Emily's Notions

For the last week I've been binge watching Boy Meets World on Disney+ and I don't regret it at all. This was one of my favorite shows growing up and I was obsessed with it. My parents never let me forget that I  was convinced I was going to Pennbrook for college when I was 8. The characters in this show were so relatable and funny. They were always there for each other and each episode had a subliminal message for the viewers. Of course in all sitcoms there's a wise character who serves to teach and guide the other characters, usually younger than them. The Karate Kid had Mr. Miyagi, but Boy Meets World had Mr. Feeny. I hate to admit it but this character was part of the reason I wanted to be a teacher when I was younger. He was always the one getting everyone out of trouble, and the one people came to for advice. He seemed to always have everything under control in any situation. I admired his ability to selflessly care for those he came across and the relationships develo...

 This summer has truly been a time of reflection and restoring myself. After an extremely stressful year teaching online while also attempting to survive my first semester of grad school I was definitely exhausted. One of my friends from work told me about her experience with hot yoga and how she felt great after each class. After much debate I decided that I would book my first week of free classes and see what happened. What I didn't know when I got there was that I would find myself constantly wanting to go back. My first class was rough and I have the flexibility of a steel rod so most poses were challenging, along with the 98 degree room. However despite these challenges I kept going back and while I'm not the equivalent to a pretzel, what was hard at first has become easier. Hot yoga has made me more aware of myself and given me a clearer mindset. Each day I'm reminded to show up for myself and give my mind time to take a break from the work. Now I know that life gets...

If you've been on any form of social media for the last 6 months (mostly tiktok and instagram) you've probably seen the "How it started vs How it's going" Challenge. If you're unsure of what this is allow me to explain. Basically this meme represented a bookend of an event or something that has occurred. Some people use this to represent their relationship's progression, others use it to show their progression (or lack of) with a skill. The beauty of this meme is that the second image really doesn't even need to make sense. It is literally there to let the viewer take whatever their own meaning is.  For this challenge show us the start of your summer vs now! Some inspiration below:

As this summer starts to wrap up, I've been thinking about this class and my takeaways so far. While there are several, one that stood out the most to me was flexibility. The tools used in this class are popular, flexible, and versatile. All things that one looks at when looking for a new tool to fit their needs. I never thought I'd say this but I've started incorporating some of these tools into my Etsy store.  Instagram and TikTok have definitely proven to be fantastic marketing tools that help small businesses build an audience, but the behind the scenes portion is also important to factor in. Reddit and Twitter have been tools highlighted throughout this class that I found useful in connecting with other creators, as well as being a wealth of information.  Does anyone else have a small business or side hustle? Have you made any of these connections? Any tools you absolutely love to use?

  One of this week's challenges asked us to take an account we use or a body of text. I was fairly active on Twitter at the beginning of this class so I chose that account. Right away I notice that I obviously used the #eme hashtag often, and accounts of my classmates that I regularly interacted with are included. Other words that jump out at me are the ones that clearly demonstrate I am an elementary school teacher. In being one, I'm also no stranger to word clouds. I often use them with my upper elementary students during writing assignments and during reading small groups. Sometimes they are used to represent main idea and others are used for writing brainstorming. Overall, I wasn't entirely surprised by how my word cloud turned out, but it was still fun to make. I'm debating making one with my blog URL. 

 I'll be honest, when I see the word project listed as an assignment I immediately start thinking of what to do. I love projects, especially those that are hands on. While online learning has obviously changed how projects can be created, the creativity options are still endless. For the produsage assignment I've been thinking long and hard about what I want to do for it (probably overthinking tbh). While I'm still hammering out some details I've narrowed down my tools options to Flipgrid and Padlet. I've used flip grid with my students before and it's produced some great engagement. Padlet is one I'm still playing with but have an idea of how to use it in this assignment. What are some plans you have for your assignment?