Day Three Hundred Fifty-Six: Beaded Bracelet Class

Our library has been offering some great classes lately, and I'm glad I've been able to take advantage of some of them. Today's class was on how to make a beaded bracelet out of safety pins. The process takes some thought and attention to detail, as well as some time, but it's actually pretty simple. I am proud of the bracelet I produced and the new skill I learned.

Day Three Hundred Fifty-Four: Kajukenbo

Our library organized a free, two-night, self-defense class for women, and I signed up as soon as I heard about it. The kajukenbo class is taught by a fifth-degree blackbelt and focuses on a  blended form of martial arts, which borrows techniques from karate, judo, jiu jitsu, kenpo, kung-fu, and Chinese boxing. I did take a self-defense class in college, but thankfully, I haven't needed to use any of that knowledge, so it's gotten a bit rusty. I think it's a great service to our community, and I'm glad I have the chance to participate.

Day Three Hundred Five: Proofread Anywhere Student

Well, I spent the week thinking about the free webinar I watched about a Proofread Anywhere course that helps prepare people for careers in freelance proofreading, and today I officially became a student. I'm very excited to learn more about this field and the opportunities it presents. And, being the Grammar nerd that I am, I am also excited to do a deep dive on a variety of Grammar-related topics. The course is self-paced but can supposedly be completed in about a month. Here's to learning a new skill!

My welcome email

Day Two Hundred Ninety-Nine: Mate

The event at Jeff's school today was a mate (ma-tay) class, and we signed up as soon as we found out about it because mate is super popular here, and we've been curious about it. We have seen it everywhere but previously had no knowledge of what it actually was. But we became quite educated during the class! Mate is short for Yerba Mate, which is a type of leaf that is dried and ground and made into a tea, usually with a little sugar added. The special cup used to drink the beverage also goes by the same name.

Drinking mate is a social thing, almost like a ceremony, and everyone drinks from the same cup through the same bombilla (special mate straw that filters out the leaves), which I found completely disgusting. But, I tried it anyway because I wanted to be brave and embrace the "yes, and" spirit and not offend the teacher, who was teaching the class on a voluntary basis and who was very enthusiastic and sweet. The drink itself tasted fine, but I was very turned off by the act of drinking after others, especially strangers. The teacher said I was supposed to make a wish since it was my very first mate, and I wished that I would not pick up any awful germs! No joke. Thankfully, I was only the second person to drink the mate because I don't think I could have done it if I would have had to watch everyone else drink out of that cup and then had my turn!

We also learned that there are other social aspects to the act of drinking the mate, one of which was sort of ugly. After each person take a few sips, more mate and water are added for the next person, but if you are upset with someone and want to send them a subtle/not-so-subtle message, you can make them a "long" mate with more water, probably meant to shut them up because they have more to drink. The class was fascinating, and I'm glad we gained the education, but I now feel like I have done this and don't ever feel the need to do it again!

Mate, anyone?!

Day Two Hundred Thirty-Three: Cheese Making

Jeff and I took a cheese making class at Dallas Mozzarella Company this afternoon. We had a good time making several different kinds of cheeses including ricotta, mozzarella, Oaxaca, and a mozzarella roll stuffed with olives, all of which we got to bring home.

Cute cheese makers

Day Two Hundred Ten: Brilliant

I was introduced to Brilliant today through a TEDEd video I found on Real Clear Science. The site claims to offer training in critical thinking through real-world STEM problem solving, which sounded like the kind of thing we might want to incorporate into our homeschool. So I poked around on the site for a while and took the course entitled "How does a Refrigerator Work?"

Of course, I have learned these principles in physics courses I have taken in the past, but, honestly, it's been a long time, and these days I usually just sit around taking my fridge for granted and not thinking about what makes it tick. The course was a great refresher and quite interesting.

I like the way the courses are set up as quizzes that require users to think through possible solutions based on previous information they have received. This is better than just reading or watching a video that tells all the steps without engaging the mind of the listener/reader. I'm looking forward to introducing my math and science loving kids to the courses and taking more of the courses myself.

*Photo Credit

Day Two Hundred One: Writing Code in Python

Today I taught a coding class to my older boys, which meant that I first had to teach myself. Udemy came through for me once again, this time with the Teach Your Kids to Code class. (I've used Udemy for some wonderful art classes for Clay in the past.) One of the things I love about homeschooling is that I necessarily get to learn right along with my kids. We only completed the first lesson, but we had fun and are already learning useful information. I have always been intimidated by code because it really does seem like a foreign language, but so far I am enjoying it. I can't wait to see how the rest of the class goes!

Day One Hundred Eighty: Restorative Yoga

Today's First was a true "Yes, And" experience. There was no premeditating or looking back on my day to see what I did that would "count." It was simply an opportunity that presented itself, which I said "Yes" to. I took Max to try out a kids' yoga class, not knowing that they had a restorative yoga class going on simultaneously. I was sitting on a bench outside Max's class, trying to decide which book to read next, when the restorative teacher came out of her room to get something. She asked if I wanted to join the class, and at first, I declined, citing the fact that I wasn't dressed appropriately for yoga. But then she explained that there was barely any movement at all in the restorative class and that I could wear what I had on with no problem. Knowing that I was going to miss my regular gentle yoga class tomorrow evening, I decided to kick off my shoes and join the class. It was truly restful, and I'm so glad I did it! And, I'm also proud of myself for being spontaneous!

