The weeks keep coming!
As always, email me if you have any questions! rekidder@lclark.edu!
This week I had a flurry of meetings. Tuesday I had a mandatory overseas meeting, where we talked about health and wellness while abroad. I haven't had any meetings specifically pertaining to my trip yet, so this was my first meeting at all regarding it. I'm so excited! We talked some about culture shock, as well as things like being aware of our surroundings and staying physically and mentally healthy. It was informative.
That same day, I met with my environmental education professor to talk about my final project. We have a lot of flexibility in what we write about, but it comes down to an ~8 page paper on a topic of our choice. One of the options was to create a possible unit for a class, which is what I'm doing. I want to base mine on studying monarch butterflies. I know I want to incorporate field trips, like looking for milkweed and visiting farmers. I also want the unit to include raising monarchs and releasing them outside. I'm also going to figure out how to bring in the different subjects kids learn in elementary school, like language arts and math. I'm going to end up planning multiple lessons. It'll involve a lot of thought, but I'm looking forward to it. It's fun to put together something based on what we've been talking about all semester.
I also had my final Environmental Affairs Symposium meeting. Even though Symposium just happened a couple of weeks ago, it's already time to start planning for next year. This meeting served as a wrap-up for this year's event, as well as a way for people to express their interest and start thinking about next year. We had some good discussions, and it was bittersweet. I got to "pass my baton" onto the group interested in chairing next year. I had such a good time and learned so much from chairing this year; I wish I could do it again (I would if I weren't going abroad this spring). I am excited about next year, though, and being as involved as I can from afar.
Besides all of my classes, I also had two visits to my practicum site for environmental education. I'm shadowing nature guides at Tryon Creek State Park, just a few blocks from campus. This week I helped with a Kindergarten field trip about trees, and a family night hike about nocturnal creatures. Both were fun, and I learned a lot (like salmon have an incredibly good sense of smell, and owls fly silently!).
Finally, it was Halloween! A couple of my housemates went out, and a couple stayed here with me. Those of us who stayed home watched Hocus Pocus and waited for trick-or-treaters who never came (more candy for us, right?). We had a wide variety of costumes in our house. I was a frat boy, Annabel was Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service, Sam was Kim Possible and Tess was Ron Stoppable, Hannah was a Burning Man attendee, and Emma was Cruella de Vil.
Continuing with the exciting weekend, Liliana (Tess, Emma, Annabel's and my RA from last year) came over this morning for brunch. We cooked a ton of food, including omelets, challah, bacon, pancakes, and fruit. It was good to catch up with her, and also to cook- given we have a kitchen, you'd think we would cook more, but we don't. So, it's always a treat when we do.
I'll leave you with some pictures of my pets that my dad sent me on Halloween.
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| my dog as a princess |
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| my dog as a pirate |
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| my cat as a jester |
-Rebecca