Self-Education Accountability Thread 10/13 (Round 2?)

[Critterfixer]

Can't find the thread from yesterday anywhere, so Ready, Set, Go!

 

And there was such a nice idea in it about prioritizing ourselves, this week, too!

 

Did my Latin and my math, and am working on writing my story. 

[Jenny in Florida]

I have been feeling increasingly blah over the last few days. Only this morning did I finally finish the last couple of Teaching History course tasks that were on my to-do list for last week. I also missed walking yesterday morning, because I was out of town with my son. (I mean, the truth is that I totally could have walked, even though I was travelling without my dog, but I was busy and tired and just plain didn't.)

 

Nonetheless, I will try to forge ahead with this week's goals:

• Walk with the dog for at least 25 minutes every morning. Aim for 30 when I have the time and energy.
• Complete the assignments for the last week of Saving Schools.
• Complete the assignments for module four of The Art of Teaching History.
• Complete half of the assignments for week one of Design and Development of Educational Technology. 
  (This one is a little odd, because each new week begins on Wednesday, not Monday)
• Finish the two books I have going and read at least one more.

That's it. I'm not listing anything else in the hopes that I will actually finish all of that and see the light at the end of my current tunnel of funk.

 

Thus far today, I have:

• Made my assignment checklist for the week.
• Walked.
• Watched one Saving Schools video and answered the questions. I got my first question of the entire course wrong, and I'm mad at myself about it.
• Watched three Teaching History videos and skimmed the handout for the last one.
• Listened to the audiobook while walking with the dog.

 

[phathui5]

Don't be mad at yourself, Jenny! I get some of the questions wrong (I'm assuming Coursera) and it might be the way they're worded, or me not reading the question carefully enough. 

[phathui5]

It's weird. I looked for the other thread too, and it does appear to have disappeared into Cyberspace.

 

My goals for this week are to stay current on my Coursera classes, with an overall goal of finishing each course. I am taking:

• Teaching and Assessing Clinical Skills
• Childbirth: A Global Perspective
• Gut Check: Exploring Your Microbiome
• Abortion: Quality Care and Public Health Implications
• Introduction to Marketing

(I know it's a bigger list than I had on the other thread; there were two that started today).

 

Today I;

• Did about half of this week's work for Teaching and Assessing Clinical Skills

[purpleowl]

I was going to have some lovely goals for the first half of this week (traveling the second half), but I started feeling sick last night and have been running fever all day today. So now I am not going to bother with goals here, except to get better in time for my trip. Both of my sisters will be at my parents' house, and my middle sis and I are supposed to finally meet each other's babies (mine is 6 months, hers 4 months). I really, really want to go.

[Jenny in Florida]

Don't be mad at yourself, Jenny! I get some of the questions wrong (I'm assuming Coursera) and it might be the way they're worded, or me not reading the question carefully enough. 

 

It's just that, in this particular course, I had a 100% average, and I'm in the last week of the class. It's a silly thing, but I was feeling kind of proud of it.

 

I guess it's clear where my children get their perfectionist tendencies, huh?  :001_rolleyes:  

[Luckymama]

I accomplished all of last week's goals (3 strength workouts, 3 cardio workouts, all of my homework).

 

My goals for this week are

--5 days of vigorous sustained activity of at least 60 minutes each day

--attend a lecture on Saturn and its moons at the university on Wednesday

--place and level all the raised beds for the new veggie garden with dh (involves a lot of shoveling of the cubic yard of topsoil plopped on the driveway this afternoon)

--set goals for my first year as a National Wildlife Federation wildlife habitat steward; email to my "boss"

[lewelma]

Back to school this week, I'm kind of excited because I am really prepared this term after all the work I did last week.

 

As for self-ed

1) I have decided that I need to treat speaking mandarin like you would piano practice - 30 minutes each and every day.  I'm going to put reading/writing as separate time.

2) Physics test on Friday, and both of seemed to have forgotten most everything as we took 6 weeks off for ds's math-a-thon.   Lots to study!

3) I would like to find a classic book to listen to, as I am getting sick of National radio.

4) As always pullups, pushups, and lunges.  These must be done *every* day.  So I am going to do them first thing in the morning!

