A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

WQ - The Art of Teaching

When I was growing up, I wanted most to be a teacher. I learned to read early, and I loved it, and I loved learning too. To nine-year-old me, the lady standing confidently in front of the classroom instructing us in spelling or math or history was someone I admired and wanted to be like. As I got older, I realized that not all teachers in the school systems are great, or well-suited to the profession, but I had enough great teachers that I still wanted to be an educator myself.

As it turned out, I didn't finish my degree, so I didn't become a teacher. Not a public school teacher anyway. However, I became a home educator and dedicated myself to teaching my own children. I loved teaching in co-op classes and found that I was pretty good at it, and for quite a few years I taught high school writing, literature, and some history at a tutorial school.

So over those years, I developed a firm belief that the best teachers are also mentors. Good teaching is so much more than standing at the front of a classroom and lecturing or explaining concepts well. The best teaching usually comes from someone who connects with students and develops relationship with them, someone who learns alongside students, someone who inspires and encourages and models what they teach.

The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. ~Mark Van Doren

A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations. ~Patricia Neal

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William Arthur Ward

The art of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. ~Robert M. Hutchins

Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction. ~John Crawford Crosby

What you want in a mentor is someone who truly cares for you and who will look after your interests and not just their own. When you do come across the right person to mentor you, start by showing them that the time they spend with you is worthwhile. ~Vivek Wadwha

"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord', and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." ~Jesus Christ

~John 13:13-15~

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Wednesday Quotes is a bi-weekly opportunity for bloggers to share their writing, poetry, photos, or stories inspired by our theme. We've chosen the themes as a starting point for your creativity, and the only requirement is that your post include at least one related quote. Feel free to combine or "double-dip" with other writing or photo challenges as well. Of course, we'd appreciate a link back to us, if you'd be so kind. Add your link and please visit others and leave a comment! The link is open for two weeks.

Thanks to Marsha at Always Write for introducing us to the Wednesday Quotes challenge, and for passing the hosting duties along so we can continue sharing great quotes! Wednesday Quotes is co-hosted by Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee and Sadje at Keep It Alive.

Quoting reminds me there are other people in the world besides only me.

And other thoughts besides mine, and other ways of thinking.

~Gregory Maguire~

Wednesday Quotes 2026 Themes

January 7 - Resolutions

January 21 - Motivation

February 4 - Eating Out/Restaurants

February 18 - Being Responsible

March 4 - Libraries

March 18 - Perseverance

April 1 - Simplicity

April 15 - Conquering Fear

April 29 - Making a Difference

May 13 - Family Ties

May 27 - Courage

June 10 - Teachers/Mentors

June 24 - Connecting with Nature

July 8 - Milestones

July 22 - Sunrise

August 5 - Patience

August 19 - Taking a Break/Rest

September 2 - Learning from Mistakes

September 16 - Best Friends

September 30 - Elegance

October 14 - Reaching Goals

October 28 - Dreams/Nightmares

November 11 - Integrity

November 25 - Generosity

December 9 - Beauty in Nature

December 23 - True Love

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©2006-2026 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/

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Monday, June 8, 2026

Scripture and a Snapshot - Love One Another

My apologies to those who were unable to find Scripture and a Snapshot here yesterday. We were moving on the weekend and my internet wasn't working while we were in limbo.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

~John 13:34-35~

Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

I also link up at the Sweet Tea & Friends Monthly Link-up Party hosted by Grace-Filled Moments

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Friday, June 5, 2026

Currently . . . June 5, 2026

The "Currently" link-up at the beginning of each month is now hosted at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa. Our new hostess Amy posts a set of action verb prompts for the month and writers respond. So, without further ado, here are this month's prompts and what's happening currently . . .

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Enjoying - Things I'm loving right now include:

We have a house! To be fair, I'm not enjoying the actual move process that we are in the middle of, but I love love love the house we just bought and I'm enjoying the excitement and possibilities of getting settled in and decorating and buying some new furniture and things. I love the open feel and the way the light comes in these windows, and I love the wood floors (that area rug is going away eventually, in favor of a smaller one).

I love how big and bright the kitchen is, especially compared to the apartment. There's a bay window to the left of that table that I love. (The table and chairs were left by the seller and I like it a lot, I just don't think it will stay in the kitchen so that's an open question at the moment). I love that there's a perfect spot for a little coffee bar right beside the fridge too.

I love the deck and yard, and I love that the seller also left the outdoor furniture, which means we can start enjoying the deck immediately!

I'm even enjoying the front entry, even though it's smaller and narrower than I would have liked in my ideal world. But I got my USA garden flag out there first thing, because you need to set the tone!

