Reflection: I had a pretty glorious weekend. I had some fun, some intellectual stimulation, a lot of physical activity, and some productivity. My "Monday", which was today, went really smooth. The kids were mellow, joyful, and ready to work.
One of the highlights of my day was the "Inktober" activity that I have been engaging the kids in at the beginning of class. "Inktober" is an annual event which one word prompts are provided to help spark creativity in "inking". This is my first time practicing "Inktober" because it was actually introduced to me by one of my eighth graders. I decided to indulge in the practice and introduce it to all of my middle school students. And guess what? They love it. Today's prompt was "Rodent". I gave my students five minuets to search for an image to inspire their drawing via their chromebook and then they had 15 minuets to draw freely. I encouraged them to not simply draw a rat, but instead think about all the other rodents in our world: squirrels, gerbils, chinchillas ,etc. Once they had selected their rodent of choice I told them that a strong drawing should tell a story. I encouraged them to put their rodent in a funny situation or to personify it in some way. And man, the results were amazing! Below are some of results: -A squirrel riding a bicycle -A ferret putting on a magic show -A squirrel "vibing out to music in his covertible as he cruised at midnight". (This description was very specific...but I vibed as well) -A rat who fell in love with a trash can I should have taken photos, because it was amazing to see how creative they were in such a short period of time. It really did inspire me. They were confident in their odd ideas and they were so excited to share their silly drawings with the whole class via the document camera. Their freedom of expression and their easy creativity reminds me the power of creativity and not taking yourself too seriously. A spontaneous moment from my day included stopping at a co-ed softball game that was happening as I left Earth Treks this evening. I was stopped at the light at Belleview and Windermere and looked to my left and saw the comforting sign of that yellow canvas ball being tossed between two players. I had forgotten that it is softball season. So, I threw Luna into a quick U-turn and parked at Belleview park to catch a game. As I sat down on the three tiered metal spectator benches, I was quickly reminded of the intricacies of softball culture. I have been exposed to softball culture for the past twenty years of my life. Not only did I grew up playing softball, but I grew up watching my dad play softball at "Softball Country" in North Denver. However, when you are away from a population for a while and you encounter it again with fresh eyes, you are better able to discern the absurdity and oddity of it all. Below are my observations (yes, I took out my notebook...it was just too much for me to digest). -Age Demographics: 25-40 years old -Gender Demographics: 70% male & 28% female. The other 2% were indistinguishable. -Ethic Demographics: Predominately white. Out of the thirty-ish people, there were three latinos. -No masks. What is COVID? -Open containers everywhere. "Darl, your on deck...put down your beer". -The team names were "Deep Throw It" & "Yager Bombers". I found these to be quite hilarious and creative. Kudos to the pun-masters on each team. -Names on the back of jerseys (for those who wore jerseys): "Krazy", "Bad Betch", "Silver Fox", "Lugnut", and "Dadbod". Again, I loved this. It had me dreaming of my own softball persona. I think I'd go for "Chi-Chi". -The personalities and body types were varied. All were welcome. The most colorful of them all was a thirty-five year old latino who had bleached and spiked his hair like Guy Fieri. He could have been his doppelgänger, body type and all. It was a fun hour of watching the chaos that is co-ed softball. Both teams were having a blast and it was great to see people doing something that they love. They were hanging out, talking shit, and enjoying the perfect fall weather. That softball field served as a nice haven away from the mundane world of grocery shopping, dinner cooking, news watching, and for me, grading papers. It's been a wonderful day.
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AuthorBrianna is a proud native of West Denver and she is an avid admirer of the arts. Her admiration of the arts is centered around her draw toward the beautiful and good of everyday life. Brianna finds beauty in a well-worn book, in the eclectic colors and textures of a thrift store find, and in the sound of a killer guitar solo whether it be live or through a well thought out Spotify playlist. Her passions are varied and many, but they all center on appreciating the fullness of life. Archives
January 2025
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