 

Ruth in NZ

 

Critterfixer, this is the first time I have seen your avatar.  Aren't they precious!

 

[Critterfixer]

Oh, thanks! :blush: They clean up pretty good, too.

[Cascadia]

I was going to have some lovely goals for the first half of this week (traveling the second half), but I started feeling sick last night and have been running fever all day today. So now I am not going to bother with goals here, except to get better in time for my trip. Both of my sisters will be at my parents' house, and my middle sis and I are supposed to finally meet each other's babies (mine is 6 months, hers 4 months). I really, really want to go.

 

I "liked" your post, but not the part about being sick.  I hope that you feel better soon!   :grouphug:

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished The Ice Palace - amazing book - and What does it all mean: a very short introduction to philosophy by Thomas Nagel.  It was the best philosophy book I've ever read, largely because it was only 100 pages long!  ;)

 

On that note, I'm really struggling with Borges - it reads much more like esoteric philosophy than short stories!  Anybody have any deep insights into Borges they can offer me? So I keep reading it?  :rolleyes:

[Critterfixer]

It's going to be a work of willpower today for me to get Latin and math, exercise and history in. I wrote about 16 pages of story yesterday and last night, woke up dreaming about it, and am itching to get started again this morning. I'd be tempted to call it a writing day--everybody just write---if that wasn't so easy to do, and if I didn't have a short week to start with. 

Oh, but the urge is to brew another pot of strong tea and crank up some REM and write until my hand falls off.

[Cascadia]

Well, I was going to add my weekend accomplishments to last weeks thread, but it seems to have gone "poof!"  We were out of town most of the weekend, but I did listen to lectures 2 and 3 of the Historical Jesus course while driving.

 

Goals for this week:

 

* C25K 3 times (did Wk6Day3 this morning)

* Yoga 4 times

* Daily devotional reading (done today)

* Reading rotation 5 times

* Audio lectures 3 times (did first half of lecture 3 in the Intro to Orthodoxy series today; I plan to finish that one and do one more Historical Jesus lecture this week)

 

I feel like I'm forgetting something, but today is our Monday as DH had Columbus Day off, so maybe I should just focus on what I have listed here.

 

I got distracted while writing the above because DS just picked up the vacuum cleaner wand, held it like a lance, and announced, "I'm St. George, Mommy, and I'm going to go fight the dragon."

[Critterfixer]

Tell him dragons hide under the couch. Big old hairy ones. 

[Cascadia]

So "dust bunnies" is a euphemism for dragons?   :lol:   (or maybe they are like the killer rabbits in Monty Python and the Holy Grail?)

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Can't find the thread from yesterday anywhere, so Ready, Set, Go!

 

 

Thanks for starting this!

[Jenny in Florida]

• Walk with the dog for at least 25 minutes every morning. Aim for 30 when I have the time and energy.
• Complete the assignments for the last week of Saving Schools.
• Complete the assignments for module four of The Art of Teaching History.
• Complete half of the assignments for week one of Design and Development of Educational Technology. 

  (This one is a little odd, because each new week begins on Wednesday, not Monday)

• Finish the two books I have going and read at least one more.
• Complete tutor mentor training and application.

 

I know I said definitively "that's it" when I listed the above goals for this week, but, well, I added one. I'm also going to try and complete the self-paced training and assorted other steps that will qualify me to apply to be a mentor with the company for which I do the online tutoring. It's a series of videos, some written materials to review and an exam. 

 

Today I:

• walked for just barely 25 minutes. (I couldn't sleep last night and am dragging a bit today.)
• watched a video and answered the accompanying questions for Saving Schools.
• watched a couple of videos and skimmed the associated readings for Teaching History. I've also decided which prompt I will write about for this week's reflection assignment, but haven't yet done the writing.
• finished both books. I will start my next audiobook either on the drive to work later or while I've doing some work in the kitchen.
• watched all of the mentor training videos, gotten confused about the instructions and sent a message to the support team asking what I actually need to do next. (The program is in the midst of being revised, and I got some conflicting information.)

