March Madness

I keep putting this off - most of our March photos are on Handsome Hubby's phone and I keep forgetting to get them from him...

So, here's a rundown for the month of March - I began the month with a cold and ended it with a different one... the 30 degree temperature changes were killing me!!!  Anyway, back to what we've been doing :)

OTG Boy started us off on March 1st by being chosen to participate in the science fair.  No awards - but, good experience.  He and his partner wanted to see if they could reverse polarity of magnets by exposing them to an electromagnet.

This first weekend of the month Handsome Hubby, OTG Boy and The Professor had a scout campout.  Bubba was invited to a birthday party.  Junior and I had a little mommy-son time - very rare!  Handsome Hubby and OTG Boy arrived home just in time to clean-up and head out the door for the Stake Conference Priesthood Leadership Meeting - they were part of the special musical number.

We had a great weekend of Stake Conference... and then back to real life... all the lessons... all the school... all the scouts... and OTG Boy made it into the Junior High Festival Orchestra and practices started that Monday.  The younger kids liked it, because that meant instead of Bubba riding the bus home - I'd pick him up and take everyone to the park while we waited for OTG Boy to get out of school.  Then we'd drive to rehearsals as quickly as possible.

Off to a great start, until Tuesday morning.   Before school had even started the school nurse called.  Bubba had been hit in the head by a flying rock out on the playground.  The nurse said the bump was about the size of a quarter and assured me Bubba was fine.  Around noon I received a second phone call - Bubba was not feeling fine.  Long story short - if that bump was the size of a quarter - that's the hugest quarter I've ever seen!!!  And by the time I had Bubba home - I could tell he was not ok - so, off to the doctor we went... and discovered Bubba had a mild concussion.  The doctor wanted to help Bubba understand why he would need to be careful for the next couple of weeks and not play too rough - he did a good job explaining why injuries to the brain can be serious.  So good in fact, that when Bubba woke up the next day, he just looked at me and said, "Mom, don't you even love me?!?"  I was a little confused.  "Yes, why don't you think I love you?"  "The doctor told you to wake me up and check on me during the night... and YOU DIDN'T...  I could have died!"  I was shocked.  You see, Handsome Hubby and I took turns faithfully getting up every two hours during the night.  We'd wake Bubba up - he'd even talk with us.  We thought he was doing just fine.  Apparently, it turns out - he didn't remember any of it.

The next night our Bishop stopped by.  He released me from my calling as the Primary President.  Honestly kind of happy - kind of sad... but I was running on very little sleep - so it was kind of a blow to realize I wouldn't be working with the kids and leaders anymore.  Of course, you don't have to wait long for your next growing experience - I am now the ward music chairman and music director.

So... here we are and the week's not over yet.  The next day Handsome Hubby took the final test to complete that MBA he's been working on... and you guessed it, he PASSED!!!  MBA is done, oh yeah!  He is so smart and such a hard worker - I am very, very proud of him.  His graduation ceremony will be in July... but he's already received his diploma and transcripts so everything is official.  It's great to have him around again!

Next came Spring Break - and we sprung... we spent a night in Flagstaff and then headed to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  We hiked along the rim... it was so beautiful - and the kids even found a few piles of snow to play in.  So, even if it was just for a day - our get-a-way was wonderful - the perfect break from our crazy life.

We finished off the month with the JHFO concert for OTG Boy.  Pack Meeting for Bubba.  Karate Graduation for The Professor.

Whew!!!  I'm glad we made it... now for April!

What is That?

This year The Professor started attending a virtual school and let's just say that more than one person has asked, "What is that?"

So, this post is dedicated to answering,

"What is a virtual school?"

Who?

The Professor is enrolled in Arizona Connections Academy...

Connections Academy is a nationally available school with different options for enrollment depending on your state. In our state virtual schools can be set up as charter schools, so the Arizona Connections Academy is set up as a charter school.

The school does have a local administrative office, but most of our teachers work from home.

What?

When you enter the world of virtual schooling you get to learn a whole new vocabulary...

first of all - you no longer attend a "bricks and mortar" school... we learn "without boundaries."

We have an assigned teacher, a list of classes to be done daily, assignments to send in and tests to be taken. The Professor also participates in pragmatic speech therapy once a week, is a member of the Robotics Club and is taking an elective - beginning spanish.

