Happy School Hacks
Ideas for a calmer school and happier humans. If you are a school administrator, you will want to read on!
Holiday season energy is real. Children feel it. Adults feel it. Hallways get louder, to-do lists get longer. Suddenly everyone is wielding more glitter, sugar, and emotions than they can reasonably manage.
It is a good time of year to lean into santosha — a practice in yoga tradition. Santosha is about finding moments of contentment, of stillness, in the midst of it all.
Administrators can help create those moments with a few simple choices.
Below are three ways to support your teachers’ nervous systems leading up to the holiday season.
1. Share a Simple Practice
Choose a grounding practice the teachers can use all month — something so simple that even the busiest teacher can join without thinking.
Ideas:
• Three slow breaths together (suggestion: breathe in for 4, breathe out for 6 counts. This calms the nervous system)
• Feel your feet on the floor for 30 seconds
• Prompt teachers to notice one thing they can see, hear, and feel
This is santosha in micro-dose form. A pause to be here now, and to appreciate the good that exists in the present moment.
2. Encourage Rest
Here’s the thing. Adding more events to a December schedule is not wellness. It’s just… more.
Instead of more or Pro-Ds, parties, initiatives that turn into new tasks-–give your team the gift of less.
Try to:
• Protect planning time
• Cancel non-essential meetings
• Remove a small task from teachers’ plates
Rest helps nervous systems settle. Santosha reminds us that doing less will improve wellness in the long run. Wellness in teachers leads to a more positive work environment in the long run.
3. Invite Teachers to Enjoy Something Each Week
Invite teachers to enjoy an intentional self-kindness each week in December. Not productive, not for the classroom — just enjoyable. Encourage them to buddy up and share the “nice thing.” Then they can savour it twice.
Ideas:
• A food or drink they wouldn’t normally have
• A protected block to read for pleasure
• A walk outside
• A device-free lunch in a café
Santosha asks us to notice the good of what is already here. In a culture obsessed with productivity, give your team the best gift of all: enjoying the moment.