I introduced the 20Time project to my seniors today! This is the first time I've ever done it, and I am terrified!
What led me to this decision is the very unique situation I've been placed in this year: due to some early graduations and some schedule changes, I have two senior classes with four students or less in them. It seemed like an opportunity to do things differently, and the advice of the collaborative hive mind was to try 20Time/Genius Hour/Passion Project.
At first, I wasn't too into this idea because it seemed like a lot of work...for me. And I'll be honest here: I'm not looking for MORE work at this time (or any time, really). But the more reading I did about it, the more inspired I became to give it a try. I read a lot of Laura Randazzo's blogs (I started here) about her experience with 20Time, and I have her free resources as well (available on TpT). I was feeling pretty good about my decision until Laura said I needed to do a project, too.
OK, and here's why: I have one hobby and that's reading. As soon as I have to do something other than JUST READ, it's not going to be a hobby anymore. Honestly, I wasn't feeling too enthused about doing my own 20Time project. Also, let's be honest: my 20Time isn't going to get to be during classtime like the students. I'll be working on this on my own time, and it's for work, so...
But that's kind of the point, isn't it? The students may not have jobs at 3M or Google where they're given time to work on their own projects, and we do want them to have passions outside of work, so I set to thinking about what it is I would like to work on.
The first thing that came to mind was learning to play the guitar (obviously inspired by Laura learning to play the ukelele). I have a guitar; I don't know how to play it. In the past, I've thought it would be cool to learn, but...I don't want to...at this time. This idea did not excite me; it actually filled me with dread. So I knew this wasn't the right thing.
Then, after reading one of the project ideas that suggested recreating five Pinterest projects, I started looking through my Pinterest boards. I have a board called "Crappy Crafter," but again, those things looked like work and stress to me, not projects I actually wanted to do.
I love to cook and bake and I'm currently really into healthy recipes that are low points on the WW system. Could I turn some of my most loved recipes into WW recipes? I mean, I could...but 1) I don't like to experiment in the kitchen (tried and true only, please) and 2) someone else has basically already done this for me (and created a website for it...maybe that's HER Passion Project). I'll just use her recipes.
I have an Instant Pot on loan. Maybe I could try 10 new recipes in the Instant Pot and document how they go over with my picky eaters.
But here's the thing about the Instant Pot: it's huge and I don't even want it in my kitchen. I've made two things in it and I'd say it's just OK. That may be another project for another year.
Here's what it finally came down to: making five book crafts (Pinterest inspired) OR learning to knit or crochet. Looking at the book crafts didn't actually excite me. They look complicated. Remember, I'm a CRAPPY Crafter, and I'm probably playing fast and loose with the term "crafter" here. So...
...I'm going to learn to knit. Or crochet. I haven't decided yet, but the idea of doing this actually DOES excite me, and basically, I want to spend the rest of my day looking at patterns on Pinterest (I didn't, but I WANTED TO). Which one is easier? That's the one I'll pick. There's a colleague at work who is a crocheter, and I think she can help me if I get stuck. My SIL crochets as well, so she might be available for some advice, though she has worked with my daughter a bit and says she thinks my daughter's dexterity might be more suited to knitting. Does that mean mine is as well? Oh, and I'm left-handed, too, so I think I have to learn this on my own.
I'm hoping to find a simple project that I can make for my seven students as part of my 20Time: a potholder, a hot pad, a dishrag...that sort of thing. I only need to do seven, so once I learn one, the rest should be easy!
Right?
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