I'll be stepping away from the computer for a bit now, though, to work on food for my lunch and my husband's dinner and so some dishes and laundry. Another exciting day at Jenny's house!

[phathui5]

Today I:

• Did this week's quizzes for Teaching and Assessing Clinical Skills (Coursera)
• Watched 3 videos for Gut Check: Exploring Your Microbiome (Coursera)

(Hopefully I'll be adding to this throughout the day)

[phathui5]

Cascadia,

 

 

Reading rotation 5 times

What is your reading rotation?

[Critterfixer]

It's late and I'm up writing. I really ought to get to bed, but I simply can't leave my character like this--so I've got to see him safe, right? Then I promise to read my history and go right to bed.

[phathui5]

It's Wednesday! Morning, or night, or something. I'm working overnight at a birth center (postpartum staff), which means that I get a head start on self-ed for today while the family I'm taking care of is sleeping and the laundry is tumbling.

 

Today I:

• Watched three videos on how to fold a fitted sheet (don't laugh, it was for work)
• Took the long pre-course survey for Abortion: Quality Care and Public Health Implications (Coursera)
• Watched one video from the Abortion course (Coursera)
• Watched four videos from Childbirth: A Global Perspective (Coursera)

 

(Hopefully I'll be adding to this throughout the day)

[Cascadia]

Progress so far this week:

 

* C25K 1/3

* Yoga 1/4

* Daily devotional reading - daily, so far

* Reading rotation 2/5 (today I read half of Ch. 6 in Simplicity Parenting, yesterday was "catch up on educational blogs and articles day")

* Audio lectures 1/3

 

I also have continued to play around with Khan Academy for math.  I'm still mucking around with the elementary levels so that I can get DD started using it.

 

[Cascadia]

Cascadia,

What is your reading rotation?

 

I have categories of things that I am reading/studying, and I rotate through them with a different subject each day.  At this stage of my children's ages/abilities I am pretty limited in my study time, so my goal is to get at least 30 minutes of reading daily.  I currently have five categories in my reading rotation (parenting, education - book, education - articles and blogs, spiritual, and classics), so I'm reading something from each of them weekly.  In addition I also listen to audio lectures while running.  I would like to add the Well-Educated Mind studies back into my rotation, as that dropped out during my son's first year, but we're in a temporary living situation right now and those books are packed away in a storage unit.  I'm putting that on my "when we get a house" list  :D

[Critterfixer]

Got a 99 on my Latin test today, (I misspelled demonstare) and took a point. The boys scored a 98 and a 95. I was very pleased. Our Latin lessons in the index cards are doing the trick, I think.

I did a couple of pages in my Key to Algebra and did some writing today, but not as much as yesterday. The rest of my week is sort of packed, so I don't know how much I will get in per day. 

[Hoot]

I have gotten very little done this week.  DS started off the week sick, so we decided to take Columbus Day off and just veg out together with movies.  Then, wouldn't you know it, I started getting sick.  I :wub: studying, and studying was the absolute last thing I wanted to do on Tuesday and Wednesday.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  In fact, today I feel even worse, but I finally did a little.

So far this week I have managed to:

 

• complete 1 math lesson
• listen to 6 of 9 lectures from Learning How to Learn
• completed Lesson 1, plus all quizzes and exercises of Intro. to Biology 
  
  I haven't even logged in to Epidemics yet this week.  I'll probably try to get to that tomorrow.  Saturday I'm doing Dewey's 24-Hr. Read-a-Thon, so I'll get some work done then, but mostly it will just be fun reading.  Too much heavy stuff doesn't work very well during the read-a-thon.

[phathui5]

I loved the Learning How to Learn course!

 

Critterfixer, what are you using for your Latin?

 

Today I:

• Watched two videos in Childbirth: A Global Perspective (Coursera)
• Took quiz for Childbirth: A Global Perspective (Coursera)
• Watched a video in Introduction to Marketing (Coursera)
• Took a quiz in Teaching and Assessing Clinical Skills (Coursera)
• Paid my deposit for the Herbal Medicine for Women ecourse (yay and ow!) http://avivaromm.com/study-with-aviva/herbal-medicine-for-women

[purpleowl]

I didn't even meet my one measly goal to get better. Turns out I (and now dh and dd#2 also) have the flu. Our trip had to be canceled. Sigh. :( Any of you that pray, I'd appreciate prayers for us to get better quickly, and for dd#1 and ds not to get it.

