Final Post

Well, this is it!
This is my final genius hour post, and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself!
My whole genius hour experience has been great! It took me a bit to figure out what I wanted to do for this project, but I am so glad that I chose what I did!
This is what my loom currently looks like:

It is still in progress, but thats okay! I struggled with what I should do at this point. Originally I had wanted to have a project completed by the end of this course, but it just didn't work out. I used my genius hour time, and then some, and it just takes longer than I expected! I was thinking about tying it off now, but I decided I would rather finish with the plan that I have. 

The most valuable part of genius hour for me was the process of learning through creativity and passions. I am so excited to implement genius hour, and its concepts within my teaching practices. I think that using genius hour can really help students learn about themselves as learners, as well as discovering how much can be learned through enjoyable activities! 

Overall this genius hour project has been a great experience! 

It's Alivvvveeeee!!

This week was rather exciting for me. I have officially made my loom!
I hit up a local Value Village, and found a great frame, that I thought would work perfectly for my loom, and it was only $5.99! Wooo!

 I then headed off to Home Depot, and picked up some nails, and was ready to go! I was even able to find nails that matched the colour of my frame!

Once I got it all home (and took the ugly picture out of the frame) I marked dots along the top and bottom of the frame about 2.5 cm apart. I then began to hammer the nails on the marked spots, and well, frankly this is when it all went south.... 

I exaggerate, but I did run into an issue. The frame was too thin, and the nails were too close together and as a result the frame began to split!  

I freaked out, got super mad, and basically threw it in a corner, and decided I would have to start again. Overreaction to the max.

After an episode of The Mindy Project (because it makes me laugh, and therefore made me calm down, and re-evaluate) I went back to the frame to see if there was a way for me to salvage it. After a little bit of thinking, and tinkering, I decided to try using a very small drill bit to drill tiny holes into the frame, and then stick the nails in to avoid the pressure that was causing the splitting. This time, it was a success! I strung up my strings, and got it all ready to go. I even started a little bit, because I am so excited!

I learned a lot this past week/genius hour. I was reminded of the importance of taking time to re-evaluate before scrapping projects, because sometimes there are parts that are salvageable. This is such an important lesson to teach students. Some of the greatest creations can come out of 'failures', and so being able to look at things from a different angle, and press on is so important in life. Similarly I think it is important to have the ability to leave a project, take a break, and then get back at it. It gives you time to clear your head, and perhaps approach it from another angle when you get back to working. 

Overall this week has been productive, and a great learning experience, and I can't wait to get started on my first (hopefully of many) weaving project! :) 

~ Hannah 

Not A Box

Last week we watched a video in class called Not A Box. The video is based on a book, that emphasizes the importance, of creativity, especially in regards to children. We then did our own 'not a box' drawing. Here is mine: It's not a box.. its a fish tank!

Creativity is so important to me. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I love all things crafty, and creative. Without creativity we would never have people pushing the envelope, and creating new and amazing things! As a future teacher I hope to encourage my students to be creative in everything they do! Creativity is often put 'in a box'; and reserved for subjects like art and music, but we can use creativity everywhere! I hope to encourage my students to always be thinking 'outside the box' in the hope that this will encourage creativity, and ultimately a love of learning!