Post 7 - The end is near

This last week has been crunch time for me. I made a final project goal and found myself scrambling in the end to complete my project. I dedicated my whole Saturday afternoon to completing it just because I saw my calendar after school this upcoming week and there wasn't much time. Here are my take aways from this journey.

1. Goal setting is important for many. I am one who is motivated by that. I had a deadline and even though I know I can handle time management, I still was scrambling in the end. Many of my students do not possess any time management skills so I think frequent check-ins with them, especially during longer projects, can teach them to pace themselves and have success in the end.

2. I sat for 4 hours straight. My bottom was sore, my hand was tired, and my eyes were bugging out of my head from so much concentration. I know this seems silly, I was literally just coloring, but I was making mistakes and getting tired, frustrated, and maybe a tad hangry, too. Cry baby, I know.😢 My learning moment here is to given my students a break. They need to get up and move around. It is easy to get tired and frustrated and a little break might be just want they need.

3. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Nope. Not at all. I am my harshest critic and scrutinized so much of my work. My daughters would cheer me on and tell me not to obsess over the little things! We all need cheerleaders in our lives to help us see the beauty in what we create. I hope I can be that for my students and encourage them to just try their hardest and know that is enough!

4. I am so happy with my choice of genius hour topics and know it will be a FUNctional part of my classroom environment. I did not break any bones and was always in a climate controlled environment. It was a fun and practical challenge and I will be a better teacher because of my skills and takeaways from the whole experience.

The tools of the trade. End project to be revealed on Thursday :)

Post 6 - Writing cramps

I marvel at first world problems. I worked a lot this week on my final project and found my hand cramping a lot! I'm sure this is normal for other extreme athletes. 😂 Yes, I am being facetious, but it's comical how bad my hand is cramping. I think I might need some potassium supplements. My other complaint is that my kitchen table has become my "studio" because it accommodates the best sitting posture for writing but it is quite a disaster. I need to clean up my mess - it drives me crazy but I also like to just drop in on a project in progress so want it set up. I guess this is why artists have a designated workspace! I can handle it for a few more days! Speaking of last minute projects. Before leaving for the airport last night, I whipped up a sign for my daughter Jane who was returning from her diver certification trip to the Bahamas with my husband. Long story short, I was not invited because this is his tradition to take away our "freshmen" daughter for a dad/daughter weekend. Jane wanted to get certified to scuba dive so she did all of the coursework and pool practice here in December and they did her cert dives in the Bahamas this weekend. Best part of all she can now add friend to sharks on her dive resume! She saw them on every dive!

I also got a lot of practice at school with two birthdays in class and lots of practice on the board. I really do like the dry erase markers because I can easily remove and edit my mistakes. When working on paper, my "magic eraser" is life changing. More to come on that!

My question of the week got surprising responses. 10/11 year olds really have no hindsight to rely on!

This week I learned that I like working towards an end goal and enjoy having a checklist that shows  my progress.

Hafner Dip

Post 5 - Mutiny, what mutiny?

I expected a big let down in momentum...it never happened. I have incorporated my fun lettering into my daily/weekly classroom routine and it has just become a part of the day. I like it and it has opened up a whole can of creative whoop ass into my day! I really enjoy it and find it oddly relaxing. I will say, however, the workbook is where I experience mutiny. I am much more a learn as you go, why practice upstrokes and downstrokes when I can be creating?!?! This is why I was a piano lesson dropout. I only wanted to play by ear, this didn't go over well with piano teachers who want to teach you a solid foundation. Ain't nobody got time for that...LOL!

What I learned this week: I have trouble with spacing. I practice and practice but mistakes are where I am learning!

My fun skill is coming in handy when I deliver gifts. It's that little extra oomph!

Lots of practicing...you can see where I ran out of space on the middle one. Pedro's name is Peter for real! 

The finished product!

"Thank You" cupcakes for our Teacher Librarian and Help Desk Technician, who get very little thanks for making sure MAP and IAR and all the other testing in 5th grade goes smoothly! 

Post 4 - Routines

Finding time to do anything is easy when you enjoy it. I have found many ways to incorporate my "special" writing practice into daily activities. I sometimes write lunch notes. Yes, I am that ridiculous parent but mine are usually silly, movie quotes or inappropriate and meant to make my freshmen laugh. Now I write with my fashionable fonts at which she rolls her eyes at me...that's a win! Anyway, I practice while watching tube at night, at school when my students are at art/pe/music/lunch and I practice with my daily schedule as seen in my picture below. Again, my skill is ok, but am finding that it is fun and my followers (Students) are along for the ride and they are always requesting that I write in fun letters for them. I even see a few experimenting on their own. If only I could TikTok this new skill, I'd be a modern day hero too them! haha.

