Folklore and Mythology

Brainstorming   Possible Storybook Topics Michigan Myths or at least Myths set in Michigan Michigan is my home. It is an amazing place, shaped like a mitten with 5 Great Lakes. I would suspect that there are creation stories about those things. In my browsing, I found an article called Mysterious Michigan Myths and Urban Legends . It lists stories of a Dogman, The Higgins Lake Monster and the Crying Woman of Indian Village. Some of these are repeated on the Pure Michigan site as well. I even found an article of 14 Michigan Monster Myths on MLive . It might be fun to flesh out the stories, add dialog and create some campfire stories of my own.  Other possible source Myths of the Great Lakes Michigan Legends Creepy Stories and Urban Legends of Michigan Random Thought: How fun would it be to write a collection of myths from all 50 states?  German Fairy Tales My husband was stationed in Germany for four years. He loved it there and has always wanted to go back. I would like ...

 Red Wing was fishing along the Detroit River, when he saw an oddly shaped stick float by. Though he could not explain it, Red Wing felt drawn to retrieve that stick, so he followed it down the river towards the city hoping the tide would push it to shore.  Sure enough, Red Wing found the stick along the rocky beach. As he bent to pick it up, he saw a small group of people huddled near the building behind him. They seemed upset, so Red Wing wandered over to see if he could help.  Joe Louis Arena 2014 The people eyed Red Wing wearily as he approached, until they noticed his stick. Then they rushed to him in hopes that he would be their savior.  "Oh great sir! You have the found the weapon of the River God Puck. You must the one destined to save us!" Red Wing raised an eyebrow and looked confused. "This? Save who from what?"  "Inside that building behind us lives a great sea creature called Al. Every winter he demands the sacrifice of a dozen people or else he wi...

This might not be how I am supposed to take notes, but we were advised to think like a writer. For me that means to brainstorm possible retelling story ideas.    The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi Kushinada-hime (Wondrous-fair Princess) and Susa-no-wo - change to Hannah and Red Wings Sacrifice a princess to Al the Octopus in order to win the Stanley cup slay the creature with a hockey stick instead of a sword We call him Al Pygmalion Could this have been the inspiration for Pinocchio?  I think we can clearly see that I have narrowed it down to a single favorite, with a mild curiosity about the other. Hopefully by sharing my brain-storming I haven't ruined it for you all.  Thanks for the feedback  

This is a tentative list of possible readings to explore in the coming weeks.   Choose from   CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units   for Weeks 3 and 4. Week 3: Cupid and Psyche Week 4: Aesop Winter Choose from  MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units  for Weeks 5 and 6. Week 5:  Ancient Egypt Week 6:  Arabian Nights Choose from  ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units  for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.] Week 7:  The Monkey King Week 9:  Brer Rabbit Choose from  NATIVE AMERICAN units  for Weeks 10 and 11. Week 10:  Alaska Week 11:  Hiawatha Choose from  BRITISH and/or CELTIC units  for Weeks 12 and 13. Week 12:  Alice in Wonderland   Week 13: Celtic Tales Choose from  EUROPEAN units  for Weeks 14 and 15. Week 14: LibriVox Week 15:  Hans Christian Andersen I was drawn to this class because of my love of Disney movies and Fairy Tales. I read Aesop Fables as a little girl. The first book I b...

 Ugh. Time management is my downfall. I always start out with good intentions, and then I get overwhelmed. I tend to over extend myself until I crash and get nothing done.  It all starts with a difficulty with saying no to the people I love. I will put off writing to go somewhere with my husband, or to read my daughter a story. Alone they aren't bad decisions, but all the little things add up.  Procrastination Queen Then I make things worse by failing to ask for help. I know things would run more smoothly if I delegated tasks, but I don't want to be a burden to anyone. Just because I think something needs to get done, doesn't mean it's someone else's priority or problem. I'm also very good at making excuses.  For this assignment, I read The Important Habit of Just Starting .  This appealed to me, because I am one of those people with a fixed mind tendency of freezing up when faced with a possible failure. I avoid taking chances because I don't want to waste ...

