preschool Teachers Do It.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
This is Alison Cantos, I am an early childhood educator.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
And this is Cindy Tarr Bush. I am an early
childhood consultant.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
This podcast is for parents and early childhood professionals.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Let our experience and research based knowledge become your guide.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Welcome back, preschool peeps from wherever you are. I'm super
excited about this episode. I am because the idea for
it happened kind of spontaneously. Yes, So we'll get into
that in a second. But first, let's shout out some places.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Hey, and I'm excited because we're shouting out Bolivia yay.
And I love whenever we shout.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Out something like really international just yea.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
It's me excited and we're shouting out Alpine, Alabama.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Hello, folks, thank you for being our preschool peeps. Please
go tell your friends, neighbors, neighboring states and countries, yes
to come on over and please be one of our
preschool peeps and you can and let them know. If
they go to YouTube, they will see a QR code
that was yeah, that was good. That usually is behind
Allison's head just because it is. It's a weird position.
(01:11):
But it's software, and what are you gonna do If
you hold your camera up on your mobile device to
that QR code, it's going to name a website. Tap
on that and that will take you to what is
basically a virtual business card with magical links to our website,
our Facebook page, and other things that we haven't do.
So please do come. And if you're like I can't
(01:34):
use that QR code or I'm not on YouTube with
you right now, I.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Just learned how to use QR codes like six months.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Ago, then instead you can go to Facebook and look
for the How Preschool Teachers Do It podcast. You can
go to our website How Preschool Teachers Do It dot
com you can find us, so you know, please do.
And we're here today to talk about a wonderful new
word that we want a campaign to go totally viral.
(02:01):
I just really want to can't pay for that. It
is not my word and it is not Allison's new word.
This word came from a colleague and friend of mine.
Her name is Megan Garrity him Megan, I know you're
listening because we talked about making this a thing. So
there I was in a meeting right with colleagues, and
(02:22):
we were talking about a project that we were working
on together, and Megan combined two words, as we sometimes
do when we're thinking something and you want to kind
of say it, or you're having that kind of week
where words just don't want to come out of your
mouth properly. So what she did was she when she
was talking to us, she combined to words. I think
(02:46):
she meant to say something like able to be intentional, yes,
and instead she said intentionable. And we all when she
said intentionable. So I'm on this zoom meeting with multiple
colleagues and we all paused for a second, like there
was silence, and we were sort of like intentionable. I
(03:08):
love that.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
That's how you know it's good when the whole world
pauses because you're like, we can't even like we're speechless
right now, Like we had to stop because something magical
just happened.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
We had to stop, and everybody. So Megan as because
she's wonderful, she started laughing and she was like, yeah,
I don't know what that was. That's not a word, right,
and we were like, yeah, that's and we were like,
if it's not a word, it should be a word.
And I said Megan, this is going to become a word.
We're doing it on our podcast. It's like, I totally
want to put this on my podcast. So she was said,
(03:43):
oh that my gosh, really and I'm like, yeah, really really.
So I emailed her not too long after that to
say that I contacted Alison and we're making intentionable a thing.
So what Megan then did was she actually she prepped it.
If you could image, she prepped it. She emailed us
and said, yes, let's make it go viral, and we
(04:05):
may need a Dictionary definition.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
The dictionary definition.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Her email starts out with, oh, were you gonna say something?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I was just gonna say. She even gave us the
you know how the dictionary has the pronunciation symbols. She
even gave us that go.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Out first first. Before before she.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Got to the definition, she wrote, they say mistakes can
lead to greatness, which I think is also really awesome.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
This is greatness. Yeah, And I would like to say, Megan,
this was not a mistake. This was like the universe
saying make this word because it matters.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So then she puts intentionable adjective just like a with
the way you would pronounce it and says having the
ability to be intentional, capable of deliberate and purposeful.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Action, which made us think, yes, what are some of
the things that help us to be intentionable and that
prevent us from being intentional? There are times in our lives, folks,
and in our careers and in our families when being
intentionable feels impossible. Right, I am not able to be
(05:12):
intentional right now? You know, I think of days in
an early childhood program, you know, like you go in
in the morning with all kinds of plans for what
you're gonna do, and instead you have a fire drill.
