Fall 2021: Resources We Love, Back-to-School Edition

Every family with school-aged children knows: January 1st is not New Year’s Day. The true new year begins somewhere around Labor Day, when we suit up our kids with colorful backpacks and the smells of pencil shavings and erasers fill the air. There is a lot of glee to be felt during this time of new beginnings, but it’s also a stress-ridden time, and Back-to-School 2021 is no exception. To help provide a little bit of grounding this season, we’re sharing resources that can help you face some of the obstacles presented by the school year, and the ushering in of new routines. Tucked in among our clinical and instructional resources are also recommendations for good reads and listens. Because sometimes the best way to address stress is to create the time to nourish yourself and your curiosity. 

Amelia Aburn 

For many kids and families, this might be one of the most uncertain back-to-school transitions they have ever experienced. Anxiety is such a natural response to this kind of transition and it can feel so helpful to simply remember how and why our nervous systems react and respond this way! I have leaned on this wonderful NPR piece from 2019 that beautifully summarizes how to really support children experiencing anxiety.

Another go-to, especially for trouble sleeping which naturally occurs around school and transitions, is the 4-7-8 breathing technique, which creates an autonomic nervous system shift from sympathetic (our fight or flight state) to a parasympathetic (rest and digest state). Check out this video to give it a try! 

Elizabeth Ebaugh

I am reading The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee, The Love Songs of WEB Dubois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, and Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. All information about becoming more conscious as we meet the global situation just as it is.

Liz Hagerman

I think the book Rest Play Grow by Deborah MacNamara is a great book with lots of resources for our littlest ones, this time of year and always. It's attachment based, and has a good description of a solid “hands off” at school drop-off time, to help reduce separation alarm. I love the term the author uses: instead of connecting to your child, she talks about “collecting” them. 

Kate Kelly

I am really loving The Art of Gathering – How We Meet and Why It Matters, by Priya Parker, and the compelling case that Priya Parker makes for the art and science of intentional and conscious gathering. “The way we gather matters,” Parker says, “Gatherings shape the way we think, feel, and make sense of our world.” Yet so often, she argues, we slip into unconscious routines and conventions rather than examining the deeper assumptions behind why we gather, and taking time to discover the unique “bold, sharp, purpose” of our gatherings. Whether it’s a dinner party, work meeting, or baby shower, rather than feeling a deep sense of belonging and meaning, many of us leave gatherings feeling that we never really arrived. Drawing on a broad range of gathering examples, including museums, classrooms, summer camps, dinner parties–even funerals--Priya Parker thoughtfully and generously gives us practical advice to wake up from the trance of unconscious gatherings. Enjoy! 

Amy Murphy

Especially as a mom and an educator, I have always looked at the Fall season as a beginning. The new school year is an obvious beginning, but even more broadly I look at this time of year as a fresh start, or reset. To that end, I’ve lately been enjoying The Sakara Life podcast. Created by the co-founders of the nutrition, wellness and lifestyle brand Sakara, it is their effort to feed mind and soul. They dig deeper into topics that I find fascinating and informative. Some of my favorites have included guests such a shaman who spoke about connecting with one’s inner life and spirit guides, to a doctor of functional medicine discussing the science of healthy aging. My body has benefitted from some of their plant based products in the past, and as I contemplate the coming of the fall season I value their podcast as a resource for my mind. 

Lisa Oakley

One book I'm diving into is Voice Lessons for Parents by Wendy Mogel, which delves into strategies to help parents connect with their children - at all ages and stages - through calm and respectful communication.

And I've got a few other things on my nightstand right now. One book that is really nourishing is A Year in Rock Creek Park: The Wild Wooded Heart of Washington, DC by Melanie Choukas-Bradley. The title pretty much describes my own existence this past year with the switch from seeing clients in the office, to walking with them in the Park. This book is by the same author who wrote The Joy of Forest Bathing and describes the rhythm and beauty of observing and experiencing nature in our own urban DC wilderness over the course of a year.  I'm also reading Between Freedom and Equality: The History of An African American Family in Washington, DC, by Barbara Torrey and Clara Green. The authors have uncovered the story of an African American family who lived in Chevy Chase and had their land taken from them in the 1920s by eminent domain to build Lafayette Elementary school, which was created as an all-white school. This family was a victim of part of the larger movement at the time that removed many Black families from upper Northwest DC, leading to the racial segregation across our city that still exists today.  

Veronica Suleiman

I recommend Meghan Leahy’s recent article in the Washington Post: “Does my son with ADHD need a new school?” I liked it because it has a very supportive tone for both parents and children. It asks that parents be thoughtful about the two main areas (social/emotional and academic) to consider when making a school decision for their child with ADHD, while also allowing for parental mistakes.  The author suggests that such a decision can be a trial and error process and that that is okay. 

Lida Sunderland

I have partnered with many clients towards bridging that elusive trajectory of getting to staying organized with daily and long term tasks and goals. And I often use Rachel Wilkerson Miller’s Dot Journaling: A Practical Guide, as an instructional tool. What I love about dot journaling is how infinitely personalizable it is-- there is truly no wrong way to do it. And I also find it very forgiving of missed days, because a good system is not one that makes you feel guilty when you get a tad behind the ball. I encourage my clients to think beyond the to-do list frame, and to use dot journaling for a gratitude practice or other free-writing endeavor, as these are incredibly rewarding investments that bring meaning and deep connection to self. 

Also, I will once again mention my recommendation from the last newsletter, as season 2 of the Ask Lisa podcast is out, and the first episode addresses back-to-school mania with a gentle, forgiving, and invaluable message: do less. In Seriously?! How Do I Face Back-to-School 2021?, Damour gives practical tips for staying in the present moment, and giving ourselves permission to drop the pressure to plan, plan, plan. 

Finally, I recently finished All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It’s a stunning WWII novel, told through the eyes of two children from very different sides of the conflict. The craftsmanship of this story is truly something to marvel at, and it will leave you at turns both heartened and heartbroken.