Education Uncensored

Trust me, I know it isn’t fair to compare the first born to the second.  However, as the notice came home today regarding kindergarten registration, my 5-year-old reminded me of my fears.

Just some comparative bullets:

• first born never meets a stranger, second born, a bit more reserved
• first born wants his name on his backpack, on his clothes, on his supplies, second born said no way did he want any of that messing up his “stuff”
• first born couldn’t care less which teacher he gets each year, just tell him she is his teacher and he is good to go, the second born has already declared that he isn’t going if he can’t have the same teacher next year that the first born had (lovely, eh?)
• first born has the ability to hear it, learn it, remember it, regurgitate it, second born?  we have no idea what he knows because he refuses to confirm to any form of school (His Sunday School teachers says he is very prepared, but I have never heard him count past ten and that was only during a game of hide ‘n seek when he thought no one was listening.  And, colors?  You can have on any color shirt and regardless, the second born is going to name every color under the rainbow except the one you are actually wearing.)  So, who knows!
• first born said, “let’s go to the doctor, get my shots so I can go to school now” and the second born said, “I’m not going if I have to go to the doctor first”
• And, finally, the first born started discussing school, kindergarten and about 6 or 8 weeks into kindergarten, he professed himself ready for first grade.  And now he is asking when he can just go on to second grade already.  The second born, he says “I am not going to school ever!”

And, with that, I give you the most adorable, stubborn, non-social kid I’ve ever met (because the world knows that I am the most social person in the world so I just don’t know where his bashfulness comes from?) GRRRRRR

See that face?  That’s the face of the I-am-not-doing-that-just-because-you-said-I-am-suppose-to-do-it!

And, ask him to pose for a picture?  Please, let’s just get one good one ok?

And this is what you get!  GRRRRR

What an adventure this is going to be!  Join me?

Yes, when my first born was starting Kindergarten I was skeered (that’s hillbilly for Oh my, what if he gets in trouble or isn’t very smart).  But, indeed, he does talk too much sometimes but has maintained straight A’s, nothing below a 98 that I can find for that matter. 

My husband is a genius. I’m sure you’ve heard that more times than you care to but he isn’t called Boy Genius on my other blog no reason.  As a matter of fact, the folks at the Disney conference got a taste of his genius when the bus driver taking us to one of the events was asking riddles over the loud speaker and he never once fooled Boy Genius.  Simple stuff really, if you have your head in that same space (and my head is never in the space with his).  Although there were plenty of riddles, the first one is the one that sticks out in my mind and caused conversation all over the bus.   What can you put in a box to make it lighter?  A hole! 

Yea, duh! 

With that, we don’t call Ditto Boy that for no reason either.  Of course, he didn’t get the riddles but he takes in way more information than your average tourist and certainly more than your average 7-year-old tourist. 

Either way, he has only been in trouble for talking and it hasn’t been near as difficult this year as it was last.  But, his teacher last year did a great job of helping him learn when it is appropriate to chatter and when it isn’t.  The best!

My parents never made a big deal about my grades until I was absolutely old enough to have some major input into whether I studied or did homework.  As it is right now, if we have a lot going on one night in particular, we send a note and he is isn’t punished for not getting his work done.  And, considering that he is well above level right now, that helps. 

But, I mentioned the straight A’s and I want to clarify that my own father never mentioned that only straight A’s were acceptable.  Even when I was in high school and it was obvious that I was making more B’s than A’s because my social schedule was a bit cluttered, he never made a big deal out of anything but “do your best!”. 

And, my husband made good grades simply because…well yea, he is a genius.

And the two of us haven’t discussed how we would handle grades and for now, I really don’t see it necessary.  But, that doesn’t mean that my son is immune to the chatter of other kids.  Other parents just don’t think like we do.  So, although we’ve never made much of a big deal over straight A’s (although we do celebrate a good grade on a particular test now and again), his classmates who haven’t been on the A Honor Roll all year are quick to jump in and mention his intelligence and his grades.  Other parents talk about it.  It’s almost like people think we beat him to make sure he gets good grades.  Honestly, I really hope it never comes to that.

I can’t speak for my husband but my own grades were dictated by the drive within me.  Not something my parents pushed on me.  I didn’t make anything but straight A’s til I started high school.  And, wow!  That was a major change.  But, I still made mostly A’s with an occasional B thrown in for good measure.  By the time I was old enough to drive, I was making about a 50/50 split between A’s and B’s.  Boys were obviously on my mind too. 

And then…….I learned to drive.  I was playing sports, I was participating in every extra-curricular activity known to man-kind and by this time, there were more B’s than A’s.  And finally, the last grading period of high school, my senior year, a C!  The nerve! 

Nothing important about that, just interesting to me in hindsight how obvious my lifestyle was just by looking at my report card.

Now, back to my first born. I still had that fear that I was going to be going to school every day with my duct tape to close his mouth and some rope to tie him to his chair.  Nope, hasn’t happened yet!  What a great surprise that has been!