Daily Schedule  - I like that it's fun, but I dislike that "s" very much.

Handmade card for a baby shower at school. It's a little shaky and I feel like I overdid it. Should've stuck with straight script!

Post 3 - What is my sentence?

I have had so much fun learning my new skill. My students are involved and are cheering me along... it's fun to have fans! I have a few basic pieces that I have created and have found that I have little to no talent...LOL! I have been really good about practicing and purchased a workbook to help me practice strokes. It is fun, I can incorporate it into my everyday routine with ease. It is perfect to practice in front of the Bachelor and other mindless shows. I find it soothing and actually find it fun. My skill level was mediocre going into this genius hour endeavor and now is slightly above mediocre! Yay...growth! I have gained a some confidence from the week prior and decided that there is no harm in trying something that seems hard, even if I fail because even if I do I can rip it up and throw it away and no one will know!

My sentence is: Using stylized penmanship expresses my personality and brings life to letters.

Love adding flare to a gift!

I think Stanley is pissed I was using his pillow for display purposes!

Post 2 - Genius Hour Final Rose Ceremony

I really wanted to entertain an idea that involved my physical health...workout goals, eating healthy, etc. but I have done that before. I trained for a triathlon and loved it. I liked the schedule and structure. It felt like it was cheating to do it again. I considered desserts, it would be so fun to learn how to decorate cakes. My girls loved this idea (young metabolisms) but then I realized I would gain so much weight taste testing and licking my fingers with sugary goodness. Um, no thanks, that can't happen. There was also an investment in supplies, baking materials and time that led me away from my cake fantasy.

I have wanted to take a tap class ever since "Fake Monica" and Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe from FRIENDS took a class together. After some soul searching I realized I really wanted to be with THEM, not by myself learning to tap! My family also exercised veto rights on tap. I am already doing Zumba moves all around the house and the thought of me tapping in the house would drive us all crazy! I watched several tutorials online and obviously it is learning many very basic steps first before I could throw down some mad tapping like Gene Kelly!

Learning to do a handspring, a life long dream and one that I do often in my dreams was an idea that my middle-aged body strongly disagrees with. I watched several tutorials and while my heart wants to do that, I also don't want to be in a cast with broken wrists! Each tutorial was led by a lithe teenage girl showing incredible flexibility that I am self-aware enough to know, I don't have.

Snowboarding? Sure if I were out in Colorado on the real slopes but Four Lakes bunny hill didn't feel like a challenge I wanted to pay $300 for, plus I hate cold weather. Swimming a mile? Fair enough. I knew it was attainable but ultimately I know how hungry I get when I swim and that is a problem I don't want to contend with. I also got scared away from a couch to a mile swim program that was almost in a foreign language. "4 to 8 times 100m FC with 15-30 seconds rest between each. On the first 50m of each, breathe every 5 or 6 strokes and on the second 50m breathe every 3 strokes or try a 3-2-3-2 breathing pattern." What does any of that even mean? 

So that leaves me with Calligraphy. I love fun fonts (dafont.com is one of my favorite sites) so I figured traditional Calligraphy would be fun until I realized it didn't excite me and is a little too stuffy for me. See what I mean by being undecisive?!?! Now what crazy lady? I arrived at the decision to do a spin-off of Calligraphy called "Hand Lettering." It is fun, whimsical and artistic. It is easy to do at home and has little investment because I LOVE markers and pens and already have quite a collection. I feel like it will be a skill that I can use forever and am envisioning handwritten notes, birthday announcements for my students on the whiteboard, and making people feel special that I took the time to do something with them in mind executing my own personal flare!

Post 1 ~Generating ideas for Genius Hour

Ugh! This is the worst. If learning how to make decisions was a genius hour option that would be the one I should pick. I hate open-ended decision making. I'm the one at a restaurant who annoys the server saying, "Can you ask me last?" and then when everyone is done ordering, I'm still left reeling and hand wringing. If I saw me, I'd say "Jeez lady, just pick. It's one meal." I have even defaulted to I'll choose two and I make the server decide for me. Why? Why is decision making (Running shoes, jeans, backpacks, etc. ) so HARD for me? It's all the same...I hem, I haw. I do eventually tire of my research phase and ultimately do make informed decisions. So here I sit. Pick anything to get better at. Oh my! Choices overload. I have been all over the map with this one.  I enlisted the help of friends and family to help generate some ideas. Swimming a mile, snowboarding, cake decorating, calligraphy, back handspring (haha, I know, right?) and tap dancing. That's a random list! Stay tuned to see how I arrived at my ultimate decision!