I’m noticing a lot of good stuff we are collectively curating is being flung out so fast that the social media algorithms are not able to get it out as efficiently as possible.
Instead of making many individual posts on Facebook or other outlets, I decided to start curating lists here from time to time. These are not going to include the most recent data, news or recommendations on the virus, unless something is particularly compelling.
There is great disparity out there, now devastatingly worsened. I want to acknowledge my privilege and use it to source some things that might at least help people pass the time. These might include humor, music, art, and things to help parents feel supported during the social distancing recommendations.
ART and MUSIC
- Instagram users: The 100 Day Project is coming up on April 7th. I love this project and the timing is almost perfect.
- https://www.the100dayproject.org/
- This is an Instagram-based project, but you can always do the challenge analog on your own, too.
- Facebook users: COVID concert series is a group on Facebook that’s allowing musicians to “go live” from their own space so fans can watch live music from the safety and comfort of their own homes
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/1493773184136635/
- My friend Taryn will play tomorrow, Sun the 22nd from 3:30-4 pm MDT
- Yo-Yo Ma is doing #songsofcomfort via Facebook.
- https://www.facebook.com/YoYoMa/
- Click on Videos and look for the hashtag #songsofcomfort
- Author and Illustrator Mo Willems is doing Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL14hRqd0PELGbKihHuTqx_pbvCLqGbOkF
- Each one is 20-30 minutes long and free on Youtube through The Kennedy Center; the “nation’s busiest performing arts center!”
- Apple Music has a lovely playlist (for my ears, anyway) named Pure Focus, that is pretty calming.
PARENTING and HUMOR
- Homeschool bingo humor: https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/homeschooling-while-working-from-home-during-a-global-pandemic-bingo
- Hand in Hand Parenting video and offerings
- Free resources: https://fyuhhu8v.pages.infusionsoft.net/
- Great video at: https://www.handinhandparenting.org/2020/03/parenting-coping-during-the-coronavirus-crisis/
- We are digging the Cincinnati Zoo’s Home Safari series.
- http://cincinnatizoo.org/home-safari-resources/
- These are also on their Facebook life events at https://www.facebook.com/cincinnatizoo/
- Missing your sports? So is this guy and he’s frankly hilarious.
SOCIAL JUSTICE and ANTI-RACISM (Why not take some of this time to consider what could be different and how to be a part of that?)
- Little Justice Leaders is a monthly subscription for children and families who want to learn more about social justice:
- https://www.littlejusticeleaders.com/
- Subscription can be digital for $14.99 or a physical kit with a book and activity monthly, varying from 34.99 to 44.99
- Layla Saad is an author and podcaster who wrote Me and White Supremacy.
- http://laylafsaad.com/
- Many versions, including Audiobook at https://www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com/https://www.meandwhitesupremacybook.com/ (Bossy Tanya says: DO the JOURNAL PROMPTS!! No cheating.)
- Good Ancestor Podcast at http://laylafsaad.com/good-ancestor-podcast
MENTAL HEALTH
- Lots of us are grasping for information right now. It’s a way to try to manage uncertainty and anxiety. We want to believe something good will come out of this, and it’s likely there will be pockets of good here and there. One example of this is the “Fake Animal Viral Social Media Posts” we are all seeing. I believe we have to pause and really look into what is factual right now vs. what is the psychology of our pandemic.
- The author ends with, “Spots of hope on social media are likely to play a key role in keeping spirits up in the weeks and months ahead, as people self-quarantine in their homes and connect with each other through screens. “I’d encourage people to share positive things,” says Vogel. “But it doesn’t have to be anything dramatic. It just has to be true.””
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-fake-animal-viral-social-media-posts
- If you have the time, why not consider this free course on the Science of Wellbeing?
- Yale’s “most popular class ever” is available free online. This one starts today, I believe and the topic is on how to be happier in your daily life. It will be interesting to see if a well-nuanced equity lens has been applied to this material. Let’s hope.
- https://www.businessinsider.com/coursera-yale-science-of-wellbeing-free-course-review-overview
I hope there is something, anything, here to help you pass a little bit of time in a more comfortable way. This is hard. It is unprecedented, unpredictable, and now we are all having to learn to tolerate discomfort on an immediate and urgent level. Check on your friends and take time to rest, too. Distance hugs and high fives to you and yours.
Thank you so much!
Warm blessings, Francie White
Sent from my iPhone
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Francie, you are welcome. xo and I hope you guys are all sealed in a bubble of safety and love over there.