reading notes: why there are no snakes on takhoma, part a

This week our readings are from the Native American Unit again. I chose to do a story from the Pacific Northwest category titled Why There Are No Snakes on Takhoma.

This story starts out with Tyhee Sahale getting angry. He then ordered a medicine man to take his bow and arrow and shoot into the cloud that hung low over Takhoma. At first, I did not understand why Sahale didn't shoot the could himself. After doing some research I realize that it's because the medicine men are thought of as having magical healing powers. This makes sense as you later read that the arrow stuck in the cloud. He kept shooting arrows until he made a chain of arrows that went all the way down to the earth.

Then, the medicine man told his klootchman and children to climb up the arrow trail. I looked up what klootchman means and it's his wife. He also had the good animals to climb up and then he climbed up. 

After they were all up the chain of arrows, the medicine man broke the chain of arrows so no bad animals could come up. Once the chain broke, it began to rain until the land flooded. Once all of the bad animals were drowned, it stopped raining. 

Once the waters drained, they medicine man and his family went out of the cloud and back to the earth. Now there are no snakes or bad animals on Takhoma.

I am a little confused as to why they got rid of all of the bad animal just because someone was mad as the people. I am sure I am missing a piece of something that relates to the culture, but I could not find anything online. 

I think this would be a good thing to do my story over because I really like the flow of the story.

(Photo from WikiMedia.)

Native American Unit: Pacific Northwest. Why There Are No Snakes on Takhoma by Cowlitz.

famous last words: can't catch a break

After being sick for a whole week, I decided to workout on Monday of this week and, to say the least, it was not a good idea. Working out on top of the weather change led me to have a fever and cold symptoms Wednesday night. Of course, my family was coming up for homecoming on Thursday night which made me want to get better ASAP. 

(Photo by me from the OU Ring Ceremony)

We went to the ring ceremony which was awesome! It was the biggest one yet and President Boren and Bob Stoops were both there which was also awesome. Besides not feeling 100% and holding back coughs the whole time, it was a great ceremony.

Friday, I woke up with an ear ache so I went to a urgent care clinic and found out that I actually have ear infections in both ears as well as a sinus infection. This scared me because I actually just got tubes in my ears after my first semester of freshman year and a sinus procedure which were supposed to prevent both of these things from happening. 

Now, I am having to take 6 different pills to get my body healthy again that make me very loopy and tired. It's making it very difficult to finish pending assignments and study for my exam on Halloween.

On the bright side, my mom made some delicious homemade chicken noodle soup and they were fine with just hanging out and watching the Astros all weekend. 

I'm just hoping that this settles down so I can complete all of my assignments in this class this week as I am so close to the finish line!

week 10 story: when a rabbit and a possum search for wives

In the early stages of life, a possum bumped into a rabbit on a stroll outside and ended up they becoming lifelong friends. They did everything together even though the rabbit became irritated with the possum every now and then due to the fact that he could quite keep up. Besides the times of irritation, the two seemed to be inseparable. 

As time passed, the two saw others getting married and moving onto the next stage in their lives. They began to wonder what their futures are going look like and, to say the least, they weren't pleased with what they were imagining.

"We need wives like our friends," explained the rabbit. The possum agreed as that seemed to be all of the village animals' main source of happiness during this chapter in their lives. 

Immediately, the rabbit and possum sat down to start exploring their options.

"Tammy?!" shouted the rabbit with excitement.

"Taken," the possum sighed. 

"Lola?" the rabbit continued.

"Keep trying," the possum mumbled. 

They went back and forth for nearly an hour as they listed every woman in town. There seemed to be no hope.

"Oh, oh! I know! How about I go to the next village over and tell the chief of town that they must all marry immediately?" the rabbit shouted.

Although hesitant, the possum was not completely opposed to the idea. They sat in that same spot for the rest of the afternoon creating a script and timeline for the events to take place. The plan was set to begin the next morning.

The next morning came along and it was time to get going. The rabbit was so excited when the began their journey that he didn't even realize that he had left the possum in his dust. By the time he arrived at the door of the courthouse, he noticed his friend was no where to be found, but it was too late. The townsmen saw him and asked him what his quest was.

