Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites

School’s out (or close to it) and exhausted educators everywhere are looking forward to a break. It’s been a rough few years, and the summer should be a time to rest and recharge.

We asked Bethany Thomas, the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites’ vice president of programs and education engagement, and Nicole Rife, our director of education engagement, what they would recommend that teachers do to destress this summer. Here are their tips (in no particular order):

• Art therapy. Use art and your creative side to express yourself and give yourself self-care by doing art. There are art therapists who will do workshops for groups and individuals, and they are just an “art therapists near me” Google search away.
• Visit a museum. You knew this one was going to be in there, but it’s genuine. Going to see art or having an experience in a museum is therapeutic.
• Get outside and connect with nature. Hike, bike, visit a state park or just take a leisurely walk.
• Get together with friends and family. Share what’s going on in your life and maybe get things off your chest if you need to.
• Make time for a hobby or find a new hobby. Is there something you have always wanted to do but didn’t have time to do it? Now’s the time.
• Yoga and meditation. The American Osteopathic Association has a great list of reasons for why yoga is mentally and physically beneficial, and the National Institutes of Health explains how and why meditation can help.
• Go to a concert, listen to music, or just take a walk and listen to your favorite music. Johns Hopkins Medicine says that if you want to firm up your body, head to the gym. If you want to exercise your brain, listen to music.
• You can’t go wrong with food. Eat, cook, try a new restaurant. Have a picnic, even if it’s just for a party of one in your own backyard.
• Read for fun. Not for your students or professional development. This is a fun list to start with – it’s the 50 best contemporary novels under 200 pages.
• Discover a new podcast or catch up on a favorite podcast.
• And speaking of podcasts – how about all those recommendations you’ve been given for books, movies, TV shows and podcasts? Now’s the time to dive in and discover what everyone is talking about.

Happy destressing. We look forward to seeing you and your students in the fall.