March + April 2020: Seeking solitude
In these moments. I’m
grateful, feeling, taking in.
So much happening.
T. Williams
The title “Seeking Solitude” was placed in this newsletter in late February as a placeholder. A good friend was sharing the benefits of intentional periods of solitude she was implementing for herself. I was longing for moments of solitude, rest, and recharge as tasks were picking up and spring conferences were around the corner.
Shortly after our conversation, news about COVID-19 began to surface. Serious attention started to be paid to the impact this virus was having and would have in weeks to come. My visions of solitude quickly evaporated. As a school administrator, I went into “go mode”, assisting with planning, strategizing, and responding as we prepared to shift into distance learning during a global pandemic.
We’re now a month into distance learning and I’m on “spring break”. While there are still some work tasks to do, I’m prioritizing carving out moments of solitude for myself. Is this the spring break I had envisioned back in February? No. But now more than ever, it’s more important for me to pause, rest, center my health and well-being, before resuming my “go mode” care of others in my school community.
I created this list as I was counting down to spring break. I come back to it every now and then and smile at the possibilities as well as the joy that some of the activities have already brought me.
I’ve done a few things…
#2 - (as I made tea this morning, I karaoke sang Unchained Melody and Cause I Love You; my wife was ready to throw me away)
#4 - (Rise of the Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste; oh my gosh, there’s a third book in the series!)
#7 - Three versions of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (the 1979 cartoon, the 1988 older version, the 2005 newer version)
#8, #13, #14, #18, #19, #20,
#36 - I hula hoop with a 5lb hoop and it’s been fun learning to hula hoop in the direction that is not dominate for me.
#37, #39, #40, and #41!
Download the PDF of the 40 things (to do) for your health and well-being.
For image descriptions, check out this Twitter thread.
EQUITY IN CRISIS
After our school assessed technology needs for students and employees and came up with a way to support students who would be food insecure in the absence of our food services program and in the presence of caregivers experiencing layoffs/furloughs/closed businesses, we turned our focus to maintaining community. Below is a graphic I created which shares some of our thinking and evolving practices around equity as it relates to belonging during distance learning.
For image descriptions, check out this Twitter thread.
How are you centering your most vulnerable and impacted community members/employees/families/students (whatever your sphere of influence is)?
Let’s chat about it on Twitter (@tamisha_consult).
Upcoming Workshop (THIS Saturday):
Teaching for Community Without a Classroom—The Virtual Conference Series
Hosted by the Community Works Institute:
Creative Ways for a Faculty to Work and Connect Virtually (Session 4, Track 4, 12:55-1:45p)
I will share the innovative and creative approaches that my school is taking to sustain faculty unity and community during a time of great stress and crisis, ranging from shared mediation and virtual happy hour sessions to more engaging approaches to meetings.
Featured Downloadable: (free!)
10 Fun Virtual Check-ins was created by Tamisha Williams and Lori Cohen (Consulting) to share a variety of ways that facilitators can foster connections among their participants and invite a sense of play into their meeting. When you download the document, you’ll get two versions. One version has a gray background and the other has an easy-to-print white background.
Sneak preview:
Featured Resources:
I curated resources for parents and caregivers of young children. Please share. The resources are organized into three categories:
webinars + articles + community resources (<—- useful beyond caregivers)
online art lessons + read-alouds
fun activities to keep kids engaged
Until next time, take care (of yourself and others around you),
Tamisha
Great work. As always....