 

Also, a reminder for everyone's self-care lists: Get yourself and your family vaccinated against the flu if you're able to do so. You don't want this thing. (Our case is early in the flu season - my kids were already scheduled to get their vaccines next week.) (And I'm not looking to debate anyone who is opposed to vaccines. Just a reminder for those who would get them but maybe hadn't thought about it.)

[Critterfixer]

I've got one down with fever and a sore throat today, so I'm home today taking care of him. He doesn't feel so bad he isn't humming, but somehow I doubt I'll get anything done that doesn't have to do with making soup, cleaning up messes or disinfecting. So care to everyone down and out, today.

[phathui5]

I was at a CME (continuing medical education) conference at Oregon State University from 8-3 today. There were sessions on ovarian cancer, breast cancer genetic screening, breast cancer treatment, and the "alternative birthing movement." I mostly attended for the last session, so I could hear about my people. It wasn't as bad as I was afraid it might be. The speaker focused on what hospitals can do to improve relationships with the home birth community. 

 

I also:

• Watched two videos from Abortion: Quality Care and Public Health Implications (Coursera)

[phathui5]

Today I:

• Watched two videos from Gut Check: Exploring Your Microbiome (Coursera)
• Logged into Herbal Medicine for Women for the first time! (Aviva Romm)
• Watched welcome video in Herbal Medicine for Women
• Read p. 1-11 in the Herbal Medicine for Women lesson 1 PDF
• Started listening to a recording of Aviva Romm titled "THE WORK OF BIRTH: HOW, WHY, AND WHETHER TO BECOME A MIDWIFE, DOULA… OR EVEN AN MD!"

[phathui5]

Today I:

• Finished listening to the recording from yesterday about birth work (with Aviva Romm)
• Watched three videos from Abortion: Quality Care and Public Health Implications (Coursera)

[Cascadia]

I was dealing with a clingy three-year old at the end of last week, so self-ed went on the back burner.  Hopefully this week will be better.  I didn't see a new thread for this week - am I overlooking it, or shall I go ahead and start one?

[Critterfixer]

Fine by me! I didn't do squat yesterday beyond inventing a new bacon cornbread for First Chili, and that wasn't too hard. :tongue_smilie:

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Feel free to start a new one! :)

 

I've decided that the accountability threads are actually counterproductive for me, so I won't be starting the self-ed ones anymore. (Also, suddenly completely disappearing for a bit gave me space to re-evaluate how much time I spend on the boards and how little control we have over things once we post them on the internet.)      

 

So, I may pop in from time to time, but I won't be starting the threads. :)

[Cascadia]

Feel free to start a new one! :)

 

I've decided that the accountability threads are actually counterproductive for me, so I won't be starting the self-ed ones anymore. (Also, suddenly completely disappearing for a bit gave me space to re-evaluate how much time I spend on the boards and how little control we have over things once we post them on the internet.)      

 

So, I may pop in from time to time, but I won't be starting the threads. :)

 

I'm having a little bit of a counter-productivity issue as well, just because I have to stop being productive to post my progress (and possibly get distracted by other threads), but I'm liking the accountability part of it enough to stick with it for a little bit longer.  Plus, I get so many great ideas for self-ed by seeing what everyone else is doing!  I'm glad that you've gotten some clarity on what is most helpful for you :)

[Cascadia]

Fine by me! I didn't do squat yesterday beyond inventing a new bacon cornbread for First Chili, and that wasn't too hard. :tongue_smilie:

 

Are you sharing that recipe, or is it Top Secret?  ;)

[Critterfixer]

Step 1: Make favorite cornbread recipe.

Step 2: Top with crispy, delicious, cooked bacon (that you cooked possibly to have the bacon fat for the skillet, or possibly for nibbles)

Step 3: Bake and eat.

 

Step 4: Realize that you are going to have to run three miles every day this week to make up for the bacon cornbread alone, and don't regret one bite.