May 2023
Kia ora koutou,
Well here we are suddenly hurtling towards the middle of the year!
Winter is beginning to show its head and many of us are starting to think about report writing once again.
I’ve been reflecting a little bit this week on just how busy our lives get and reminding myself to take a step back, enjoy what’s happening around me and take time to revisit my intentions for the year.
I hope that you’ve been able to take time to revisit your goals for this year too, reflect on whether they are still important to you and if so, ensure you are taking time to meet these goals. Particularly the ones around self care and boundaries.
Personally I have been working hard behind the scenes to write, create and film my upcoming online course “Learning to Flourish” which is due to be launched in mid June.
This course goes alongside The Classroom Connections Project and is aimed at teaching the science of Positive Psychology. My goal is to help teachers to establish routines within their own day for self care as well as weekly slots of classroom time.
It has been a massive learning curve for me and the things I’ve learnt along the way have been immeasurable. On this journey I have had to overcome self-doubt, build confidence and put myself in uncomfortable situations.
This has been really scary for me as while I’m a ‘people person’ I have never really liked being the centre of attention!
The skills I’m learning have been so empowering and I realise that they’ll now be with me into the future.
One wise person I was working with recently asked me to reflect on the things I do now that I thought would be impossible a year ago. At first I didn’t think there were many, however when I stopped and thought about it there are a multitude of ways I have grown. Posting regularly on social media, creating a website, speaking publicly, writing and publishing my own book.
By sitting down and taking time to acknowledge these accomplishments I gained a huge amount of confidence and self-belief. I really do urge you to have a go at this activity yourself, you may be surprised by just how far you have come.
Tomorrow I am heading to a Kiwi Kids Nature Play workshop in Invercargill. I am really excited about this as I think the value children gain from spending time outdoors in their natural environment is massive. I’m also really looking forward to working with Celia Hogan who I believe is a real champion for creating such positive experiences for tamariki and helping teachers around Aotearoa to do the same. I really admire her for creating a space where educators can feel supported in giving their children outdoor experiences and grow their knowledge on just how beneficial this is for tamariki.
Look out for posts on my facebook and instagram pages next week to see what we got up to!
Nga mihi,
Natalie