So, what does next year bring?  My happy go lucky first born and my stubborn as a mule second born….this could be interesting!

Walker was out of school from Monday, February 8 through Tuesday, February 16th.  We were part of the Disney Social Media Moms Celebrate Disney and we had a blast.  I had no inhibitions at all about taking him out of school for this.  Many others didn’t get the same support from their schools and the teachers.  We are lucky in that respect. 

With that, I’m quoting my first grader’s teacher here, “It’s not like you are going down on the Alabama River camping or something.”  Exactly.  We are talking Epcot for a full day.  Magic Kingdom for two days, the ESPN Sports Center Complex, closed parks just for our little cherubs to enjoy the parks, a concert by Demi Lovato and one of the Jonas Brothers and honestly, is there a week of sitting at a desk and learning that can compare to one day at Epcot. 

Yes it was very cold but no one should ever pass up a Dole Whip, right?  

To say the least, the kid is driving me nuts with everything he learned.  So, all I can say is this, if you get an opportunity to go, especially one like I got, and you don’t get support on the local level for your child to miss school to go learn first hand what’s happening, then go up a level and continue to climb that administrative ladder.  If you have to enlist people like myself, Sara Bennett and others to make your school admin see the benefits of this education, even if it does partially include a mouse, then by all means, let me know.  I could write you a full monologue on all the wonders that we encountered.

I just returned from a great conference at Disney.  But,  in case you aren’t familiar with any experience at Disney, you should know that we walked and walked and walked some more.  The sad part was, I ate so much that even with all that walking, I managed to gain weight.  I mean, geez, there was ice cream around ever corner and macaroni and cheese for the kid at all of our sponsored meals.

One of my buddies who struggles with some health issues was smart enough to use a company like mobility compare so that she not only had the comfort of a skooter similar to this one,

she was able to participate in almost every event you can think of simply because making her around the parks was easier.  I remember having a cast on my leg last year and skipping events that were going to require me to walk very far.  This is just one of the mobility products that I could have used while I was having problems last year getting my leg to heal.

The reality is, I just didn’t realize that products like this were such a great option but I am so glad that my friend did.  She didn’t seem to miss a beat when it came to the conference and all it’s fun!

Finding a teaching job can be hard, but here is some advice to make it easier…

1. Do your homework. Usually you interview at the district level first. Know some things about the different schools you are certified for.
2. Ask friends who are currently teaching what the “newest’ buzzwords are. Make sure you know how to use them.
3. Have a portfolio with you just in case. Include original database files that help you assess. (In my district data analysis is the latest buzzword.)
4. Let the interviewer know why you would be an asset to his/her school.
5. Decide before you get there if you will accept a grade level that’s not your first choice. Being open and flexible helps!
6. Do not be afraid to say you’re a little nervous about the responsibility of having your own classroom.
7. Say you look forward to learning from more experienced teachers.
8. Get plenty of sleep the night before.
9. Dress professionally and conservatively.
10. PRAY!!

This post is part of the Teaching Jobs Portal: “How to land a Teacher Job”. What was your journey like to become a teacher? If you’d like to share your experience with other aspiring teachers please see this post for more information.

MJ teaches kindergarten in rural South Carolina. This is her 32^nd year teaching. She has her MA+30 hours. She is married to a teacher and has two sons.

My oldest child is on the upside of very very smart.  We try  not to talk about his intelligence in front him especially when he seems to be following in his father’s footsteps and the every day common things are a bit tougher for him to master.  You know, garbage day is EVERY Monday…..no the mail has never run on Sunday’s or Christmas Day…argh…..

Anyway, prior to starting school it was fairly obvious that he had some gifts.  The second born refused to even acknowledge that we were trying to teach him anything.  He would remain steadfast that he couldn’t count past 4 when in reality, we hear playing hide and seek and counting to 20….sometimes in Spanish.  Yea, I know, odd, but, he is going to the be the one like me, he can learn, he can study and learn more and it won’t come naturally but generally speaking it’s not difficult either.  And, like me, he too seems to have a keen sense of direction along with other common everyday activities.

However, he cracks me up with his great skills sometimes.  For instance, because Walker is constantly explaining rhyming words, diagraphs and more to us, Jace has picked up on it and is constantly asking us or actually telling us about words that rhyme.  It’s pretty funny the words he makes rhyme and normally he is right.  Occasionally he makes up his own words when it comes to finding a word that rhymes but these 2 little boys simply never cease to amaze me!

So, yes, this is gonna be fun!  I hope…

The Video Stream with one teaser photo of the fun

From the beginning with learning we were going to Disney in a 2010 Chevy Equinox

The arrival of the Equinox and the departure for the House the Mouse built

Cinderella’s House

The Awesome Parades!

Really ya’ll The Equinox is all that and a slice of bread!