I'm enjoying all the patriotic decor and things, and am hoping that there will be lots of fun, safe, celebratory things to participate in over the next couple of months as we celebrate the 250th year of the greatest nation on earth! I love the USA and I love the flag! I got a pair of these banners that are going up in the new house ASAP.

Wearing - mostly t-shirts and jeans or capris, same as almost always. My office is in a warehouse so I don't dress up at all for work, so my wardrobe doesn't change a whole lot. I recently got a couple new pairs of shoes that I love. When I need a light jacket, I've been trying to choose my Scioto Valley Chorus jean jacket because it's my new favorite.

This photo is from when we first
got the jackets, back in December.

Watching - Well, of course we've been watching the Stanley Cup playoffs! The enthusiasm we felt dropped off after hubby's favorite team (Montreal Canadiens) lost their series, but we are still following it. Other than that, I haven't watched much TV at all, and no movies. I sat down with hubby to watch the first few episodes of Spider-Noir which we're quite enjoying. Sometime when we have a free evening (which might not be until July the way things are going) we still need to watch Remarkably Bright Creatures.

Listening to - I listen to a lot of podcasts, especially at work. Technically I watch them while at work because I use the Rumble app so there's video. My favorites there are political commentary. I listen to the non-video podcasts at home and while driving, and my favorite in that category is The Bible Project. I had been listening to - and rehearsing along with - the recorded versions of my chorus rehearsals while driving, but that app doesn't communicate nicely with my car through bluetooth so I can't change the volume. Makes it really challenging, since it's usually not loud enough to sing along with, so that's frustrating. I recently listened to an audiobook I really enjoyed - Tom Selleck's memoir, narrated by him.

Musically, I listen to mostly alternative Christian rock and other rock/popular music. My radio station of choice is RadioU.

Buying - I don't think I've bought much lately, but I've got a list of things I plan to buy for the new house, mostly furniture items. We had to buy a dehumidifier for the basement immediately. Since we 'inherited' the outdoor furniture, I'd like to buy a large patio umbrella or awning or something like that. I'm planning to buy a bed for the guest room and new living room furniture. But I will wait on all of it until after we get back from vacation. Might do a bit of shopping when Mum and Dad are here - we'll see.

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Here's a short Coffee Break Reading List . . .

I'm currently reading . . .

The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

More reading news and recent reviews are at Just A Second.

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Something fun found during coffee breaks:

I found this a few years ago actually, but it popped up in my memories on the book of face and made me laugh. This is SO me!

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What's currently happening in your life? Leave a comment and let me know!

This post will be linked at this month's edition of "Currently" hosted by Amy at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

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This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Everyday Images #89

Welcome to my ongoing challenge and reminder to myself to take photos somewhat regularly. I'm not a photographer, but I enjoy taking everyday photos of things I find interesting or want to remember later, and I'm more likely to notice interesting things when I'm intentionally watching for them. Having some prompts that are open to interpretation has helped me pay a little more attention to what's around me. Here's how it works: Every two weeks I have a few words and phrases to focus on, and I try to find opportunities to take pictures of these things each week. The link-up post will be here every other Thursday, sharing my photos and offering a link-up for participants to share theirs. Right below the link-up is where you'll find the next set of prompts.

May/June Prompts - Everyday Images #89

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flag

simple and/or complicated

at home (monthly)

Wednesday weather

doorway

movement

branched

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flag

simple and/or complicated - I noticed this coloring book I got for my granddaughter has some pretty simple designs and others that are a lot more complicated.

at home (monthly) - it doesn't look very homey yet, but we only just took possession of the house yesterday evening!

Wednesday weather

doorway - bonus, got to see the new house in the dark for the first time

movement - not actual kinetic movement in my photo, but a representation of the movement from one dwelling to another

branched - Oh sure, I could have taken photos of trees, but I kept forgetting!

And a few bonus photos:

After closing we went out for dinner to celebrate. The walls of our favorite Greek restaurant are decorated with beautiful murals of Greece.

Here are a few photos of the house on the first day we had possession, everything mostly empty and bare. We were pleasantly surprised that the seller left behind some furniture, including a really nice kitchen set and outdoor furniture.

I've been saving the wine basket I won as my own housewarming gift. LOL

Decided immediately where the coffee station will be:

I am sharing my photos every other Thursday, along with my prompts for the next two weeks. You can use all or some of the prompts for your own photo posts, or none of the prompts and just link up a post featuring your photos. Simple rules: Your posts must be family-friendly; the photos must be your own; and the post must be mostly photos. If you do share I'd appreciate a mention and link to A Fresh Cup of Coffee on your post.

The Everyday Images link-up is posted every other Thursday, and is open for two weeks.

June Prompts - Everyday Images #90

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wildflowers

water

neighborhood spot (quarterly)

nature

adventure

favorite

twilight

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