And so now I've gotta, you know, get everybody out
the door for this fire drill in the cold. We
don't have coats on. One child, as you know, took
(05:33):
their shoes off and I didn't realize. And now I'm
either shoving shoes on or carrying this child and trying
to get them out there and back in as quickly
as possible for this drill because it's really cold and
I'm a little off now, yeah, right, I know, when
I was directing a program, I never told the teachers
when the drills were going to because that's not an
authentic drill. So now now I'm a little off, okay,
(05:54):
And we come back in and one of the children
looks at me and says, I don't feel so good
and vomits everywhere. Oh listen, I'm not new to this career.
So child vomits everywhere. You got to deal with. Now
you have to like clean this up, get this child
(06:16):
to a restroom. Think about am I calling the parent
because they have to vomit or have diarrhea twice before
I can legally say take them home? But maybe I
want to let this parent know because maybe they do
want to come. All of this stuff is going on
that I'm describing, and there goes all of your intentional plans,
all the intentions. All the intentions are out right out
(06:40):
the door. Don't you just sort of think to yourself
while I'm just scrapping this whole plan, Yeah, I am done.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I can't.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I just can't. And days like that tend to snowball. Yeah,
one thing happens, and then another thing happens, and then
it just snowballs until you just can't wait to go home. Yes,
so you been prevented because of just the course of events.
Here's another thing that can do it. We are short staff, today.
(07:09):
You had ideas and intentions for what you were gonna
do and the wonderful interactions you were gonna have with
the children. But they're taking one of the adults out
of your room.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Or adding kids into your classroom so that you might
Because that's what happens to me sometimes they if we
don't have enough people to.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Go around, they have to split the class. Yeah, and
now I have four extra.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Children who don't know me, don't know me like the
other children do it.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
I may not have enough materials because I preped for
my set of children. Yeah, and it's it's yeah, it'll
throw the whole group off.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Oh yeah, you know, oh yeah. Lots of people tell
me about when they come in and have to take
one of the adults who's usually in the room away.
Now the children are knocked off kilter, the adults are
knocked off kilter, and that elaborate small group activity that
you planned just can't happen. No, because you needed the
other person, because we originally had enough people to be
(08:05):
in small groups with all of the children. And now
one group of the children is gonna have to do
something independent, sitting right near me so that I can
help them. If they need help socially, So no, I'm
not gonna be able to do this more elaborate, multi
step thing with this child who really needs my help
with it. Intentions out the door another thing that sometimes
keeps us from being intentionable able to have intentions. Love it, Magan,
(08:29):
are our personal lives.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
We're human.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
Things happen in our lives, and sometimes I do my
best not to bring it to work, but I know
I'm just gonna do whatever I need to do to
get through the day. That's when I used to be like, Okay, kids,
you're in charge. You're totally in charge today, Like what
do you want to do? What do you want to read?
What do you wanna because I'm just not concentrating now right,
(08:57):
and I recognize it. So if you recognize your concentration
abilities are limited, then what I used to recognize was
I just need to make sure everybody stays healthy and happy.
I'm not whatever you all want to do. Kids. I
remember looking at toddlers sometimes and being like, whatever you
want me to read and do, I'm not whatever you
all think. We're just gonna play that game or sing
(09:19):
that song or you know whatever. There are so many
situations that keep us from being able or capable. Did
she say in the definition capable of being intentional? Yeah,
sometimes it's the children themselves. Sometimes it is sometimes you
know a child, Yeah, child's having a tough day. They
(09:42):
can't be intentionable. You can't be intentionable. So, yeah, there's
lots of things so we have to think about because
their time with us matters so much. And even if
I can't do that elaborate small group activity that I
had planned, I still have to do things like have
intentional interaction with the children.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
I think it's more like the intention may change.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yes, that's okay. I think that's fine. I think we
can shift the intention. But as much as possible, we
want to be sure to be intentionable. Intentionable, that's the word.
