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 LSN Reflection was included at the end of the presentation:

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 LSN Reflection was included at the end of the presentation:

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Family members began to notice that we would take certain “poses,” in certain places. The blanket in question in the picture to the left was used for a quick yoga along the Salmon River and the larger rockets in the river became places for meditation. Family members began to notice that we would take certain “poses,” in certain places. The blanket in question in the picture to the left was used for a quick yoga along the Salmon River and the larger rockets in the river became places for meditation. I ended up with improved flexibility based on basic metrics like touching my toes not being so “stingy,” and general longevity of pose length being able to be held.

My weight training sessions at the gym seem to be on track for my marathon training, and my core seems to be stronger than it was a few weeks ago.
While my running time has not necessarily improved- I don’t think this means that I have not benefited from this as I have learned a new skill that is clearly beneficial to my overall muscular skeletal health!

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Although I did a small reflection within my Google Slides presentation , I wanted to add on to to it by reiterating that I LOVED emphasizing being a life-long-learner as a teacher and human throughout this class. When thinking about my LSN project, I think about mostly about my improvements in vocabulary when speaking/writing/reading Spanish. It has been incredibly helpful to get to use a free app (Duolingo) and I will continue to use this frequently in developing my fluency. I also reached out to some of my friends who speak Spanish regularly and asked for them to provide extra support resources for me such as online Spanish journals or pages to follow on Instagram (etc). The biggest hurdle I have to face is not time, but rather interacting with humans on a daily basis that are not Spanish speakers. It really helped for me to place those flashcards around the house so that I could integrate some Spanish in my life from a day-to-day basis. Thank you!

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I've attached my project reflection as a separate document. Thanks!

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I have added a google slides for this final reflection. Please let me know if you can't open it. Thanks:)

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I have updated my presentation so that it includes my reflection. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wWIkTuNIZaTpAdxxxaCFIzHwGyU1sPWr9Kx0GoyDAq8/edit?usp=sharing

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For my Learn Something New project, I chose to learn hand embroidery. I have sewn on a machine for many years, but never tried to do something with more detail and focus. I have wanted to learn for awhile, but never took the time to sit down and do it. I am glad this class led me to achieving this goal. My criteria for success was to try and give good effort. I knew I may have to redo some parts of it, and I was okay with that. As long as I kept practicing and getting better at it. There were multiple styles of stitches and knots to learn, so I knew it would take some time.

As a learner, I am one that likes to have hands-on experiences with something, so this was a perfect activity for me. I did watch a video to help get started, but my biggest learning curves were trying knots and stitches and making them better or more “perfected” the next time I did them. It was great! I generally have a positive attitude with learning new things so this carried into my growth mindset with this task. I never wanted to “quit,” which also made me stay up late some nights. :-) The beginner’s kit that I bought had a stencil that I followed with embroidery. Once I have that art complete, I will have a full feeling of success and satisfaction.

My learning experience connects to a couple theories that I have learned about in this course. The first one I think about is Progressivism. Although this wasn’t a group experience, it was a hands-on experience which is a big part of Progressivism. It also reminded me of Piaget’s theories on constructivism. Myself as the learner had some schema, or background knowledge, in sewing which helped guide me to learning this new fine-detailed hobby.

I am really happy that I chose hand embroidery as something new to learn! It has been slow to see progress, but I am seeing it either way. It gives me time to be calm and appreciate the art that I am making. This project let me be the learner this time instead of always the teacher. It was refreshing. :-)

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I chose this particular skill to learn because my husband is profoundly deaf in one ear and is quickly losing the remaining hearing in his other. I tried to learn ASL when I was in my 20s but I was very intimidated to really pursue this path past a few college classes. I met my ASL professor at a community college and he truly encouraged me to pursue this field. However, due to my anxiety, I didn’t do it. I wanted to teach at a Deaf school back in the day, but it never worked out. Now I am hoping to be able to effectively communicate with my husband should his hearing disappear completely.

My criteria for success was to be able to communicate with my husband in regards to a minor activity (making dinner) without much issue. I chose this as my criteria for success because I have had experience in ASL in the past, but I know I need to relearn the basic vocabulary of the language. This seemed like a goal I could accomplish in the little time allotted for this project.

Feedback was integral to my learning during this project. As someone who knows some ASL, but not nearly enough to be considered fluent, I needed to check in on my handshapes, facial expression, and grammar frequently. Practicing with my husband and good friend who is fluent in ASL helped me greatly in my learning. They were able to break down some of my mistakes in ways I could easily understand without the need to translate what the feedback was from ASL to English. I didn’t feel I was being judged or critiqued as heavily when working with my close friends.

I always struggle with a growth mindset! I always encourage my students to remember the power of “yet” and that mistakes are required, etc. However, when it comes to my own learning I struggle with this thought. I think as an adult you expect to learn quickly with few mistakes – something that just isn’t realistic. I started each session with a quick mantra: “I’m relearning this. I’m allowed to make mistakes. Embrace them!” It was very difficult to stay in the mindset, but I had it written down on a little note on my monitor for my studying. This helped me open myself up to really learning in meaningful ways. This influenced my response to feedback by reminding me that I am in fact learning and my friends and husband are simply trying to help me. I found myself getting a bit less frustrated with the process and appreciated the feedback I was getting.

I think I was fairly successful in my goal to relearn basic vocabulary for ASL during this project. I enjoyed the process of making flashcards as it brought me back to my first years of learning the language. I was able to communicate basic points such as dinner plans or normal basic conversations. I know this is only a start and I fully plan on continuing on this learning project to ensure I am not leaving all the pressure on my husband to communicate effectively.

My learning style aligned quite a bit with John Dewey’s Progressivism with the necessity for students to be invested and engaged in their learning. During my project, my learning was primarily on actively practicing my ASL vocabulary and conversations. I did use a dictionary to learn vocabulary, however this would do no good for me without the practical aspect of learning a language. I was also able to discuss my strengths and (many) weaknesses in my process with my friends. (Progressivism Project, Ana, Leah, and Megan).

Another theory that resonated with me while thinking about my learning project is that of Cognitivism. In this, I wasn’t merely learning by rote, but by practicing and applying what I learned to different aspects of my learning. For example, I can apply some of the vocabulary I learned to different contexts, broadening my ability to remember the words. (Cognitivism Project. Amber, Magdalena, Me)

The implications for these theories I connected with and its relation to race, equity, and inclusion of students is that students learn in a variety of ways - sometimes blending the styles in fun ways. This means that some cultures might focus on one style of learning, while others focus on a completely opposite theory of learning. I personally found myself connecting with at least two learning theories that tell me that it is likely my students have this same idea. I also think that there are so many different styles of learning that teachers can’t really use one way in the classroom.

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I chose to learn about GUT HEALTH because I am an avid NPR listener. I happened to be listening to a  NPR episode on GUT Health and was intrigued by what I was listening. When I learned about this opportunity to a Learn Something New Project, GUT HEALTH immediately came to my mind. So here I am diving into the fascinating world of everything gut health related.
I first started listening to a couple podcasts, Gut Health Reset and The Healthy Gut. Both podcasts are very informative and educational. Experts and professionals are invited to these podcasts to share their experiences and latest developments on this matter. I have learned so much that I have even started to share my knowledge with colleagues, friends and family members.

I am also an avid reader, so one time while grocery shopping I stumbled onto this magazine, The Complete Guide to Gut Health by Centennial Health. I bought the magazine and immediately started reading it once I got home. The magazine contains 30 articles which are all super good with information and advice on how to live a gut healthy lifestyle. I learned that many diseases and illnesses are associated with poor gut health. These include: Eczema, Diabetes, Osteoporosis, Anxiety, Fatigue or sleep problems, brain fog, headaches, depression, mood swings, joint pain, muscle pain, psoriasis, cardiovascular disorders, visual problems, etc.

