Week 1 Introduction - Working, Learning, Living Life!

Hey guys! I'm Jada and this is my first blog ever! Okay so to get some of the more boring stuff about me out of the way: I'm an Oklahoma native (Edmond for my fellow Okies, for those of you in other places, just think of it as a suburb of Oklahoma City), I'm a junior, Microbiology Pre-Med (so LOTS  of science), I'm 20, and I want to be a pediatrician. Some additional things about myself (which I think are just a touch more interesting) are that I play violin, I LOVE Zumba and am actually a certified instructor, I love kids and work at a daycare (*Ahem* child development center) I am Sigma Phi Lambda (A Christian Sorority - the girl version of BYX!) I love reading and books, especially the classics (Currently reading: A Tale of Two Cites by Charles Dickens), and I have a borderline obsession with all things Harry Potter and Disney.

Do you want to build a snowman

Something interesting I did this summer: I was a counselor at a Christian athletic camp called Camp Ozark. I must have overlooked the athletic part when I applied, but was quickly made aware of that little caveat when I arrived for orientation and was expected to participate in sports and be good at them. Now its not like I'm completely unathletic - I cheered competitively for almost 12 years -  but I had never played basketball before and now I was expected to coach it. It was really a hilarious experience. I definitely believe that you should, if you have the opportunity, work at a summer camp. It's an experience every college kid should have before graduating!

As I mentioned, I work in childcare which is a pretty big part of my life. So about 75% of the things that come out of my mouth (that don't have to do with Harry Potter or Once Upon a Time) start with "Okay so one of my kids -" I post about the crazy shenanigans I experience at work on my Facebook page from time to time. I've worked with every age group and my favorite are still probably my infants. I've been moving classrooms a lot recently just because of my other summer job and my school schedule. Right now I'm in the 3s classroom (dun dun duuuuuun!). We'll see how that works out for me.

Kids Running

I hope this post has given you at least a little bit of a sense of who I am! Thunder UP!





OKC Thunder

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

In my head I know that I'm going to have to create one of these Storybooks, but wow have I got some big shoes to fill! I clicked on each of these links because the titles stood out to me and then I just couldn't stop reading. They were all really impressive! Here are the Storybooks I read:

Flipped Scripts
In reading this storybook, I was reminded of something I've heard multiple history teachers state at the beginning of a school year: "History is written by the winners." Can you imagine what our history books would look like if WWII was recorded from the perspective of the Nazi's. I've always wondered if the American Revolution is treated as a mere blip in England's history books or if they devote a full chapter to it as we do. This storybook didn't touch on World history but instead retold Mythology from the perspective of the "villains." It gave characters like Medusa and Polyphemus of Classical Mythology more depth and insight as to why they were the way that they were. The presentation of these "flipped scripts" equaled the concept of the stories in cleverness. The stories were told in interview format with interviewers that brought a light-hearted comedic air to some of these heavier stories.

Mermaids - CSI
This storybook actually ended up being somewhat different than what I expected but I loved it all the more. The stories are related from the perspective of an immortal murder detective to whom we are introduced in the introduction of the storybook. What I expected was an alternate telling of the story of the Little Mermaid but instead the storybook devoted attention to several different stories having to do with actual mermaids and maidens who have close ties to the sea and in which a murder is somehow involved. My favorite part about the presentation of the stories is that the narrator is incorporated into the action of some of retold stories giving the stories another dimension and perspective.
FRIENDS: The One with All the Stories
*Opening guitar riff from I'll Be There For You plays*
Of the storybooks I read, this one probably had my favorite concept, and not because I am a HUGE fan of Friends. My favorite part about these stories was that I had no idea while I was reading each of them that these were retold Aesop Fables. The stories fit so well with the Friends theme that I thought they were just short Friends episode concepts. The author did such a good job of fitting the stories to each of the personalities of each character that I had no trouble visualizing each of the scenarios as if I were watching an episode of Friends. Then when I read the Author's notes I was blown away that each story had been adapted to this modern day setting. Brilliant!

Week 1: The UNTextbook

There were so many fascinating options, I had trouble selecting just five! Here are my top picks though:

Egyptian Myth
I've always found the Egyptian gods and goddesses some of the most interesting in all of mythology. There are so many! The Egyptian perspective on death and the afterlife has also always interested me.

Brothers Grimm (Ashilman)
The fairytales we think we know best are not the neat and tidy stories that Disney has painted them to be. I know about a few of the original Grimm fairytales but I would love to know more about the origins of some of my favorite Disney characters.

