On Friday, I shared with the girls and my colleagues via Firefly some stop tips for working remotely. I thought you might be interested to hear how I’m intending on following my own advice!
The two key points that I’ve given some thought to and planned this weekend are;
Learn something new - you’ve also got a fantastic opportunity here to learn something new. If you do the work teachers have set for you and still have time to fill, learn a new language, read a new book, learn to cook or another skill.
Matty and I are going to learn some conversational Spanish. This will count towards Matty’s Duke of Edinburgh so even though his expeditions have been cancelled, he can still work towards his goal.
I’m also going to try to do something ‘arty’. My classes will tell you that I am very aware that art is not my strong point – how do you know when something is ‘finished’? So I’ve ordered some supplies and I’m going to give it a go. I may or may not share the results of this!
Spend some time in ‘flow’ - this is the feeling when you’re so absorbed in something that you lose all sense of time and what’s going on around you and just feel ‘in the moment’. Sing, dance, play your instrument, lose yourself in an activity you love.
Positive psychology tells us that we can be happy when we spend time in flow. This is like a channel created when we are doing an activity with the right level of challenge for our ability. This diagram shows you what that means;
So, I’m going to try some mindfulness using an app I’ve got called Headspace. Matty is going to keep up his bass guitar practice and try to master a level 5 piece. Thankfully, for my wellbeing, his drum kit is not here!
I’d love to hear what the girls are doing to care for their wellbeing while they are remote learning. They can keep checking the Firefly page for resources from the pastoral team. I’m also really enjoying following #KeepingQueensActive on social media to see what the school community is up to.
Stay in touch
Lorraine Jones
Head of Pastoral, mother of three boys.