While I don't think that I have any serious issues with my gut, I figured that it'll be better to be proactive. Through this LSN Project I can make some  connections with the literature covered in Bransford's book and some of the learning theories that we have studied in this class. Bransford wrote about the Novice and the Expert, and while I am not an expert, I am not a novice either on GUT HEALTH, well at least in theory.  And so it is true that we apply ourselves to the learning when we know the importance and significance of the subject matter.

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My Smore website is now updated to include my final reflection.

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I have updated my presentation with my reflection notations! 

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I have updated my presentation with my reflection notations! 

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For my project, I chose to continue my learning with Spanish. This was something that I have been periodically learning throughout the years, but never fully committed. I have always wanted to learn Spanish, but now teaching, I am really seeing how valuable it will be to have this as a second language to enable myself to connect with my students and their families.

Throughout this project, there were a few times were I would tell myself I would work on the app later, or try speaking or writing in Spanish later in the day, but I realized that this is how I slowly fell out of practice each time. I found it very helpful to have set times during the day where I would work on my app or practice in order to stay on schedule. Going through this process, I felt very successful learning many new terms and ways to put sentences together.

Since I spoke with my finance, I learned that having another person to work with is extremely helpful. I really enjoyed having someone I could verbally express my newfound knowledge with and it was fun having a partner to explore a new topic with so we could work through areas of struggle together, or one could help the other if there was a one sided struggle. It amazed me though how much I could speak at the beginning of this process, compared to how much I could speak at the end. Hearing my success was very motivational and really made me want to keep learning.

Going back and reading what my peers said was really exciting. I got such positive feedback, made connections, and even motivated a classmate to get back to their additional language learning. Moving forward, I think I have finally found a productive way to keep on my learning and this time I will be able to stick with Spanish in hopes of becoming fluent in the near future.

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My reflection is linked below! Thanks!

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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I'm including the link to my presentation again, I added a section for my project reflection. It's two pages long, so don't miss the second half!

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Megan Fisher LSN Presentation Modern Calligraphy Initial experiences I had a few setbacks early on that led me to abandon my lessons and find a new teacher. I have realized that just because someone knows how to write calligraphy does not mean they know how to teach it. I had a

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I have attached my PowerPoint again with my reflection now included (starts on slide 10).

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For my project, I decided to learn how to make gluten free pie crust. While my first couple of attempts weren’t successful, I was able to make a pretty good version.

As I was working on the TIPP project, I realized that I had my own schema for how to make a pie crust. My group focused on Vygotsky and Piaget, so I saw my thought process reflected in those theories. I had constructed my own understanding for how a pie crust was made, but I was revising and adapting that based on the recipes I was trying, which also acted as scaffolding for me.

I also noticed the theories behind ecological systems at play in how I was learning to make the crust. The voice in my head narrating what I noticed and what I needed to do was my mom’s -- in other words, my system was influenced by my family.

This project felt very science experiment-y to me. I found myself noticing what wasn’t right, noting it, and revising my steps in response. There were definitely moments where I was annoyed or frustrated -- I don’t usually feel annoyed or frustrated with my inability to do something as a teacher, but it reminded me of how I felt as a student when learning to do something new.

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The reason I chose this particular skill is that I have noticed that eating dairy products causes me to get lots of acne on my face. I have been thinking about trying to eat dairy-free products but I never did it. This project inspired me to try something new and see how I was feeling and continue doing the same strategies.

My criteria for success were being able to start eating dairy-free meals and learning different recipes by substituting the dairy products for something else. For instance, when I made the berries smoothies with almond milk my husband and my kids really liked it. So that instant feedback motivates me to continue trying new recipes. Also when I made the pancakes substituting the butter for applesauce and regular milk with oatmeal milk. My children and husband really liked the pancakes so I forgot to take a picture at the end.

As a learner, I learned that if I purpose myself to accomplish something I will be motivated to do it.   Through this accomplishment process, there are many factors that influence me and some of them are feedback and self-motivation. When I cook, I like when my family praises me for the food. This positive feedback reinforces my motivation to continue learning and cooking more dairy-free meals. Then after receiving positive feedback I was setting a goal for myself of a positive mindset to continue my goal. For example, during Independence day we went to eat at my in-laws' house. They had a dessert that had milk on it. My husband reminded me that the cake had milk. Instead of eating cake I only ate watermelon. My mindset played a big role in my project. If I wasn't in the right mindset I wouldn’t be able to avoid eating dairy products. There were many factors that contributed to assessing my success on this project and some of them were self-motivation, having positive feedback, and setting a positive mindset. I think that if my family wouldn’t support me it would be a more challenging project to do it by myself.

This project aligns with Roger’s humanistic theory because it teaches me how the entire individual is motivated to reach their full potential or to self-actualize. During the time I was doing the project I was motivated to learn different recipes or try different food that didn't include dairy products. The implications I found is that many foods include dairy products and it is very difficult to avoid eating them. If I would like to include students in this project it will be super difficult for them to accomplish it. For example, the school lunches have dairy just thinking about the milk they provide for the students to drink, pizza, macaroni and cheese, cheese sticks, bean and cheese burritos, etc. This will be a very challenging goal for students to accomplish if they are not allergic to dairy.

As mentioned before peer feedback is very important for my learning but I feel that this project was more individualized. If I didn't have the right mindset I could easily consume dairy products but I really wanted to see the outcome so I avoided doing it. This was more like a personal goal but receiving positive feedback on the way was a motivation to continue doing it. My goal is to carry this goal in the future and avoid dairy as much as I can.

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I chose to learn how to make bread because I thought it would bring me closer to my family and allow me to learn a family tradition that I can one day pass on. My success criteria was to bake a loaf of sourdough bread that is not burned at the bottom and not flat.

I learned many things about myself as a learner! The most important thing I learned was that I am a hands on learner. Reading about how to make the starter and dough wasn't helpful at all for me. I had to just get my hands dirty and start trying it. I failed a few times with the starter, but ended up getting it right! I also learned that I am more motivated to learn when I am interested in what I am learning.
I believe that I learned how to do this in a non-traditional "schooling" way of learning because I was not taught by an expert. It was self taught and I learned through self discovery. I relate most to the Experiential Learning process because I brought in my own experiences and emotions in order to learn.

Peer feedback was great! It helped me feel encouraged and motivated. It reminded me how powerful positive feedback to students can be! Overall I am glad that I went out of my comfort zone and learned something new. I feel that I was successful and am excited to continue getting better at making bread!

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I added my final reflection to my presentation below -- on slides 10 and 11.
I realize that my presentation's formatting is wonky when you first click on it, but if you open it in a new window, it settles down (hopefully!).   Thank you!

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For this project, I chose focusing on weight lifting and a calorie deficit diet in order to better my overall health. Since the COVID pandemic, I gained back all the unhealthy eating habits I had when I was younger, so I wanted to lose the anxiety and depression that came with the stress eating. My success criteria depended on how much weight I lost throughout the process and whether I stayed under my 1500 calorie deficit diet. I learned that I occasionally need outside motivation in order to succeed. There were some days where I grabbed a quick snack because it was easier to buy fast food than cooking.

Feedback helped me as motivation as well. To be quite honest, I have a hard time accepting constructive criticism because I tend to be a perfectionist; therefore, I try to perfect it in my own way the first time. I would assess my success by looking at my mental health along with  my physical health. In due time, I hope my anxiety will decrease along with my fatigue.

One way John Dewey’s progressive learning theory aligned with my project was when I was collaborating with peers during a weight lifting session. The trainer acted as a guide and facilitator after teaching us the correct methods for lifting.

Overall, I will take what I learned from this project and incorporate skills into my lessons with students. By establishing an end goal, I can work backwards when creating lessons so I know what the end product should be. Additionally, students will know what is expected.

Additionally, peer feedback helped me continue with the process until I feel comfortable in my own body again!

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Here is my reflection!

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I have added the reflection

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For my project, I chose to learn how to cook some more elaborate recipes. The main goal of this project was to make summer a little more enjoyable and special for my family. Since the pandemic started, we haven’t been able to do much, so I thought this project could help us in terms of doing something different and have a good time together.

