Why oh Why am I not surprised?!

Honestly, it takes me a REALLY long time to get it sometimes...

About 2 years ago I lost my job and went back to school. About a year ago my healthcare finally ran out. (I was very lucky to have it as long as I did, so I'm not complaining!)

When I started school, I had to pick up coverage through school which worked out PERFECTLY time-wise (again, not surprising when He knows exactly what I need!).

But while I had health coverage for my son and me, neither of us had dental coverage. Rob really needs a cleaning (it had been just under 2 years and that's insane for a boy who is just starting to get his permanent teeth!). I made the appointment today and they are seeing him tonight.

Meanwhile, Bob is adding us to his dental coverage, but we're not really sure if we're on it or not. It seems there is endless paperwork. Every time we think we're done, there's something else to fill out in triplicate.

So I just made the appointment anyway because it really has to be done. I asked how much it would be worse case scenario and we're not yet covered...

"150.00"

"Wooo... uh, ok, then..." I hung up thinking, "ok, where am I gonna come up with that?"

I went out to the mailbox and today I received a check for a voice over job that I did a few months ago. I had completely forgotten about it. You'll never guess how much the check was for...

I'm such a stubborn Swede...

Strange Mother's Day Gift

What a fantastic Mother's Day yesterday! I got up, went to church, and enjoyed a great day of worship with my church family. Then we went over to my MIL's house to give her a Mother's Day gift: We put up her cucumber trellis so that she can start her garden. No cards, no flowers, just sheer hard work... with SWEAT!

Now she knows how much we love her! She was THRILLED! My mother in law is certainly not the gift giver kind. When you look up "practical" in the dictionary, there's Norma's picture! We learned very early on, that "flowers die, candy makes you fat, and cards are just a waste of paper" (of course, you have to say that in a near whisper Southern accent for it to have the same impact).

It was a successful Mother's Day.

Afterwards, we came back home and my boys got to work on MY Mother's Day gift: a homemade pool heater.

 

My guys toiled and toiled away all afternoon; cutting, sweating, hammering and whatever else one does to make a homemade pool heater. By the early evening, we were ready to put a fire in the hole and try it out!

Now I know how much I am loved!!

Another Teaching "test"

So my first big teaching "test," if you will, was to pass the Praxis I. It is a test much like the SAT's. Basically, they want to see if you are a big dummy, or can actually lead a group of young minds down the path to academia. I was not at all worried about the reading and writing part (which I aced by the way... yay me!). I had sleepless nights and anxiety over the math. I worried so much that it was the ONLY thing I studied. "I just need a 174 in math, just a 174 to pass..."

I eeked it out with a 174 exactly! Whew! The first hurdle had been crossed.

Now, I'm facing the Praxis II. This is the "content knowledge" portion of the test. Now, they want to see if I actually KNOW anything about the subjects in which I will be teaching. After all, how can I teach something I know nothing about?

As an elementary school teacher, I will have to teach the same group of 25 or so children all of the subject areas.

That includes math.

So, I'm back to anxious nights of waking up in a cold sweat while screaming about fractions and probability.

I've got 5 weeks to study, and hopefully I will only need to take this test once. Then I can concentrate my efforts on taking the Language Arts Content Knowledge portion of the test to get me certified to teach middle school.

Where I'll never, ever have to do math again! :)

Last Day of School

Today is my official last day of school for the spring semester of 2011. Whew! It was a hard couple of months between roles of wife, mom, AWANA Youth Leader, Cub Scout Tiger Leader, and student (My goodness, I'm exhausted just reading that!).

I have 2 weeks of no school (but all of my other duties are still in full swing!), and in 2 weeks I start the first of 2 summer courses. Luckily, by the end of June when my 2nd class kicks in, my first class will be done, AWANA will be done, and cub scouts will be done for the year! I don't know what I'm going to do with myself!!

Oh wait, yes I do... I have to STUDY FOR THE PRAXIS II. Yes, the dreaded content knowledge. I need to take the Praxis II before November, so before I begin school again in September, I really want to have that exam behind me. I can't study for that, AND take 5 classes PLUS resume all of my previous roles.

It'll be worth it... It'll be worth it... It'll be worth it...