With little time to think, he continued on with the plan and announced that everyone must marry immediately. He was beyond nervous as he didn't think they would buy into his plan. 

A minute of silence passed and the rabbit snapped, "well, what are you waiting for?!"

The whole town stirred up in chaos as everyone paired up. Luckily, there was one woman left over and she was linked up with the rabbit. The rabbit was trying desperately not to expose the ear-to-ear grin trying to surface.

As the rabbit got back on the stand to announce his goodbye, rattling was heard from the bushes. 

"Who is hiding in that bush?" asked the rabbit.

Slowly, a girl possum crept out of the bush in tears. Almost at the same time, his possum friend arrived exhausted. 

"Don't cry, sweet girl! Look at this handsome gentleman that just arrived. This must be destiny!"

From then on, the possum couple were the happiest in the village!

(Photo from WikiMedia.)

Author's Note: The original story was about a rabbit and a possum that each want a wife, but can't seem to find one. They decided that their best bet was to go to the village over and pretend to be on a council. They were going to tell them that they all must marry at once in a hope that they themselves will become married. 

As they traveled to the next town together, the rabbit moved much quicker and outran the possum. He tried to wait, but the people in the village noticed him and took him to the council lodge. The rabbit went on to deliver his news to the chief and he passed the message along to the people.
Immediately, everyone, including the rabbit, found a mate. By the time the possum got to the village, there were to wives left for him. So, the rabbit traveled on to the next village. This time, he told the chief that there must be peace at once. The animals all began to fight, but the rabbit got away quickly. The possum reached the lodge and all the animals began to gang up on him and they hit him so hard that he just decided to play dead.
This is the reasoning behind why possums play dead.
To me, this story did not flow very well. For that reason, I took out the whole possum playing dead theme and just expanded on the animals finding wives. 

Great Plains unit: Why the Possum Plays Dead by Katharine Berry Judson.

more reading notes: the monkey and the girl, part a

This week, I decided to read for extra credit as the end of the semester is approaching. I want to rack up extra credit as well as explore some additional readings as I really enjoy this part of class. 

I read The Monkey and the Girl from Folklore of the Santal Parganas. This story starts out by introducing some background info. There are kids that used to watch crops growing by a river, and a Hanuman monkey used to come because he wanted to eat the crops. Each time her came, the kids drove him off to protect the crops. 

Wanting to eat the crops, the monkey started to put together a plan that would allow him to have his wish. He decided to make a garland of flowers to leave behind the next time the children drive him away from the crops. He was hoping this would make them like him. It ended up working and the children started to like him. One girl specifically liked him so much that she wanted to marry him. 

Later on, the news spread to this young girl's family and they were very angry. The father went out and shot the monkey and burned the corpse. As the girl arrived, she wanted to see the burning monkey. Her father let her and she distracted all that were gathered by pointing their attention to the sky. At that moment, she took sand and threw it in the air so it would land in their eyes and blind them as she jumped to the pyre and burned alongside the monkey.

The family just brushed it off like it was no big deal and said that she must have had the monkey's soul. 

(Photo from PixaBay.)

I was shocked at how the ending of this story was so casual. The father's daughter just burned herself to death and he just claimed that she must have had the monkey's soul and moved on with his daily activities.

Santal Folklore unit: The Monkey and the Girl from Folklore of the Santal Parganas by Cecil Henry Bompas.

learning challenge: reading out loud

I read this week's stories out loud and it made me realize how quickly I normal skim through things. There actually have been a couple of weeks that I was so mentally exhausted, I chose to use an audiobook. I did not even think twice about it, but it really does help to have the words out loud as I go. I think this truly allowed me to build up the characters with my own tone while really focusing on the details. This also made stories just come timing as I read and ways that I cold change up the characters. I think that I am going to do this more often as I really don't see any disadvantages since I am home alone each time I work on my assignments.

(Photo from Pexels.)

reading notes: why the possum plays dead, part b

For my second story of the week, I decided to read Why the Possum Plays Dead.

