For many years our family has vacationed in the same place between Christmas and the New Year. When my youngest was small we took him sledding or out on the frozen lake to try skating. Later, my husband and son went skiing while I spent my outdoor time trying to master speedskating technique. Now, our December tradition includes a bunch of other families with kids of various ages, all enjoying a week of cheerful proximity with lots of indoor and outdoor play time. I am astonished at how much I look forward to and cherish this burst of intense social activity year after year. Even as my own family’s day-to-day configuration looks different from how we show up during this vacation week, it’s the fact that we all three appreciate our shared time in unique ways and don’t want to give that up.

That’s what got me thinking about repetition and what it offers. We try to repeat the things we enjoy. We repeat things in order to learn them. We repeat experiences to develop familiarity and confidence through practice. Every day that I spend on the ice contributes to my growing register of capabilities – how I shift my weight, where I center my balance, how to avoid cracks. Even if I am doing the same thing over and over, no two outings are exactly alike. This allows me to anticipate, adapt and improve over time. Coupling this insight with the opening of a new year, I’m asking myself which kinds of repetition benefit us as learners? To what ends can we acknowledge that a bit of repetition would do us some good? While also noticing that accommodating constant novelty can sometimes backfire.

It is in that spirit that I will use part of this space to highlight some resources I’ve previously introduced, while also suggesting a few things that speak to the idea of healthy repetition and practice.

Looking Back:

At some point (I literally cannot find when or where!), I believe I made reference to The Safe Zone Project which offers a host of resources for learning about all things LGBTQIA. Specifically, they offer an online self-directed introductory course which is ideal for educators seeking to bolster their knowledge base in order to best support ALL students. (Completing this course is one of my priorities for the first half of 2024!)

While I have mentioned the war and humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, much of recent coverage has been overshadowed by the disastrous ethnic cleansing taking place in Gaza. That said, consider resources compiled by Eyes On Sudan as well as this recent article in The Guardian which provides a reasonable overview of how the conflict continues to rage with no end in sight.

In January of 2020, Bending The Arc featured a load of resources on countering Islamophobia. Among them, I strongly recommend investigating TWM, Teaching While Muslim, which currently offers access to Palestinian and other Muslim voices in response to Israel’s war on Gaza.

Kinda Happy and Maybe New

A couple of years ago, I began sharing this song with my youngest learners. It’s bright, affirming and catchy. Putting it here is a reminder to self and the rest of us that we can do hard things and making mistakes will be par for the course. I give you “The Start Again Song” from the GoNoodle archives.

In a similar spirit of being kind to ourselves in the face of messing up, I invite folks to check out the Adult Numeracy Network which is geared to providing resources for folks teaching math to adults (or anyone else). I found lots of suggestions for sound pedagogical practice here! Including for PD. I especially encourage you to spend time selecting a few puzzles or challenges from their Play tab! (Do this for yourself, because you can and it’s fun! Then, think of the children.)

I tested a few for you:

• Sumplete -seemingly simple math and then some.

• Circles – oh, you might get hooked just playing around here!

• Number Shapes – pattern recognition, pattern recognition, repeat!

• Weeds and Trees – visual play, adjusting varying parameters of fractal patterns from nature. Fascinating!

What’s In A Game?

During this break, I got to spend time playing all sorts of card and board games with friends and family. Game playing has all kinds of benefits for learning and growth but what struck me when playing was how easily the elements of suspense, surprise, and delight showed up. Adventures for our multi-connector brains while we sit around the table engaging with a bunch of colorfully numbered cards or a pair of dice in a cup or figures moving across a board … it’s really quite incredible, if you think about it.

Some of our favorites included Iota, Punto, On The Dot and Skyjo.

Please go forth in the New Year 2024 and play as much and as often as you can!

Like so many times before, I started this missive with other ideas on tap. And yet, play and practice prevailed. Again the theme of repetition bubbles up. Yes, the process of writing is similar month for month, while the outcomes remain a bit of a surprise every single time.

Wishing you pleasant surprises and empowering recurrences!

Thanks for joining me,

Sherri