Look how it just came out of my mouth. We
want to make sure to be intentionable as much as
(10:26):
humanly possible. And sometimes it has to do with our
own self regulation skills. Right, things are going awry. My
emotions now have ramped up. My heart is beating harder,
I'm taking shallow breaths. I'm like, we need to be
aware of our own self regulation skills. We need to
(10:47):
be able to say I need to take a deep
breath kids, or to be able to hopefully you can
call someone and say, can you step into this room
for a minute, so because you know you need a
minute to get your head back together right right. Sometimes
it can be as simple as I am not recognizing
in yourself, I am not present in this moment right now.
(11:11):
And one of the things that makes us present in
the moment is to do a sensory activity. We talk
so much about sensor reactivities with children, but actually doing
our own sensory activities helps us to be present. I
remember particularly tough days when I realized I need to
be more present in this space, and so I would
(11:33):
sit down during free play and pull out some play
dough and I'd use some play dough that for me
helps me because it's so sensory.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
I had a rough day on Thursday.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
I'm sorry, okay, so my morning, and I remember going
to my aid and be like, I don't get it,
Like I'm just having a day now, just having a day,
and I don't know what it is.
Speaker 4 (11:54):
But you know what.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Got me back in it, which is gonna sound weird
as the introverted person I am was.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
I have lunch duty on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
So like, I work at a public school where all
of the three year olds eat in the cafeteria, and
I on Thursday have to watch them in.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
The cafeterias my my duty for the week.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Right, But when I'm in there, like most teachers hate
lunch duty because they just sit.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
There and they're like, oh, this is boy.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
I always every single week, I'll mingle around with all
these kids and I joke around and I have fun.
And for some reason that got me out of it.
And I think it's because it put the intention of
like you're here for them, and they're laughing and they're
smiling and they're happy to see you, and it's you're
there for them. And then the rest of afternoon was fine.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
I don't know, it was really just sort of stepping
into a different atmosphere when you go into the criteria,
it's a different atmosphere, it is.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
And I think it was also like when I shifted
my focus of like it's not like all up, what's
going on in here, it's it needs to be about them,
that shifted it.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
For me, right right, It was you realize, yeah, yeah,
I also will just find like just taking a mental moment,
we talk about brain breaks for children, but not always us. Yeah,
just take a mental moment and remember we're interacting with
(13:18):
children kind of like you do at that launch duty.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
Can be so life affirming, Yes, and so wonderful to
even just stop and say, I'm just gonna sit and
enjoy these children for a minute. I've done that to
you right, like where you're kind of like I think
I'm just going to enjoy a conversation with these children.
Are I'm gonna enjoy watching this infant try to roll over?
I'm going I'm gonna just sit back and enjoy it.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
Be there in the present.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Deciding that you're going to just sit and enjoy the
children in some way is an intentionable act. You are
able to be intentional. You have set the intention of
bringing yourself back into the present time by enjoying what's
happening around you. Yeah, because there's always stuff happening around
you in an early childhood classroom. I also, you know
(14:06):
if you can't, like let's say it's not free play
time and you can't grab the play dough, and you
can't if you just put your hands on the tabletop
like we've advised you to do with children in the past.
The tabletop is colder. It actually I can feel when
I do that. When I put my hand on a
cool tabletop, I can actually feel my brain shift.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Or if you stop where you are and just listen, yeah,
or like you'll find you have to name.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
I think they say grounding thing.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
It's a grounding things you can see, isn't it? Three things?
Three things?
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Three or five?
Speaker 4 (14:42):
It's like some stuff you can see, stuff you can hear,
stuff you can smell. Yeah, stuff you can taste, stuff
you can touch.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
That's why they say touch the table.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
So there are ways you can bring your back self
back into being and doing intentional things and being intentionable. Yeah,
we're going to so make intentionable word, aren't we. I
hope we do. I really hope we do. We're going
to take this episode and like try and post it
everywhere where. Yeah, I think so. I think so, even
(15:15):
LinkedIn where they're all going to say that's not a word.
What we'll do in the title is we'll put it
in quotes.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Okay, Yeah, let's tag the dictionary.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
People, so it is to get the word straight. Britannica
Dictionary people, Merriam Webster, whoever you are, whoever you are,
to get this word straight. Okay, it's intention able. Are
you able to be intentional? Intentionable? Intention able? And it
(15:46):
we should spell it like a spelling bee intentionable. I
am yeah. I think you all can do it intention well. Yeah,
I want you to go round in your lives right
now and find ways to use that word, because that's
how words catch on. Yes, isn't it? People just use it?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, just start using it in sentences and people are
going to be like, wait, did she make that up?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Or is that real?
