Update on Student Teaching

I heard back from 2 different people from FL. The coordinator for the alternative certification program and some one from the state DOE both agree that I can be certified without student teaching. My mentor at school also told me that there is a MAES program. I will be switching to that program and should graduate with my Masters of Art in Education Studies in about March of 2010!

Super Saturday

Well we have so far survived the day. (G is still at the Dance party for another hours so the results of that remain to be seen). E's rocket didn't do so hot in the races- he won 1 out of 3, but his rocket was voted best design in his den by the whole pack! It is an X-Wing fighter for all you non-Star Wars fans.

T had fun at the birthday party as you can see by her jump for joy. She was thrilled anytime she knocked over any pins- the more the merrier! E, G and I did some bowling too. E was king of the bumpers- his theory was they are there- use them. Maybe I need to teach him to play pool. G was very interested in holding and throwing the ball the right way. E beat her the second game- but without bumpers...

Busy week

W is out of town (left Sunday) for 2 weeks so we are all just pluggin' along. T has been praying every night that he has fun at his out of town and a safe trip home :) She is star of the week at school next week so she brought Curious George home with her from school yesterday. George is going to spend the weekend with us and go back to school on Monday with a story about all he did with us.

He should have a good story to tell. Tonight is karate and dance (yesterday he went to gymnastics), Friday night we have karate again and then we are having breakfast for dinner and game night. Saturday E has a Space Derby race with Boy Scouts, T has a birthday party at the bowling alley, and then G has her welcome back to dance party for the kids in competition groups.

On another topic- I heard back from the Florida DOE and I can get certified without student teaching! So on Monday I will be changing my program at school and I should finish up before we move this summer.

About Student Teaching

I am/was supposed to student teach in January. There have been some interesting developments that may mean I will change programs and not student teach. I have been working on a Masters of Art in Teaching (MAT) if I change that my degree will be a Bachelors of Art in Educational Sciences (BAES) which technically does not allow for certification- got all that? : )

So hear is the deal

1. I got my student teaching placement- at a school 30 mins away that doesn't get out till 4pm. That means the absolute earliest I would get home is 5. The big kids would have to go to aftercare, Wayne would either have to leave work early to take the kids to their activities (and then go back to work) or they would have to miss them is he can't get out of the office.
2. I maybe able to get a certification in FL with what I have- Bachelors (in Nursing) plus at least 30 hours of education credits. The problem is I have to have a transcript for FL to evaluate to give me an answer as to whether or not I qualify for that.
3. I plan to sub or maybe work part time at a preschool till the kids are older and I don't need a certification to do that anyway.
4. Finally, after applying to student teach months ago and sending in all my requirements I got an email from the school Thursday saying they don't have all my test results. The deadline to have them in is Monday. I emailed two different people at the school trying to find out what they need but got no replies.

Anyway- I am thinking it is all a sign from God!

Genie was accepted in to competition group

Genie will be in the competition group at dance class this year. It means one extra practice each week- on top of karate, boy scouts, and gymnastics. Plus 3 weekend competitions- while I am student teaching. It should make life more interesting, but it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.
Now if she can just start getting out of bed in the morning and getting ready for school with out screaming at me about her chores, her clothes, and her breakfast choices- I will let her accept the slot!

Good-bye to Summer

Grandpa and Grandma E drove down for Labor Day weekend to celebrate the end of summer with us (W was in Washington DC). They arrived late on Friday night. Saturday we went to Mud Island. The kids were not very impressed with the museum but loved the "map' of the Mississippi river. I bought them each a little Ducky at the museum shop and they chased their ducks from Cairo IL all the way to New Orleans! (Speaking of New Orleans- Grandma S. considered coming a staying with us for Gustov but in the end decided to stay in Biloxi. They have no power but no other damage. We may still get a visit depending on how long the power stays out and how hot/humid is gets.) After we dried off we all went to the Flying Fish for dinner- catfish, hush puppies, and fried okra- YUM!

After church on Sunday we packed up a picnic dinner and headed to the base pool for the last time this year. The kids enjoyed showing off their swimming skills and Grandma and Grandpa got to try something new- Jamaican Rice Salad for dinner.

There is video on Youtube of the 2 big kids going off the diving board. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFsofiERXGw

W got back to town just as Grandma and Grandpa were leaving and after a nice family dinner it was off to bed and back to school in the morning.