This story is about a rabbit and a possum that each want a wife, but can't seem to find one. They decided that their best bet was to go to the village over and pretend to be on a council. They were going to tell them that they all must marry at once in a hope that they themselves will become married. 

As they traveled to the next town together, the rabbit moved much quicker and outran the possum. He tried to wait, but the people in the village noticed him and took him to the council lodge. The rabbit went on to deliver his news to the chief and he passed the message along to the people.

Immediately, everyone, including the rabbit, found a mate. By the time the possum got to the village, there were to wives left for him. So, the rabbit traveled on to the next village. This time, he told the chief that there must be peace at once. The animals all began to fight, but the rabbit got away quickly. The possum reached the lodge and all the animals began to gang up on him and they hit him so hard that he just decided to play dead.

This is the reasoning behind why possums play dead.

I found this story to not flow very well. I think I might use it to create my own so that I can make it how I was imagining. I was imagining the possum to show up to the lodge in the first village to find out that all the wives were taken, At that point, I thought he was going to play dead and maybe one lone animal was going to come out of hiding to try and save him and then end up getting married.

(Photo by Flickr.)

Great Plains unit: Why the Possum Plays Dead by Katharine Berry Judson.

reading notes: old woman who never dies, part a

This week, we are reading Native American stories. I chose to read Old Woman Who Never Dies from the Great Plains unit.

This story was nothing as I expected it to be when I read the title. This "woman" lives in the moon and has children that live in the sky. Her children are Day, Sun, Night, the Morning Star, a star which circles around the polar star, and the Evening Star.

Every spring, the old woman who never dies sends the wild geese, the swans, and the ducks. When the wild geese arrive, the Indians plant their corn and she makes it grow. There are certain signs from the number of geese that tell the Indians how large their crops will be. If swans or ducks arrive, it means that they must plant something different. 

In order to call out for the wild birds, the Indians create a scaffold decorated with meat. They perform rituals around this scaffold which are followed by the old women in the village eating the dried meat. 

In the fall, they have a corn feast so the old woman that never dies may send herds of buffalo to them. This season, they ask for the cold not to come early as they will not be prepared.

I think that I can make this into my own story by having the Indians not perform the ritual and end up going through a rough season of crops. I can also have it happen in the fall and make the cold come early or more intense than normal. I also could make the Indians start a new tradition such as throwing something in the river or something along those lines that causes damage to the earth. This can then result in less geese and less corn for them until they figure out what has made the old woman that never dies upset. 

(Photo from PixaBay.)

Great Plains unit: Old Woman Who Never Dies by Mandan.

growth mindset: sharing the mindset concept with someone

This week, I chose to share growth mindset with someone. I decided it would be a great time to share this concept with one of the students I tutor in Human Anatomy. This course can often seem overwhelming and many students tell me I'm just "naturally smart." 

I started tutoring a new student and that's exactly what came out of her mouth when we first met and I told her that if I can do it, so can she. I immediately stopped her and explained her thought process. I asked her if she really and truly thinks that I just did good in anatomy because I am who I am. She snickered a little and said, "Well, not literally. You know what I mean!"

I snickered back and pulled out the piles of notes I made the semester I was in the course. Immediately, she went silent. I then explained that everyone can really achieve the grade they want in this course and that it's all about the learning process. I explained that the course took so much energy out of me, but I had a goal in mind and that was my motivation.

At this point in the conversation, I actually showed her the Carol Darwin video I read for another growth mindset challenge and we wrote down achievable goals from this point on in the semester. I think it went really well and motivated her to trust herself and her abilities!

