winter 2026 personal curriculum: january check-in
Earlier this month, I wrote a summary of the four courses that I designed for myself to complete in Winter 2026: re-reading the Moomin novels in a Tove Jansson themed Childrenās Literature class and learning the basics for Birdwatching, Photography, and Puppetry. Iāve prepared an overview of my individual course progress thus far, but you can also skip ahead to my overall thoughts and what changes I will be making for Module 2!
Childrenās Literature: Tove Jansson
Before the year even started, I was eager to dive right into this one. I love Moomins and have been itching to reread the novels for a while now. This is my third or fourth go (depending on the book) and I am having a great time. Itās so cozy to curl up in the evening, read a chapter or two, journal, and then get ready for bed. I definitely want some kind of literary course each semester because it has easily been the most fun for me to complete.
I read The Illustrators: Tove Jansson by Paul Gravett in late 2025 and completed my reflection. Thereās a brief review of the book in my 2025 Reading Journey.
For my Comet in Moominland mini-portfolio, I wrote a short entry about the following subjects: different types of knowledge expressed by the characters, femininity via Moominmama and the Snork Maiden, hope during pending destruction, environmentalism, and gentle flaws. Although most of my entries this time had a character-focused lean, I also did some brainstorming about ways that I can better connect with nature and do more research on how I can minimize my individual impact on the environment in addition to looking into longer-term projects organizations are working on to address global problems. I was really emotionally affected by Snufkinās reaction to the ecological destruction of the approaching comet and it has me thinking a lot about my own sense of doom when it comes to global warming and other related issues.
The Finn Family Moomintroll mini-portfolio explored Snufkinās wanderlust and eventual departure from Moominvalley, the concept of āfairnessā, lessons in magic and wishes, and a character study of Thingumy and Bob. Since I had so many thoughts about Snufkinās plot, I ended up with only four entries for this book - an allowance I am more than okay with giving myself! In fact, partings and reunions is a thematic contender for my final portfolio topic. Itās one of those subjects that I am always drawn to in childrenās media. Saying goodbye is hard, even when itās not forever. The cyclical nature of saying goodbye to Snufkin and then waiting until spring for his return is so sweet and a gentle way to navigate the subject of time, patience, and balancing your needs with those of other people.
For the last mini-portfolio, I included the following for Moominpappaās Memoirs: friendship with Hodgkins, the contrasting vision of colonies, the meta-narrative of editing the memoir, and another longer entry on getting older. When I first read this series years ago, this was my least favorite in the collection by far, but I appreciate it so much more now that I am older and reading with a fresh perspective. I can see the elements of classic adventure stories like The Jungle Book and Treasure Island that influenced young Moominpappaās thirst for adventure and glory and also love the framing narrative where the younger generation react to what and how the story is being told. I thought pappaās wistful thoughts about growing older, growing apart, slowing down were all very insightful. Iām sure that Iāll revisit these thoughts when I get to Moominpappa at Sea later this year.
Birding in my Backyard
I immersed heavily into bird world in the first half of the month, leaving the other two classes to the wayside for a spell. Before January, I read Find More Birds by Heather Wolf and wrote a reflection summarizing which of her 111 tips were the most relevant to me, my area, my lifestyle, and what I hope to get out of bird watching. Itās a very straightforward list with some suggestions that I wouldnāt have thought about. For example, I have been trying to practice having a soft gaze, remembering to put my headphones away so that I can listen for calls and rustling, and exercising patience by staying in the same spot.
Next, I read What Itās Like to be a Bird by David Allen Sibley, which was wildly entertaining. Itās a bit like a condensed encyclopedia of birds covering a wide range of categories including behaviors, appearance, socialization, habitats, etc. I took notes during the introduction, which gives a broader overview of birds in general, but let myself just read and enjoy the individual bird entries - thereās no need to rewrite individual bird facts in my notebook. One of the most āhuhā moments that I had was learning that not only are hummingbirds native to the Americas, but they arenāt found in every part of my country. That really surprised me because I grew up with hummingbirds in my backyard and I thought everyone got to experience that. Learning to appreciate common birds, in my region, is one of my main goals with this class so that felt like something special to learn. It did make me excited to pick up a field guide to have on hand as a long-term reference. I have the Peterson North American guide checked out from the library, but I think I am going to buy the Western North America Field Guide by Sibley in the future.
