The Joys & Trauma of World Travel

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Have you traveled across the ocean? Have you taught a class in another country? Have you or your students experienced trauma that needed to be cared for? Travel opens up multiple opportunities for learning TRUTH and embodying GOODNESS. Today my special guest is another old teaching colleague of mine from Ad Fontes Academy in Centreville, Virginia. Kirsten and I taught together for several years and life later took us to different parts of the world, me to Pennsylvania and she to a completely new continent!  

Grab a cup of coffee and immerse yourself in a new teaching experience in a new world and new culture through the exciting travels and difficulties of my dear friend. Kirsten has some poignant points about dealing with trauma and helpful tips on being present with her students that I know you will find beneficial.

Later in the show, I will explore another aspect of BEAUTY through the arts of hospitality and homemaking by organizing a Supper Club.

Some of Kirsten's favorite resources:

• Try Softer by Aundi Kolber 
• Mindsight by Dan Seiglel
• Untangling Emotions by J. Alasdair Groves and Winston T. Smith 
• The Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson
• Calm App
• Lectio 365 App
• @aundikolber
• @adamyoungcounseling/ The Place We Find Ourselves Podcast
• @kjramseywrites
• @dralisoncook / The Best of You Podcast

Some of my favorite cookbooks:

• The Forest Feast: Gatherings by Erin Gleeson
• Magnolia Table, Vol. 1 by Joanna Gaines
• Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon
• Holiday Open House by Gooseberry Patch (this has that amazing Christmas Eggnog Punch!)

Here is the whole secret of a successful holiday: the mind must be actively, unceasingly, and involuntarily engaged with fresh and ever-changing interests . . . - Charlotte Mason, Volume 5: The Formation of Character, p. 132

But the child . . . needs, like his elders, engrossing interests which shall compel him to think new thoughts.  Fresh air for the lungs, fresh scenes for the eye, and fully healing and helpful only when the mind, too, is taken into account, and the jaded brain is spoon-fed, as it were, with new ideas.  This is why foreign travel is delightful . . . - Charlotte Mason, Volume 5: The Formation of Character, p. 132

. . . give a child a single valuable idea, and you have done more for his education than if you had laid upon his mind the burden of bushels of information . . . - Charlotte Mason, Volume 1: Home Education, p. 174

1. Create a classroom culture that promotes safety and empathy. Consider applying some of Kirsten's suggestions: self-care and self-attunement, a beautiful space, don't be afraid of awkward moments to address unkindness or confusion, be curious as to WHY your student is behaving that way, give your students the freedom to not be ok, and know that there is great comfort in being in the presence of God.
2. Commemorate the places you've been. Set up a world map that you can mark with pins or flags all the places you've visited.  Or string up postcards from other countries to inspire you and to remind you of all your memories.
3. Call up 5 other friends and invite them to be a part of your Supper Club. You can do this every month or every other month and make it your own with however you want to do the food, include or not include activities, and how you want to work out hosting. Be consistent and you will find your friendships flourishing.