(Photo from PixaBay.)

tech tip: canvas mobile app

I decided to download the Canvas mobile app for this week's tech tip. I think that this will come in handy when I am on the go and get a lovely e-mail regarding a new grade being posted. Usually, I just get anxious and wait until I have access to a computer to check it since the Canvas website isn't the best on the mobile browser. Now, I will be able to check it right away. I also can use it to make sure I have completed any pending tasks while out and about. Nothing is worse than getting home to realize I forgot to finish an assignment due by midnight. I think this will help me avoid those moments!

famous last words: back on track

After a long week of being sick, I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I thought that I had the stomach flu, but I ended up actually having an intestinal bacteria that gave me flu0like symptoms. I think the worst part, besides having to be wheeled into the doctor's office to get bags of fluid pumped into me, was not being able to take anything for pain or fever. I have a 102 fever and was in constant pain that was not allowing me to sleep for almost 2 days. It was miserable. I finally started to gain some energy back on Thursday of this week and I am hoping it keeps climbing. I still have not had enough energy to workout which is not fun because I love to work out.

I am doing as much extra credit tonight as I can in order to get myself ahead again. I really want to finish this course early so I am not stressed beyond what I need to be during those final weeks of the semester when professors all assign final projects/assignments. If I keep on top of all the extra credit and regular assignments, I think it is still in reach.

On another note, tonight I got to host a kick-off event for homecoming week that was very successful! I am on the Class of 2018 Council and our event was Glow Wild and it keeps getting better and better each year. I got to be the photographer for the night which is always my favorite job because I get to bring new people together and also capture long friendships in the moment. On top of that, there was AMAZING food like corn dogs, funnel cake fries, nachos, oreo churros, and more that I wish I could've tried without getting full.

This is a picture that was taken on my camera after cleaning up our event. In the picture is the OU Class Council.

tech tip: browser bookmarks

Surprisingly, I have not been using bookmarks much until this year. I am not quite sure how I didn't use them. I sometimes would favorite websites, but I rarely returned to them. I have not used bookmark folders yet and just spent time using that to organize some of my random bookmarks. I did not even realize it, but I do have my bookmarks on a toolbar. I am not sure how that happened, but it's there and I now know and can actually utilize it. I am going to try and use my new folders to keep my future bookmarks more organized as I feel it will be more beneficial to me.

week 9 story: the foolish iguana

Once upon a time, there was an iguana and a turtle that bumped into each other by a pond. They apologized and ended up becoming friends. The two made it a ritual to go and fish together at the same pond every single day.

Time after time, the iguana would complain about how slow the turtle was moving. Each time, the turtle tried to explain that it is physically impossible to move as fast at the iguana can. Still, the iguana would continue on. He tried to give the turtle tips and even tried to push the turtle once. No matter what, he did not believe that it was impossible for the turtle to move quicker.

As the days passed, the turtle grew irritated with the iguana's constant remarks and he started to plan ways to get the iguana out of his daily routine. He felt so bad as the iguana would talk to him about how he had no friends, but he just could not take it anymore. He needed the best possible plan to get rid of the iguana in a polite way.

After getting a headache over all of the brainstorming, the turtle ended up visiting his father for advice. The father thought that it would be perfect for him to be the reasoning for the turtle to part from the iguana. They sat and brainstormed plan after plan until one seemed to be decent.

The day finally came that they planned to get rid of the iguana and the grandfather set out on his route to the pond. Once the iguana and turtle got to the pond, the father slowly crept in demanding that this pond was only for turtles and that the iguana must leave or he will be cursed. The iguana scurried off before the father could say another word.

(Photo by WikiMedia.)

Author's Note:
The original story started out with the iguana and turtle being good friends that always go fishing together. The iguana invited the turtle to go to a different pond that he knew of. When the owner of the pond came out, the iguana got away, but the turtle did not. The owner took the turtle and tied him up. The turtle went to look for his friend and, when he found him, he found out that the old man wants him to marry his daughter. The iguana wanted to marry his daughter and took the turtle's spot. But, when the old man came back, he tried to hit him and he ran off. He came across his turtle friend again and he was listening to his grandfather rubbing two bamboo pipes together from a tree above. The iguana went up out of curiosity and got injured. 

I changed it and just made it a bit more simple as I felt many of the details in the original were not bringing the story together. I also took out the whole marriage part and changed the turtle against the iguana in the end.

