Dear Morningside Center friends,

In this newsletter you'll find a new lesson on collective responses to stress and isolation, as well as a guided visualization activity and our holiday bundle for 2022. Plus, we share a reading and resources.

An exciting update: We're halfway to our fund appeal goal to support young circle keepers. Want to help put us over the top? Donate and/or share!

And in case you missed it, there's still time for NYC middle school after-school programs to apply for free training and coaching.

Collective Responses to Covid Era Stress & Isolation

What can we do not just individually but as a society to address the anxiety and sadness that so many young people are feeling? Students explore some possibilities through readings and discussion.

Mindfulness & a Guided Visualization for Your Classroom

Mindfulness practices can help both students and adults stay grounded and connected. This guided visualization activity is one way to bring the benefits of mindfulness to your students. 

Winter Holidays Bundle

Make space in your classroom for students to share their holiday traditions, as well as their feelings about the upcoming holidays - whatever they may be - with this holiday lesson collection. 

The bundle also includes lessons on self-care over the holidays, holiday consumption, plus activities to foster joy, including collective craft projects that invite students' creativity - and will brighten your classroom.  

Teaching Indigenous Humanity & Fostering Black Joy. Educator and coach Takiema Bunche Smith reflects on the need for curricula that embody the “full humanity of Indigenous folks.” Plus, links to resources and Takiema’s virtual retreat in January. 

The City That Kicked Cops Out of Schools and Tried Restorative Practices Instead. Reporter Andy Kopsa documents what happened when the Des Moines, Iowa, public schools adopted restorative approaches—and shares insights from Rutgers researcher Dr. Anne Gregory. 

“Many of us have been running all our lives. Practice stopping." – Thich Nhat Hanh