Future Reading Selections

My task now is to explore the UnTextbook for this class and to select the stories I would like to read for the next two weeks. The next section is the Native American unit and we will pick two sub units of it to read for weeks 9 and 10, which are the two weeks following spring break. It's hard to believe we are already at the week before spring break and making these final reading choices.

For week 9 I will read the unit called "Inuit (Eskimo) Folk Tales." The title of this unit caught my attention and then I read the summary of it and I knew I wanted to read all the stories. I don't know much about the life of Eskimos but I think it would be really interesting to see what things are popular in their culture and to see some history in these stories. The stories seem like they cover a wide variety of topics so I don't think I'll be at all bored with this unit.

Image on the intro area for the Inuit (Eskimo) Unit. (I'm interested to see what this creature is)

For week 10 I will read "Native American Hero Tales." I have not read any units so far that have focused just on heroes so I think this will be an interesting one to read. Some of the stories within this unit had interesting titles as well so I'm looking forward to reading the whole stories. Again I like that I'll be able to learn about the native American culture from these stories.

Blog Feature Ideas

For this assignment I looked at a few  other blogs and selected three whose layout and features I really liked. I analyzed these three blogs the select a few things that I might want to change on my blog. The links to the three blogs and what I liked about each of them are listed below.

http://mcrelyea.blogspot.com/
I like how the stories and the navigation side bar were together in one large lighter purple block. I also like that her blog didn't have navigation tabs at the top, like mine does, and instead just on the side. It was all so easy to read because of the font styles and colors.


http://3043.mythfolklore.net/randommf.html
I really like how this blog takes up much more of the page with the writing column instead of leaving a lot of empty space on the sides. My blog's writing area is pretty skinny right now and I should look into expanding it to make better use of my blog.

http://3043.mythfolklore.net/randommf.html
One unique feature of this blog is the quote of the day located at the top of the sidebar. I think this would be interesting to include on my blog because it would give the reader something new to see everyday. It would also be cool if I got to pick it as it would be a reflection of my interests.

Time Strategies

In the beginning of the semester I chose to start my work for this class on Sundays, also working on Monday and then finishing up the next Saturday. I have found that pretty much every week since the beginning that this time allotment has not actually worked for me. I usually start the week's work on Tuesday evening, doing both reading diaries and the storytelling post. I also try to do the project feedback and the extra blog comments on Tuesday or Wednesday. Then that just leaves me the work on my storybook project and the blog comments, which I normally knock out Friday afternoon or I'll wait until Sunday to do it.

So my official start date should change to Tuesday- doing 2 hours, Wednesday- 2 hours, Friday OR Sunday- 2 hours.

As for how I handle my time for other classes.... I feel that I've done a really good job of working ahead and working hard all week so that I can enjoy my weekends. There truly is way more going on the spring than the fall so I like to be able to put away the books and homework and go hangout outside, go to sporting events, go to date parties, and do philanthropy events. 

Knowing that after spring break things will get even crazier, I will have to be sure to finish my Netflix shows over spring break so that I'm not tempted to watch them during the rest of the semester. I also think it will be increasingly important that I get enough sleep so I can finish the semester strong.

How I feel when I spend time planning/focusing on time management