Filipino Tales. Filipino Popular Tales: The Iguana and the Turtle by Dean S. Fansler.

reading notes: the iguana and the turtle, part b

This story started out with the iguana and turtle being good friends that always go fishing together. The iguana invited the turtle to go to a different pond that he knew of. When the owner of the pond came out, the iguana got away, but the turtle did not. The owner took the turtle and tied him up. The turtle went to look for his friend and, when he found him, he found out that the old man wants him to marry his daughter. The iguana wanted to marry his daughter and took the turtle's spot. But, when the old man came back, he tried to hit him and he ran off. He came across his turtle friend again and he was listening to his grandfather rubbing two bamboo pipes together from a tree above. The iguana went up out of curiosity and got injured. 

The moral of this story is that one that believes foolishly will get injured. I honestly was very confused as to how anything in this story made sense. I felt as though it was sporadic and didn't flow well. This may be because it is such a short story and they tried to fit in main components without much room for explanation. 

I honestly do not think that I will use this for my story because it did not appeal to me as much as the first story I read. I find it interesting how, because of what I have been through and how I was raised, this story just didn't catch my attention. 

(Photo by WikiMedia.)

Filipino Tales. Filipino Popular Tales: The Iguana and the Turtle by Dean S. Fansler.

reading notes: the monkey and the crocodile, part a

This week, I decided to read out of the Jamaica Anansi Stories unit. I chose this unit because I am still not 100% better from being sick last week and these are short stories. I am hoping that I will be able to really focus in on details without expending too much extra energy.

This story is titled The Money and the Crocodile. It starts with a monkey wanting to get to the other side of a river. He tricks a crocodile into giving him a ride to the other side, and the crocodile says that he will pay. Later on, the monkey comes across a crocodile playing dead by a bush with fruits he wants. The crocodile springs up and grabs the monkey, but again the monkey comes up with a witty response. He says that he is the king's cook and that the crocodile with be killed the moment he decides to kill the monkey because the king needs him. The crocodile apologizes and asks for food from the monkey. The monkey tells him to have all that he wants and watches from afar as the crocodile itches and itches from the food. 

The moral of this story was to use your own judgment and not to rely on the council of others for it's the father of destruction and ruin.

I could see myself using this same moral and maybe changing the scene in some way. I thought that the monkey was going to eventually get caught, but he didn't. Maybe I could make it so that the monkey gets caught. I also could further exaggerate the story by making both scenarios happen to the same crocodile to really show that this crocodile was not using his judgement. 

Overall, I feel there are many different ways that I can change up this story and it would be a great one to use for my next story.

(Photo from PixaBay.)

Filipino Tales: The Monkey and the Crocodile by Dean S. Fansler.

week 8 reading and writing

Overall, I feel as though the reading and writing assignments have been going well for me. I don't have a favorite at that moment, but I really enjoy stories that include animals in them. My reading notes definitely do help as I pick apart main points in the story and try to do some brainstorming in the post as well. I am pretty happy with my class project. I missed writing my story last week because things have been so busy and I don't want to throw something together that I am not proud of. I think my biggest accomplishment this far is just being consistent. I always start new projects and never finish them, but I have been going above and beyond each week in this course which I am happy about.

(Photo from Flickr.)

The image above is one of my favorites because the lion looks fierce yet calm. Something about a lion is very majestic to me.

Looking forward, I am hoping to get better at writing faster. It may sound silly, but it takes me awhile to write simple stories because I can be halfway done and then start over because I don't like where it's heading. So, I guess a better word would be to write more efficient. I will try doing more in-depth brainstorming prior to writing and see if this helps.

week 7 story: why dead people are buried

It's October 3rd  2017, and my Papa just passed away. When I asked my mom why people are putting him into the ground, she told me he is super old and ready to go to heaven. I don't think she understood my question...

Sometimes people give me silly answers to my questions because I am "only 6." I think 6 is pretty old though. I mean I am already in first grade! Papa used to tell me that I am an "old soul," and I think I am because Papa was always right.

Anyway, I really am curious as to why people decided to put other dead things into big holes in the ground. It just doesn't seem to make sense to me. I want to be able to see my Papa even if his soul is up in heaven. 

