Monday, April 1

Today is Monday of Week 11. Yes, the semester really is two-thirds over: wow! (Check out the little progress meter in the sidebar to see how that looks.) Here is a link to the Week 11 assignments and also the Week 10 assignments for any of you using the grace period this morning.

Class Procedures and Reminders

Reading/Storytelling. In both classes, Week 11 continues the reading options from Week 10 again: Krishna OR Jatakas in Indian Epics (details) and in Myth-Folklore, it's Native American traditions again (details). I hope you will enjoy the reading and find good ideas you can use for a story this week.

Project Stack. As always, the stack is HUGE on Monday. You can check the stack to make sure I received your email, and today I'll start working through them in the order turned in.

The following items are for fun and exploration:

Blog Stream. I know a lot of you have come across the story of the monkey and the crocodile (it shows up in the reading for both classes), so I thought you might like the lovely illustration that Cecilia found and included in her blog: Jataka Tales.

Comic Book On Reserve. Today's comic book is Jagannatha of Puri: Dreamt by a King, Sculpted by the Gods.

Free Audiobook. Today's free audiobook is Myths and Legends of Alaska edited by Katharine Berry Judson which is one of the reading options this week in Myth-Folklore too!

Featured Storybook. Here's a scary Storybook: Tales of the Black Cat. Two high school boys on a camping trip decide they will frighten their girlfriends with tales of a murderous black cat, but they do not reckon on the fact that the black cat is there too, listening to every story and biding his time until later that night . . .

Myth Video. Here's a Cherokee storyteller, Robert Lewis, talking about The First Fire.

India Video. Here's an Epified video about spiritual fire: Tapasya. For more about this spiritual heat, called "tapas" in Sanskrit, see Wikipedia.

India Item. Here is an animated graphic depicting the Indian myth of Rahu and Ketu, the Eclipse Demon.

Writing. Some inspiring thoughts by the great fantasy writer, Neil Gaiman.

Did you get a good night's sleep last night? Here's some information about sleep and the brain.

Growth Mindset Cats. You need your brain to grow: Mind, brain, and energy work together.

Some more thoughts about the brain from Heather Heying: Which mental 'deficits' are really hidden strengths?

Event on Campus. Today is the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair at the Sam Noble Museum, with events going on all day, starting with the opening ceremony in the Grand Hall at 9AM (details).

Find out more about this and other events at the Campus Calendar online.

April 1: April Fools' Day. You can read all about this prank-loving holiday at Wikipedia. One of my favorites is the "flying penguins" hoax from the BBC back in 2008; you can watch the video at YouTube: don't believe everything you see! :-)

Here's a PBS Kids video for: April Fools' Day. Find out more about this holiday at Wikipedia.

Check out the Twitter stream for information and fun stuff during the day, or click here for past announcements.