Month: October 2026

Weekly Reflection #3

On October 19, 2026

Exploring Stop Motion

In the last couple weeks of class I have been able to experiment with stop motion. First with the app Stop Motion Studio I found it very beginner friendly and had a blast playing around trying to make a small video.

Creating that stop motion video for the first time was challenging with that short timeline. I think ideally, students would have multiple class periods to make a plan, create all the props, develop a storyline, film, and edit their videos. Having prep time would let students to get the full experince rather than rushing through the process in one lesson. Equipment wise, the possibilities are endless. Students could use art supplies, or materials they find to create whatever they want. I was able to go into a school and work with a group of grade fives and they really showed me how creative kids can be and how engaged they were. Stop motion animation can also be incorporated into many different areas of the curriculum, students could create artwork for an art project, build structures to fit into the science curriulum, connected to a book the class read in language art, or they could demonstrate mathematical concepts. The more I used stop motion the more I thought about all the diffrent ways it could be used as a tool to learn and to teach.

I found a website that discusses what stop motion is and takes you through the diffrent types of stop motion. The website shows examples of each of them being used, this could be helpful in the future if I would ever want to branch out and incoorperate diffrent types of stop motion in my future classroom. https://justmakeanimation.com/10-types-of-stop-motion-animation/

Weekly Reflection #2

by katelin

On October 19, 2026

In Weekly Reflections

Epic! School Reflection

Epic! School is a great online reading reasourse for kids. The website gives children access to a wide varity of books, comics ect… at all diffrent reading levels for primary schools readers. It offers many options, including read aloud features, audio books, and video versions of books, all accessible for free within school hours. I could implement Epic! Schools in my classroom to give my students a large digital library to choose from to encouage my students to develop a love of reading and explore books that interest them. It could be especially helpful for students who struggle with reading, students who are at diffrent stages with their literacy skills, ect… Features such as read to me, would allow my students to follow along with the book helping them build vocabulary, build confidence in their reading skills by accessing support I may not be able to give to every indivual in the class who needs it. Epic School will be a great reasource in my future classroom to give my students a place to enjoy and grow as readers. Above I have a screen cast video that navigates through the website, and if you want to check it out for yourself here is the link. https://www.getepic.com/sign-in

Free Inquiry 2

by katelin

On October 6, 2026

In Free Inquiry, Uncategorized

Whimsy Act #1: The Pesto Pasta Mountain

For my first act of whimsy, I decided to turn a normal dinner into something really fun. I made a pesto pasta mountain using homemade pesto that I had harvested and made myself. Instead of just putting the pasta on a plate, I decided to turn my coffee table into a whole scene. I put down a table cloth and lettuce all over my coffee table, then built a mountain out of pesto spaghetti. I used boiled broccoli as the trees, Parmesan cheese as the snow at the top of the mountain, and Dino Nuggets as the dinosaurs climbing around the mountain.

To make the experience even more dramatic, my friend and I ate our dinner while listening to the Jurassic World soundtrack. What could have been a completely normal dinner became this activity that was full of laughter and fun.

What I enjoyed most was how quickly my friend and I got into it. Once we committed to the idea. We were laughing, playing along with the music, taking videos and enjoying something that didn’t really have a purpose other than making us happy. It made an ordinary evening feel memorable.

This experience made me realize that whimsy doesn’t necessarily require buying something expensive, going somewhere special, or having a huge amount of free time. I already had most of the ingredients. What changed was the way I looked at the experience. Instead of asking, “What should I make for dinner?” I asked, “How ridiculous and fun can I make dinner?”

I think this is an important lesson for me as an adult and as a future teacher. Children often naturally turn ordinary objects and experiences into something imaginative. A cardboard box becomes a spaceship, and a stick becomes a sword. Adults can do the same thing, but we often stop ourselves because we worry about looking silly. This first whimsy experiment reminded me that being playful can make an ordinary experience more meaningful.