I also learned that motivation was the main factor that drove me to accomplish this project. Thinking about my family eating healthy and enjoying the meals together, was definitely key to keep me motivated during the process.
On the other hand, I need to be honest and say that at the beginning, I thought I was going to enjoy the preparation time in the kitchen more while cooking the meals. I found that the real satisfaction came with the final product and not during the learning process.

It has been an interesting experience to reflect on this project and I am hoping to continue cooking these more meals for my family. It is all worth it when I see them enjoying these meals.

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I chose this content because WEBTOONS have been a really big influence on my life over these past few years. I've found representation, cultural views that are different from my own, and I've learned a lot about others and myself through strong character development. Though I've found comics that represent the vast ethnicities in the world it is still lacking which is why I wanted to try to make a story that showed a little more representation. My criteria for success was; being able to create at least 2-3 characters, create a setting, and jot down my ideas in one sitting without overthinking aspects of it. It wasn't going to be helpful getting into the weeds of things when I just wanted to visually see where my ideas were, how they connected, and where I needed to fill in the gaps. In this way Experiential Learning theory aligned with my learning process in that I learned through experimenting. I tried using my own experience as a way of building the characters, pulling from different facets of my life.

I think my biggest reflecting point on this learning project was that it is difficult to learn something in a short amount of time. I think oftentimes we're asking students to do a similar thing when at the same time they're learning about 4-5 other topics. It's difficult to switch between the two especially when one may call for a learning style that is unfamiliar to you. That was the case for this project. I'm a visual learner more often than not but sticking to that learning style for most of my life (especially going to art school for college) has made it difficult to engage in other ways of learning. At first in this project I wanted to draw out a few panels of the comic or create a digital illustration for it to help inform how the story progress, look, and give me an idea for the personalities the characters could have. However, that was too time consuming for the amount of time this required so I stuck with learning auditorily which made me realize I have a short attention span. I do believe this different learning style, coupled with the short time frame, and my interest in learning this help light a fire underneath me that I don't usually have when learning something new. Throughout school this was the case, knowing that it was for something/someone to see and interact with my work made me want to produce something I could be proud of. In that way it is a lot harder when you can't meet those expectations you set for yourself. Overall, this was a great project to open my eyes
to that as well as a great reminder for what i ask students to do in the classroom.

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LSN#4 REFLECTION Mental Health in Parenting

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LSN#4 REFLECTION Mental Health in Parenting

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1DQqn0is-5J4oYVU3pxIEjYrAMmNnSu_0bBk56sP6uHE/edit#slide=id.gb814342c62_0_141

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For my LSN Project I chose to learn how to meditate using the Headspace app. I have heard so much about the benefits of mindfulness so I thought I would give it a try.

Having the Headspace app made meditating much easier. My biggest piece of advice for others is to start out with guided mediation. In addition, I started out with the series of meditations that just taught you the basics. This helped me ease into it. Throughout the meditation I was reminded to "return to my breath" or told that it was ok if it was not coming easy to me yet. I found this very helpful and it definitely helped me keep going.

I found that it generally got easier as I continued meditating regularly however there were still some days later on in my journey that we more difficult. I think my biggest take away about the learning process is just because you might take a step back does not mean you should stop trying. We all have off days and that is all part of the learning process.

My goal is to continue to meditate at least a couple times a week because I did see some benefits to the practice. Not only did I leave most medications feeling more relaxed but I found it taught me skills that I could use on my own. for example if I was stress or frustrated I found myself taking a quick deep breath.

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Included in the slides is part three and four (the reflection).

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I made a google slides presentation of my exploration into mindfulness and meditation.

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Learning Something New Project - Mindy Black .pptx

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I used a Prezi presentation as a way to document my learning progress with hand embroidery. I hope you enjoy!

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Hand Embroidery Progress Connections Basics of Embroidery Key Learning Takeaways Progress with production was SLOW. It is a calm and slow hobby, which means it takes a good amount of time to create art. I am still happy with the progress and will continue it! I really enjoyed

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I have created a google slide presentation. Click on the link to view. Please let me know if you can open it. Thank you

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Let me know if you have trouble opening my smore!

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Overview

I chose to step out of my comfort zone to learn something new: how to golf! This endeavor has been very informative as a teacher and as an adult who had no interest or skills in golf. I focused on the three basics of golf: grip, stance and swing. I learned a new skill each week and with each lesson, I got a glimpse into what it is like to be a student when learning something completely foreign! As a teacher, I really enjoyed taking this new experience and reflecting on how I can take what I learned (on what it is like to learn something new) and implement those findings in my classroom. For example, immediate feedback, visual exemplars, and hands-on guided practice made my learning successful, but a lack of prior knowledge and low engagement made my learning more challenging. This is very useful information for me and I plan to use it to make my student's learning more successful!

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I chose to step out of my comfort zone to learn something new: how to golf! This endeavor has been very informative as a teacher and as an adult who had no interest or skills in golf. I focused on the three basics of golf: grip, stance and swing.

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Trish Brown’s LSN 3 (Part 3): Project Presentation

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Trish Brown’s LSN 3 (Part 3): Project Presentation

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Here is the link for my presentation:  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wWIkTuNIZaTpAdxxxaCFIzHwGyU1sPWr9Kx0GoyDAq8/edit?usp=sharing

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I created a Google Slides to present my LSN project.  My reflection is included at the end of the slides. I included pictures of my handmade flashcards (post-it notes) and a video screen recording of me practicing reading, writing, and speaking Spanish through the Duolingo app. Let me know if the links are not working!  Thank you!
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1t2yeqCEjz1awKlJlASqcV19T37NODup_Ij7zM57aeOo/edit?usp=sharing

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For my presentation I created a Smore newsletter. I had to restrict recording conversations with my husband/friends for privacy reasons. I included a video of me using ASL solo. *Note the "Dear Carl" is meant to be a letter to my dear professor who pushed me and my husband into ASL those years ago. He unfortunately passed away a year later.

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Dear Carl, ASL Lessons - Jessica Jordan - LSN 3 - Presentation by Jessica Jordan | This newsletter was created with Smore, an online tool for creating beautiful newsletters for educators, nonprofits, businesses and more

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I have attached my pdf file! I look forward to reading other projects.
(I accidentally deleted my second update so I added it to my presentation!)

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Presentation

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Please let me know if this link does not work. Thank you!

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Click on the slideshow to see my progress, homework, and free drawing from the fundamentals of drawing program I started!

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Learn Something New Presentation Melanie Betz CI 561 6 July 2021

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https://www.smore.com/7hxtq

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Here is the link to my Jamboard cloud spotting project presentation

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Cloud Spotting Presentation - Google Jamboard

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The version of the browser you are using is no longer supported. Please upgrade to a supported browser. Dismiss

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Reflection is included at the end :)

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How to Test Ankle Mobility

The easiest way to test out your ankle mobility is using the dorsiflexion test. I have used this assessment previously with my Physical Therapist, Dr. Jesse Frechette.

First, with your shoes off, stand facing a wall. Place the toes of your leg 1-2cm from the wall, and take a half step back with your left leg.

Next, push your knee forward attempting to touch the wall with your knee. Your heel must stay in contact with the ground.

Now move your foot away from the wall 1-2cm and repeat trying to touch the knee to the wall. Repeat until you're unable to touch the wall with your knee.

Last, use a tape measure to measure how many inches your big toe is from the wall.

To Pass:

Knee can touch the wall at 5 or more inch distance

Heels remain firmly planted

Easy Knee to Wall Test To Check Flexibility. PhysioFit Health. (2018, May 3). https://physiofithealth.com.au/knee-to-wall-test/.

By Claire Walker

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The easiest way to test out your ankle mobility is using the dorsiflexion test. I have used this assessment previously with my Physical Therapist, Dr. Jesse Frechette. First, with your shoes off, stand facing a wall. Place the toes of your leg 1-2cm from the wall, and take a half step back with your left leg.

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https://www.smore.com/ey612

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Attached is the PowerPoint I put together for my project presentation. There are embedded videos and voice recordings. To play the voice recordings, click on the speaker icon. To watch the videos, click on the video and then the little arrow in the top right corner. If you have any difficulty with accessing anything, please let me know!

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Hi Everyone,

I created a Google Slides for my presentation. Imbedded in the presentation are videos and audio narration. I've also included my reflection, and theorist I connected it to. Please let me know if the links don't work. Enjoy!

Lisa Melody

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For my presentation, I have made a newsletter that explains my process and how I problem solved for this project. Please let me know if you have any issues viewing it!

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I have attached my presentation on Prezi. I had a really great time with this, and I plan on continuing to learn calligraphy. I'm much worse at it than I thought I would be, but I still really enjoy it. It's very meditative, and I love practicing as I listen to a podcast or show. I imagine it's similar to how people feel when they doodle (something I also don't know how to do).

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Megan Fisher LSN Presentation Modern Calligraphy Initial experiences I had a few setbacks early on that led me to abandon my lessons and find a new teacher. I have realized that just because someone knows how to write calligraphy does not mean they know how to teach it. I had a

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Thank you for watching my Smore Presentation on what I cooked this past week in Texas! Let me know if you have trouble opening it.

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Learning Project

Hi everyone! I am a 28 year old Latinx educator. Mother of a 5 year old autistic child. This is my second year teaching first grade in a dual immersion program and involved in church choir and church activities outside work and school hours. I have a wonderful mother who is an amazing cooker and an older sister who cooks good too. They have always wanted to teach me how to cook but because of time, not a lot of patience and desire to learn how to cook I don't really get the chance to do so. My learning project was to cook for pleasure with my family. Though I was in Texas with my in-laws for this learning experience and not with my mom I gained so much learning and cooked for pleasure!

TiKToK lady who makes delicious and easy recipes

Goals

Jauja Cocina Mexicana

Magdalena Espinoza and her family

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Hi everyone! I am a 28 year old Latinx educator. Mother of a 5 year old autistic child. This is my second year teaching first grade in a dual immersion program and involved in church choir and church activities outside work and school hours.

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(Google Slides)

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I have presented my LSN project in the form of a Prezi. You will find the type of moving mediation (yoga) video I practiced, the theory I have connected it to, as well as a journal reflection on each experience.

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Moving Meditation - Yoga Day 1 Day 1 of moving mediation Journal Journal 6/24 I just completed a 30 minute yoga video. It was hard. Not physically hard, but mentally. I kept checking the time to see when it would end, I was physically and emotionally tired after a long day. I Yoga

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The first week of doing dairy-free food was a little challenging. My delay was that I had surgery and I haven’t gone grocery shopping to buy dairy-free food. Another struggle is to eat different food like my family or make dairy-free food for everybody. What was successful this week was that I stayed at the hospital for two days and I was able to order dairy-free meals. Then, I learned how to make frozen fruit smoothies with almond milk because I was definitely missing my everyday yogurt. I had to add a banana so it could be that smooth and thick. Additionally, after not eating dairy meals for a week; I’m making better signs of progress in choosing dairy-free snacks different from my family.

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LSN Calligraphy Presentation & Reflection

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LSN Calligraphy Presentation & Reflection

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I made a Jamboard of my journey for calligraphy!

https://jamboard.google.com/d/1NxJUfa2diDgfYDk8Q5SxN101Thjy24WKZGOsWedJEVo/edit?usp=sharing

Here is my link to my reflection:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HNtNVtL0jOZDJrL_F7JSjEu-l3fkFRXWsxctiEwQyFg/edit?usp=sharing

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Why did you choose the particular content or skill? I chose this skill because meditation and mindfulness has always been something I wanted to try. I think these are great skills not just for adults but for students to have.

What was your criteria for success? My criteria was being able to explore the Calm App and to try and use the app as much as possible. Including daily meditation practices.

What did you learn about yourself as a learner? I learned that I need to motivate myself in different ways to do more self - care activities such as mindfulness and meditation practice.

In what ways was feedback integral for your learning? Feedback and reflection is very helpful for me, it can help me with motivation.

How did mindset influence your response to feedback? Mindset played a huge role. If I was not in the right mindset I wasn’t necessarily motivated.

How would you assess your success on your project? I would give myself a 4 out of 10. I used the app every night to help fall asleep and I explored and found out about the kids tab on the app. However, I was unsuccessful with creating a routine for myself to meditate and to create mindfulness.

In what ways did your learning style/process align with (or not align with) some of the theories/theorists you studied during this course? I do think that my learning process is mostly related to Behaviorism by BF. Skinner. The reason I say this is because from my understanding, the theory relates to the idea that positive consequences can create positive behaviors. I do believe this because when I was successful with the project (using it every night to sleep), I kept wanting to use it once I knew it worked.

What implications do these findings have as they relate to race, equity, and inclusion of students? I think mindfulness and meditation relates to equity and inclusion because it is something that every student can do to help with stress. I think anyone can do it even without the calm app (though the calm app helps).

What role, if any, did peer feedback play in assessing your learning (after you finished your project)? I love getting feedback, but I think meditation and mindfulness is a personal journey and it is hard to receive feedback on the process.

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I have been working on the free Duolingo app and have reached a new level!! It has been fun to have various activities built into this program that allow me to speak, write, read and translate tiles from Spanish to English. The time constraint hasn't been too tough since I have my phone with me constantly; I can complete a daily lesson while in the car, or even in bed. I think I will make flashcards to hang up around the house soon to allow me to immerse myself culturally. I also reached out to a few friends that I have online to ask them to speak more Spanish with me when we talk through Instagram or Facebook which I think will help my fluency.

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I started by creating a board on Pinterest to collect some recipe ideas! Luckily, there are tons to choose from! Since my cooking skills are sub par at best, I decided to go for some easy recipes. The first recipe I'm going to try is Veggie and Black Bean Sheet Pan Nachos. I figure that it's probably pretty hard to mess up nachos and my son will likely eat nachos in any form! The only thing I'm nervous about is that this recipe calls for avocado and I've never had good luck with avocados...I usually try to use them too early or too late. We'll see.

The other recipes I'm thinking of trying are One Pot Broccoli Pasta and Thai Pineapple Fried Rice.
I noticed that several of the "vegetarian" recipes I looked at call for chicken broth. In the spirit of keeping it truly meatless, I looked for substitutes, and I found that you can buy "chicken broth without the chicken." I'm hoping my local grocery store carries it!

For my next post, I will hopefully have a picture of one of the meals I made. I'll admit...I intended to try a recipe this weekend, but it was too hot to cook (no AC).

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I have been met with one large obstacle this week on my cloud spotting journey.... a MASSIVE HEAT WAVE. Though I predicted that varying types of weather could be a factor in being able to have optimal sky viewing opportunities, I did not predict that an unprecedented heat wave would be such an obstacle. Even though I wasn't able to go outside for much of the week I was still able to record a few days of clouds and two different types. I have yet to exactly determine their types, but will begin work on that by downloading a cloud app to aid in my identification. I have begun sharing my work with friends who have begun sending me their own beautiful photos of clouds in response. I was able to travel to the Columbia river gorge last week and to the Coast this weekend and have a new question about what types of different cloud are more prevalent in different regions. I am hopeful to be able to record more interesting cloud scapes soon as the heat wave haze starts to lift.

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This week for “my learn something new project,” I can safely say that I have been sticking to most of my goals set forth! I have been going to the gym more- lifting heavier weights to increase my endurance for longer runs- and I had one good run in before the heat this weekend killed my ability to get out for a long train run.

Normally I would be so bummed that I couldn't be outside working on my marathon goals, but instead I was quite happy this weekend doing the “Yoga for Runners,” stretching in front of my fan and A/C and feeling my muscles relax as they needed a break. Today is the first day I will hit a longer run since I really started incorporating yoga into my training program so I am excited to see what the results will be. What I can say now is that I feel more relaxed, and I don’t feel as off when something goes wrong, like this weekend with our insane heatwave. In the past, something like the heatwave would have totally shattered my motivation and patterns I would have fallen into. I am definitely a type-A kind of person and I do need things to be a certain way, when they aren’t I feel like things just are not right. This is why yoga has actually helped me learn to calm down and refocus.

