I am amazed by my Student Council leaders. They have made it their mission to unify our school community and they continue to brainstorm how we can engage students to connect with one another. It’s something I have been thinking about alot lately. I know that the upcoming holidays can be extremely difficult for so many people and this year, I suspect will be just a little worse (thanks 2020). As we lead into the last week before the winter break, I think it’s important time to make time for something that may make spirits more bright.
1. Personalized Holiday Wishes
Every year, we typically have candy-grams where students personalize a message for their friends. This year, because we are in a hybrid model and because our Covid restrictions prevent us from physically doing this, we created a Christmas wishes template on Google Slides and sent it out with a Google form for students to personalize. Typically, there are students who also don’t receive a message, so we are also going to create a message that all students will receive from student council. We are using Autocrat for the personalization. Check out this template, this Google Form, and a video on how to use Autocrat to automate the process. Feel free to modify as needed.
2. What I Like About You
Many years ago, my friend Rob Cannone had his students create a silhouette of themselves and students walked about the room to add words or comments which revealed the person’s positive qualities. With so many restrictions for students around social distancing, this needs to be virtual. With Google Jamboard (or Microsoft Whiteboard), students can each get a page, and easily add a compliment for one another. Each page can also be downloaded by each student to keep. You can now add a background image to a Jamboard. Students can upload a silhouette or you can use the more generic template I created.
Here is the template and here is the Jamboard template with various backgrounds.
You can also create a What I Like About You Flipgrid topic for this. With the new added features of voice only and text, all students will feel comfortable participating.
3. Help Others in Need
Our school community is coming together to provide gifts for a family in our local community. If your school isn’t already doing this, consider reaching out to a local shelter to see how you might do something to support
Or check out Impact Without Compact for ways to volunteer virtually to make an impact. Here is their website. This organization, created by high school students is an incredible example of how students can make a positive difference in the world and can be a wonderful model for your students. Listen to my podcast episode with them here.
4. Soup
I know this isn’t feasible for everyone and sounds like a strange addition, but I have to tell you there is nothing more comforting than a bowl of soup on a cold winter’s day. Get a mask on and make some homemade soup for a friend or neighbour. I made a soup for my daughter and her roommates today. They are vegetarian, so it was a hearty vegetable soup. I sauteed chopped onions, celery, and carrots together, added 2 vegetable bouillons, a can of tomato soup, a can of mixed beans, and a chopped spinach along with about 6 cups of water and a bay leaf. Then I added 3/4 cups of rice (although often I will add tube pasta instead).You can do the exact thing, but add cubed chicken or turkey for the non-vegetarians in your life.
My lentil spinach soup recipe is in the EduMatch Teacher’s Recipe Guide which is super inexpensive right now on Kindle.
There is something about sharing food with someone else that feels like a warm hug, even when we can’t actually hug.
5. The Masked Educator
My good friends Tisha Richmond, Mandy Froehlich and I created a show premiering on December 18th at 5 pm PST, 7 pm CST, and 8 pm EST which is inspired by The Masked Singer and a podcast called, Smartless. Here is the description:
In the spirit of adding a little more laughter into our lives, Tisha Richmond, Jennifer Casa-Todd, and Mandy Froehlich have developed a spin-off inspired by The Masked Singer called The Masked Educator. Join us as we invite a special masked educator on every show.
Can you guess who they are before we do?
Fun is mandatory. Learning is probable but optional. Bring snacks. Bring a friend.
It’s just our way of infusing a little fun and lightness into the universe! Join us at bit.ly/maskededucator
I would love to hear your ideas for infusing joy into the world.