Wednesday, September 23, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIFER LYNN HUNT
That's right, my baby girl turns 22 today!!! I can't believe how fast the years have flown by. It seems like only yesterday she was my bald headed, always smiley, binky loving little girl. She was born with a love for all things living and to this day, just like her mother, feels the need to protect all animals both wild and tame. She has accomplished a lot in her short 22 years, but I think the greatest moment we've witnessed so far is watching her graduate from college with her bachelors degree just 3 short months after turning the ripe old age of 20!! We used to joke that we hoped by the time she graduated college she would have hair and be binky free; she accomplished that goal too!!! Jen, you are an amazing sister, daughter, and my best friend. There is not a day that goes by that I do not thank my lucky stars to have you in my life (yes, even on the days you drive me absolutely crazy!!). Watching you interact with your brothers warms my heart. I love the way you have trained your brothers to realize you are the princess: you go girl!! I love your kind heart and giving nature. Thank you for always being there for me through the tears and laughs. Thank you for sharing my love of all things Polish and the New York Giants. Thank you for being you. I love you with all my heart and soul. Here's to a fabulous year!!!! Love, Mom
Saturday, September 19, 2009
I Hate This
So today I gathered up all the items we have purchased for Ash and went to the post office to send them. As you can imagine there are quite a few items. I could ship up to 20 lbs for the "nominal fee" of just under $60.00. The catch is all 20lbs need to fit in a certain size box. To be able to fit everything I bought one of those space bags, sucked the air out of the bag and amazingly it all fit in the box and it was just under 20lbs. Yeah for me!! I get up to the window and am politely told that I can't send the items in the space bag. Apparently it does not fit the bill if the box has to be inspected by customs. The guy at the post office was really nice and even gave me a tissue to wipe my tears. I don't know what I am going to do now. To send everything it will cost about $120.00. That could be $120.00 towards more items for Ash. I thought about just returning a lot of the stuff, but I have been accumulating it over time and much of it can not be returned so I will be out that money, but more importantly all of the items we have hand selected for him, our first grandson/nephew. It shouldn't be this way. I hate this.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
School Q and A
I have had lots of questions regarding Brian and Tony's schooling this year, so rather then answer each person individually, I will attempt to answer all the questions here.
Are you homeschooling? No, we are not homeschooling. The boys are enrolled in a charter school which happens to be online.
Do you plan the lessons? No, I do not plan the lessons. Each day they log into their homepage and it tells them what they need to complete for the day.
Are you their teacher? No, I am called a learning coach. They have teachers who are available by either phone, email or webcam to help them if they do not understand something. They still have a special education case manager, too. They still have IEP's. The difference is that instead of going to a brick and mortar school each day, they do school from the comfort of their own home with lots less anxiety and contact the teacher on an as needed basis.
Did you have to buy their books? No, the books are sent from the school. They are everyday textbooks like any child in school would have. Many of Brian's lessons are online, so he does not have the same amount of books as Tony.
Did you have to buy a new computer? No, the school supplies a desktop computer, too.
How many hours a day are they on the computer? It varies from day to day. For Tony, I go online and write down his daily lessons. He only goes on the computer for school for tutorials and watching the movies that go along with the lesson. Brian spends about 2 hours a day on the computer and the rest of his time he is doing his lessons offline.
Are you worried about the social piece? No, we are not. There are tons of field trips that they can go on with their classmates as well as our own field trips. Neither boys are ever going to be social butterflies and we have accepted that.
Who does most of the schooling piece? When we originally decided to remove them from public school, David and I were going to share the schooling piece. It was very obvious from the beginning that the boys preferred mom as the main learning coach. David helps out when he can and is more then happy to do so.
How do you balance work, school, family time, etc? I think when the good Lord created me, he gave me some wonderful super powers. I am exhausted by the end of the day, but seeing the boys so much happier and less anxious drives me to keep going. The beauty of this school is that we can tailor it to fit our schedule. Many days we don't start school until 4:00 in the afternoon, while other days we start at 10:00 in the morning.
Would you recommend this program for others? Yes, if you truly are willing to put your children's needs before your own.
I think I covered everything. In my next post, I will post pictures of our "classroom". Thank you IKEA for having reasonably priced furniture for our classsroom.
Are you homeschooling? No, we are not homeschooling. The boys are enrolled in a charter school which happens to be online.
Do you plan the lessons? No, I do not plan the lessons. Each day they log into their homepage and it tells them what they need to complete for the day.
Are you their teacher? No, I am called a learning coach. They have teachers who are available by either phone, email or webcam to help them if they do not understand something. They still have a special education case manager, too. They still have IEP's. The difference is that instead of going to a brick and mortar school each day, they do school from the comfort of their own home with lots less anxiety and contact the teacher on an as needed basis.
Did you have to buy their books? No, the books are sent from the school. They are everyday textbooks like any child in school would have. Many of Brian's lessons are online, so he does not have the same amount of books as Tony.
Did you have to buy a new computer? No, the school supplies a desktop computer, too.
How many hours a day are they on the computer? It varies from day to day. For Tony, I go online and write down his daily lessons. He only goes on the computer for school for tutorials and watching the movies that go along with the lesson. Brian spends about 2 hours a day on the computer and the rest of his time he is doing his lessons offline.
Are you worried about the social piece? No, we are not. There are tons of field trips that they can go on with their classmates as well as our own field trips. Neither boys are ever going to be social butterflies and we have accepted that.
Who does most of the schooling piece? When we originally decided to remove them from public school, David and I were going to share the schooling piece. It was very obvious from the beginning that the boys preferred mom as the main learning coach. David helps out when he can and is more then happy to do so.
How do you balance work, school, family time, etc? I think when the good Lord created me, he gave me some wonderful super powers. I am exhausted by the end of the day, but seeing the boys so much happier and less anxious drives me to keep going. The beauty of this school is that we can tailor it to fit our schedule. Many days we don't start school until 4:00 in the afternoon, while other days we start at 10:00 in the morning.
Would you recommend this program for others? Yes, if you truly are willing to put your children's needs before your own.
I think I covered everything. In my next post, I will post pictures of our "classroom". Thank you IKEA for having reasonably priced furniture for our classsroom.
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