And the final Hurray!  Do you see me in this photo?

Sponsors:

Disney, of course! The Polynesian Resort

GM for the Chevy Equinox

My Precious Kid, Child safety bracelets and t-shirts for my family

UPrinting, window clings

My Shimmer, an awesome t-shirt, autographed by many (photos to come when I find it)

DiscWrite CD

Vital Earth Traditions, Kelly Lynch Ring , she called me a Blogging Queen – the lip balm was a saving grace in the cold night wind

*****************************************

Sponsors you might see i some of the photos but weren’t necessarily sponsors of this event for me:

GoGaga Life the bag I carried all weekend

Ogio the bag Boy Genius carried all weekend

Philips DVD Players to keep our sanity while we traveled with a five-year-old and seven-year-old

Dell Laptop

Solo Laptop Bags

EEE PC Laptop

Laptop Skins – Mickey Mouse on Boy Genius’s laptop and my logo on my mini-laptop

Kodak EasyShare

iPhone

BlackJack 2

Canon Printer

Indeed, we asked for pre-approval to keep Walker out of school.  Wayne asked to take days off work and I started working my fingers to the bone for some extra cash to spend on our trip.  The trip was part of an invitational only trip with the Social Media Moms Celebrate Disney.  I was being educated in the ways of Social Media and my husband and kids were learning from any and everything else they could find.

I’ll start with Onstar that I mentioned previously.  First of all, we were taken to our resort via the backside of Disney.  We didn’t understand at first why we were going through the maintenance areas but figured it out later when we were out running around.  We were taken in the back way so that we could get to our resort without having to go through the main gate and pay for parking.

Of course, the Onstar learning continued on our way around town after the conference and of course on our way home.  The boys called my mom about 3 hours away from home and asked if they could come to her house when we arrived home.  And, even after enjoying the fun of messing with the Onstar route and much giggling, both boys are almost in tears now thinking we are lost.  Both are practically in tears begging to ask for a new route so they can get to my mom’s house.

And, with that, my husband is antagonizing them by switching the controls to metric and making the boys think we are going 120 miles per hour as opposed to the non-metric equivalent.

Fun times, folks, fun times……but no matter how much fun, no matter how much learning…..they are convinced that if we don’t change our route, we won’t make it to Nanny’s house.  No matter how awesome Mickey Mouse is, no matter how great the monorail is, no matter the learning involved at Epcot and no matter how elegant the Polynesian Resort is…nothing compares to seeing Nanny!

I’ve made no bones about keeping my son out of school in the name of going on family vacations.  And, in the words of my son’s teacher "it’s not like you are going down on the Alabama River camping”.  No, indeed, we were going to Disney World and the education my children gained was simply limited by their imaginations. 

And, if you’ve ever been to Disney, you know that with a bit of imagination, you can go anywhere.  The education began with a 2010 GM Chevy Equinox being delivered to our home.  And, we have decent auto’s but we don’t have anything that even remotely resembles the Equinox. 

There’s tons more for me to tell but a story developed that is way funnier. 

We have had a good time using the Onstar on the car even though in most cases, we already knew our way to our destination.  We are about 50 miles from home and deviated from the Onstar route.  When the lady in the car asked if we wanted Onstar to calculate a new route, Jace (5-year-old) answered yes before my husband could say no.  And, with that, the lady in the computer said, “Calculating a new route” and the boys went absolutely nuts. 

And, to be honest, I couldn’t help but laugh myself.  Then, Walker (7 year old) starts to giggle and by this time we are all laughing our heads off.  Now, Wayne is teasing the boys that we are lost and that we are headed back to Disney.  He is assuring the boys that we are lost because Jace told the Onstar to take us another route. 

Walker is flipping out.  He is begging Wayne to hit the Onstar button and asked where we are but Jace remains consistent that he knows where we are and he has been this way before (and he has many many many…too many times). 

Walker is now begging me to use the GPS on my phone to get directions while Jace is absolutely certain that it’s all going to be ok because all we have to do is hit the Onstar button again.

The lessons learned……….and honestly, this is not the best educational benefactor of this trip, it just turned into it and I couldn’t help but share. 

More later…….

Ahhh, in the time it took me to post that photo, Walker has decided he recognizes the area as being near his basketball area (which is way wrong) but Jace has assured us that “yes, I told you I knew this was the right way”.  Ahhhh the joy of these little minds.

Winners for the Rainbow Brite contests on Mom~E~Centric

Rainbow Brite

and on Education Uncensored

Rainbow Brite CD’s with Loads of Fun

and on Product Reviews by Me

Rainbow Brite CD’s with Loads of Fun

So here are the winners…….

on Mom~E~Centric, the winners are

on Education Uncensored

on Product Reviews by Me

Congratulations EVERYONE!  I will have the CD’s next week and I will need your shipping address and phone number.  Please email it to me at jareason (at) gmail (dot) com