 This is the second to last week 1 post. It involves the usage of technology and tools for the class.  Emerging Tech I am pretty comfortable with the blogging atmosphere, so I am not worried about that. I have never created my own website though. The Twine ones seem the most intimidating. I love the idea of interacting with the story, but I have no idea the coding involved to make it work. It will definitely be a challenge to explore this semester.  The daily class sites are also pretty simple to follow. I love the Un-Textbook. It is easy to follow. The fact that I can read hundreds of stories in one place blows my mind.  I finished this lesson by doing a browser tune-up. I turned on the spell chrome spell check button. Then I added the word count app. Previously I had been typing in Google Docs and using the word count tool. They seem comparable, so it should be easy enough to figure out.  I hope everyone else is feeling as ready to get started as I am. 

 I was just reading through all the information in the class assignments lesson. It reminds me of when my high schoolers bring home a copy of their syllabus and we have sign it. I love when class expectations are spelled out so that no one can use the excuse of "I didn't know" or "no one told me." I hate excuses I am most excited to rewrite stories in this class. I think it will help make ancient folklore more relatable. I have been playing with ideas already as to how I want to approach the creation of a storybook. I want it to be relevant to who I am.  The extra credit options also intrigue me. I have take online classes before, and hated that grades were given based on how much social interaction occured between the students. I am fine doing the required number of comments and readings. I am fine with making meaningful conversation. I just don't want to be graded lower because someone found the time to comment on the blog of every person in class, saying ...

Today I learned about something called Growth Mindset. It is a psychological idea that if we teach children to believe they can improve and achieve, they will. According to this theory, telling children they are smart causes a fixed mindset. They will always take the easy route and are more likely to quit when things get hard. In opposition, if we praise the process and strategies, children will try harder and eventually succeed.  I can see how this would work in an algebra class where kids are showing their work. If the child writes the formula for an equation at the top, shows their steps and still gets it wrong, the teacher can say, "You have the formula down and worked really hard. " He or she can then show them how to get to the correct answer. In my mind, this works because that is an actual process.  This growth mindset does not work for me in al matters of teaching in our current system though. How do you compliment a process of memorizing dates for a history test? Ho...

 Hi! My name is Krystianna. I am a busy mom of 5, who just so happens to own four dogs and a cat as well.  Me with 2 of my girls I recently became unemployed due to a medical condition. I am not looking for a new career at the moment, because I am going to need two surgeries in the future. Unfortunately, the wait to see a surgeon is ridiculous, because this is a non-emergency situation. To help pass the time, I decided to audit this mythology class.  I have not been a colllege student for 20 years. I was previously studying to be a physical therapist, because it was the field my family pushed me towards. It was not something I felt passionate about, and turned out to be a waste of time and money. Instead of switching degrees, I left school to become a mom and wife, but have always planned to go back. Now may be the perfect time to do so.  I would like to get a degree in English literature. I would use the degree to teach English as a second language online. It would ...

 This is my third post for a mythology and folklore class I am auditing in order to sharpen my writing skills and pass the time during quarantine. The assignment is to choose 3 storybook designs from past classes and discuss them with you. Here is my list:  Dungeons and Decisions I was drawn to this because it reminded me of all the Dungeons and Dragons my ex used to play when we were younger. The fact that it is a choose your own adventure story is an added bonus. I can reread each story from the perspective of different characters and get different ending.  Dear Sun, Sincerly Moon Once again, it was the title of the blog that first caught my attention. I am obsessed with the ying and yang of the sun and the moon. I even have them tattooed on my ankles. As I read through the sight, I loved how the different relationships between humans, religions and the sun and moon were described. As humans we are still trying to find the same balance that the sun and moon share; how t...

 For this post, I wanted to talk about my favorite place. I know we are all tired of being stuck and home and craving an escape, so I hope this serves as a mini vacation for you. I am obsessed with waterfalls. I have been for as long as I can remember. I grew up swimming in the Ocqueoc Falls. Then when I learned to drive, I would go to the waterfall in Plymouth. Heck I was even married above a waterfall.  So here are some pictures that inspire me:  Angel Falls Kuang Si Falls

  Let's see if this works.