Sounds pretty rigourous and frankly, it is... however the "without boundaries" part, is the best part. That's the part that benefits us the most... Asperger's Syndrome is not easy and my experience is - some teachers and administrators in our public schools care (we have had two teachers who were absolutely amazing), others could care less, some have their hands tied with budget issues and some are just out right uneducated and mean. Now that we don't have the "boundaries" The Professor and I can make working on social skills part of any subject or lesson - we can meet the problems head on, instead of ignoring them and, even more importantly, help The Professor learn and grow without tearing him down. We also get to discuss the gospel with any and all subjects - The Professor and I have had some very interesting insights this year. The Professor's favorite part is that once he's done with his day, or taking a break he can study whatever he wants... it's great. Last year, in the "bricks and mortar school" The Professor was constantly in trouble for wanting to read - which yes, proper time proper place, however, this year on his breaks he's practically memorized his science book - reading it over and over just for fun.

Yes, virtual school is real school! In Arizona we still have to do the state mandated AIMS testing. And yes, universities accept kids who graduate from Conncections Academy - many students have been accepted to the local colleges like ASU and NAU, but they've also been accepted to schools all over the country, including Harvard.

When?

When you're in a virtual school you can learn whenever you want - as long as you're working on curriculum, meeting your state mandated number of school hours and turning in assignments in a timely manner.

For us, The Professor works best with a schedule - so we have a daily schedule with very specific time frames for accomplishing his work. If his work isn't finished according to our schedule then he has homework. This approach seems to work best for The Professor, so that's what we do.

Where?

Right in our front room. It's great - at the beginning of the year the school sent all of the text books, workbooks and most of the supplies (we still have to provide a few of our own), so we have our computer area, study area, and then, if we feel like it, we can go anywhere else we want. We do a lot of our science projects in the backyard, reading can be done sitting in a comfy chair, or if we feel the urge - field trip! We have several resources within 15 minutes of home -museums, the zoo, the Mesa Temple... if there's something we'd like to see, we can! We also go to the library once a week and as I said earlier The Professor still recieves his IEP speech services online. He meets online with his teacher and 4th grade class once a week and does the same for spanish class. The school also plans field trips once a month - it's been fun to have the chance to meet with other students and parents.

How?

All you have to do is go to the website and see if you're eligible. In Arizona enrollment is free.

Attending a virtual school is a lot of work and as a mom it's been a huge committment for me to adjust my schedule and outlook to make this type of schooling work in my life. I'm still learning. All of my children are important to me and as a mother I am committed to doing whatever I can to help each of them know that they are a child of God, that they each have special gifts and talents and that each of them have special assignments that they came to this earth to fulfill. I can't live their lives for them, but I will do my best to give them the tools they need to live their own lives and do the things that they know are right.

First Day of School 2009

Seems like everyone had something special to be excited about this year!

OTG Boy - extremely excited to be in 6th Grade and "rule the school" as he says!

The Professor - ready to become part of the "virtual world" and start his online academy!

Bubba - first day of Kindergarten - that smile says it all!

OTG Boy and Bubba headed off for the bus...

The Professor worked all day on his projects...

He's attending the Arizona Connections Academy -

if you'd like to learn more about it click here.

My Own Christmas Angel

A couple of weeks ago OTG Boy had his Christmas Orchestra Concert. As busy Christmas schedules go it was the same night as December Pack Meeting. Since I'd already promised I would not attend any more Pack Meetings until after the baby (I always seemed to have problems the next day) Handsome Hubby covered that and I decided to attempt the Orchestra Concert. We arrived a half-hour early and to my shock - not an open seat left - not even an end spot - everyone was saving it for someone else.

I was just coming to the conclusion that "Orchestra Parents" reminded me a lot of "Hockey Moms"... you know pit bulls... lipstick... strikingly familiar anyway...

when another mother, whom I have never met, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "I've been in your situation one too many times, my kids can squish come sit on our bench with us." So as I sat there, with her five kids (who were adorable, by the way), I thought about how thankful I am that Heavenly Father would send me my own Christmas angel in my time of need. She didn't know that if I couldn't find a seat I wouldn't be able to stay... but as it was she gave me the opportunity to enjoy the concert and attend my first school function of the year! Truly a blessing.

And... OTG Boy did a great job! He is an excellent cellist and I love listening to him practice everyday!