Composed by Aaron S. Robertson
A prayer for the souls in Purgatory
My Father, please hear my prayers today for the souls in Purgatory. I pray that in your love, your mercy and forgiveness, your compassion, and your healing, their torment and anguish will end real soon; that they'll be welcomed into your kingdom, real soon, by you and by all of Heaven, with loving and open arms. I pray this through your beautiful son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
For the souls in Purgatory, I pray: [Hail Mary prayer three times -]
Hail, Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Monday, January 23, 2023
300 posts milestone
I'm very excited to have reached 300 published posts yesterday here on the Mr. Robertson's Corner blog! 300 posts strong and four years running! Thank you so much for your continued readership, support, and inspiration! Wishing you all the best, and God bless!
Aaron
Mr. Robertson
Aaron
Mr. Robertson
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Art for Kids Hub on YouTube
If you're not already familiar with this great resource, check this out - there's a channel on YouTube called "Art for Kids Hub" featuring many, many videos showing you how to draw all sorts of things, step-by-step.
Currently, I'm teaching K-8 art as a long-term substitute, and so I've turned to this awesome resource from time to time in my work.
And don't forget - you can always make use of the search box at the top of the YouTube site for anything, so if you're not quite finding what you're looking for while scrolling within the actual channel, try utilizing that general search box at top to narrow things down. For example, I recently recommended to a student who's interested in learning how to draw cars that she check out "Art for Kids Hub," which I know has many videos on how to draw all sorts of cars. I searched "art for kids hub drawing cars" and sent her this link that was created by my search:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=art+for+kids+hub+drawing+cars
I hope this helps you out a little. I'll continue to keep an eye out for other art and drawing resources that you may find fun and helpful!
Currently, I'm teaching K-8 art as a long-term substitute, and so I've turned to this awesome resource from time to time in my work.
And don't forget - you can always make use of the search box at the top of the YouTube site for anything, so if you're not quite finding what you're looking for while scrolling within the actual channel, try utilizing that general search box at top to narrow things down. For example, I recently recommended to a student who's interested in learning how to draw cars that she check out "Art for Kids Hub," which I know has many videos on how to draw all sorts of cars. I searched "art for kids hub drawing cars" and sent her this link that was created by my search:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=art+for+kids+hub+drawing+cars
I hope this helps you out a little. I'll continue to keep an eye out for other art and drawing resources that you may find fun and helpful!
Happy 2023
Hello! It's certainly been a while. I hope you're doing well. Usually, since I launched this blog a little over four years ago, I've been in the habit of writing a "Happy New Year" post in which I review and reflect on the previous year. I've been a little behind in this, and am first really starting to catch up now, both with this post and with some other tasks and goals I wish to complete for this blog.
Looking back on 2022, it was a very exciting, adventurous, and rewarding year for me, on a variety of levels. Let's dive in.
To begin, I spent all of 2022 rediscovering and growing in my Roman Catholic faith after a very powerful conversion experience in December 2021. You can read why I'm Catholic, my battles with demonic harassment, and prayers that I've composed. As a part of my faith journey, I began teaching Sunday catechism to a group of fourth and fifth graders this past fall at my parish (church), and I also participate in a variety of adult formation programs at my parish, as well.
Back in mid-February, I left my full-time position as a special education paraprofessional at a middle/high school in order to work as a substitute educator again. I absolutely love it. As a sub, I do both teaching and paraprofessional work, and, minus a few days here and there for appointments or being sick, I've managed to work every day as a sub since mid-February. I've become a full-time professional sub, which is usually pretty rare to see, as many work part-time or hardly at all (they may be retired, have other jobs, etc.). But as I explain in this comprehensive guide I put together on how to become a substitute teacher or paraprofessional, these are unique, strange times for the world of K-12 education. There's a shortage of subs, a shortage of new education majors and student teachers coming up through the ranks, and a mass exodus of full-time seasoned staff from the profession. All of these factors, combined, have made available subs that much more valuable. Pay and other incentives are getting very competitive between districts and schools, and I'm spending most of the 2022-2023 school year in long-term gigs. Again, I'm absolutely loving it. I'm very blessed and grateful to be receiving calls all the time from teachers, paraprofessionals, school offices, and even principals and district-level staff wondering if I'm available to sub. Very blessed and grateful. There's no shortage of work and opportunity.
From January through August, I had the wonderful honor and privilege to work with a young man, a seventh grader, with Down Syndrome, providing respite care services to he and his family. We would go out for lunch/dinner or ice cream (we both love Culver's!), go to nearby parks, play in his yard, read, color, visit and learn about various community resources, and shoot hoops in his driveway. And while I would occasionally teach him some basic life skills, the learning was definitely a two-way street, with me learning a lot from him. I'm grateful to still be in touch with he and his family from time to time.
I didn't travel much during the year. And while it's definitely not the Key West, Florida trip I took the previous summer (2021), I did visit Door County, Wisconsin for the first time in many years, back in August. Also in August, I got to experience Appleton, Wisconsin a little bit when I traveled there for a cousin's wedding. Both trips were very nice.
In fall, I met my girlfriend, a fifth grade teacher. She is truly wonderful, and I'm more than blessed to have her in my life.
