Covid–What Can We Do?

…a sense of belonging is one of the most essential needs of humans. We also need to feel power over our lives, belief in our own abilities and a sense of generosity. Seems to me Covid has challenged our ability to satisfy all of those needs.

Pandemic Journaling

Journaling works best with prompts and structure. Use the five activities in this post to reflect on how times are changing, feelings about those changes, and what you’re doing differently.

A Modern Ark

A photographer that inspires people to save endangered animals and their habitat. Watching him is fascinating. Look up species near you! Learn what you can do to help the earth!

Women’s Work

Pay and value are twined together very tightly together in today’s world. We need to VALUE domestic work; I think that’s what I’m learning from my adventures in keeping my own house clean and taking care of June. It’s simple but not easy.

Mud Pies

Although the temperature outside is in the single digits as I write this, I can close my eyes and imagine creating mud pies in the spring. Come with me if you want…

Want Better Discussions? Frame the Conversation

Teachers can improve student to student conversation nonverbally by paying attention to their position in the classroom…Thoughtful classroom movement also helps the teacher manage the classroom by discretely redirecting students.

Want Better Discussions? Just Wait A Few Seconds.

…the way teachers respond to their students greatly impacts the authenticity of the discussion. It’s not surprising that teachers who interject their own ideas and/or reject or rephrase students’ ideas, kill the conversation off quickly.

Want Better Discussions? Questions are the Answer

Teachers ask a lot of questions, but many of those questions target basic knowledge or recall. We can make our discussions more effective by beginning them with “What”, “How”, “Why”, “If…then”–open-ended questions that require more thought.

New Year, New Intention

So I’m driving home from yoga class listening to an interview of Sue Grafton, the great detective writer and thinking I need to just write a little bit every day this year. Well, is it too late since yesterday was the first?

And then I realize I’m hungry, and I see that the garbage can is tipped over blocking the driveway, and it’s the first day it’s gotten out of the negatives since last year. So maybe I should actually take a walk. And check to see if the little free library needs to be restocked.

And also the Energy Audit guy is coming in ten minutes. And I have at least two text messages that came when I was in Downward Facing Dog, and no telling how many phone calls. Oh, and I still have a yoga class to plan. But here I am, at my computer, putting my intention of writing each day out into the world.

And feeling excited about it!

Resolutions. Intentions. Whatever. If we take them too seriously, they can set us up for failure, discouragement and self flagellation. But no change comes without action. No goals are met unless we do the work. And chunking down the work is key to progress. At least for me.

So, here’s my first chunk of writing for 2018. Inspired by Sue Grafton who was working on W in her series of 26 detective novels, one for each letter of the alphabet. Talking about how she’d keep writing about Kinsey Milhone after Z is for Zero. But that didn’t happen. She left a missing piece, and an inspiration for me.