Homer's Iliad
I love all things Greek Mythology and one of my favorite stories is the fall of Troy. The movie starring Brad Pitt doesn't really get much into to the gods and goddesses aspect of the Trojan War which I think is the most interesting part! (I still love the movie. Brad Pitt *swoon*)
King Arthur
What happened to King Arthur post Sword in the Stone? We touched a little bit on Arthurian legend in high school, but not nearly enough!

Alice's Looking Glass
I read Alice in Wonderland as a child and would love to continue to delve into that magical realm full of nonsensical twists and turns. Especially after the attention given to Wonderland in the ABC series Once Upon a Time

Week 1: Story(Re)Telling - The Okie Mouse

Author's note: This story is adapted from the Aesop Fable The Town Mouse and the CountryMouse. In this fable a simple country mouse learns after visiting her cousin in a big town that it is better to have little and feel safe than to have plenty and live in fear.

The Mouse Cousins The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

Mavery Mouse had never been anywhere outside of her little farm in Oklahoma, and that was just fine with her. Life in Oklahoma was simple - she ate simple things, she enjoyed simple fun like snooping around the Farmer's fields, and she lived in a simple roundish hole in the wall of the Farmhouse. Mavery began to wonder, however, whether her cousin Millicent - a big-city mouse from Dallas - would be equally satisfied with the simplicity of country living when she came to visit the next day. Mavery got her answer the moment Cousin Millie saw Mavery's bare little mouse hole
"But where's all your stuff?" Millie asked rather tactlessly
"It's all here," replied Mavery evenly
"Well what is there to do?" Millie practically whined
"We can explore the House. Or the fields. Maybe give the Farmer's wife a good scare," answered Mavery with a snicker.
"Oh you should have come to Dallas, Maves!" began Millicent excitedly, "There's lots to do! They have these gigantic parks where humans go and climb on all these metal contraptions for fun. Some of them spin really fast and some of them look like trains only they go a lot faster than any train I've ever seen! I don't see what's so fun about it because they're always screaming and yelling. But the main thing is that these places have the best food and the humans are always dropping it all over the place! You gotta come see it!"
Mavery didn't have the heart to disappoint her cousin (who really did mean well) so she agreed that they could make the trip to Dallas the next day.
After several days journey, the Mouse cousins arrived at the Big Park in Dallas. It was enormous! And there were all types of food that Mavery had only ever heard about - bread that was twisted up and salted, some sort of sweet that looked like a pink cloud, and puffy white stuff that tasted like butter. Mavery was just about to enjoy some of that pink stuff when she heard a scream.
"EEEEEKKK!! It's a rat!" a woman screamed. Soon there were multiple screams coming from every direction. A man appeared with a giant net and began to run toward Mavery and Millicent. The cousins ran for their lives! Millicent ducked into a small space between two food carts and Mavery followed her. The man with the net had not seen them and ran past. Once the mice had caught their breath, Mavery turned to Millicent.
"There may be more excitement and more to eat here in Dallas, Millie, but I think I like it better in Oklahoma. It's quiet and there's not as much to, but by Golly there's nobody chasing me around with a net!" Millie nodded appreciatively.
"And another thing!" Mavery added indignantly, "We Okies know the difference between a mouse and a rat!

Aesop for Children, illustrated by Milo Winter (1919).Web Source:Project Gutenberg

Tech Tip No. 1

Check out my Disney Pinterest Board!

Week 1: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - My Favorite Place

I am, quite possibly, the biggest Potterhead there is. I've read all the books (multiple times) seen the movies (multiple times),waited, in full costume, for hours for both movie and book releases, and have been sorted into a house on Pottermore (Hufflepuff, thank you very much.) Talk to me about Harry Potter for about five minutes and I'll count you as one of my best friends. I could go on and on but long story short is that I. Love. Harry. Potter. Imagine, then, my excitement (if that's even a strong enough word to describe my emotions) when I learned that my family was planning a vacation to Universal Studios Orlando, Florida and subsequently, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  I kid you not there were tears in my eyes as I walked into Hogsmeade for the first time. Walking through the Hogwarts castle and seeing all my favorite characters in front of me and talking to me - there are just no words. I would have been happy spending the entire vacation there, but even my supportive parents and equally nerdy boyfriend had their limits. I have not been back since its been revamped and Diagon Alley was added, which is probably just as well - I would probably pass out before I crossed the threshold. You could say I'm a little obsessed (I warned you) but in what other way could we Muggles (I guess my letter really isn't coming...) ever experience Hogwarts? Visiting the Wizarding World of Harry potter was seriously like a dream come true!

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter