Family Friday

TGIF! We all love the break of routine and the freedom that the weekend has to offer! Two days of rest and relaxation to fill one’s energy tank for the next work week. Families are incredibly busy these days juggling work, school, and extracurricular activities, hence why it is more important than ever to slow down and reconnect on Fridays. Let’s take a lesson from the Swedes.

When I taught, I explained to the students that our classroom journey for the year was like taking a trip across Canada on a train, in one coach car with 28 family members. We discussed how even on a family holiday when everyone is crammed into a car or hotel room, people can get on each other’s nerves. In comparison, we run the risk of getting on each other’s nerves in one classroom over the whole year. Hence, as a ‘family classroom’ we needed to reset and get rid of negativity by celebrating accomplishments and have a bit of fun on a Friday.

Whether family or classroom, Friday is a great day to encourage, compliment, applaud or celebrate weekly accomplishments. It’s a great time to focus on accomplishments as a group and share with glee individual triumphs. In addition, to move away from people-pleasing, everyone should be encouraged to share personal proud moments rather than waiting for someone to notice and call attention to the victory.

TGIFF! Talking, grateful, involved, Friday families … taking the time to celebrate.

Happy Thanksgiving! May you all enjoy a wonderful weekend of family time!