Also on a side fun note- I learned about something super cool this weekend since we were all stuck inside away from the heat. I watched a video on why it is important to stretch. It turns out that our bodies have a layer of “Fascia,” around our muscles that becomes knotted if we do not stretch and use them regularly. This feeling of muscle tightness from not stretching that hurts new runners/athletes can be combated with proper and regular stretching. This is something I knew, but learning the science behind it for my type-A personality means I also am more likely to stick to this yoga program!

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I am SO excited that I chose this as my learning project. I ordered a beginner's embroidery kit off Amazon. It has three designs. It helps teach the common embroidery stitches and knots with pretty floral and plant designs. It has been very helpful for me as a beginner. I have some sewing background, but I haven't done something with this much fine detail. The kit comes with stencil background designs that we follow, as well as descriptions of embroidery stitches. It has been SO FUN. It is also a great way to relax my mind. I like to put on some easy going music while I embroider and sing. It definitely is a "feel good" type of activity and helps me decompress at the end of the day.

So far, I have found one challenge in this learning project. Tying knots with such thin thread has been hard. I have had to redo it multiple times. There are different kinds of knots for different designs and that has taken me a little getting used to. I sort of had to teach myself how to do it based on their minimal instructions.

I added a picture of the kit! I will include pictures of my progress in my presentation.

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I was able to get a lot of the reading, video watching, and the first homework of Lesson 1 of the drawing program done, but there is quite a bit more to do. I really struggled to do much work with the heat making me tired, lazy, and grumpy! I am planning to shift my routine a bit to wake up earlier, do schoolwork, exercise, and drawing early in the morning when it is cool, and save other activities that require less focus, energy, motivation, and physical activity for later in the day. Hopefully the lower temperatures will help, too. It also didn't help that I was out of town for 5 days so I was very busy! My hope is to complete all of lesson 1 by next Tuesday. I would need to do about an hour a day to accomplish that, so we'll see!

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I learned how to properly grip my clubs this week! I learned how to grip iron clubs and drivers (normal grip) and how to grip putters. To my surprise, it was a lot harder than I originally thought! There are a lot of technicalities that go into each grip and the slightest error could throw off your swing. One challenge I had in particular was after I finally positioned my hands correctly on my club, I realized the club itself was not positioned correctly. I then had to fix my club positioning which messed up my hand positioning so I had to start all over. On a positive note, my husband and I had great communication! He also showed me what the grips needed to look like before teaching me how to do the grip which was VERY helpful! Another thing that helped a lot was his immediate feedback as I was learning each grip...I was able to see and hear my mistakes and then receive the help to fix them right away. Overall, I think it went great! I have attached a quick slideshow with pictures with each grip.

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I don't have any serious gut related issues, but since I'm getting older, I would like to lead a healthy lifestyle and take good care of my health. I began listening to a podcast "Gut Health Reset with Dr. Ann-Marie Barter." On this podcast Dr. Barter brings guest speakers knowledgeable about gut health.

I like listening to podcasts, I listen to several podcasts on various topics. It actually has become part of my daily routine to listen to podcasts while multitasking. So this idea of listening to a gut health podcast as I take care of my daily chores was a no brainer.

I just started listening to this podcast, so I still have a lot to learn. So far I like what I'm hearing. I've heard of certain spices, herbs, probiotics that aid with gut heath. I've also heard about certain foods, pills, processed foods to avoid. A good amount of sleep and a good dental hygiene also helps with keeping a healthy gut.

My next step is to listen to other gut health related podcasts to compare and hear other perspectives.

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I started reading the book Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics (trying again).  I don’t love the book actually, which might be why I stopped reading it before! --but I did notice that it clearly states that I should be purposeful about meditating. I realize that I am not very purposeful at all, but keep trying to just meditate whenever, however.  I don’t really want to make it purposeful.  I would say that is a delay or struggle for me, although at least I’ve been making an effort!

I also chose three cards from my mindfulness pack to do and have tried them.  1) “Breath as anchor” card is great!  It is about finding a time throughout the day like before every meal that I can focus on my breath for about a minute.  So I haven’t succeeded in remembering this every time yet, but I am going to try a little harder.  The “Just This.” card reminds me of a sign I post in my classroom that says “Decide Before.”  The sign I have now is about choosing to be calm before anything happens for the day.  But I think I may add the “Just This” to my room since the intention here is to choose calm in the present as well.   Since I was having trouble with purposeful intention for my meditation, the card “Straight back, soft belly” seems to be good advice.  It explains how I should hold my body when meditating. So I may look over this card before trying next time before I begin. The next mindfulness card is about meditating while typing and using my computer!  I’ll let you know how that goes!   And thank you, Morgan, for suggesting the Calm app. I’ve only used it a couple of times but I plan on trying it out more.  I used a breathing in and out timer and it was awesome!   That’s all I’ve done so far.  My main struggle has been in making this a daily practice/habit. I’ve still been just sporadically adding it in!

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I have really dived in to learning how to make homemade bread! I have watched many videos and read blogs and recipes. I am learning about the "starter" process and how to make your own sourdough starter. I have not began making my sourdough starter yet, but I am planning on starting it once I get the supplies in the mail. I have told my Grandma about this project and she is very excited! We have not met in person about it yet, however we are setting a date soon.

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Weight Lifting and Healthy Eating-Update

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Weight Lifting and Healthy Eating-Update

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*I accidentally deleted the original post. I apologize!*
So far, my struggle is starting on time with my goals. I recently bought my first house so the past week was hectic due to moving and setting up the house! However, I was able to begin my journey. I have made my goal to go to the gym 3 times a week. The struggle I still deal with is trying to fit in the 1500 in my daily routine. There are times I rarely eat and days where I binge. I think this is due to being overwhelmed with school and working two jobs. However, no excuses! I have lost a good amount of water weight. My ultimate goal is to tone down after the initial weight loss.

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First thing was first, I needed to find a salsa recipe to follow. I chose one out of a cookbook that I had tried some previous tasty recipes out of and got my list of ingredients ready. I encountered my first struggle at the grocery store when I realized that I didn’t know where I could find all the ingredients on my list (I’m not the grocery shopper in my house), but eventually I found everything I needed. The cookbook estimated it to take 15 minutes to prepare the salsa, but for me (a novice), it took a good hour. I looked up tutorial videos on YouTube on how to chop onions, garlic cloves, and jalapenos, so this added a delay, but it was very helpful to have a visual. I still have all ten fingers after lots of chopping so that counts as a success! I had another struggle using the food processor, but I was able to overcome it thanks to a helper. I also almost forgot to add the cilantro sitting in the fridge, and the blade of the food processor fell out while I was trying to pour my final salsa product into a bowl. I made a mess and it took me a lot of extra time, but the true test was how the salsa tasted, and I’d say, it was pretty good - another success! Next time, I would like to adjust the amount of certain ingredients I used, and cut the preparation time down. This salsa turned out to have a more liquid consistency than what I typically like for just dipping tortilla chips in, but I do think that it would be tasty on a taco salad!

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Things are going great! The research I found has helped me figure out which mobility exercises really are helping. I'm not using my google slides but am just going for it before I do an exercise!

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The next day after setting these goals for myself, I was very motivated. I jumped all in by practicing 30 minutes of yoga, by myself in a quiet room, I put my phone away 30 minutes before bed instead of 45, and have journaled about half of my experiences. I have a collection of videos that I have watched to help motivate me. I think the goal of 4 times per week may be a lot for the amount I have on my plate; the reason I say this is because after a week of practicing, I am also struggling to find time to ride my stationary bike as often as I enjoy. I am struggling on finding a balance between moving mediation, and wanting to get that deep sweat on my bike. There is not enough time in the day!! Another struggle I have found myself having for the last 2 nights is putting my phone away 45 minutes before bed. I think this is because I have been up late doing homework and then I will go on my phone right after. My goal tonight is to finish my work, put my phone away, and practice moving meditation right before bed.