"Mom look, there's a dog!" I shout. She seems too sad to walk away from my Papa's hole, so I am just going to go by myself to pet the dog. His tail is wagging so much that I know he is going to be a nice one!

As I got closer, the dog said, "I heard you asking your mom why your Papa is being put into the ground earlier...you weren't too content with her answer, were you?" WOW! This is THE coolest dog ever! I always ask my dog to talk to me and he ignores me, but this one is talking and treating me like an old person!

"You're exactly right, Mr. Dog!" I replied. 

He sat down with me and we talked for almost 30 minutes. I asked him if he knew the real reason why people get buried into the ground and he knew so much information about it!

He told me that a long time ago, when our creator was still around, a dog was commanded to go share with the people of a village that if you bury someone in the ground and sprinkle wood ashes over them, they will come back to life.  

The dog went on his was to tell his people, but he got distracted along the way and could not remember all of what his creator told him. He just sat down waiting to see if he would remember because he didn't want to walk all the way back to the creator to ask him again.

In the meantime, the creator was curious as to why he hadn't heard back from the dog. He insisted on letting the people know this information and tried to send a sheep their way instead this time. 

The sheep int the long way to the village and confidently told them that the creator commands the people to bury the dead in the ground. Unfortunately, the sheep forgot to mention the part about sprinkling wood ashes over them in order to bring them back to life. 

After 2 days had passed, the dog finally remembered the command and sprinted into the village to spread the word. By this time, they had already heard from the sheep and did not believe anything coming out of the dog's mouth.

So, that's why people that have passed away are buried in the ground and never come back to life.

(Photo from Wikipedia.)

Author's Note:

The original story just included the portion about the creator sending the dog and then the sheep to spread the news about spreading wood ash over the bodies after burying them to bring them back to life. I just thought it would be interested to have a little girl telling the story because I feel like that's a perfect question from a curious child.

Nigeria Unit. "Why Dead People are Buried" by Elphinstone Dayrell.

more reading notes: down the rabbit-hole

This week will be my first week doing extra reading. I feel like this is a great opportunity to seek out topics that interest me in my extra time. 

I chose to read a story from the Alice in Wonderland Unit titled, "Down the Rabbit-Hole," by Lewis Carroll.

I honestly haven't seen Alice in Wonderland in forever and can't quite remember all of the details. But, seeing this unit, made me want to go back and rewatch the movie. 

I forgot how Alice was introduced to the rabbit. After reading the start to this story, I see myself in Alice. I was always very curious and would run off after anything that caught my eye when I was little. I'm sure movies like this only inspired me when I was younger.

I forgot how slowly the time passes as she falls into the well. I truly wonder whether she was falling slowly or just delirious from the heat. I'm sure I will go and research more about the theories behind this story once I am done reading it. 

(Photo by Public Domain Pictures)

I feel like this would have been a very fun unit to do my storybook over as it would give me the opportunity to relive my childhood and break it into more specific details. I may look to see if anyone else in the class did theirs over this unit because I am intrigued and find myself wanting to read on! 

I may continue reading this for my extra credit each week from here on out. Unless I browse through again and something new changes my mind. That's my favorite thing about this course -- we are given the opportunity to continue digging through new topics and learning what peaks out interest.

Well, enough rambling! I just got very excited about this unit and am glad I finally decided to do some extra readings!

Alice in Wonderland Unit: "Down the Rabbit-Hole" by Lewis Carroll.

tech tip: shine motivation

Photo from Automotivator.

reading notes: why dead people are buried, part b

This is my second reading from the Nigeria Unit which I really have enjoyed so much. This story is, "Why Dead People are Buried" by Elphinstone Dayrell. 

As you can see, both of the stories have to do with very complex thoughts. I picture them being the perfect questions coming out of a curious four-year-old's mouth. Maybe I will start my own story with something along those line for this week...we'll see!