Speaker 4 (16:11):
And then they'll start using it because they heard you
say it.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Or you look at them and you go intentionable. It's
a new words. Have you heard it?
Speaker 4 (16:17):
It's a word.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
We're going to make it.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
And then you look smarter because you know this word
that they don't.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Wait, I'm looking up right now. I'm looking this up.
Hang on. When I by the way, folks, when I
typed this title to keep look at all.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
The words that are that are not it.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
I'm googling. When I wrote this down in on my
iPad to keep the title of this episode, the software
did it that red underline whatever, you know, the red
underline that says hi, that's not a word, or you misspelled.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
A word one day, it'll just it'll not have that
squeakly under it.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
Yeah yeah, oh yeah, there is there is no, no,
there's not. So here's here's what we do. Right, I'm
now googling how to make a word, how to make
a word word, how to get a word in a dictionary,
to get a word in the dictionary whole, I don't know.
(17:19):
It must be used frequently and have clear meaning, and
be used in a variety of sources.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
There you go, okay, So.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
If we start using this in the education world, right, so,
like then it'll spread and other people start using it,
and then like next year, like you know, at the
end of the year, they always like go like, here's
the new words we're out into the dictionary. Our word
could be one of them.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
It's not our word, it's megan meg word. It's now
everyone's word, now a world's words.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
If Megan's word can be in the dictionary, it could
be it could be one of those like stories at
the end of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
As of today, June twenty five, we are campaigning for
intentionable Join us folks. Just start using it, spread it,
spread it around, put it on your social media. Talk
it a lot, say it a lot. Okay, Yes, that's it.
That's what we're doing, all right, Preschool peeps.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
And Megan and Megan.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Thank you Megan, Megan, I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon.
Everyone else, please come back, including Megan, to our next
episode and the episodes after that, and we will catch
you next time on the podcast.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Bye peeps,
Welcome to How Preschool Teachers Do It.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
This is Alison Cantos, I am an early childhood educator.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
And this is Cindy Tarr Bush. I am an early
childhood consultant.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
This podcast is for parents and early childhood professionals.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Let our experience and research based knowledge become your guide.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Welcome back, preschool peeps from wherever you are. I'm super
excited about this episode. I am because the idea for
it happened kind of spontaneously. Yes, So we'll get into
that in a second. But first, let's shout out some places.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Hey, and I'm excited because we're shouting out Bolivia yay.
And I love whenever we shout.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Out something like really international just yea.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
It's me excited and we're shouting out Alpine, Alabama.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Hello, folks, thank you for being our preschool peeps. Please
go tell your friends, neighbors, neighboring states and countries, yes
to come on over and please be one of our
preschool peeps and you can and let them know. If
they go to YouTube, they will see a QR code
that was yeah, that was good. That usually is behind
Allison's head just because it is. It's a weird position.
(01:11):
But it's software, and what are you gonna do If
you hold your camera up on your mobile device to
that QR code, it's going to name a website. Tap
on that and that will take you to what is
basically a virtual business card with magical links to our website,
our Facebook page, and other things that we haven't do.
So please do come. And if you're like I can't
(01:34):
use that QR code or I'm not on YouTube with
you right now, I.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Just learned how to use QR codes like six months.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Ago, then instead you can go to Facebook and look
for the How Preschool Teachers Do It podcast. You can
go to our website How Preschool Teachers Do It dot
com you can find us, so you know, please do.
And we're here today to talk about a wonderful new
word that we want a campaign to go totally viral.
(02:01):
I just really want to can't pay for that. It
is not my word and it is not Allison's new word.
This word came from a colleague and friend of mine.