More Proof That I Know Nothing

Saturday was a jam-packed day! I was taking a group of cub scouts over the bridge to Philadelphia to visit a radio station at 1. We had to be at the "meeting point"  (we were carpooling since I couldn't fit 6 cubs and 6 parents in one car) at 11:45. I had plenty of time to run to Mt. Holly and pick up my motorcycle. She had been in the shop for a week and I was really anxious to get her out of jail, and on the open road. "Look at me, I'm a master-multi-tasker," I gleefully thought as I rounded up my guys and we took off to rescue my Kaw.

We walked in, and I marched my black riding boots up to the service desk, armor-jacket on, and helmet in hand ready to roll. "Mike" informed me that I needed a new battery. "I don't have time for a new battery" I thought panic-stricken. "I'm on a deadline here." But, time or not, I needed a new battery. So I waited.

It was about 20 minutes that seemed as though it were 20 hours, but I was finally ready to take her home. Bob took off ahead of me and I rode behind the car occasionally waving at Rob who kept turning in his seat to watch me ride. As we turned onto Route 206, the road was blocked and there was a terrible accident. We were detoured and continued home with never a second thought.

This morning Bob emailed me a news link. The headline read:

STATE POLICE: 2 dead after motorcycle collides with police cruiser

The police officer was on his way up 206 to another accident and collided with a motorcyclist and passenger. I saw the police cruiser with the driver's side door completely crunched. I didn't see the motorcycle from the main road. Neither the driver nor the passenger survived.

If I hadn't waited for that battery, that very well could have been ME involved in that accident. While the fate of those two people is indeed tragic, what I am amazed at is while I was standing at the store annoyed because I was being late for an appointment I had meticulously calculated, God knew all my planning couldn't account for what He already knew was happening, and spared me.

God is good, friends.

Nobody's perfect... not even me.

No, I didn't get an A on that OPEN BOOK test. In fact, I got a B... MINUS! To say I was livid is like saying there was a bit of water in Japan. I mean, I was irate!

But I had time to think about it, and I said to myself, "If Robbie came home from school with a B-, would you be this mad?" No, of course I wouldn't as long as I knew he had done his best. As much as I hate to admit it, a B- was actually my best (on an open book test... I know!). Every single question I got wrong was a question I narrowed down to 2 possible answers. Each time, I chose the wrong one. It wasn't "the most correct answer." (I'm still irritated by the type of test it was, but I digress)

So, my perfect 4.0 GPA is gone. Actually, I am surprised I had it for an entire year! I'm just a regular person. I'm not super-mom, I'm not Den Mom of the Year. Heck, if I'm "Mom of the Day" I consider it successful!

However, I do have homework to attend to now... Just because I didn't get an A doesn't mean I stop trying!

Half way through the semester...

I had 2 mid-terms this week; P&T (Practices and Techniques of Teaching) was my horrendous Monday night exam. Nearly 3 hours of constant writing! That was a tough one! I'm not sure how I did. This professor seems like an easy grader as long as you can show you know a little of what he's talking about. I'm pretty sure I passed it, but by how much? That is the question...

Last night I had my Literacy Development mid-term exam... I thought for sure that would be an easier test because it was multiple choice and OPEN BOOK! Uh, no... it was one of those "choose the answer that is the MOST correct." DOH! I HATE THOSE! Again, I am fairly certain I passed, but I really wanted an A. If I maintain an A in the class, I will not have to take the final.

This afternoon I'm part of a panel of pre-service teachers who are presenting at Stockton on the integration of technology using iPod Touches (which we were all given at the beginning of the semester). We are supposed to be using them and presenting exactly what we're doing with them this afternoon. I've put together my Keynote Presentation and I practiced it a few times. Now, let's see if I crack under the pressure!

Meanwhile, I'm still going to my fieldwork school 2 days a week. I am wrapping up all the projects I need to, but I must admit, I'm falling a bit behind. This week, I've got to step up my lesson plans and analysis of the school's Reading and Math curriculum. My semester ends in May. I will have about a week off, and then I begin my first summer session. Luckily, it's just 1 class to worry about. When that ends, I begin my 2nd summer session with 1 more class. That will run until the end of summer when I begin my fall semester of full-time classes again.

Oh did I mention sometime this summer in between classes and being a full-time Mommy I've got to take my Praxis II?! YIKES!