After buying a pair of Nikon Monarch 5s, and recovering from a cold that refused to let up, I went out to my first bird watching session. I was unable to identify a single bird, aside from American Crows (which are one of my favorites to be fair!) However, I am trying to reframe this as a āfailedā session. It helped me make a conscious effort to be outdoors, to sit under trees and listen to the birds and wind. Even though I had trouble tracking them with my binoculars, I did observe a lot of bird movement, including seeing a flash of yellow feathers (warbler? finch? sparrow?) up in a tree. This session also made me aware that I need a pair of prescription sunglasses because it was so sunny that it was hard for me to keep my eyes open when facing certain directions. I also now understand why birders are likely to have hats haha
Last, I did complete some bird study using a field guide for assistance. My recognition abilities are starting to get better, especially if the picture is fairly clear. I still want to work more on bird call recognition since I typically hear birds before I see them. However, I didnāt end up watching live streams. Most of the ones I encounter are on the east coast or in another country and while soothing and entertaining, arenāt quite as helpful for identifying birds in my local area. I have increased the number of bird photographers that I follow online, which is also shifting my algorithm in a more positive, less consumption focused direction.
Photography 101
Before the new year began, I read two things in preparation for photography: the manual to my digital camera and Toy Photography 101 by Pinar Alsac. Reviewing the manual was a good call because there were a lot of features that I didnāt know about; however, watching a YouTube video by Shutterbug 101 covering this was infinitely more helpful to my learning style.
Because I was swept away by Moomins and bird world, I didnāt end up taking that many photos in the first half of the month but I tried to remember to make use of it, especially when I started reading The iPhone Photography Book by Scott Kelby. One day that was especially helpful at changing my habit was when I went to my baby cousinās birthday party and forgot my phone at home. Since I remembered to pack my digital camera, I ended up taking a lot more photos with that - not to mention I was generally more dialed in and social without scrolling as a distraction.
Toy Photography wasnāt that useful to me; I would have preferred to have more visual examples, especially considering the medium. While there were photos sprinkled throughout, they werenāt commented on in an educational way to help us understand what techniques were used in set up or post. However, I have already started reading a little bit of The Bryan Peterson Photography School, which has clear comparisons and homework suggestions, and I think that will be much more helpful for me at improving my general photography skills. It also showcases a difference in experience between the two authors with writing this kind of text.
Intro to Puppetry
Of the four classes I designed, this is the only one that I have decided to restructure a bit more. While I enjoyed the documentaries and clips, I felt super checked out of the academic material. When choosing texts, I think I felt a bit self-conscious about focusing primarily on Muppets specifically, wanting to expand my knowledge into the broader world of puppetry, but I think itās okay to indulge my hyperfixation.
The first thing I did was watch Our Street, a documentary about the development process for creating Sesame Street with particular emphasis on the role of Jon Stone - a writer and director who contributed significantly to the style and vision of the show. Though a lot of this information was familiar to me already, it was really cool to learn more about the individual people who contributed to the showās creation - their names, faces, voices, photos, interviews, and even their families. These were always the moments that consistently made me lean in. I went into this knowing that I would be excited by all of the behind the scenes footage of the puppeteers doing their thing, but it was actually incredibly moving to hear family members talk about the legacy of their parents, the impact that it had on them, and the rest of the world. The synergy between the writers, composers, educators, and performers (puppeteers and humans included!) was incredible and feels so unique even today. You can really sense the thought that went into merging education and entertainment watching classic Sesame Street.
Since I needed to purchase Puppetry 101, I decided to start reading American Puppetry: History, Collections, and Performance edited by Phyllis T. Dircks instead since I had access to that already. After two articles, however, I decided not to finish the full anthology. It felt a little too close to graduate school than I was apparently ready to take on. This means that for Module 2, since this is not technically part of my January assignment, Iāll need to replace it with something else.
Adam Kreutingerās book is short but packed with a lot of great information, descriptions, assignments/tips, and resources. Although I had originally planned to only include scene analysis in my mini-portfolio, I ended up completing one of the character development exercises from the book to write about a character who has been dear to my heart for many years. Even if I donāt end up getting a puppet version of him, it was still helpful to put my thoughts about his background and personality down on paper.
Originally, I had planned to watch Jim Henson Presents the World of Puppetry, but I found myself consistently putting it off. After I made the decision to swap it out for other educational content, I cleared the rest of my puppetry study much more readily. I took notes on The Jim Henson Hour: Secrets of the Muppets (1989), which I had previously watched years ago and adored. After that, I watched *The Muppets Make Puppets (1969) and though this special was older, it was just as fascinating. My favorite part was when Frank Oz and Jim demonstrated how to adapt a puppetās performance based on different facial characteristics and accessories the builder puts on them. Not only did Jim change the voice, but the posture and gestures that he had Frank would do (this was a live hands puppet so they were each working on of the hands) changed so much about the character.