Her name is Megan Garrity him Megan, I know you're
listening because we talked about making this a thing. So
there I was in a meeting right with colleagues, and
(02:22):
we were talking about a project that we were working
on together, and Megan combined two words, as we sometimes
do when we're thinking something and you want to kind
of say it, or you're having that kind of week
where words just don't want to come out of your
mouth properly. So what she did was she when she
was talking to us, she combined to words. I think
(02:46):
she meant to say something like able to be intentional, yes,
and instead she said intentionable. And we all when she
said intentionable. So I'm on this zoom meeting with multiple
colleagues and we all paused for a second, like there
was silence, and we were sort of like intentionable. I
(03:08):
love that.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
That's how you know it's good when the whole world
pauses because you're like, we can't even like we're speechless
right now, Like we had to stop because something magical
just happened.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
We had to stop, and everybody. So Megan as because
she's wonderful, she started laughing and she was like, yeah,
I don't know what that was. That's not a word, right,
and we were like, yeah, that's and we were like,
if it's not a word, it should be a word.
And I said Megan, this is going to become a word.
We're doing it on our podcast. It's like, I totally
want to put this on my podcast. So she was said,
(03:43):
oh that my gosh, really and I'm like, yeah, really really.
So I emailed her not too long after that to
say that I contacted Alison and we're making intentionable a thing.
So what Megan then did was she actually she prepped it.
If you could image, she prepped it. She emailed us
and said, yes, let's make it go viral, and we
(04:05):
may need a Dictionary definition.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
The dictionary definition.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Her email starts out with, oh, were you gonna say something?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
I was just gonna say. She even gave us the
you know how the dictionary has the pronunciation symbols. She
even gave us that go.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
Out first first. Before before she.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Got to the definition, she wrote, they say mistakes can
lead to greatness, which I think is also really awesome.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
This is greatness. Yeah, And I would like to say, Megan,
this was not a mistake. This was like the universe
saying make this word because it matters.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So then she puts intentionable adjective just like a with
the way you would pronounce it and says having the
ability to be intentional, capable of deliberate and purposeful.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Action, which made us think, yes, what are some of
the things that help us to be intentionable and that
prevent us from being intentional? There are times in our lives, folks,
and in our careers and in our families when being
intentionable feels impossible. Right, I am not able to be
(05:12):
intentional right now? You know, I think of days in
an early childhood program, you know, like you go in
in the morning with all kinds of plans for what
you're gonna do, and instead you have a fire drill.
And so now I've gotta, you know, get everybody out
the door for this fire drill in the cold. We
don't have coats on. One child, as you know, took
(05:33):
their shoes off and I didn't realize. And now I'm
either shoving shoes on or carrying this child and trying
to get them out there and back in as quickly
as possible for this drill because it's really cold and
I'm a little off now, yeah, right, I know, when
I was directing a program, I never told the teachers
when the drills were going to because that's not an
authentic drill. So now now I'm a little off, okay,
(05:54):
And we come back in and one of the children
looks at me and says, I don't feel so good
and vomits everywhere. Oh listen, I'm not new to this career.
So child vomits everywhere. You got to deal with. Now
you have to like clean this up, get this child
(06:16):
to a restroom. Think about am I calling the parent
because they have to vomit or have diarrhea twice before
I can legally say take them home? But maybe I
want to let this parent know because maybe they do
want to come. All of this stuff is going on
that I'm describing, and there goes all of your intentional plans,
all the intentions. All the intentions are out right out
(06:40):
the door. Don't you just sort of think to yourself
while I'm just scrapping this whole plan, Yeah, I am done.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
I can't.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I just can't. And days like that tend to snowball. Yeah,
one thing happens, and then another thing happens, and then
it just snowballs until you just can't wait to go home. Yes,
so you been prevented because of just the course of events.
Here's another thing that can do it. We are short staff, today.
(07:09):
You had ideas and intentions for what you were gonna
do and the wonderful interactions you were gonna have with
the children. But they're taking one of the adults out
of your room.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Or adding kids into your classroom so that you might
Because that's what happens to me sometimes they if we
don't have enough people to.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Go around, they have to split the class. Yeah, and
now I have four extra.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Children who don't know me, don't know me like the
other children do it.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
I may not have enough materials because I preped for
my set of children. Yeah, and it's it's yeah, it'll
throw the whole group off.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Oh yeah, you know, oh yeah. Lots of people tell
me about when they come in and have to take
one of the adults who's usually in the room away.