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My learning project is going well. I have been using the Peloton app to engage in daily meditation classes. What I have discovered is that having an alarm set to remind me to meditate did not align well with being on summer break, as I love having a flexible schedule when I am not working. I have solved this by adding an event in my calendar on my phone to meditate each day. The daily reminder is helpful, and not having an assigned time has made my meditations more enjoyable because they have not felt tedious or forced.

One challenge I was concerned about was not having my family disturb me during meditation. By having a flexible schedule, I have been able to carve out time and set clear boundaries with my family to please let me be during my meditation classes. I am grateful to share that this approach is going well!

I appreciate that the Peloton app offers these different meditation classes:  Mindfulness, Relax and Sleep, Fitness Focus, Emotions, Breathwork, Meditation Basics, Meditation Anywhere, Zen in Ten, and Audio Only. It has been really helpful to have so many different types of classes to choose from, as I have been able to try different classes based on what I have felt I needed on any given day to focus on in order to achieve my goal of caring for my mental health through daily meditations. I am  getting better sleep, experiencing reduced stress, managing pain relief, and improving my overall health and wellbeing through meditation. I am deeply grateful for this project and the benefits it is bringing into my life.

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Getting started on my project was a bit of struggle since I haven't practiced Spanish in quite a while. I felt discouraged because so many of the things I already learned were difficult to remember since I have not practiced the language in a while, that I almost felt like I was starting from the beginning. Although I have been using the Babble app, I have not quite stuck to one of my goals which was speaking in only Spanish a few times a week. I am finding this challenging since I don't remember as much as I thought I would. Furthermore, I was away at family house for a little over a week, so it was challenging to find the time to only speak Spanish. However, I am starting to see progress which makes me feel successful.

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So far in the last I have experienced some struggles with my learning project. I feel like part of the reason is lack of motivation (especially with the heat). I find myself wanting to sleep more rather than getting up in the morning to meditate and/or explore more about the calm app. I think I would like to try and wake up 10 minutes earlier or even 5 minutes earlier in order to explore and possibly start the mindfulness and meditation process. A success I have had is I continue to use the calm app for sleeping and it has helped so much. I use to fall asleep within two hours and now its an hour or less.

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I always struggle when I try to go back into learning ASL with my husband. I find myself getting frustrated with trying to say things I used to know. I always struggled with “reading” what others say to me and worry I am frustrating to work with. So far I have been able to have a fluent conversation with my husband (with little assistance) for only a few minutes. The conversations are mostly revolving around familiar vocabulary and greetings. However, I have been focusing on responding to what my husband says to me specifically to work in that skill. I think it will take quite a bit of time for me to get back to the point I feel comfortable using ASL in public, but it is a start!

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Overall, I feel that I have been able to set up the foundations of my project fairly well over the last week. My first step was to make a list of words that I wanted to learn and then track down resources to support me in my learning. I was fortunate enough to find a YouTube channel that teaches ASL and has different categories to choose from. I am going to be using two videos as my instructional videos: “25 Essential ASL signs” and “Conversational Sign Language”.  These two videos have great basic signs as well as short phrases or questions.  I have linked the first one below.

One of the challenges so far is that I am currently visiting family in Minnesota, so I have had a little bit more limited time to practice my signing.  However, I made sure to carve time out as part of my morning routine so that I am practicing daily.  Currently, I have watched the whole first video several times and have practiced each of those 25 signs daily.  My biggest challenge so far is remembering which sign is tied to which word.  Another challenge is remembering to have my facial expressions and body language match the tone that I am trying to convey.  Because I am focusing so much on getting the right sign, my facial expression often looks more serious than it should.

Overall, I have been really enjoying this learning project so far.  I find that I am always very motivated to learn something new when it is immediately relevant to something that is important to me.  Because I want to support our new student as much as possible, I am finding myself very motivated to learn and make progress.

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25 ASL Signs You Need to Know | ASL Basics | American Sign Language for Beginners

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Great update so far...
Struggles:

A few struggles I am having is that since I am not in my hometown (in Canby were I live) it has been a struggle navigating the different stores to look for specific food ingredientes. If I were in Canby I know my local stores therefore I know where I can look for specific ingredientes in certain stores and here in Texas there are not many common local stores like we have in Canby. Another struggle has been that my mother in laws kitchen is small and not more than three people fit in it therefore, we aren’t enjoying cooking as a family as much because we all can’t be in the process of cooking because of the space.

Delays:

One delay I am having is that when prepping certain foods I am also trying to learn how to manage certain food prep cooking pots. For example my sister gave my mother in law an AirFryer and though I have one at home too I am not experienced at using it. It has been a delay to learn how to properly use it and how to set it up to cook specific foods. I have been learning so much. I think I am loving this AirFryer and will definitely use it more when I get home.

Successes:

My biggest success has definitely been this Sunday when I made a yummy guacamole from scratch and everyone absolutely loved it! Seeing my husbands, son and his family faces light up when they tasted the guacamole it was priceless. Which then gave me the courage and energy to make a “bionico dressing” (fruit bowl with a homemade dressing). Though this isn't as healthier besides the fruit it made my family very happy to eat.

Progress so far on my learning project:

These are some progress so far on my learning project experience;

1. Learned how to open a can without a can opener

2. Learning how to manage the AirFryer with different meal choices

3. Taught my mother in law and niece how to use the AirFryer

4. Properly learned how to cut an onion and tomato

5. Taught my mother in law and niece how to make shrimp ceviche

6. Made guacamole from scratch

7. Made homemade “bionico dressing” by myself

8. Enjoying cooking with mother in law, niece and husband

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The first five days after setting my mobility goal x3 week, I have logged x1 of exercises. Part of the challenge has been camping and this extreme heat wave, but I'm motivated to continue with my plan this week. I have gotten a good start on my final presentation creating a Smore to present my artifacts along the way. I will include research on the subject, real photos of exercises and elaborate more behind my "why." I'm encouraged by creating a physical plan to commit to my project.

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Something that I've noticed, that feels like a success in the connections I'm making, so far in writing a webcomic, specifically creating a story for a webcomic, was that storytelling is really similar to lesson planning. I don't usually want to go straight into a lesson with the facts or meat of it. I want to start with a hook, something of interest or interest to the student that can be incorporated into the lesson as an opener. Some delays that I'm encountering is I ask myself, "why is this important to write about?", "why would someone want to read this story?", and "what does this story matter to me?". The story I'm creating thus far is set in a futuristic world where artists are able to bring their creations to life. Only artists under the government are allowed to create anything, it is illegal for others who are artists to create. The story revolves around a Black woman who is a 'magnum opus', she is able to create anything as long as she has an understanding of how it works, is created, or defined. There are other 'artists' like her however they are more confined in a certain discipline, until they reach a resolution as an artist they are not able to transcend into the ranks of magnum opus (top tier), or masterstroke (second tier). I am struggling to add elements of racial context into the world without adding too much of what I already know about this worlds racial issues. I want it to influence but I don't want it to be driving factor. In order to combat this I thought a possible plan would be adding elements of racial context in the form of African history. I want to add folklore to the story to give the characters motivations a twist from how one might think someone dealing with racial issues in our world might handle a situation.

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This has been really fun. It's peaceful and meditative to focus on handwriting, which is something that at this point in my life I can normally do mindlessly (and let's be honest, I usually type anyway).

I did have a setback after the first couple of days. I didn't like the method of the teacher that I chose (randomly, with the help of google and skillshare), so I moved to a new teacher on the third day. I felt like my first teacher's instructions were helpful only if I was able to see her form the letters--but I wanted to be able to transfer that knowledge to any words I wanted to write. The new teacher has different methods, so I had to start over re-learning letter formations. But she is teaching individual strokes that will be used to form all letters, so that I can better understand how to form each letter on my own.