Day One Hundred Seventy-Two: edX Course

Ruth has used edX--a hub of free online university classes--for several of her high school courses, and she recently sent me a link to one of the courses she thought I might be interested in for myself. That led me to search through the course catalog to see all the offerings, and that led me to sign up for my first class (and to bookmark a few others for future reference). For my first experience, I decided to start with something that was self-paced and had a short time commitment. But now that I've seen how it works, I'll be ready to jump into something more involved next time. I'm so thankful that learning is something a person never gets too old for and that there are so many resources available to facilitate it!

Day One Hundred Nineteen: Udemy

Udemy had a huge Black Friday sale, and I decided to purchase some classes for the betterment of myself and my kids. Clay has been doing a kid-friendly watercolor class, which he absolutely loves and which has been saving this art teacher's sanity the last couple of weeks. Today, I started a Spanish course, not for a kid or for school, but just for me, which felt like a treat. Based on these two classes, I could definitely see us utilizing Udemy for more classes in the future.

Day Ninety: italki

Today was my first time to experience italki, an online language learning site that connects potential language learners with native speakers of all kinds of languages for an immersion type experience. I sat in on Jeff's class but was encouraged to participate as I could. I was kind of a nervous wreck, since my speaking Spanish is even worse than my reading Spanish. But I got through it with the help and patience of both Jeff and the tutor, a very sweet Venezuelan woman, who now lives in Peru. It's pretty amazing how small the world is and how connected we all are. If my bravery holds out, I will open my own italki account and try to dive into Spanish a bit more.

Day Eighty-Nine: Translate an Article

Jeff has been taking online Spanish classes for a while and has been encouraging me to try it out as well. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been quite rebellious about doing this for mostly unknown reasons. But, I finally agreed to sit in on a class with Jeff tomorrow, so tonight I spent some time doing the homework, which was to translate an article about discrimination in schools in Spain towards immigrants and ethnic minorities that mirrors discrimination in other parts of daily life. I have not done any serious Spanish study in quite a long time, so it was a struggle to get through the article, and I was tired after I did it. But, I did it (with a little help from Google Translate). Talking in class tomorrow will be an entirely different matter, but at least I'm taking baby steps.

Un informe en espanol

Day Seventy-Four: Investing Seminar

This afternoon, after school, Jeff put on an investing seminar for the kids, which I happily attended as well. This came about because of a scout project Weston has coming up, but it's something we have been wanting to talk to the kids about anyway. I'm pretty smart with money as far as saving and spending wisely, but I've never really known much about the stock market. And though Jeff has chatted with me about our investments, he has always pretty much handled that type of investing for our family. He had a great presentation ready, with charts and graphs, and he is able to explain just about anything in plain language that even I can understand. 😀  It was interesting and informative for the kids, but I also got a lot out of it. Thank goodness we're never too old to learn!

Day Sixty-Seven: Kombucha Class

I have been wanting to learn about kombucha for a while, but I didn't even really know where to start. I was so excited when someone posted on a local Facebook group about hosting a class. It was wonderful to make some new friends and learn about what kombucha is and how to make it, and it was fun to sample some that had already had a chance to ferment. I'm excited to see how mine turns out and to play around with it a bit more now that I know a little about it.

My starter kit and instructions

Day Forty-Eight: Learning how to create a monarch garden

Tonight, our local library invited a master gardener to give a talk about how to create a monarch butterfly garden. This was the first adult education class I have attended at the library, and it was so interesting to learn about the kind of plants that attract monarch butterflies. It really made me want to put on some gardening gloves and spend some time cultivating my space.

Learning at the library

Day Forty-Six: Best Self World Summit

You might think it would be difficult to come up with a first when you're stuck in bed with your leg propped up and can't really move around much, but I planned ahead and I live in the wonderful age of the Internet, so I was not thwarted. I signed up for the first annual Best Self World Summit and have spent most of the day listening to inspiring, positive, empowering podcasts. I have never listened to any podcasts before, but today I got in four! It was a great first and the timing couldn't have been better for it.

Day Forty-One: Aromatherapy Education

I found a webinar entitled "How to Become a Certified Aromatherapist" from Aromahead Institute and decided to see if that might be a path I wanted to explore. I thought the information was fascinating, and I would love to learn more about the topic. But the certification program being offered was very expensive, so I decided to think it through a bit more before making a decision. I love my essential oils and am always interested in learning more about how to use them safely and effectively, and I'm so glad I had an opportunity to do just that today!

The beautiful welcome slide for the webinar

It was so interesting to learn about the differences between two types of lavender

Day Thirty-Seven: Flower Arranging

When I was in college, I desperately wanted to take Flower Arranging as an elective. But with a major that had only a limited number of free electives and with scheduling conflicts and whatnot, I just never got it done. And, after college, it completely got pushed to the back burner of my brain. But, when I saw a listing for a floral arranging class on a local Facebook group I follow, I knew for sure it would become one of my firsts. It was so much fun to have a mom's night out with a great group of ladies, at an awesome local restaurant, and get to create something so beautiful, while fulfilling a 20-year old dream!

A dream come true!