EDBE 8Y08 Post No. 2 // Beginning My Genius Hour Project

Hiya!

Back again? - Now that's commitment!

     This week I'm going to be discussing the preliminary beginnings of my Genius Hour project! Now that I have completed my second week of teachers college, I am starting to get into the swing of things and am ready to take on this DIY challenge!

So, let's get to it!

     For those of you who missed my last post, I'll give you two options:

1.) Click the link and read last week's blog post to get all the hot gossip on my GH project, or,
2.) Read this brief refresher to skip the spiel and get only the important details

Psssst... I recommend option one (wink).

Option one pickers, here ya go...

Click Me! --> https://mrsderksensblog.blogspot.com/p/my-project-proposal.html

Option two pickers, this one's for you...

I'll catch you up with a quick refresher. I am a fifth year student/teacher candidate at Brock University, currently enrolled in a 'teaching and technology' course, otherwise known as 'EDBE 8Y08'. In this course, we have been instructed to create a Genius Hour (GH) project, and make personal blogs to document our progress and experiences with GH.
In my most recent class this past Tuesday, we formulated the research question that would be driving our Genius Hour projects. Mine is as follows:

How can I use DIY projects to make old things new again?


Pop Quiz!

Does my research question...

a.) Fulfill the needs of my school assignment
b.) Give me yet another excuse to go thrifting
c.) Allow me to spend even more time DIY-ing
d.) All of the above

Time's up - the correct answer is d, all of the above. Now if you ask me, I'm pretty clever (smirk).

Anyways, this isn't the diary of a thrift-aholic, so let's get back on track!


My Genius Hour Progress So Far...

     As briefly mentioned earlier, this past week in class I formulated the research question that will be driving my Genius Hour activities. In addition to this, I created a project proposal that can be found by following this link: https://mrsderksensblog.blogspot.com/p/my-project-proposal.html 

     Here, you will find a short slide show that explains my GH project in a little more detail. Topics like my motivation for choosing this topic, the supplies I will need, and my plan of action are listed, and will help you to understand the purpose and process this project will be taking over the next four weeks.

Turbulence on Flight Genius Hour Before Takeoff?

     Yup! You read that right! I haven't even started this Genius Hour journey yet and I have already run into a few bumps in the road - but not to worry, this pilot has been through turbulence before...

Downtown Toronto's Value Village.
Note their catch phrase:
 "The Ultimate Treasure Hunt".

     For all of my fellow thrifters reading this, I'm sure you can share in the heartache of walking into your local Value Village with hopes and dreams of finding the perfect Levi's to cut off into shorts, but walking out with nothing but yet another dusty glass jar that you definitely don't need. In other words, thrifting is a total game or hit or miss- and so far this week, I have been missing big time. I was in Toronto on Wednesday and happened to walk past a Value Village right downtown. I was over the moon because large cities generally have better brands, more selection, and super unique finds! It wasn't long after I busted through the automatic doors that my arms were full of what I thought to be "the best finds ever". But, after my trip to the change room, I felt defeated - the jacket was too big, the silk shirt fit awkwardly, and what I thought was a cool Kimono was just a regular housecoat (ew!).
   

     As you've probably guessed by now, this thrifting trip was a fail. I walked in with high hopes of finding the perfect vintage piece I could use for the first step in my GH project, and walked out with nothing - not even a dusty glass jar! But not to worry because I still have one full week to find the perfect piece to transform. The great thing about thrift stores is that new pieces flood the donation centre every day - which means there is still hope people!

So, What's Next? 

Bored already? Well, have I got news for you!

     I am so excited to get a hold of that perfect piece and give it life again through styling and alterations.  Over the next week I will be hitting up all of my local thrift stores in search of 'the one'. If I find it, I will bring it home with me and begin the process of making it modern!

     And if that doesn't excite you enough, you can look forward to next week's blog post where I reveal if I find the perfect piece, and how I take it from old to new again through the DIY process! So much to look forward to!

Well, that's all I got.
So, unless you have something to say, I'm outta here.

* a brief moment of awkwardness *

Okay,

See ya!

- JD