April 2020 - Rachel What If

Change is hard, but with a little hope, optimism, and 5 minutes, we can stop waiting for something to happen, and start a new story.

waiting to change

The authors of Switch, How to Change Things When Change is Hard, remind me that “Change brings new choices that create uncertainty.” We get overwhelmed because most of us are on auto pilot most of the time. Auto pilot is not bad. It helps us to maintain energy levels, so we can use that energy to make decisions. I hate having to decide every day now what is important and what isn’t. It used to be easier: get up early, morning routines, get to work, evening routines, go to bed.

Now, I find myself staring out the window a lot. Waiting for something. Waiting for life to go back to normal, but not wanting it to. Waiting to love the life I have right now. Waiting to buy new clothes, to wear to my new job, that I am waiting for. Waiting for an opportunity to travel, to feel safe at the grocery store. Waiting to feel safe around other people at all. Ug, so much waiting.

Change is hard, but it’s also an opportunity. Vince Lombardi is famous for his determination to win, and all that. I’m not sure I love his quotes, and I know things get all misconstrued. He said something about how quitters never win, but it depends on how you look at it. He also said that hope is not a strategy, but again, there are extenuating circumstances.

hope is a little messy

My daughter reminded me that messed up hope is still something to be grateful for.

In this moment, hope is kinda my only strategy.

The Harvard Business review published an article appropriately titled Hope is a Strategy (Well Sort Of). They talk about realistic optimism, and refer to a quote by Carmin Mendina “Optimism is the greatest act of rebellion.”

So, I hereby rebel. I am going to be optimistic, and pretend that things are going to work out for the best.

But, I am pretty tired of waiting. It’s ridiculous to try to plan for next month, or next week, or even tomorrow at this point. I think you can still have optimistic and hopeful viewpoint, without being certain about anything. However, waiting isn’t a good strategy, for me anyway.

Start something for 5 minutes

I recently started looking for ways to be a bit more creative with my writing. In my classroom, before beginning any kind of writing assignment, we would go to the scholastic website and choose a story starter. The challenge was to write as many words as you could, on the chosen topic, for 5 minutes.

Most fourth graders don’t really love to write. I guess they have learned by this point in their career, that there are too many rules, and its a task that is never finished. We all know that feeling of staring at a blank page, and no words are coming out. Writer’s block is a real thing.

It was different with the 5 minute story starters. The topic would always be a bit silly, and they knew there weren’t really any rules, except they had to write for the full 5 minutes. Even my most reluctant writers would participate. Many were getting close to a hundred words written in just 5 minutes!

The best part came at the end of the 5 minutes, when I would ask for volunteers to share their writing. Almost everyone wanted to read aloud what they had written. The writing was good! They were creative, descriptive, and taking risks.

Five minute challenge

Anyone can stick it out for five minutes. Even a five year old can commit to a task for that long. This is especially true for those of us who are feeling overwhelmed by all the changes we have had to make over the past few weeks.

I even decided to start my own little five minute creative writing challenge in my daily writing. The Story Starter.com has an idea generator for grown ups, and it has been fun for me to try my hand at something that is pretty difficult for me.

Five minutes to start a story, or clean the bathroom, reconcile accounts. It just doesn’t seem so bad anymore.

I might still stare out the window and wait for things to change on their own. Maybe I will set a timer, and let myself do that for a short time. Then I will get back to reality and be intentional and outrageously optimistic for 5 minutes.

For more five minute inspiration, check out the fly lady? She is still around after 20 years of blogging about change. Her philosophy is simple. Just do something for five minutes.

UPDATE:

I love it when I find something that just goes with something I already have, or do. This is an awesome video about using 5 minutes at the end of your day to reflect and write down the most important thing from the day. Over time, you will develop a sense for your life as moments. Important, beautiful moments, that are your story, and part of a bigger story.

As the reality of staying home every single day is starting to set in, It’s important for us to look at what we are already doing as possible learning moments. Many of us are playing board games, cards, and other favorite games. Table top games are a powerful tool for learning, and here are my top three reasons why.

Reason 1: learning should include Student choice

Kids love to play games and they usually have a favorite. The first few weeks of school in my classroom consisted of getting to know one another, learning routines, and lots of games.

Students were asked to bring in their favorite physical game (no video games) from home, and teach us how to play it. The purpose of this assignment was to give them an opportunity to take the lead in a less intimidating way. The message I was hoping to send was “We value what you have to share, who you are, and what you already know.”

John Spencer at Medium.com says “[Choice] is about empowering students through the entire learning process.” There is not a lot of ways to get kids to take some ownership in something if they had no choice in the matter. Kids need to take the lead more often, and we need to let them.

reason 2: learning is social

The Japanese game GO has been played for thousands of years!

My 18 year old son loves Japanese culture, and found an Oriental board game called GO at a garage sale. The game has been played for thousands of years, and is part of Japanese culture. It’s a challenge to learn the game, but together we are figuring it out. Learning something new along side someone, especially someone you love, is unifying.

In our desire to learn how to play, we have had some great conversation! He has done some research, and I have asked lots of questions. As we play, we develop strategies, and ask more questions. This is the essence of great lesson design. As teachers, we want students to interact with the material (in this case, the game) and ask questions. They they try it out, get feedback, and start again.

Games like Guess Who are perfect for creating great conversational moments. My son and I used this elementary level game to practice asking and answering questions in Japanese. Although learning Japanese is not at the top of my list of interests, it is on the top of his. As a parent of a child getting ready to leave the house, I’ll take all the time I can get with him.

Reason 3: Technology is not the only tool

As schools have quickly transitioned to online learning, there have been some very positive outcomes, and there have been the inevitable downsides as well. I think we assume that all kids understand what it means to be a digital citizen, which is probably not the truth. We see proof all the time that adults don’t even know what this means. Technology can be a great tool for getting kids engaged in learning, and it is just one tool.

Worksheets are another default tool that is overused. It’s a little like using a screwdriver to beat in a nail. It will probably get the job done, but there is a better way. What we see is the product of some learning that has already taken place somewhere along the line. Table top games allow us to get involved in the process: the two steps forward and one step back approach to discovering something new. When a worksheet is done, its done. A game can be played and played again. Players can get creative to can change the rules, change strategies, lose and win.

What I am not saying is that we shouldn’t use technology or worksheets for at home learning. Learning is happening all around us all the time. With table top games we can be more intentional about learning with our kids, and recognize that it is actually already happening.

want more?

Check out these awesome learning games from Empower.com. These are easy to understand and content based.

Look for my upcoming blog posts about Pixar shorts, story starters, and digital citizenship for ideas for learning at home. Also, check out this great podcast about the power of table top games.

What other things are you already doing at home with your family, that could be a great tool for learning?Thanks for reading!

Month: April 2020

Five Minutes to Start a New Story