last blog

Blogging, essays, peer reviews, citations, smarthinking, MLA. What do these things have in common? Up until a few months ago I didn't have a clue about these topics. English is still a struggle, but I have learned a lot and will hopefully retain the information to be able to use it again someday. Organization is the key to this class. If I kept on top of due dates and assignments I felt it wasn't too bad to handle. Smarthinking was so helpful, honest and clear with the feedback I received. I was very glad to have peer reviews as well. Having extra eyes checking your work is like having answers to a test!

spring break

Spring break this year was full of family and fun in Wisconsin Dells. My family along with my mom, my siblings and their famly rented a condo at Glacier Canyon. We were there only three days but enjoyed each others company enven though the flu ran through over our condo! yuck! Our family is conciously making more of an effort to spend quality time together. We played laser tag, spent time at the water park, shopped and drove go-karts. With my dad and brother being gone it has really bonded the rest of us together. Family is a word that has so much power and comfort. everyone is so busy in their life and making geniune efforts to spend time together is very important in our family.

college leap

I had always dreamed college but never thought I could handle it or afford it. My parents had only experienced community college and never encouranged us kids to go. If we wanted to go we would have to figure it out on our own. I am a hard worker and have had a lot of experience working with children as an assistant teacher or an aide. I aways wanted to be the lead teacher, elementary teacher or any other higher up educator. I now am a highly successful child care provider that makes more money than most elementary teachers, but I work very hard and earn every penny! My own children are 10 1/2  and almost 15 and last summer I was having serious thoughts about what I am going to do when they graduate. I would have no reason to stay home anymore. Although I did take post scondary classes and do have other child development credentials, I would be starting at the bottom if I went out into the early childhood field. After running my own business that would be extremely difficult. My friend is also a child care provider as has been working on her higher education for the past 8 years while her children were young. She will gaduate will her master's degree soon and will be able to get a "real" job in the early childhood field a few years before her kids graduate. For me, taking 5 courses a year, I will graduate probably the same year as my youngest son. That's fine for me, I want to enjoy my boys while they are young and I do enjoy my job on most days!

RESEARCH PAPER

It's kind of ironic that I am taking an on line class and writing and English research paper on E-waste using my some day in the future electronic waste computer. BUT, I'm not a hypocrite! I have properly disposed of our out dated tv's and computers at Best Buy for a small fee, which now I read that they take old electronics for free. It was really interesting doing the research for electronic waste and scary at the same time. I found tons of pictures of people in developing countries sifting through electronics to melt down toxic metals that they can turn into money. It can be 10 times cheaper to send the old computers to China, India and nigeria than for countries like the US to take care of it themselves.
Why can't countries be more responsible and accountable for their own crap? When my garbage is full I don't go over to my neighbors and put it in theirs? Sounds just as rediculous, doesn't it?

Makeup commercials are so fake

The makeup industries makes a fortune brain washing women into thinking their makeup or lotions will make them look ten years younger, elliminate line and wrinkles, etc.  Of course they have super models wearing their makeup, who probably have had some sort of corrective surgury to begin with. Second the commerical company can "fix" the flaws the model does have. I rarely see regular women on the commercial wearing the makeup or lotions. 

autism

        Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior. Experts estimate that every six children out of every 1,000 will have an ASD. Males are four times more likely to have an ASD than females.
The hallmark feature of ASD is impaired social interaction. Children with ASD may fail to respond to their names and often avoid eye contact with other people. They have difficulty interpreting with others are thinking or feeling because they don't understand social cues, such as tone of voice or facial expressions.
          Being a daycare provider is a challenging job by itself. Then add 2 children who are autistic and the challenges of my job amplifies by 100. Dealing with autistic children takes patience and an understanding of the child's challenges and delays.  These kids also bring out the best in the children around them. The other children tend to help the autistic children with games or art projects.  With love and patience, autistic children will thrive and develop at extraordinary rates.

The Glass Castle......Hard book to put down.

The book was amazingly written with such detail you could picture each scene as if you were watching it in person. Jeannette and her family each had their own struggles with life and how to deal with each other to make them function. They would always have each others back in tough situations. This book is very inspirational and encouraging and I have already recommended it to my friends. It truly illustrate resilience is key to becoming successful in surviving a dysfuctional family.