To You Tube or Not to You Tube

 

I’ve been working on children’s curriculum for nearly a decade. I really enjoy discovering and crafting adventures for small minds. As I work through the current iteration I’m thinking it is time to publish, but how to publish? Homeschool curriculum publishers tend to be religious and conservative. While I don’t find my work outside of that realm I refuse to stay in the safe and simple world that is usually all children are presented with in such circles. I want to draw kids out and present them with opportunities to think for themselves. For this reason I’m going to pursue a secular publisher at least initially. The thing is there aren’t many secular homeschooling organizations period, so I’m worried I’ll run through my possibilities quickly without success. I think my curriculum could be amazing as an after-school club in traditional schools, but I don’t know of anyone publishing a niche item like that. Further research may solve my problems, but at the moment I think I might have to go find my audience myself.

Hence the thought of presenting my curriculum on You Tube within the Book Tube community. Most of the Book Tubes focus on adults, so that’s a concern. I am writing an adult version of my program that would seem similar enough to what Book Tube offers to fit in, but different enough to develop my own little corner. Once I have adults hooked I can start opening doors for children. It is an exciting yet daunting idea. I have always been a teacher, but the idea of teaching on film and for adults is different.

The only answer is to do more research on all of it, but one way or another this work will take flight.

Fat and Acid

 I am currently reading some very heavy, traditional material. Having become a maven of ancient literature I expected to enjoy my current reading more than I have done, and part of it is because it is bringing ancient bad ideas into modern thought. I still have a lot more to read, and there have been glimmers of beauty, but it’s still heavy going at the moment. 

Just as a chef might add vinegar to bacon grease, I have been adding feminist books into my reading time.  I am a young feminist despite my fifty years. My thought process is slow and I was launched from a traditional platform. I think I took up ancient literature as an area of study because I thought I could hide there from my present doubts, but modern injustice still seeks me out and ancient injustice horrifies me.

Melinda Gates certainly does open gates of knowledge both of the current struggle of women around the world and of the proposed solutions. I often feel alone in the world, but Melinda partnered with me as a friend, opening doors and windows to a world that fascinates and frightens me. This should be universal reading for women, even for those who object to contraception and other proposed solutions. It is important to know how the other half is living and to do our best to make sure it is worth living.

My adoption of feminist ideas has been slow and haphazard. Sometimes I wasn’t even sure if my ideas were feminist. I meant to sit down and draft a whole skeleton of what I have learned, but I’m so glad I read this book instead. Succinct, clear, unbiased, are all admirable qualities to have in a book, but particularly in a book that puts forth a definition of as broad and diverse a subject as feminism. I could locate myself quickly, and could still see and appreciate allies who might not agree with all my positions. I loved this book and will keep it handy for reference.

A Secular Holy Day

 As I looked over my calendar to see what was coming next after the Easter season, I discovered Earth Day right around the corner. A few years ago what we used to call nature films came out in proximity to Earth Day and we would take our children to see the latest one. It was a very nice way to think beyond ourselves and to feel that we were part of a larger community that cared about the Earth. Why don’t we have events like that around Earth Day? Borrowing from ancient ideas of how to bring a community together and forge a common identity that works to meet mutual goals is a good idea. We could start with a movie and work our way up to an Eco Lent where we would give up air conditioning or plastic wrap or go vegetarian for a defined time—long enough to change habits but not so long as to be onerous.

Holy days, an excellent idea for difficult human work.

Only

One thing 

I ask for 

One thing 

I need 

One thing

I dream of

Presents

Tiny Markers

 I am a visual thinker. I like to have all the markers and giant paper to map out ideas, plots, or organizing strategies. My adult go to system has been 11x17 paper and three sizes of every color of Sharpie. This is satisfactory, but not portable. I’m used to having lots of appointments and such where I try to capture time before it is lost, but planning wasn’t a good function for that nomadic work life because three big mugs of markers and the unwieldy paper didn’t travel well.

Yesterday, I was sitting in the living room when the muse struck with fury and I wanted to get to work right then. I had bought a set of Papermate flair markers for a child who rejected them. I tried to interest another of my children, same result. I decided if they didn’t want them they would suit my purpose and I took them up. Did they suit my purpose? Did they ever! They have tiny little nibs which allowed me to fit about the same amount of information on an 8 1/2x11 sheet of paper which was handy next to the printer as compared to the giant 11x17 paper in my office. I am no longer chained to my desk. I can plan efficiently anywhere.

It’s the little things that make work lighter. Papermate Flair Felt Tip Markers for sale in a good size set at Costco.

Best App for Task Management

 While I will always love my paper bujo I try to only pack my bag with essentials and as compactly as possible, so I have tried a few Task Management Apps. Most of them were just fine but had to be supplemented with other apps or simply left up to the paper bujo. RecentlyI discovered the AnyPlan app. It functions much like a bujo, but it’s in my iPad which is always with me. It is based on a calendar with the power to add appointments, tasks and notes. I find it entirely satisfying.  

Give it a look.

https://appsuke.com/en/anyplan-time-schedule-planner/

BUJO

For those not in the know a BUJO is a bullet journal, a system for organizing your time, tasks, and useful information. Information about it is all over the internet, so I won’t go over the details here. I have found it exceptionally good at motivating new behavior. This is my second year and it just gets better. In fact I am writing this piece in order to fill in two small squares. The pressure of completing my tasks is helping me get back to composing. Technically this blog is a cheater, but really any practice is helpful when you are this rusty.
Whenever I do something that is helpful I try to honor it as much as possible. Last year I toted all my supplies and journal in a cheap project bag. It did the job but inconveniently. This year I invested in a special case, normally used for Bibles. I also added a separate journal for notes about my work and/or discoveries. It is so much nicer to have my markers and pens and such all tidy in what I’ve started calling my magic bag.