This November, just after the midterm elections, we’re bringing youth and adults together for an intergenerational Circle about stepping into your power. No matter how the election turns out—or how you hoped it would turn out—there can be a lot to process. Maybe you’re feeling hopeful. Maybe you’re disappointed, angry, relieved, energized, exhausted… or somewhere in between. And when the political landscape feels uncertain, it can be easy to slip into despair, apathy, or even complacency when things go the way we hoped. But our power doesn’t begin or end at the ballot box. Our power lives in our voices, our choices, our relationships, our communities, and the way we speak to ourselves. It lives in what we choose to do next. Together, we’ll explore the moments when our confidence wavered—the times our bodies tightened, our voices shrank, or our inner critic pulled us away from who we really are. We’ll practice quieting that inner critic, reconnecting with our own worth, and remembering that we don’t have to give our power away, regardless of what happens around us. Whether you’re celebrating, grieving, organizing, resting, or simply trying to figure out what comes next, this Circle is an invitation to stay connected to your power—and to each other.

Are you looking to ENERGIZE, ENGAGE, HAVE FUN, and bring new activities to circle, the classroom and your work? Celebrate International RJ Week with Creative Change Collaborative & Restorative Houston with our Games and Movement workshop, "Learning to Play, Playing to Learn" on November 17th, 2026 from 1-5pm.   In this interactive workshop, you will: Explore Games and Movement: Learn how to use games and movement for opening and closing circles, introductions, check-ins, and setting group values. Enhance Engagement: Discover methods to encourage deeper reflection, critical thinking and support social-emotional learning. Practice Interactive Strategies: Get hands-on experience with energizers, team builders, and activities designed to strengthen relationships and improve learning. Have Fun & Connect Generations: Use interactive games to create & strengthen connections between youth and adults, in a lively session.  Snacks will be provided, participants are welcome to bring snacks to share as well.  The Card Deck, "Learning to Play, Playing to Learn: Games and Movement for Circle." is available to purchase at the training for $40.00 or you can preorder it at $35 when you register. 

Please join the Indigenous Cultures Institute (ICI) and Restorative Houston for a workshop  introducing the Xinachtli pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning that is based in Maya, Nahua, and Coahuiltecan philosophy and knowledge, that has been developed by Maestro Carlos Aceves for over 25 yeas.  Tānko approximates “to teach” in Coahuiltecan. Xinachtli (Sheen-ach-tlee) is a Nahuatl concept that refers to the in-between moment in which a seed germinates, representing the pedagogy’s view of children and all learners as full of infinite possibilities.  This workshop introduces participants to a pedagogy that engages learners’ cultural heritages and existing knowledge bases in order to build a natural and relational understanding of the world and view themselves as active participants in it. During this workshop, facilitators from the Tānko Circle will share foundational Xinachtli teachings that they have learned and put into practice in outdoor, community, university and K-12 education settings. Workshop participants will engage in activities that utilize embodied learning, Tlahtocan (circle dialogue), Teyolia (meditation), metaphors, and storytelling and begin to envision these practices within their work. We welcome participants working with youth, communities, in formal or informal education environments, to join us in sembrando semillas- planting seeds- so that we may cultivate teaching and learning practices that are rooted in the local lands, waters, and Indigenous intellectual traditions.