I found it to be interesting that the story started out with the creator commanding a dog to tell others about burying. This was strange to me because the same creator created man and woman. I would think that they would be told since they are one of the few creatures with opposable thumbs and a large enough brain capacity...but, that's just me thinking realistically and I understand that this is just a story. 

By the end of the story, I realized why he used a dog and sheep in the story. Each could only remember half of the creators commands and they just happened to contradict each other by the time it got back to the people. 

I love how one detail in the story is forgotten and it changes the whole outlook on dogs. Also, it changes the outcome of deaths because the one detail that was left out is the one that was supposed to bring humans back to life. 

I think it would be fun to make the full command get back to the humans and see the outcome of humans never dying. Then, maybe the sheep could come into play with a new story that causes those buried to stay dead and the sheep will be hater instead...simply because I love dogs!

 

(Photo from Wikipedia.)

Nigeria Unit. "Why Dead People are Buried" by Elphinstone Dayrell.

reading notes: why the sun and the moon live in the sky, part a

This week, I chose to read a story from the Nigeria Unit. The story is by Elphinstone Darrell and it is called, "Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky."

I really enjoyed how this story personified different elements of the Earth. I feel as though this makes the story a lot more relatable as I could see this story happening between humans. I also did not expect for the sun and moon to start out on the ground. I feel like I could make this story start in the sky and explain why the sun and moon can't be out at the same time.

The sun and the moon are husband and wife in the story while the water is friends with the sun. The sun wants the water to come to his home, but the water warns him that he will drive him out of his house if we does not make a large enough compound for his visit. 

Essentially, the water kept flowing into the sun and moon's home until they were pinned up against the ceiling and forced to move up into the sun. This is why the sun and the moon have been in the sky.

I can see myself twisting the story in many ways. I can either make it to where the sun tells the water to stop entering and it change the whole earth. I can make it so that only the sun or moon has to leave. I can also trade out the elements for humans and make it a more realistic story where one person gets kicked out of their house somehow.

I am not sure what spin I will take on this one yet or if I will use it for my story. But, we'll see after I read the next story!

(Photo from Pixabay.)

Nigeria Unit: "Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky," by Elphinstone Darrell.

learning challenge: coloring and happiness

I chose to read an article about attention for this week's learning challenge. I read an article by Dr. Kerry Petsinger titled, "People Who Love Coloring Are Happier And More Creative."  

I definitely knew about the fact that coloring decreases stress due to the overload of coloring books in Barnes and Noble. But, this article provided my some information as to why which I appreciated.

I didn't even think about how reading can aid in dexterity. You don't think about that much on a daily basis, but it's such a huge part of our lives and could always use improvement!

I want to try using coloring to increase focus for myself. I am going to try printing out some free coloring sheets to work on in-between assignments I do at home. I think this could both destress myself and improve focus and dexterity. 

(Photo from Flickr.)

growth mindset: how to get better at the things you care about

This week, I decided to listen to a TED Talk by Eduardo Briceno titled, "How to get better at the things you care about."

Right away, I was drawn in as I just assumed this talk was going to be about work or school. It also applies to things that truly mean the world to you such as your family, religion, passions, ect. This made me thankful that I clicked this topic because this is something I have been struggling with and working to improve. After have a semester of 20 credit hours and 20 hours of class, I forgot how to grow my relationships and relax. I am hoping to get some guidance as I continue the video.

Although I didn't have the exact words to tie to it, I definitely have realized how much we live in the performance zone. I noticed this yesterday when I had to make a graphic for Class Council. I realized that I haven't gotten any better really since freshman year. I actually took some time to learn from someone more skilled than myself and it helped exponentially!

One thing new that I learned was the power of breaking things down into components during the learning phase. Even though we were trained to do this all growing up through revising papers and such, I have not applied that concept to my life in a while. This will help me a lot!

My goal for this week is going to be to focus on improving tutoring so I can practice the techniques with something tangible, but I plan to then apply the concept to improving my relationships. I plan to improve my tutoring by reading or creating at least one new way to make information stick for students. It can be creating an acronym, reading about a clinical story, or anything else that will help both myself and my students grow.

(Meme made by me.)