Flannel Projects: Rabbits & Unicorns (and more webinars!)

This past week, I have focused on quite a few webinars about self-care and mindfulness to keep mentally/emotionally healthy during this pandemic. It is so important to take care of ourselves and I am finding it especially important as I try to balance telework and taking care of my toddler. My husband works in emergency services so many days are me doing both without help. That being said, on the days he is home I am able to work mostly uninterrupted...

1. Idaho Commission for Libraries Info2Go! session on Self-Care During a Pandemic.
This webinar I found especially helpful in truly explaining why we are all experiencing stress and anxiety, as well as giving an analogy as to why it is important to take care of ourselves. The tips are wonderful to refer back to and share with coworkers, family, and friends.

2. Ohio State University is presenting weekly webinars about reducing stress, maintaining mindfulness, and staying calm. 
I watched the first week about cognitive behavioral tools to keep anxiety/depression at bay. It was a reminder to me, back to my undergrad years when I majored in psychology, about how important of a muscle our brain is. I appreciated her reminder about trying to see the silver lining, even in the midst of stress, to this. I have gotten to spend so much time home with my son and I want to be able to appreciate it. 

3. The Effectiveness Institute has been regularly adding free webinars to their site in response to COVID-19. 
You do have to check their site regularly, to keep up with new upcoming webinars, and they are only offered live. But I watched one about thriving in chaos. They gave a ton of great tips and led a really wonderful discussion about ways to handle stress during the pandemic.



One big picture theme throughout? EXERCISE!!! Every single webinar I have watched has reminded viewers that, to alleviate our stress response and keep depression at bay, it is so important to exercise. Walking, yoga, running, etc. Focus less on the news/social media, and more on you and your immediate surroundings. So here's to adding more exercise and mindfulness to my daily activities!



Flannel Projects:
This past week, I have been working on flannel rabbits and flannel unicorns. 

For rabbits, I have usually done a variant of Elephants in the Bathtub, and just used rabbits instead.

For unicorns, I have done a variant of Elephants on a Spider's Web.
One unicorn went out to play,
On a bright and sunny day.
He had such enormous fun,
He called for another unicorn to come! "HEY, Unicorn!!!"
Count up...2, 3, 4, 5