The Year of Adventure. . .2018

As we are approaching the end of another school year and one that will end with Sprat going off to College, this is a BIG end and a BIG start.   Very nervous as everything is changing and the new territory we prepare to dive in.  The hubbs and Sprat were invited to visit his college of choice and to visit the business school since that is his curricula of choice at this time.   They got a tour of the business school and dinner then off to a basketball game.  They got to sit in  the Presidents' box and visit with both the President of the College and the President of the school of business.  Fun fact the President of the school of business use to be the President of the school of business at my hubbs Alma Mater.   I am very excited that Sprat will be attending my Alma Mater, it does a mamas' heart good for her baby to follow in her footsteps.  It does not hurt that the University is a pretty good school too. 
Big T will be finishing his first year of High School in a few months and boy has he done a lot in this first year.  He has grown so much as a student and has had some interesting opportunities at his school.  I cannot remember if I mentioned this or not so I will mention it again anyway.  At Big T's school they are encouraged to choose a pathway, Big T has chosen emergency medicine as his pathway.  In this program he could go on to be a nurse, physical therapist, EMT, or an OR technician.  He is interested in either the nurse or OR technician right now.   Yes, this is the kid that is terrified of needles and I did point out all the needle things that are involved in each of these careers.  He tells me that needles only bother him if there are intended for him.  Got love this kid. 
Stay tuned, as you can tell 2018 is going to be one crazy ride. . . .

School Systems, Encouraging or Discouraging???

Had to go to a meeting for Sprat last night so that he can sign up for AP classes at school.  We went to this same meeting last year and scared Sprat out of taking any AP classes.  He has always taken honors classes and done fairly well at them.  I am not sure how other school districts operate their AP classes but ours require the student to first attend this meeting and then fill out an application for each class that they want to take.  These applications rival some that I have filled out to apply for a job.   Once you have submitted your application and signed it you cannot change your mind.  They said this on stage to all of the kids and parents, once you sign you must take the class.  I can understand them not wanting kids to back out of taking a class but things do come up and they really should take this on a case by case basis.  Sometimes I think they are trying to keep our kids from taking challenging classes, I feel like rather than encouraging them to stretch themselves they are trying to keep them from taking the harder courses for their own sake.  
I am so disappointed in our school system lately, between their lack of encouragement for kids to take some more difficult classes to the way some of the coaches behave toward the kids and how they talk so ugly about some of the kids in front of their peers.  This is leaves a nasty cloud hanging over this school system for me.
I really wish we could go back to the day when teachers actually taught and educated our children in subject matter and not in how to take a stupid test!!!!

Thank You. . .

Thank you, two words that are not used nearly enough in our society today.  Today I would like to thank the teachers that have had my kids.  I am thanking all of them, good and bad.  The good ones, and there have been more of those than bad, because they encouraged my kids to shoot for the stars.  They encouraged my kids at times when they were struggling and really needed a positive word from someone other than their mom and dad.  Mom and dad can only do so much in the encouraging department but when that encouragement comes from an outside source it really reinforces what mom and dad have said all along.  I also want to thank my teachers especially my favorite science teachers; Mrs Waters and Mrs. Proctor.  I know I would have never majored in biology if it were not for Mrs. Proctor.   She encouraged me and gave me confidence in my knowledge and abilities.
Ok, enough about me, both of the boys are struggling right now in different areas of their education.  I know that these struggles are shaping them but it is very hard to watch, knowing you cannot help with certain situations.
I am thankful for those bad teachers because they did teach my kids a valuable life lesson about how some people will try to keep you down and that they will face road blocks in life.  I am thankful but also disappointed in these adults that think that demeaning a child in front of their peers motivates them.   It makes me angry to find out that an "adult" (I use this term loosely) believes that they are motivating someone by putting them down and being ugly to them in front of their peers.  This is not motivation even though it has taught my son a valuable lesson.  It is teaching him what not to do as a teacher and what not to do if you want to motivate young people.  It is also teaching him that no matter how much you try to please someone, some people will never be happy with you because they are not happy with themselves.  In order to lead young people you must encourage them not bully and demean them.  In order to lead you must lift others up in front of you not push them down and behind you.
It is hard to be thankful for the bad things but those bad things make you appreciate when you find the good ones.  I am thankful for good and bad today.  I am praying for all of those facing these issues both adult and child.   Love, hugs, and prayers to you all this week.