Free inquiry post 1

by katelin

On October 6, 2026

In Free Inquiry

For my free inquiry project, I want to explore the idea of whimsy and what it means to bring more of it into adult life. As I’ve grown older, life has become increasingly focused on responsibilities, productivity, school, work, and being “serious.” I think somewhere along the way, many adults lose some of the curiosity, silliness, creativity, and sense of wonder that used to come naturally. When I was younger a consistent thought I had was “what happen to these grown ups why are they so boring” I now understand that there are many factors that “turn adults boring” but I still don’t want my future kids and students to have this thought about me, and as school beings to ramp up I can feel that my productivity and adult responsibilities are at the forefront of my life while my whimsy is taking a back seat. My inquiry project is based on a simple question: What happens if I intentionally made more room for whimsy in my everyday life?

Throughout this project, I want to experiment with different ways of bringing whimsy into my own life and encouraging others around me to do the same. This could include trying things that are playful or unexpected, creating things just for fun, exploring new places, dressing up, having themed gatherings, spending time outside, playing games, or simply finding ways to make ordinary experiences feel more special. I want to document these experiences and reflect on how they affect my mood, creativity, relationships, and overall experience of everyday life. I also want to talk to other people about what whimsy means to them and to look into the why of their missing whimsy.

I see this project as an opportunity to become a better adult, not by becoming more productive or responsible, but by learning how to create a better balance between responsibility and enjoyment. Being an adult does not have to mean giving up playfulness and curiosity. I want to explore whether allowing myself to be silly, creative, and curious can help me approach life with more joy.

This inquiry also connects strongly to the kind of teacher I want to become. Children naturally find wonder in everyday things, and I want to be a teacher who protects and encourages that sense of curiosity rather than teaching students that learning always has to be serious. Exploring whimsy in my own life may help me better understand the importance of play, creativity, movement, curiosity, and joy in learning. If I want to create a classroom where students feel comfortable being curious, taking risks, and being themselves, I think I also need to practice those qualities in my own life.

Ultimately, this project is about giving myself and hopefully other adults permission to be a little more playful and take time out of their day to do so. I want to see if bringing small moments of whimsy back into everyday life can make adulthood feel more creative, connected, and enjoyable, while also helping me understand how I can bring those same qualities into my future classroom.

Weekly Refletion #1

by katelin

On October 6, 2026

In EDCI 336, Weekly Reflections

Reflection on The Documentary Most Likely to Succeed

While watching the documentary Most Likely to Succeed. I learned about High Tech High and it was quite interesting, I knew that there were schools like this around the world, but I had never looked into what that kind of education system actually entailed, and it was so far from the way I was educated growing up. One of the things that stood out to me was the emphasis on project-based learning, student choice and collaboration. Instead of students simply completing assignments for a teacher, they are given opportunities to explore and create something that has a purpose and meaning beyond just receiving a grade.

I found the idea of giving students more ownership over their learning especially interesting. Students in High Tech High are encouraged to follow their interests and make decisions about their projects. This made me think about how much more invested students become when they have a personal connection to what they are learning. When I was able to have choice in my projects throughout my schooling, I was definitely more engaged in what I was doing. It also changes the role of the teacher. Rather than being the person who provides all the information and gives direct instruction, the teacher becomes more of a facilitator who supports students as they discover, create, make mistakes, and adapt their ideas.

High Tech High also made me reflect on the importance of allowing students to fail, change things and keep going. Learning does not always happen on the first time. Students have opportunities to try something, receive feedback, make changes, and try again, that mistakes can become part of the process rather than something students should be afraid of. I think this is an important part of learning and something that is incorporated into the B.C curriculum https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/ and has really been highlighted as being part of the EKTEP program.

I can also empathize with the parents of these students’ hesitation towards High Tech High with their kids experiencing vastly different education then they have been exposed too. The founders of this school do say that they are diving deeper into topics but that also comes with covering less content. With that decrease in variety of information it would make me apprehensive too as a parent, because the overarching education system in America is based on curriculum testing not on specialization and depth of understanding. I think High Tech High is helping kids build skills for careers and the real world, but I think in some ways lacks preparing them to navigate the system that many have to go through to achieve those careers through post secondary.

Overall, High Tech High made me think differently about what a classroom can be. I like the idea of creating a learning environment where students have more choice, where their interests are valued. As a future teacher, I would like to incorporate some of these ideas into my own teaching while still providing students with the structure and support they need. High Tech High showed me that learning can come in many different ways. Students can learn by creating, collaborating, questioning, and doing meaningful work.