Sunday, February 26, 2012

Final Touches

Tonight, I've been working a lot on getting the final details ready for my project on Wednesday. I also finished some papers for my portfolio, so all I need to do is get those printed out. I'm really anxious to be getting my papers into my portfolio because then I'll feel closer to having things together.
I'm working on finishing my Jeopardy game now, so I can have my faculty mentor look through it tomorrow or Tuesday. And I sorted through all of my toothbrush kits to make sure boys got boy packets and girls get girl packets. Blue toothbrushes and a Disney princess flosser could be tricky.
As of now, we're in the middle of a Blizzard Warning in good ole' South Dakota. Of course, it would wait until I have to do my project to snow this much. I'm hoping for no snow days because then I would freak out about rescheduling my entire project with only 3 weeks left to go until the expo.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Working Hard

I have been working really hard the last few days on my project. My presentation is coming up quickly, the 29th, so I'm rushing to get all that figured out. I talked to my principal about writing a letter to the parents about photography privacy, in case they didn't want their children in my pictures and video. I got those printed and sent out in Wednesday.
The dentist office also called me this week to let me know all my supplies came in! I'm going to pick them up tomorrow. Hopefully, I got all the packets I need. The packets will have toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss in each and I will hand those out to the kids after my presentation. I also started gathering ingredients to make snacks to hand out to the kids.
For my actual informational presentation to the kids, I decided to make a Jeopardy game on the Internet. This way I won't just be lecturing them, they'll be involved, and in cases they don't know a question, I can still teach and explain it to them. I think it's a very good idea and I'm really excited to just get it over with.
The expo is coming up soon, and I'm getting really excited for that part. Not to get it over with, but to actually put all of my project together and decorate my booth. The expo will be a lot of fun and I'm excited to show off all my hard work and see what my classmates have come up with!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Almost There!

Term paper: COMPLETE! I never thought I'd be so excited to say those words! That just means that I'm getting that much closer to having my project finished! That's my main worry and goal now and I only have the next two weeks to prepare. I talked to the second grade teachers at school and we agreed on February 29th as the day of my presentation. I have the basics of what I want to do and now I just have to get all the facts together so my presentation flows smoothly. I'd hate to get in front of 40 7 year olds and totally space out.
I have a mouth and toothbrush to show how to properly brush teeth and then I'm going to make a Jeopardy game on the Internet for them to play. I've talked to my faculty mentor about how to make the questions easy without repeating them. I also have to talk to my mentor and the teachers about whether or not I'll need to send out consent forms to the kids parents about giving me permission to use their pictures from the presentation in my expo project. I'll get that done tomorrow, so I'll be able to send them out soon if need be.
I'm actually getting really excited about the project now that I'm finally getting somewhere with it and I can't wait to see how it all comes together! Stay tuned because I'm sure I'll have more to talk about later! :)

Monday, February 6, 2012

Almost Done!

I'm so excited to be almost done with my project and term paper! My term paper is due this Thursday and then the final copy is due next Thursday. After I'm finished with that, there will be a huge weight lifted off my shoulders! I will be solely focused on my project because I finally set that date up for the last few days in February. I talked to Mrs. Tekrony today, so we'll set up a date soon. She needed to speak with the other second grade teacher first. I decided to do both classes at the same time. There are 39 kids in both combined. Oofta!
I went to the dentist office twice today, and after school I got to help with some kiddos when they got their teeth cleaned. It was cool because I'd never seen a tooth with a real cavity before, so I got to see new things too! I got to use a few utensils and help Gail. It also helped that I knew the two little girls, so they weren't so nervous. I'm really glad I finally got a few pictures, even though it's a few. Here's a sneak peek!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

New Ideas!

The clock is really ticking for me to get my project done, so last Friday I met up with my faculty mentor to talk about some different ideas for my presentation to the second graders. I decided that a basic powerpoint was too boring to keep their attention, so instead I'm going to ask my community mentor and the local dentist for some help and tools I could use for a shorter demonstration presentation. I'm going to show the kids how to properly brush their teeth. I hope I'll also be able to find a way to show them all the plaque on their teeth and see if they can get it all off. Hopefully, I'll be able to get all the supplies for that. I'm going to try to find some interactive games too.
I tried to go to the dentist Friday to talk to Gail, but the office was closed. I also got more ideas from Mr. Gudmundson about how I could get more interactive and get more pictures. So hopefully that all will be able to work out when I go talk to Gail after school today. I'll try to keep you updated with more information as I keep working!