Summer work outs. . .

I have decided that if Big T is to survive in middle school he is going to have to be on top of things.  I have also decided that for my kids sake I am going to be teaching them a few things at home this summer.  Big T is all for it, Sprat is a little reluctant.  They both had good years in test scores and grades but I still feel there are some things they are not getting.   Big T and I have been working on Spanish and math.  Sprat is working on his honors English book that he has to read and  take notes on for a test the first day of school.   We are all looking into History from a Christian perspective.  So I guess we are all getting a little work out this summer to keep our brains sharp.  I would love to hear from those reading what they are doing with their kiddos this summer to keep them sharp for next school year.
I do have some field trips planned to some different places in the area also.

It's Monday. . .

It is Monday and my kids are driving me nuts!!!  It's Monday!!!!!!  I am in count down mode for school to start, although, I am a little apprehensive this year.  This is going to be a pivotal year for both of my boys, this is Sprats' last year of middle school and Big Ts' last year of elementary school.  I hope and pray they both have a good year and that they get teachers that will be a good fit for each of them.  I am sure I will be on my knees during most of this year in prayer for my boys and their teachers.  I worry a lot about this "core curriculum" stuff.  The state does not know all they need to know about this and yet they are quick like a bunny to institute it.  I think a little more research should have been done before they dove head first into the shallow end of the pool.  Sprat took the social studies test last year and the whole test was on government and finance, they only spent a max of three days on this in school.  Now, my question is, how can you test a kids knowledge on the subject of social studies on only three days of work?  Our school systems have gone completely away from teaching our kids to using our kids as means to judge the teachers.  Our teachers are so concerned with how the kids are going to test they have forgotten about teaching for the sake of education.   Big T learned more last year about North Carolina history from his teaching assistant during her time with the kids.  I am amazed every day with the information he has retained about North Carolina history and our North Carolina lighthouses.  He was never tested on this information.
I will be praying for all of the kids this year, and their teachers.  At some point, I hope before it is too late, people will realize that it is the teachers and the teacher assistants that we need.   We do not need more suits and do nothing executives cutting the budgets of our school systems.

Ferry ride to Cape Lookout. . .

Dear hubby and I decided we would make this vacation fun and educational.   We planned a trip to Cape Lookout.  We drove out to Harkers Island and caught the Calico Jack ferry.  They took us by Shackleford Island, where the wild horses live.  We got a little glimpse of them, our guide said they had done DNA studies on these horses and they are not related to any horse in North America.  It is believed that they were on some of the ships from Spain that Black Beard sank.  The ships sank and the horses swam ashore.  They do send the vet out to check on them and make sure they are healthy, they don't get much more human contact.
They docked at Cape Lookout and let us out, we stayed for about two hours, we packed water and lunch for a picnic on the beach.  We looked for shells and sharks teeth, dear hubby found many sharks teeth but only one conch.  The weather was great, it was a little overcast with a good breeze.   The ocean side of the Island was quite rough, we did not get out more than ankle deep.  The inlet side was much more calm we could walk out forever with the water only coming up to our waist and only a ripple in the water.

Career Day. . .

We had career day or career fair at school today.  I went around and looked to see who I wanted to talk to and found the Police department.  The officer that was there was very knowledgeable and very personable.   I think that may be my calling, to help the police department fight computer crime.  I am really excited about the possibilities for the future.  I have a year or two left in school for this program but it is going by quickly.  I am going to take a security class online this summer and I cannot wait.
I used to think the medical field was the area to be in and now I think computer technology is where you need to be.  We do so much on the computer and smartphones someone is going to have to be ready to protect us.  There are also many different areas of computer security; you can protect people before the crime or you can investigate after the crime.  I am not sure which area I want to concentrate on because they both interest me.  I guess I have time to test both sides before I make a decision.
To anyone thinking about going back to school, I would encourage it.  I am enjoying my classes and learning so much.  It has been almost 20 years since I graduated College the first time, and it has been 10 years since I have been in the work force full time.  I was really nervous about going back to College but there are about as many older people as younger on campus these days.  If you are thinking about trying something new I encourage you to check out the Community Colleges in your area.