This post will be updated with past and current reflections and assignments for Term 3 of Psychology 12. Click through for the full post. Continue reading
Psychology 12: Term 3 Reflections & Assignments
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Intro to Fashion Design
This week in Fashion Design 12 we dove into designing a mini modern fashion line inspired by a fairy tale. To break down the project and help students wrap their head around the design process, I made a little slide show:
In this first week we are tackling the first 3 steps outlined above. As we begin to collect source material, here are some suggested resources for organizing inspirations if you decide to go the digital route:
- Polyvore
- Moodshare
- Google Presentation (Here is a very simple example of how google presentation can be used to collect, organize, and present source materials for the design process. This collection was costume design for an opera called Bluebeard’s Castle.)
- Picasa is great for basic photo editing and making simple collages.
Of course, you can always collect, print, or sketch inspirations and keep them in a scrapbook or journal. Or combine resources. Use whatever you are comfortable with and allows you to feel creative.
Homemade Pasta
This week our Foods 11/12 students will be making their own pasta. Many people don’t realize how easy and cheap pasta is to make at home. Because fresh pasta cooks so much faster than dried pasta, with a little practice you can actually make the dough, cut it up and cook it in the 12 minutes it would take you to cook store bought dried pasta. You can also make the dough ahead and let it sit in your fridge (up to a week – it is raw eggs) or freezer until you are ready to cut it up and cook it.
Making pasta is a great cheap and fun activity to do with your family or friends. Have a pasta party and make a bunch of different kinds. Make a huge batch, dry the noodles, pack them in cellophane or paper bags, and give them as gifts. Throw a quick batch together to impress your friends.
When I see pasta machines around the city they usually go for about $60. But I have seen them on sale for $20. I have also seen them at thrift stores. But you don’t even really need a pasta machine to make pasta.
Here are some videos to show you how easy it is:
Using the ‘well method’:
The next video is great because it shows teens making pasta for the first time, and without pasta machines. Warning: The following video does contain some swearing. Also, the English accents may be challenging to understand.
Sound for Concentration
In psychology class we talked about how there can be comfort in sound. Here are some resources for guided silence or soothing background noises. (If you’re interested, here’s some research on how ambient noise can improve creative cognition.)
Do Nothing for 2 Minutes – It might seem silly, but this can be excellent short-term anxiety relief.
Coffitivity – Sounds of the coffee house.
My Noise – A huge, customizable selection of white and ambient noises. I love the Jungle Noise.
Good old you tube – Just search words like ‘concentration playlist’ or ‘studying music’ to listen to free, specially set up playlists.
Songza – This is a ‘music concierge’ site. There are all sorts of genres of music on here. If you click around a bit, you can find playlists for studying that include white and relaxing noises, as well as playlists of music without lyrics (not just classical) to help you concentrate.
Cinnamon Rolls
Last week we made Cinnamon Rolls in Foods & Nutrition 11&12.
We used a simple recipe and stuck with the classic brown sugar glaze.
Before they left, I asked the students what they would add to their cinnamon rolls if they made them at home. We came up with some great suggestions. Most people have tried raisins and nuts in their cinnamon rolls, but really, you could try all sorts of things wrapped up inside. Fresh fruit like bits of apple or blueberries, chocolate chips or smarties, or try something weird like gummy bears. You can also spread yummy things on the dough before rolling it up, like jam or nutella. Another suggestion was to add bacon. You can either sprinkle bits on top, or even roll up some slices in your roll. If you sprinkle maple sugar over the bacon before putting the rolls in the oven, the sugar will melt, caramelize, and candy the bacon.
Why it’s Okay to be Fat
This TEDtalk from Golda Poretsky is a great introduction to Health at Every Size.
Vinyasa Scarf Tutorial
Carla from Hammers & Highheels has a little tutorial on how she sewed up her own vinyasa scarf. I think this would make an excellent, affordable, not too time consuming gift.
Her version uses a big piece of jersey, but you could also use cotton, or a bunch of different fabrics pieced together. From what I can tell, the original vinyasa scarf has unfinished edges along the side, and uses twill tape to stabilize along where the snaps are. This project requires only simple sewing, but would be good for getting used to working with snaps and different kinds of fabric.
Gratitude
This video from SoulPancake’s The Science of Happiness series looks at how showing gratitude makes us happy.
Who do you feel has changed your life? How do you show gratitude?
Necklines
This graphic was developed to show the variation in wedding dress necklines, but it can certainly be useful for garment construction in general.
Welcome!
Welcome to my new blog (experiment)! Hopefully, over the coming months, this blog will help me reach several goals. First, as part of my teacher education program at UBC I will be spending the coming year working on an inquiry project. I do not have my final question defined yet, but I do know that I would like it to involve the use of extensions, modifications, and adaptations in teaching methods to enhance education for students of all learning styles and previous experience. As part of this inquiry I would like to facilitate student access to on-line resources. Hopefully this blog will be a useful portal for students to find further inspiration for projects and learning support.
Second, I feel this web-site could be a useful platform for clarifying educational goals, showcasing student work, and further connecting parents, guardians, and families to the classroom. A central concept to Home Economics is valuing a holistic approach to learning that includes self-regulation as well as the strengthening of connections within families and communities. Hopefully this site can strengthen the communication that supports these endeavours.
Finally, this web-site facilitates my ability to share media I find relevant and interesting in an easily accessible yet unobtrusive manner. Please be patient with me as I redesign and figure out how best to utilize this space. I am looking forward to communicating through this new platform.