We laugh hardest at the jokes that ring truest.

This post features thoughts from TWP’s own Emily Boucher, a local artivist and teacher. She shares her thoughts below as someone who is navigating #CovidLearning from her perspective as a high school teacher, a social-media junkie, and a bleeding-heart empath watching education happen exclusively online.

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If there’s one thing the internet does well in quarantine, it’s humor.

Scrolling through social media lately, one does not have to go long without seeing a snarky but relatable joke about #QuarantineLife:

Humor can be an uplifting and powerful tool for self-care and community because behind every exaggerated punchline is a spark of genuine reality. These memes and retweets are tiny opportunities for connection: ways to have our feelings and fears validated in a constantly changing landscape of uncertainty; ways to feel less lonely as we all collectively sit together while alone; instances for us to see and be seen with a share and re-share; and, above all, an excuse to laugh to give our bodies a break from the tension we are all carrying with us.

Humor is human.

With the closures due to social-distancing, an extreme amount of work and pressure has fallen on parents and guardians as they try to manage households, offices, day cares, and classrooms all simultaneously. With such drastic life changes, jokes that blow off steam about the stress of parenting in the time of Covid-19 are all over our timelines and feeds:

Don’t get us wrong: we think kids are great (!!) and we also think social-distancing is essential for our world right now (!!), but we think it’s emotionally responsible to acknowledge (through humor or otherwise) that a societal change of this magnitude is putting a ton of pressure on the caregivers of our children right now… and it’s only April! **stress emoji here**

Over the past month, TWP’s #SustainingCommunity video series has brought together some outstanding voices and perspectives to offer advice and resources for managing our lives in this stressful time. Today, we’d like to recommend a short playlist of videos specific for those who are caring for our amazing young people in this pandemic.

…But before we sign off, a quick word to every one of you out there: we at TWP want to extend our most sincere love and appreciation. We know how precious your time and attention is, and we are grateful you continue to choose to trust us. TWP has always and will always run on community, and so we know how hard all of you are working right now to keep yourselves and your people healthy, well, happy, and connected through this. Thank you to our healthcare workers, our first responders, our essential community workers, our community leaders, our RI artists, and our incredibly kickass Rhode Island network of volunteers and supporters. We are a tiny state full of mighty power! Keep it up with “the #knockitoff,” Rhode Island! 😉

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For all of us quarantined with quaranteens, quaranpreteens, and quaranteenies, this video playlist is for you:

Not sure how to support your kids through such sustained stress?
Amazingly straightforward advice about discussion & play:
Alana DiMario (Rhode Island NOW)

Emotions. Everybody’s got em. …nuff said.
Emotional intelligence wisdom in these high-key days of #ForcedTogetherness:
Charlotte Apricot (TWP)

“Holding hope” is social-distance approved!
5 things we can focus on to help us harvest hope within our selves and our situations.
Rev. Dr. Cari Jackson (Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice)

Fried from being a dodgy DIY Miss Frizzle?
Find resources for doing school at home in the age of #CovidLearning:
Janie Segui Rodriguez (PLEE)

Support our LGBTQI+ youth!
Specific resource to have and share:
Hannah Selwyn (COLOR)

DIY gym class (without the annoying whistle & clipboard!)
Ways to think of movement as medicine for our bodies and souls:
Dr. Kelly Joy Valignota

Need guilt free kid entertainment? Consider games!
Suggestions that incorporate important learning skills:
Denise Arnold (Simply English, launching soon)

We laugh hardest at the jokes that ring truest.

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