My Teaching Style

We're learning about different teaching theories in one of my classes at Stockton. There is the Traditional Method of teaching, where the teacher stands at the front of the class and lectures and instructs. Students take notes and memorize facts, and are graded based on what they remember. The other teaching theory we're learning is called the Constructivist Learning Theory. That is more hands-on, cooperative learning with many projects to assess student's learning.

Our assignment was to think about what your teaching style would be based on your own personality and style. I had to really think about that and the following is what I came up with:

I grew up with the Traditional Teaching Style Theory. I made flashcards as a kid. I memorized dates and vocabulary words. I highlighted, and even rewrote my notes to keep reinforcing the information to my brain. That is how I studied for every test I took in college (the first time... 20+ years ago) and it's how I studied for the Praxis I exam. It's still how I study. But I realize it's not how some (ok, MOST) kids learn. I am very disciplined when it comes to setting time aside to make myself study. It's important to me, and I will myself to remember what I need to.

I also have issues working with people. I'm not a collaborator. I'll be the first to admit, I don't relinquish control very easily. I can remember in grammar school we didn't have traditional A, B, C, D or F report cards. We had O for Outstanding, S for Satisfactory, and N meant Needs Improvement. And we had many sub-categories besides the typical Reading, Writing and Math... I was mostly an O student except for one little category called, "Works Well with Others" where I consistently received an N. If I had a vision, I really preferred MY vision to be the way it was. (I'm working on that though.) I would rather do it myself, than take a chance that someone wouldn't do it the way I would do it. That's just the way I've always been, and it's something I'll probably struggle with for a long time.

But that's not the kind of teacher I want to be!

Because even though I was taught using the Traditional Teaching Theory, I can't say school was the most exciting place I wanted to be. But I want my students to feel energized and excited in my classroom. I want them to learn to LOVE getting lost in books and discovering new ways to solve old problems. I want them to research answers because they want to put a video together, or put on a play and they want it to be authentic. I want them to care about the grades they get and make themselves proud, and have the self confidence to believe they can do anything!

I want them to come to a classroom that is safe, and where they believe their opinions will not be dismissed and discarded. I want them to know that their teacher is trying every possible way she knows to reach them and teach them.

As an elementary education teacher, I know that I will have to teach children the fundamentals. I will probably have to do some lecturing and demonstrating, but I hope I can also provide some hands-on learning activities along with the traditional instruction. When we learn some basic grammar facts, maybe I can find a cute little song to go along with it. When we practice math drills, I hope we can also play Math Bingo (a great app for the iPod Touch by the way).

I want to arrange the desks in tables, so the children can work with their "across the street neighbor", even if it's just getting feedback for work they did on their own (such as writing workshop stories).

I can't see myself leading a group of students standing on their desks yelling, "O Captain My Captain", but I hope they can look back and say, "Mrs. Kees was a great teacher!"

Need to Know basis...

As a cub scout den leader, one of the things I need to teach my son Rob is what to do in case we get separated. I said, "if we are in the supermarket, what would you do?" He responded that he would tell a checker that he lost his mommy and could you please page her.


I thought we'd do a little role playing so I pretended to be the checker.

"What's the matter little boy?"

"I lost my mommy. Can you page her?"

"Sure, what's her name?"

"Maureen."

"What's her last name?"

"You don't need to know that."

It took me by surprise, but you know what? He's right! We live in a world with such mistrust and abuse of information that a simple question to help a child find his parent makes him suspicious!

Parents today have so much more to worry about than telling your kids not to take candy from strangers or get into a car with a stranger. We have to worry about identity theft (yes, they steal CHILDREN'S identities too!), online sexual predators, and plain ol' crazies!

I taught Rob to yell, "you're not my mommy" or "you're not my daddy" if someone grabs him and tries to make him go with the stranger. If Adam Walsh had yelled that instead of "Mommy! Mommy!" his kidnapper would not have gotten away with pretending he was just throwing a temper tantrum and said, "we're going to see mommy now!"

At nearly 7 years old, I still make him go into the women's restroom with me. Sometimes he really complains about that, so once in a while I let him use the men's room, but only if it's a one person type of bathroom. And I stand outside the door.

As a young girl, I used to walk down to the corner store crossing a busy street to buy cigarettes for my dad! Now, I won't let my son pee in the restroom by himself! My, how times have changed! And isn't that a shame?