Gyotaku

Last Friday I had a parent come in my class to do Gyotaku art with my students. They had so much fun learning about the Japanese culture, different kinds of fish, and creatively painting their fish prints with water colors. The parent brought in about 7 fish from the fish market that morning. Some of the fish he brought were Mahi Mahi, Monchong, and Ahi. He first taught the students about the history of Gyotaku and how it's a part of the Japanese culture. Then he talked to them about the different fish that he brought and highlighted the different characteristics of the fish. Last, he went through the whole fish printing process with the students and showed them a bunch of examples of his own artwork. Once he was done with all the instruction the students worked together to make the fish prints. It was really neat to watch my students help each other paint the fish. Each of them would also help each other grab a side of the paper and set it down perfectly on the fish to make a clean print. It was interesting to see the kids who were a bit scared to touch the fish so they were standing off to the side not very excited about touching fish. Then I saw the other kids tell them how cool it was and talked them into making a fish print. My students really enjoyed this art lesson and I thought they learned a lot from it. After they were done printing they got to sit and paint their prints using water colors. Even thought this didn't leave the best smell in my classroom my students had a lot of fun and impressed me with how much they knew about fish.

Stress and Exercising

Last semester I had an increased amount of stress and I was having a hard time dealing with it on a daily basis. It was causing a lot of problems such as neck pain, lack of sleep, struggles with organization etc. At the end of the semester I realized that I wasn't leaving enough time to exercise. Normally my body is used to exercising almost everyday especially during paddling season. Last semester I was so worried about trying to get all my work done that I felt like I couldn't do anything except for school and work. It was driving me crazy sitting at a computer day after day thinking about how I should go outside and run or go out and paddle. I wanted to so bad but wouldn't let myself. As I started this semester I knew that I needed to do something different. This time around I decided to set aside time to go to the gym. Setting aside this time has allowed me to not have to think about having to go exercise because I already knew it was in my schedule. Since I have changed my schedule I have noticed that I'm much more relaxed and I don't have nearly as much neck pain. Even though I added something else to my already full schedule I can actually manage my time better and I'm even more productive! I found this video on how exercising can change the chemicals in your brain. I really do believe exercising is important for your body and everyone needs it to release their stress. I always remind myself and others how important exercising is for your body and you need to make time for it no matter what!

Marshmallow Challenge

The week before Spring break we got to experience the Marshmallow challenge. This game was really fun and a great introduction to design and teamwork. I liked this game because it required you to think out loud and work together as a team. We had to quickly think about what would make this work, listen to each others ideas, and constantly rapid prototype as we went through the building process. It was challenging because we were under pressure with a time limit but still needed to be patient and listen to each others ideas and not break the supplies (like the spaghetti). When we began we quickly grabbed supplies and all started building our structure. We were thinking out loud as we would try things and then asked each other what they thought. We first tried connecting all the spaghetti with marshmallows but then realized it was making it too heavy. Then we started over agin and decided to connect each piece with tape. We saw that making a triangle base was stronger than a square base. As we connected each piece we all helped each other to connect, tape, build, and check to see if it would hold the weight of the marshmallow. If it didn't hold then we made adjustments as our partners held on to the structure until it was strong enough to hold the marshmallow. I thought our group worked really well together. We communicated and used teamwork to make the tallest self standing structure in the class! I'm definitely going to use this challenge with my students to teach them about team work and design. I teach 5th graders so I think it will be a great challenge for them to be patient with each other and listen to everyones ideas. I would also like to give my students a second chance to improve. I have a feeling they will have a hard time at first but then would learn a lot and want to improve on the second time around. Team work is something we are working on with our students and they are slowly starting to realize that they are stronger together than by themselves.

Gaming

A couple weeks ago in class we got to play video games. This was one of the best classes ever! I had so much fun playing the different games and comparing them. It's not very often that you get to play and compare so many gaming systems. My favorite system was the Kinect. I liked this system because of all the movement involved. I prefer using my whole body to interact with the game as opposed to just using a remote control. I've always thought of video games as not being a good influence on kids because they don't get enough exercise. If I had kids I would have a hard time buying them a video game because I don't want them sitting around all day looking at the television.  I think kids should be outside running around and getting exercise. The Kinect is a great way to incorporate both. I do think video games can be educational and a great challenge for the brain. I found this video on the impact of video games on kids.

Makapu'u Lighthouse

When my brother came to visit I took him on a walk up to the Makapu'u Lighthouse. This trail is right by my house so of course I don't think to hike up it very often. It was fun to bring my brother up there to see the view. I like to think of it as a short hike with an enormous view. It's perfect for someone who doesn't hike very much. It's not too long and not too hard. When you get up half way they have a whale sign that teaches you about the Kaiwi Channel and the different types of whale characteristics you may see. In addition to the beautiful view of the Kaiwi Channel this is a great place to go whale watching. On this little sign it tells you what to look for and when the best times you are likely to see whales. My brother was able to learn a lot from just this little display on the path. As we continued walking we got to the light house. This is a spectacular view to take in. It's nice to take a seat and look out on the ocean. It was a clear day so we could see the outline of Molokai. It felt good to teach my brother a little bit about the islands. The Kaiwi Channel is also the Channel I race in when I paddle in the Na Wahine O Ke Kai. This is a 6 man outrigger canoe race from Molokai to Oahu. I feel very lucky to be able to see the Kaiwi Channel from land and from the water.