And in December, I turned 40. The big 4-0. Wow. I'm very grateful to have celebrated with family, neighbors, friends, and my wonderful girlfriend, and it was awesome to reconnect with several old college buddies. We vowed to keep in better touch.
Well, that's largely my 2022, in a nutshell. How was your year? I'd love to hear all about it! Feel free to share in the comments section below.
Wishing you and yours a healthy, joy-filled, and prosperous 2023! Thank you so much for your continued readership and support! God bless!
All the Best,
Aaron
Mr. Robertson
Looking back on 2022, it was a very exciting, adventurous, and rewarding year for me, on a variety of levels. Let's dive in.
To begin, I spent all of 2022 rediscovering and growing in my Roman Catholic faith after a very powerful conversion experience in December 2021. You can read why I'm Catholic, my battles with demonic harassment, and prayers that I've composed. As a part of my faith journey, I began teaching Sunday catechism to a group of fourth and fifth graders this past fall at my parish (church), and I also participate in a variety of adult formation programs at my parish, as well.
Back in mid-February, I left my full-time position as a special education paraprofessional at a middle/high school in order to work as a substitute educator again. I absolutely love it. As a sub, I do both teaching and paraprofessional work, and, minus a few days here and there for appointments or being sick, I've managed to work every day as a sub since mid-February. I've become a full-time professional sub, which is usually pretty rare to see, as many work part-time or hardly at all (they may be retired, have other jobs, etc.). But as I explain in this comprehensive guide I put together on how to become a substitute teacher or paraprofessional, these are unique, strange times for the world of K-12 education. There's a shortage of subs, a shortage of new education majors and student teachers coming up through the ranks, and a mass exodus of full-time seasoned staff from the profession. All of these factors, combined, have made available subs that much more valuable. Pay and other incentives are getting very competitive between districts and schools, and I'm spending most of the 2022-2023 school year in long-term gigs. Again, I'm absolutely loving it. I'm very blessed and grateful to be receiving calls all the time from teachers, paraprofessionals, school offices, and even principals and district-level staff wondering if I'm available to sub. Very blessed and grateful. There's no shortage of work and opportunity.
From January through August, I had the wonderful honor and privilege to work with a young man, a seventh grader, with Down Syndrome, providing respite care services to he and his family. We would go out for lunch/dinner or ice cream (we both love Culver's!), go to nearby parks, play in his yard, read, color, visit and learn about various community resources, and shoot hoops in his driveway. And while I would occasionally teach him some basic life skills, the learning was definitely a two-way street, with me learning a lot from him. I'm grateful to still be in touch with he and his family from time to time.
I didn't travel much during the year. And while it's definitely not the Key West, Florida trip I took the previous summer (2021), I did visit Door County, Wisconsin for the first time in many years, back in August. Also in August, I got to experience Appleton, Wisconsin a little bit when I traveled there for a cousin's wedding. Both trips were very nice.
In fall, I met my girlfriend, a fifth grade teacher. She is truly wonderful, and I'm more than blessed to have her in my life.
And in December, I turned 40. The big 4-0. Wow. I'm very grateful to have celebrated with family, neighbors, friends, and my wonderful girlfriend, and it was awesome to reconnect with several old college buddies. We vowed to keep in better touch.
Well, that's largely my 2022, in a nutshell. How was your year? I'd love to hear all about it! Feel free to share in the comments section below.
Wishing you and yours a healthy, joy-filled, and prosperous 2023! Thank you so much for your continued readership and support! God bless!
All the Best,
Aaron
Mr. Robertson
Why I am Catholic
By Aaron S. Robertson
Several weeks back, in an adult formation program I'm currently participating in at my parish (my church), we were asked to write down three sentences explaining why we're Catholic. I joked that, being the good student I am, and wanting to go for an A+, I came up with four sentences.
But in all seriousness, it's been an amazing, uplifting, joyful journey that I've been blessed to be on over the last year or so, since December 2021. I tell God all the time that human language can never fully encapsulate what I'm feeling and experiencing. Here's what I said as to why I am Catholic:
Catholic prayers for spiritual warfare (my testimony to the power of the confessional and battling demonic harassment)
Prayers that I've composed
Several weeks back, in an adult formation program I'm currently participating in at my parish (my church), we were asked to write down three sentences explaining why we're Catholic. I joked that, being the good student I am, and wanting to go for an A+, I came up with four sentences.
But in all seriousness, it's been an amazing, uplifting, joyful journey that I've been blessed to be on over the last year or so, since December 2021. I tell God all the time that human language can never fully encapsulate what I'm feeling and experiencing. Here's what I said as to why I am Catholic:
I am Catholic because my faith has caused me to have experiences that cannot be explained by anything in the natural, physical world. I am Catholic because I have experienced no greater joy, love, beauty, and truth outside of my faith. I am Catholic because I know we each have our own special role to play in God's plan. I am Catholic because I was personally called by God to be.If you enjoyed this, you may find these other posts to be helpful and meaningful to you:
Catholic prayers for spiritual warfare (my testimony to the power of the confessional and battling demonic harassment)
Prayers that I've composed
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