After the classics, I watched a few episodes of Adam Savageās Tested and his show really pulled me in. I watched him do one-day builds with Rick Lyons and Michael Schupbach (with a guest appearance by Ragmop and Goose - puppeteers I have considered buying a puppet from in the past.) I also watched an interview he did with John Tartaglia and Donna Kimball who perform Gobo and Mokey from Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock and it was wild to hear them talk about the physicality of their performances, especially when youāre on a multi-monitored, complex set. Finally, I ended with Peter Brooke and Morgana Ignis demonstrating how puppetry, pantomime, and animatronics work together for the full body performances on Fraggle Rock.
For my mini-portfolio, I wrote one creative entry about a puppet character, one full episode review on āGoodbye, Mr. Hooperā, and scene studies on the following: eye line and body language from āThatās Loveā, mouth study for āWhat Rhymes with āRainā?ā, and multi-puppet interaction with āBert and Ernie Water Sportsā. Studying scenes was truly where the magic happened for me, which is ironic because that was the last work I did toward the module. It has taught me that I want to do more analysis next month to apply what I have learned about performance techniques to what I see.
Carrying Onward to Module 2
One of my main concerns for next month is its length. February is a short, whirlwind of activity. In addition to wrapping up Winter Semester, I will also be doing two high-stress activities that are likely going to drain my emotional battery fairly significantly. That might impact how much of my reserve I am able to dedicate to personal studies. Still, Iām determined to try and keep up pace, making adjustments for myself as needed.
Iām sure that Moomins will be an absolute breeze and Iām not worried about that course. It contains one of my favorite books in the series, Moominland Midwinter, and both Midsummer Madness and Tales from Moominvalley have iconic moments. My journal is going to be flooded with great quotes and I hope that I will end up with a clearer, overarching topic for my final.
For Birding 101, I will be starting my weekly bird walks. Iām only holding myself to go once a week and it can even just be a walk around the block. This might not sound like much to other people, but my outdoor motivation has been incredibly low lately. Iām hoping this will help me reconnect with all the things I love about being outside by doing an engaging but meditative activity. Iām also going to continue with bird identification practice, but add calls into the mix. I'm not an auditory learner so this is a skill that I'll need to be patient with myself while acquiring.
Despite how things started, Iām really looking forward to photography next month - especially after watching a video walkthrough using my camera. Iāll be finishing up some reading, watching tutorials on editing, and just taking pictures. This will go well with my walking excursions since my neighbors have incredible gardens and some flowers are blooming early. It would be cool to catch some of the trees in their different stages of growth, too. Plus there are some awesome chickens nearby that always mug for photos when I pass by. This will be my first time paying more attention to the editing process as Iāve only dabbled a little bit with Snapseed following Scott Kelbyās tips, so Iām interested to see if that element changes my portfolio.
Last, but certainly not least, is Puppetry 101. This is the only course that is going to see some significant changes. I still need to vet new ideas for readings to replace American Puppetry, but I have a few ideas on standby. Iāll be supplementing with more of Adam Savageās videos and look at some of the puppetry resources recommended in Kreutingerās book. The biggest change is going to be to my final. Originally, I only designed one, creative option, but Iām leaning toward doing an analysis instead. I really enjoyed breaking down performances in my journal this past week and I think thatās just where my passion is right now. So before the end of February, I want to write a brief on my project.
Thatās it for Winter 2026 Module 1! Overall, Iām really enjoying this experiment. Is it keeping me from doomscrolling, idle time, or reprogramming my brain the way some people on social media pitch it? No, not really. But with the changes I have made for myself along the way, it doesnāt feel like homework - theyāre just things that I look forward to doing each day that fall into a few categories I am genuinely interested in. Iāve still found time to read other books and engage with other hobbies (Animal Crossing, cryptic crosswords, makeup artistry) and watch media entertainment (finished all three seasons of Dark and am enjoying Gladlands immensely.) Still, itās comforting to have something I can fall back on when I find myself slumping or unsure of how to spend my time. I even have a couple of drafts for classes in Spring. Suffice it say, Iāll be sticking with this for a bit longer.
Thank you for reading! Źįµį“„įµŹ