Let's start our days off right! Every weekday, we will gather and start our day together. We will set ourselves up for success by sharing encouragement, naming our priorities, and taking the time to do something we love. My goal for each meeting is for each learner to come away feeling refreshed and ready for their day. I want them to feel excited to tackle whatever each day brings and to feel good about taking time for their creative hobbies. Any creative hobby is welcome in this class! I, their teacher, am a writer but anything counts! Drawing, painting, coding, sewing, knitting, or anything that allows a learner to build and create something for themselves is a creative hobby and is welcome in this class. 

Our hour together will be divided into three parts: Encourage, Look Ahead, and Get Creative. After saying hello and allowing any new learners to introduce themselves, we will jump right into Encourage. During Encourage, we will focus on two things: sharing something we're proud of and sharing quotes or pieces of wisdom we've found. Students will use their journals to write down one thing they like about themselves or something for which they are proud of themselves. Learners then will get an opportunity to share what they've written if they would like to share. During sharing, learners can share their accomplishments from the previous day, no matter how small, and be celebrated for what they've done. This will also be a time for sharing favorite quotes or pieces of wisdom that they've found in books they've read, conversations they've had, or anywhere they've gone. We will also acknowledge that not every day is wonderful and filled with what society counts as success. Because of this, our Encourage time is meant to both celebrate what learners have accomplished and encourage learners going through hard days or times in their lives. This class is a safe space for anyone and everyone.  

Next, we will Look Ahead. During look ahead, students will be given time to write their schedules for the day and name three priorities for themselves. For their schedules, I will encourage them to write down any classes, activities, or anything else they need to be present for that day. Writing down their schedule will help learners solidify in their minds where they need to be and give them a visual for how busy they are that day. For their three priorities, I will guide students in choosing priorities that are manageable and realistic. By guiding them in choosing three manageable priorities for their day, I will help students learn to create a healthy balance between work and rest. I will show them how to choose their priorities based on their schedule for the day (a full schedule means choosing tasks that take less time while a light schedule can mean spending time on tasks that are more time consuming). I will also encourage students to come up with a way to reward themselves when they finish all three priorities for that day. Reward suggestions will include going for a walk, taking time to read, taking more time for their creative hobby, and more!

Finally, we will Get Creative. Once we have Encouraged and Looked Ahead, it will be time to spend some time on our creative hobbies! Learners should already have anything they need for their hobbies with them so they don't have to spend this time looking for materials. I will put on some music, set a timer, and we will spend time chatting and working on our hobbies. Any creative hobby counts here! Also, students don't have to bring the same activity to class every day. They can bring a sewing project, work on a drawing, write, draw, model clay, do some coding, or even work on a Minecraft build! This is their time to get a sure chance to spend a little time doing what they love. I will also leave room at the end for anyone who wants to share what they've been working on during our time together. 

Weekly topics will be student led. There is no set weekly focus other than the general focus of the class. Every day we will aim to do the three things discussed above (encourage, look ahead, be creative). Each day's structure will be the same. Here is the approximate time breakdown for each meeting:
0:00-0:05 - Greetings and introductions for any new learners
0:05-0:20 - Encourage
0:20-0:35 - Look Ahead
0:35-0:50 - Get Creative
0:50-0:55 - Wrapping up, saying goodbye

We will follow the above schedule each day of the week but with flexibility depending on learner needs and how the discussion is going. Each learner will have a voice in class and I will make sure every learner is getting opportunities to share each week. Along with that, learners will not feel pressured to share anything if they don't want to. My goal is for learners to have a safe space to share their accomplishments, make time to do their hobbies, set manageable daily goals, and encourage each other. 

Each learner should bring a journal and writing utensils with them to class each day. The journal and writing utensils will be used for setting intentions and writing out their schedule for the day. This is meant to be a light version of a bullet journal. If your learner already has a bullet journal, wonderful! They can bring that to class and use it if they wish. They should also bring whatever they need for their hobby so they don't have to spend class time looking for knitting needles or colored pencils! I'm excited to spend the beginning of my day with your learners!