Life's Whirlwind Adventures

I fear for the state of the next generation.  I am very worried about whether or not they will be able to function in a society that does not embrace change and has rewarded just showing up their entire lives least their egos be hurt. I didn't raise my oldest son that way and I don't plan to raise my younger sons that way.  Where I have maybe neglected my children is in their ability to navigate through different aspects of grown up life.  Things like bill paying, getting loans, building credit, negotiating deals for items such as cars and houses.  I am seeing now that my oldest doesn't know anything about these things and is learning them by being thrown into the fire at 18. Here's the problem though, he was unable to learn any of these things prior to being 18.  You can't get loans or credit before you are 18 but by then you need it to function in society.  Do you know that to buy a cell phone you need credit?  Do you know that most of society ne...

For February I am going to showcase women who I think are just amazing and that need a little pat on the back for doing such a great job in life and they are inspiring to me.  And as easy as it would be to say Oprah, Ellen, Reese Witherspoon or any other hollywood star I feel these women get enough accolades from the tabloids and other news venues that I'd like to focus on the real women in my life that inspire me daily. So today I am going to tell you about one of the most influential women in my life. It's an easy one, it's my mom! My mom is amazing! And I am going to share her story with you, at least from the time that I've known her. My mom is a divorcee and has been divorced from my father since I was three.  She also has two other children my sister and my brother, and she has spent our life being a single mother to the three of us. We moved to a small town just before my brother was born, in a time when single mothers and unmarried women weren't real...

We'd decided years ago that we would put our Lil Man into a school that would focus on a second language, whether it was Spanish or French we hadn't decided until last year.  As you can tell we went with French. The reasoning was actually really simple, though we both thought it would be amazing for him to be bilingual in Spanish, it wasn't necessarily a program we would be able to keep him in long term, so we decided that since French Immersion is offered in more communities that would be the more appropriate route. I didn't want him to get started going to school in one type of program and not be able to continue because we moved from that community. I like consistency. So Lil Man is in French Immersion, and I'm not even sure where to begin to help him out.  I took french for 8 years in school as a second language, I have a great understanding of French, but I'm not a fluent speaker.  I can decipher French in books and can usually pick up enough French in ...

I am trying to find a website that I can use in tandem with my students, to help engage the learning long before they reach the classroom and long after they leave the classroom.  I want the learning experience to be a memorable and at least parts o fit to be unforgetable.  There are so many websites out there and I guess depending on what you want to use the website for it will make a difference to which you will choose. I have choosen two different websites and I may end up with only one after a bit, but I want to give them both a chance.  The other consideration is to find out which websites your school will allow your students to access while on the internet.  Knowing that most schools block Facebook and the like, teachers need to have websites where they can interact with their students in live time and not just in emailing.  It could solve some problems with needing subs and the like if you can connect with your students via an internet link. So the tw...

Some of you may find it funny that I ask this question.  You know that I am a teacher in my daily life, so the answer that maybe you think I would expect seems obvious.  However, is the answer I expect actually the truth??  That's what I wonder every day.  When I got my education degree I saw the education field with rose coloured glasses and I knew I was going to go out and make a huge difference.  Then I had a wake up call.... and realized that things are not what they should be?  or what I thought they were. Teachers are an integral part of education for students.  They build on the foundation of learning that children come into the school with.  It can be minimal or advanced depending on the family.  Teachers play many roles throughout the day.  They are the teacher, the confidant, the coach, the disciplinarian, social worker, the parental role and many more!  So why are teachers required to do all this work, yet, YET when it ...