I still have a way to go before I can fluidly form letters, and I'm not yet confident enough to write words. It is taking longer than I thought it would to learn each letter, which shows that I think I just underestimated the difficulty of re-learning something that I take for granted. It helps to practice alongside my 4 year old, who is learning to write and often gets frustrated with her letter formation. I am much more sympathetic now than I was a week ago, and it helps remind me that handwriting is hard. But creating something visually beautiful is really rewarding, and not something I do often enough.

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After a coupe days of telling myself I would get started tomorrow I did download Headspace and do my first meditation last Friday.  Since then I have done two guided meditations. I am posting this on Monday 6/28.

On Headspace they have you start with a basic meditation. They seem to be fairly short to start. The first guided meditation was about 3 minutes and the second one was about 4 minutes. It is pretty easy to find about 5 minutes to do a quick guided mediation and I appreciate that they started out a little easy.  I also appreciate that they tell you it is ok if it is not easy right away. The Encouragement from the guided meditation definitely helps.

I am finding that I have a hard time not thinking during the meditations but the video tells me that that is ok and often reminds me to focus back on my breath or what I can hear to help me clear my mind. In today's video they even reminded me, "It is not about getting rid of thoughts it is about being comfortable with them". I also do find that taking 5 minutes to be quiet definitely does leave me feeling more relaxed.

Also, fortunately Headspace lets you do a free trial.

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Below are the updates to my project

1.Research: I spent a lot of time this week reading through various recipes, reading the reviews, editor's footnotes (which usually have helpful tips/tricks), and looking for similarities and differences between the recipes.

2. Picked a type: There are two popular types of soufflé: cheese and chocolate (not together). I decided that the best way to master making soufflé would be to make both. Otherwise,  my experience would have been limited to a specific type. For this project I will make a sweet chocolate soufflé and a savory cheese soufflé.

3. Selected my recipes: After spending the time reading through dozens of recipes and reading through reviews, I selected the two recipes that I'll follow. The recipes are from two sources that I've used before, so I trust that if followed with fidelity then my baking endeavors will be successful. For my savory soufflé, I will use the recipe from  Serious Eats. For my sweet soufflé, I will use the recipe from NY Times.

4. Purchased supplies: I purchased the ramekins that I will need to make my soufflés. Who doesn't love an excuse to by more kitchenware? Or is that just me?

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Below are the steps that I took this week as I prepare to make soufflé.
1. Researching recipes: I spent time reading through multiple different recipes, looking for similarities and differences between them. I paid special attention to the foot notes at the end of each recipe, as that usually has helpful bits of information. I also read the reviews of people who've made it, which influenced which recipe I wanted to use.

2. Purchased supplies: I purchased my supply dishes. who doesn't love an excuse to by more kitchen equipment?

3. Type of soufflé: I made the decision to make both a savory and a sweet souffle. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to say I mastered it, as it would have been limited to a specific type.

4. Found the recipes: After reading through recipes, I found the two that I'm going to follow. This was based on: 1) my own personal experience of using recipes from the sources. 2) Reviews from people that have made it 3) complexity of recipes: I wanted the recipes to be very tradtional.

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The positives are that I have sandwiched in time to practice my calligraphy in bits and pieces. I purchased some pens off of Amazon that have different tips, but some of the pens are difficult to get a clean line. I'm guessing quality outweighs quantity in this case! But I feel they are sufficient pens for learning and practicing. I've had a difficult time finding motivation for practicing! I hate to make excuses, but the heat makes me tired and just want to veg out lately. I am also worried that after this week that I have off and I'm back to work at my dental office that my hand will start to bother me. I think I will need to plan my practice time around days that I have off to avoid irritating my hand. It somewhat makes me wonder if I should have picked something else to learn that doesn't involve my hand with a previous injury, but I will stick with it for now.

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For my presentation, I have created a Goggle Slide Presentation. Let me know if you can't open it.

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So far so good!

This past week I was able to cook two elaborate meals. My first meal was garbanzo pasta with marinara sauce and ground turkey and my second meal was steak fajitas with spanish rice and refried beans (I will provide pictures next week). I was pleasantly surprised that my wife was happy with the results which honestly made my day. As I mentioned last week, she is a picky eater. Also, my little one loved the garbanzo pasta recipe although not so much the fajitas. I feel motivated after seeing my family enjoying these meals and I am hoping to continue this way. Reading through Bransford Chapter 3, I found it very interesting to read the connection between learning and motivation. I feel that motivation is going to be the main factor that is going to push me to succeed in my project.

On the other hand, I am a little nervous about next week in terms of accomplishing my project. We are going to be very busy doing many activities throughout the week. We are celebrating my 30th birthday, we are going to the beach, we are planning on playing golf, going to the pool, going to the zoo... These kinds of activities are time consuming which means I am not sure if I will have enough energy or time to cook these elaborate meals. All I can say is that I will try my best.

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Yelling was how my immigrant parents got their point across in a household of 10 people. I hate it and have real PTSD when people yell at me.

As a mom of two toddler boys, I find myself yelling just to get my point across.

I am going to learn how to Parent without yelling for the next few weeks. Even though I do it as a means of discipline, I also realize that It’s not very effective. Not only am I modelling screaming as a conflict-resolution strategy, but I am now becoming my parents!

I am going to focus on the following steps:

1.       Know my triggers:  If I can figure out causes me to raise my voice, I will be better equipped at handling it when it occurs. When I am hungry I tend to yell more at the kids.

2.        Give the boys a warning: Sometimes saying, “mom is giving you 5 mins to clean up” helps the transition, so I will focus on finding ways to give them time to do what I am asking.

3.       Take a mommy time out: I take for granted the ability to walk away and regroup my thoughts. I will practice going into my room when I feel like I want to raise my octave.

4.       Practice parental patience – ties into #5

5.        Know what’s considered normal behavior – kids are going to be kids, and my frustration often comes when I expect them to be real human adults.

6.       Have a conversation about yelling WITHOUT yelling – my parents never apologized for anything, and I want to be able to say sorry after I have yelled and explain why I did it, and why I am trying to do better.

I am going to use yelling only when there’s real danger associated, because otherwise they’ll just learn to tune me out, and when I need to really convey a message they’re be deaf to you.

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This is something that I have wanted to learn how to do for a long time. I sew various things using a sewing machine primarily. I've wanted to add a personal touch of a name, word, etc. onto a piece of work such as a baby blanket. My goal is to get a basic hand embroider kit and begin practicing. I will start with simple designs and begin to add ones with more difficulty. I will take a "stab" at writing words in regular print and then try cursive. I will need to practice often to make progress in just four short weeks! My goal is to try it for at least 30 min each day.

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For this project, I would like to learn to cook 3 meatless meals! I have read about how going meatless one day a week can really help the environment, and bonus, it's healthy, too! I will admit - I come from a family of carnivores. I am also widely known as a terrible cook, and so this project will be a bit out of my comfort zone.

Goal: I will prepare 3 meatless meals for my family (myself and my teenage son) to enjoy. I will keep these recipes for an ongoing goal to eat meatless at least one day per week.

Success Criteria: Ideally, we will enjoy these 3 meals and continue to eat meat-free one day per week.

Challenges: As I mentioned before, I am not a good cook and I have absolutely no experience preparing vegetarian meals. My son is also a picky eater and a constantly "starving" teenage boy, and so it may be challenging to prepare meals that he likes and wants to eat.

Plans: I will look for meatless recipes on Pinterest. I may not cook them all on Mondays (due to the timeline of this course), but my goal is to try 3 new meatless recipes.