Now the children are knocked off kilter, the adults are
knocked off kilter, and that elaborate small group activity that
you planned just can't happen. No, because you needed the
other person, because we originally had enough people to be
(08:05):
in small groups with all of the children. And now
one group of the children is gonna have to do
something independent, sitting right near me so that I can
help them. If they need help socially, So no, I'm
not gonna be able to do this more elaborate, multi
step thing with this child who really needs my help
with it. Intentions out the door another thing that sometimes
keeps us from being intentionable able to have intentions. Love it, Magan,
(08:29):
are our personal lives.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
We're human.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
Things happen in our lives, and sometimes I do my
best not to bring it to work, but I know
I'm just gonna do whatever I need to do to
get through the day. That's when I used to be like, Okay, kids,
you're in charge. You're totally in charge today, Like what
do you want to do? What do you want to read?
What do you wanna because I'm just not concentrating now right,
(08:57):
and I recognize it. So if you recognize your concentration
abilities are limited, then what I used to recognize was
I just need to make sure everybody stays healthy and happy.
I'm not whatever you all want to do. Kids. I
remember looking at toddlers sometimes and being like, whatever you
want me to read and do, I'm not whatever you
all think. We're just gonna play that game or sing
(09:19):
that song or you know whatever. There are so many
situations that keep us from being able or capable. Did
she say in the definition capable of being intentional? Yeah,
sometimes it's the children themselves. Sometimes it is sometimes you
know a child, Yeah, child's having a tough day. They
(09:42):
can't be intentionable. You can't be intentionable. So, yeah, there's
lots of things so we have to think about because
their time with us matters so much. And even if
I can't do that elaborate small group activity that I
had planned, I still have to do things like have
intentional interaction with the children.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
I think it's more like the intention may change.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yes, that's okay. I think that's fine. I think we
can shift the intention. But as much as possible, we
want to be sure to be intentionable. Intentionable, that's the word.
Look how it just came out of my mouth. We
want to make sure to be intentionable as much as
(10:26):
humanly possible. And sometimes it has to do with our
own self regulation skills. Right, things are going awry. My
emotions now have ramped up. My heart is beating harder,
I'm taking shallow breaths. I'm like, we need to be
aware of our own self regulation skills. We need to
(10:47):
be able to say I need to take a deep
breath kids, or to be able to hopefully you can
call someone and say, can you step into this room
for a minute, so because you know you need a
minute to get your head back together right right. Sometimes
it can be as simple as I am not recognizing
in yourself, I am not present in this moment right now.
(11:11):
And one of the things that makes us present in
the moment is to do a sensory activity. We talk
so much about sensor reactivities with children, but actually doing
our own sensory activities helps us to be present. I
remember particularly tough days when I realized I need to
be more present in this space, and so I would
(11:33):
sit down during free play and pull out some play
dough and I'd use some play dough that for me
helps me because it's so sensory.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
I had a rough day on Thursday.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
I'm sorry, okay, so my morning, and I remember going
to my aid and be like, I don't get it,
Like I'm just having a day now, just having a day,
and I don't know what it is.
Speaker 4 (11:54):
But you know what.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Got me back in it, which is gonna sound weird
as the introverted person I am was.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
I have lunch duty on Thursday.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
So like, I work at a public school where all
of the three year olds eat in the cafeteria, and
I on Thursday have to watch them in.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
The cafeterias my my duty for the week.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Right, But when I'm in there, like most teachers hate
lunch duty because they just sit.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
There and they're like, oh, this is boy.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
I always every single week, I'll mingle around with all
these kids and I joke around and I have fun.
And for some reason that got me out of it.
And I think it's because it put the intention of
like you're here for them, and they're laughing and they're
smiling and they're happy to see you, and it's you're
there for them. And then the rest of afternoon was fine.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
I don't know, it was really just sort of stepping
into a different atmosphere when you go into the criteria,
it's a different atmosphere, it is.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
And I think it was also like when I shifted
my focus of like it's not like all up, what's
going on in here, it's it needs to be about them,
that shifted it.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
For me, right right, It was you realize, yeah, yeah,
I also will just find like just taking a mental moment,
we talk about brain breaks for children, but not always us. Yeah,
just take a mental moment and remember we're interacting with
(13:18):
children kind of like you do at that launch duty.
