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!

Work Update

The last few days have been pretty busy for me. I've been working really hard to get focused on my paper and project, but it's really hard to balance the two at the same time. Today I finally started writing my term paper. I feel a whole weight lifted just because I got a head start and now I can just keep working with what I have. I plan on working on it a lot out of school, so I can get it done ahead of time.

I e-mailed my faculty mentor, Mr. Gudmundson, on Monday and we decided to meet on Friday to talk about and start on my final product. I have so many ideas for my presentation, but I don't know how to put it all together for the little kids. I decided to do the second grade, so I should go talk to the teachers tomorrow also to set up a date for the presentation. I don't want to bore the kids. It's probably not something they have a lot of speakers for, but it's something they probably know a little about already. I hope to spend an hour or more with my mentor tomorrow.

I also want to set up a few more visits with my community mentor Gail. Hopefully then I'll be able to get some photos and really be able to help out with little kids. Now that January is almost over, I can't believe how soon this project is due. I'm confident I will be able to get it done on time and make it even better for the expo.

That reminds me, tomorrow I'll have to get ahold of my aunt about a big mouth and toothbrush prop she might have. I think that would really help get the kids interacted in the presentation and even at the expo. I would be able to have some props there to keep my booth interesting!

Project Update

Yesterday I spent some time doing a lot more research for ideas and information I can use for my final product. I found a lot of great websites with pretty interesting information. My final product will be a presentation for an elementary class about dental health. I want it to be really interactive, so I'm hoping to maybe work with the second graders. If need be, I would like to do more, but I don't want to do too old of kids and bore them to death. And that's the age where kids start losing their baby teeth, so it's very important to keep them healthy. February is National Children's Dental Month, so I'll be doing all of this around the end of February, which I means I need to kick some butt into gear fast.

I hope I'll be able to find more ideas to make it a more unique presentation than just a powerpoint and me speaking to them. I'm open to ideas!

I'm so relieved we've started working on our papers because now I feel like I'm that much closer to being done with my project. At the same time, time is going by so fast and I feel like I don't have enough time to get it all done. I'm having pretty good luck, so far, finding enough information and research. I don't think I'll have any trouble getting at least eight pages. If not, I'll just add to it.

Research Paper Research

I finally picked out a topic to research for my term paper. The topic I chose is the connection between your oral health and your systematic health. I decided that I would choose three of the most popular to write about, those are heart disease, diabetes, and problems with pregnancy. I'm really looking forward to this idea because I never really thought there would be serious consequences from something as simple as not brushing your teeth.

This weekend, I've been doing some research for my paper and now I'm going to start working on my final project. I hope it will be easier to put all together than I'm imagining.

Research Paper Ideas

As of now, I'm still busy working on my Christmas break assignment we had for our lit class. We're starting our research papers tomorrow when we go back to class. The assignment was given so that we can look into different ideas for our papers, so that when we get back to class we have an idea about how much of a paper we can write with a certain topic.

The assignment hasn't been taking me too long, I just take little breaks in between so I don't get too frustrated. It's helped me a lot though because some ideas I thought would be interesting would actually be pretty hard. For example, I thought I could write about different toothpastes, compare them, and tell if they really do what they say. The problem is finding true evidence and research about it. One website has their opinion and another way has a different view. I did narrow down my options a little, so I'm hoping when I'm done it will be an easy decision!

Gathering Supplies

This evening while I was in Watertown, I decided to pick up some supplies I thought I would need for my expo presentation and project. I bought a 3-ring binder, binder sheets, and a tri-fold. Some supplies are cheaper around Christmas and the end of the year. My cost analysis was pretty close compared to the actual price. I'm trying to figure out some decorating ideas, but I can't really find the items I'm looking for. I guess that isn't the biggest worry now. For now I'll stay focused on my hours and working on my project for the kids.

I decided I'll do my presentation/final product in February during National Children's Dental Month since I'm focusing my final product on the elementary students.

Dentist in December

I went to the dentist office again today. I talked to and shadowed my community mentor, Gail. This time was a lot more exciting because I got to see some procedures I have never seen before. When I got there I suited up and watched another routine cleaning, but after I got to see Gail and the dentist make a mouth guard to people with sleep apnea and snoring issues. I knew I should have brought the camera along with, but I forgot.

I was disappointed that I had to leave right before they did a drilling procedure with a lady's dentures. I thought that would have been interesting to see. I asked Gail if there would be some more hands on things I could do while I was there to get more pictures and experience. There are a lot of regulations against it, but she said if I came after school when more kids were there I could assist her more. I'm hoping we can set up another date like that or maybe even a full day.

Last week, we had an update to check our progress. I updated my time log and my cost analysis. I don't think this project will cost me a whole lot. Just around $30 and most of it goes towards printing costs and my expo presentation in March. I've logged around 5 hours so far. I think in January, I'll start picking up the pace with going to the dentist regularly. Once I start working on my final product I think that will take up a lot of time too. I'm beginning to not be too worried about my project. Starting was definitely the hardest part.