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LSN 1: For my learning project, I am going to learn the basics of golf. There is A LOT to learn about this sport and I only have 3 weeks, so I am going to narrow down the skills I want to learn. My husband plays golf quite frequently and I plan on having him teach me! I think it will be interesting learning something completely out of my comfort zone and being taught by my spouse. Hopefully it strengthens our relationship and teaches me about learning in ways that I can translate into my own classroom teaching. Here are my goals for learning golf:

1. Grip: Learn how to properly grip the clubs (interlocking, hammer, overlapping).

2. Stance: Learn how to properly posture myself.

3. Swing: Learn 3 new swings - drive shot, iron shot and putt.

Possible challenges: I am very busy this summer with 2 young children (one newborn) and moving so I will need to develop a strict schedule to stick to. Communication between my spouse and I might be a challenge as he is not a teacher and I have expectations on “how” I should be taught. I will need to temper those expectations. And lastly, my engagement might prove to be a challenge as I have never really been interested in golf, so my husband and I will need to find creative ways to stay engaged.

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I love to be active - running, weight training, hiking, etc., but last summer I was in physical therapy after severe shin and achilles pain. I discovered I have very little mobility in my hips and ankles that I will need to specifically target if I want to continue these activities without pain. My learning project will be focused on improving my mobility for a safe, active summer. I will attempt to reduce pain from tight or sore muscles by incorporating consistent stretching and foam rolling into my weekly routine. I will combine lighter active stretches before activity, and static flexibility exercises after a workout, as well as two days dedicated to deep-stretching to meet my goal. Some challenges I think I will face will be time constraints, and lack of direct feedback during the exercises to ensure proper form (like I had while in physical therapy). I am motivated by my mom’s knee surgery next month, to properly train and protect my body from major injury.

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I am a beginner when speaking Spanish ; I can start a conversation easily, but have difficulty keeping it flowing. I chose this LSN project because I see great benefit in being a bilingual person. Not only would this be helpful in my teaching career, but it would also help me to learn new definitions of words through the lens of a different culture. I have downloaded a free app called Duolingo to help me practice every day. This app will be able to send me notifications daily to remind to practice my skills. One challenge other than time that I foresee is not having a solid friend group around me to continuously practice my Spanish speaking skills. After moving from California where many of my colleagues and friends did speak a bit of Spanish - to now Alaska - I will find it hard to apply my speaking in the real world. I also get shy when speaking to native Spanish speakers because I am afraid that I will do it incorrectly.

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I want to learn how to be a cloudspotter!

Cloudspotting is something I am interested in and have very limited to no understanding of.  In fact, I just found out this is a thing, and just the idea of it makes me happy.  Think of it like stargazing, but during the day with clouds.  I love looking at clouds and the dynamic changes in our beautiful PNW skies and am often curious about the names and types of clouds I see.  The white puffballs, the wispy long ones, the giant layered multicolored grays and white ones.  What are those called? What do they mean about the weather and atmospheric changes? Do some types of clouds lead to other types of clouds? I am constantly drawn to appreciating the beauty of our skies and gorgeous cloud scapes, let alone the jaw dropping beauty of a sunset with glowing multicolored layers of clouds.

My goals for cloudspotting are to learn the names of clouds and to be able to apply that knowledge to label the types of clouds I see on a daily basis.  I am curious about the weather that is associated with different types of clouds and would like to learn about the patterns of cloud types, what types follow what types, to be able to predict what types of clouds will come our way next.  I want to be able to share this knowledge with other people around me to draw them into the joy of cloud gazing.  I want to read books about clouds and get a cloudspotting app. (!)

I think possible challenges to learning about cloudspotting will be the smoky haze from wildfires this summer, and the potential for low lying socked in solid gray rainy days.

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The LSN project I have chosen is mindfulness and meditation.  I have chronic pain and I have heard it can dramatically improve your outlook on life when suffering from pain every day like I do.   I have tried to learn about this before, but only as far as purchasing books (and not reading them) goes.  I have a book called Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics by Dan Harris.  I started to read it, but didn’t get far at all!

A while ago, I also bought a box of Mindfulness Meditation cards with exercises and tips/practices you can use in your everyday life to keep you going.  But, I’ve never even read one card!

I think I must just like the idea of it all, but have never really been able to feel like I was ready to learn to do it.

So, first  I will read enough of the book I already have to get me started.

I will also read and use the meditation cards every day.

I read the post about moving meditation, which sounds really cool, too.  So I will research that and see if that is something I can incorporate into this experience.  I am thinking that I could see if it works with walking, too.  I have a goal to go on an extra walk this summer.

I will research and find any other websites, books, or apps that will help me do this every day.

I am also curious to find out if there is a way to incorporate my meditation into my artmaking somehow.  So, if so, I’ll do that, too!

Success will be discovering a way that keeps me doing this every day and feeling the positive impacts from it.

Possible challenges will be finding a quiet time and place to do it.  I’m also afraid of just being bored or falling asleep, to be honest!  Don’t know yet!  Just what I’m thinking at this point!

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The learning project I chose for this assignment is to engage in daily meditations. I chose meditation because I recently finished up a four week meditation course and have not been practicing since it concluded. During the course, I learned that many studies have concluded that meditation can change the physical structure of an individual’s brain in a way that can lead to better sleep, reduced stress, pain relief, and improved overall health and wellbeing. The goals I have for myself are to practice meditation for 10 minutes each day and to return to my mindfulness during moments of stress.

Over the next four weeks I will be relocating my classroom from the first grade classroom to the kindergarten classroom, and will be needing to familiarize myself with the kindergarten curriculum at my school, all while completing two grad school classes. Taking excellent care of my mental health will be essential for my success as I embark on the responsibilities I have this summer.

One possible challenge I need to be aware of is following through with engaging in the practice of meditation for at least 10 minutes each day. When I took the meditation course, it required me to engage in a group which led to me feeling accountable to show up. Now that the course has ended, I will need to set aside time each day to practice meditation. Truthfully, I often forget to meditate so I am going to set an alarm on my phone at the same time each day so that I am able to form a daily habit. Another challenge I can see being a possible obstacle is my family members distracting me. With my children being home for the summer, my house is much more lively than when my children are at school. It will be important for me to find a time that works well with my schedule and then set an expectation with my family that they do not disrupt me during my sessions. I am excited to see how meditation can improve my life!

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Background:

I have found out that when I eat dairy products I tend to get more acne on my face. It is difficult to stop eating dairy products when I have been eating dairy products all my life. I don’t know how to supplement sour cream, fresh Mexican cheese, yogurt, cream cheese and the most difficult ice cream and frozen yogurt.

Description:

The learning project I would like to learn more about is eating dairy free products meals. I have never tried to stop eating dairy before. This will help me  accomplish goals and develop a better growth mindset. Since I’m always working, sometimes it is hard to eat dairy free meals. For breakfast I always drink milk, smoothies, liquid yogurt, cream cheese or cheese. It is important to start a routine for a while before starting doing it. So now I think this is a great opportunity to start a new eating plan.

Goal:

1. My goal is to start learning different recipes of cooking without using milk.

2. I would also like to learn how to make yogurt and sour cream without using dairy.

3. Find different healthy milk without dairy and start drinking it and supplement it for baking and cooking.

4. Keep track of the days that I won’t take any dairy products and what I ate instead.

Challenges

1. The first challenge is that I will forget to not eat dairy products and eat it as before.

2. Buying my favorite dairy products food that I normally eat.

3. Finding the right recipes to supplement yogurt, sour cream and other dairy products.

4. The weather, if the temperature is super hot I will tend to eat ice cream or ice pops that have dairy in them.

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For my Learning Something New Project I would like to educate myself on gut health. It's mostly for personal reasons. I would like to get rid of my gut. My gut is not protruding, but it is visible. I am very conscious about my health. I tend to exercise on a regular basis and prefer to eat healthy foods, fiber, fruits, lean protein.

I have come to the conclusion that my gut problem is not so heavily affected by exercise or diet,  since I take decent care of those aspects. It is something I have noticed since my high school years, and although I have for the most of my life stayed  physically active, it is something that has always stayed on the back of my mind.

I want to do some research on everything gut health related, this will include consulting with a doctor. I think this issue is long overdue and it's time to do something about it.  I have heard bits of information on the radio and a few articles about prebiotics, probiotics, and microbiome, but I am a novice on this subject.

I think the best place to start is by consulting a doctor and take it from there.