Speaker 4 (13:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
Can be so life affirming, Yes, and so wonderful to
even just stop and say, I'm just gonna sit and
enjoy these children for a minute. I've done that to
you right, like where you're kind of like I think
I'm just going to enjoy a conversation with these children.
Are I'm gonna enjoy watching this infant try to roll over?
I'm going I'm gonna just sit back and enjoy it.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
Be there in the present.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Deciding that you're going to just sit and enjoy the
children in some way is an intentionable act. You are
able to be intentional. You have set the intention of
bringing yourself back into the present time by enjoying what's
happening around you. Yeah, because there's always stuff happening around
you in an early childhood classroom. I also, you know
(14:06):
if you can't, like let's say it's not free play
time and you can't grab the play dough, and you
can't if you just put your hands on the tabletop
like we've advised you to do with children in the past.
The tabletop is colder. It actually I can feel when
I do that. When I put my hand on a
cool tabletop, I can actually feel my brain shift.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Or if you stop where you are and just listen, yeah,
or like you'll find you have to name.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
I think they say grounding thing.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
It's a grounding things you can see, isn't it? Three things?
Three things?
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Three or five?
Speaker 4 (14:42):
It's like some stuff you can see, stuff you can hear,
stuff you can smell. Yeah, stuff you can taste, stuff
you can touch.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
That's why they say touch the table.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
So there are ways you can bring your back self
back into being and doing intentional things and being intentionable. Yeah,
we're going to so make intentionable word, aren't we. I
hope we do. I really hope we do. We're going
to take this episode and like try and post it
everywhere where. Yeah, I think so. I think so, even
(15:15):
LinkedIn where they're all going to say that's not a word.
What we'll do in the title is we'll put it
in quotes.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Okay, Yeah, let's tag the dictionary.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
People, so it is to get the word straight. Britannica
Dictionary people, Merriam Webster, whoever you are, whoever you are,
to get this word straight. Okay, it's intention able. Are
you able to be intentional? Intentionable? Intention able? And it
(15:46):
we should spell it like a spelling bee intentionable. I
am yeah. I think you all can do it intention well. Yeah,
I want you to go round in your lives right
now and find ways to use that word, because that's
how words catch on. Yes, isn't it? People just use it?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, just start using it in sentences and people are
going to be like, wait, did she make that up?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Or is that real?
Speaker 4 (16:11):
And then they'll start using it because they heard you
say it.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Or you look at them and you go intentionable. It's
a new words. Have you heard it?
Speaker 4 (16:17):
It's a word.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
We're going to make it.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
And then you look smarter because you know this word
that they don't.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Wait, I'm looking up right now. I'm looking this up.
Hang on. When I by the way, folks, when I
typed this title to keep look at all.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
The words that are that are not it.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
I'm googling. When I wrote this down in on my
iPad to keep the title of this episode, the software
did it that red underline whatever, you know, the red
underline that says hi, that's not a word, or you misspelled.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
A word one day, it'll just it'll not have that
squeakly under it.
Speaker 3 (16:59):
Yeah yeah, oh yeah, there is there is no, no,
there's not. So here's here's what we do. Right, I'm
now googling how to make a word, how to make
a word word, how to get a word in a dictionary,
to get a word in the dictionary whole, I don't know.
(17:19):
It must be used frequently and have clear meaning, and
be used in a variety of sources.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
There you go, okay, So.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
If we start using this in the education world, right, so,
like then it'll spread and other people start using it,
and then like next year, like you know, at the
end of the year, they always like go like, here's
the new words we're out into the dictionary. Our word
could be one of them.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
It's not our word, it's megan meg word. It's now
everyone's word, now a world's words.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
If Megan's word can be in the dictionary, it could
be it could be one of those like stories at
the end of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
As of today, June twenty five, we are campaigning for
intentionable Join us folks. Just start using it, spread it,
spread it around, put it on your social media. Talk
it a lot, say it a lot. Okay, Yes, that's it.
That's what we're doing, all right, Preschool peeps.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
And Megan and Megan.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Thank you Megan, Megan, I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon.
Everyone else, please come back, including Megan, to our next
episode and the episodes after that, and we will catch
you next time on the podcast.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Bye peeps,
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