Today is Winter Solstice -- and although we originally intended to be together as a school community to celebrate this beginning of our world’s shift back towards the light, our minds and hearts are with you in all this transition does and can provide in our lives—how it can nurture the clarity of our intentions, and germinate strength in our hopes for the near and distant future. Central to our connection with you as families is our shared love of teaching your children, learning and growing alongside them as educators and creative guides. The unlimited knowledge of the world deeply and vastly inspires our communal curiosity to explore and apply with keen intelligence and compassion all we are able to glean from our mutual discoveries. We will make up our Solstice celebration when we are back together in the new year when we are starting to experience and more easily observe the elongated offering of light to our days. We'll continue to celebrate this time of introspection, and burgeoning vision, and immense appreciation well beyond our official Solstice. For today’s Solstice and over the winter break, you can try a few of these activities to bring a little more light into your life. Take a moment to find the sun today, on the walk to the grocery store, or as you walk past a window. Allow yourself a moment of giving the sun your full attention while allowing it to shine back at you. Light a candle, watch the sunset, draw a picture of the sun with your child, draw a picture of each other, or someone you love, hug and imagine your favorite color with your child as you do so, draw a picture of a place on earth you cherish, draw a picture of a dream you had or that you continue to work towards, or sit together as a family and do a guided meditation in story form, letting each of you contribute to the details of the narrative. Tell your child a story from your childhood when you learned something awesome and memorable, tell jokes and laugh loudly, find surprising moments to say yes to whimsical, joyful moments. Rest–let household chores go for a bit, and play instead. Remember how we sustain joy within ourselves and with our little ones just as the sun sustains us. Be proud of your resilience and all you've managed and accomplished as a family over these recent challenging times–no matter how small it may seem, it is never insignificant. The sun, just like our oldest trees, is there to remind us of our inner strength and peace, and how much the light inside each and every one of us matters to each other and the world.
Roberts Field is devoted to all of the enduring strength and creative possibilities of joyful learning before us, no matter what life brings. We have great gratitude for your family, and we are wishing you all of the warmth and happiness that this season of festivity and renewal provides.
Much love and Happy Winter Solstice,
Khahtee and Carney