JumpStart Word Nerd Day! (1/9/23)

Also, No Pant Subway Ride Day, 4th Graders Day, and Cassoulet Day. Oh, and Apricots Day, which I'm a fan of, as long as they are not those Mediterranean kind.  Since when did those tasteless things become mainstream?  Also, for you word nerds, a cassoulet is a French Stew with beans and meat, and the 'quintessential winter entrée'.  Yes, please!

Big Idea:  Remain flexible so that you do not break.

There’s just so. much. this week!

Maybe I did a good job of handling all the inputs before Christmas. Maybe I am still in vacation mode.

All I know is that this last week, it seems like every project I’ve ever touched needs attention.

The object now is to avoid overwhelm. In working toward that goal, I’m thinking about how bending on a couple of choice projects and deadlines won’t be the end of the world. They’ll still get done, just not on my original timeline. And that’s OK.

I think it’s better to be flexible on some things - the things where I can take a step back and determine that what’s causing me stress is a self-imposed deadline or a boundary that no one will really notice if I shift it a bit.

This week, try this: Are your New Year’s resolutions starting to chafe? Maybe you need to look at making them less strict and more flexible. For example, instead of saying I’m going to run 3 miles on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, maybe say that you’re going to do something active 3 times per week.
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Quote:  "The reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm." (Confucius)

Educator Resource:  3 Transitions for Elementary Kiddos - Last week, someone emailed asking for short (<4 minute) yoga videos to use as transitions for elementary students. I couldn’t find any either. Even if they do exist somewhere, you’ll use up precious seconds finding and queueing up the video when you could just be leading the yoga/breathwork transition yourself. WHAT? MYSELF? Yep! Start with this script and modify it as you get more comfortable. There’s one for energizing between activities, one for preparing to travel somewhere, and one for when they’re back in the classroom.

Dad Joke:  What do you call security guards working outside Samsung shops?  Guardians of the Galaxy.

Have an excellent rest of your day and week. Let me know if there is a resource you’d like to see (Yes, I realize they’ve been heavy on the elementary side recently. I’ll work on that!).  If this was forwarded to you, and you’d like your own copy, sign up here.