Why I want to teach History and Social Studies

Rob found this article today that really just reiterates why I want to teach History and Social Studies (which includes Geography). Follow this link and you can read it too.  

It just tells me that not only do people need to have a better understanding of the world around them, or should I say "the blue area around them". But also a reason WHY they need to better understand the world around them. 

Rob went so far as to say that if you don't know where America is then you can stop being his friend. I'm not going to go that far, because I want to help you, but be expecting a lot of laughing on my part... at you... before I help you. (the laughing would all be out of love, not hate.)

Also, if anything should be learned from this article it should be that more educated people should participate in these polls (even if 63% did know where America was on the America only map) and that we should be spreading the word outside of America that America is really that big continent at the bottom of the world that is usually represented in the colour white. 

A poem by Syndey, I call it: I Stay Up Late

I needed a piece of notebook paper so I  got a page out of one of Sydney's notebooks next to me... Inside I found this amazing piece of poetry (Which isn't her first, she actually writes them fairly often, but i usually don't see them). I thought you would enjoy it too.

Chicks are yellow.

Bricks are heavy.

Are you sick?

Bibles are thick.

What are tricks?

I stay up late.

Yep, she is pretty amazing (and she does stay up late quite often)!

I LOVE MY SYDNEY!

Birthdays and Deathdays

I am have a conundrum in my head about this post... do I start with happy news and end with sad OR start with sad and end with happy?

I think I have figured it out...

Happy:

Today is Sydney's 7th birthday!! Sydney calls today her Birthday, Birthday. Which means that this is the day she was born as opposed to tomorrow when we are going out to dinner with family for her birthday and Saturday when she is having her friend birthday party. I just love her words. 

With all of these parties there will definitely be pictures up later.

Sad:

Today we also found out that Rob's grandpa passed away. This is very sad and he will be very much missed. It is weird how when this time comes you feel sad because he is gone, but mainly because there were so many stories he had that we will never get to hear.

Happy:

We did get to have a very nice Thanksgiving dinner with him, last week, and he was excited about being there.

When we told the kids about him Sydney asked why he died and I told her, He was really old and sometimes your body gets tired and wants to...(here and couldn't think of the word to use and Syd finished the sentence) "retire." Just that little word made it all better for her, I think, and they are doing fine (for now).

So, there you have it, I started and ended the post on a happy note. 

Enjoy the rest of your day!

It has been a while

As my title says it has been a while since I have blogged and I don't feel like doing work so I though I would blog. (at least it looks like I am doing work)

Over Thanksgiving I wanted to write a little about what I am thankful for (a little cliche, I know) but I didn't get the chance. But, being that Thanksgiving is just a holiday and not the only day that we can express our Thankfulness, I am going to do that now. 

To begin with I am so thankful that I have an amazing family that is supportive and loving and is there for me. It isn't often that a person has not only one family (my biological family) but also an in-law family that is AMAZING and MY family. Next, I'm thankful for being able to follow my dreams. Having a baby when you are seventeen doesn't always make it easy for one to continue on with their dreams, but thankfully I have! 

Side note: this is starting to sound very cheesy... I think it is because I am listening to TBTL's day before Thanksgiving show and they are playing cheesy dedication songs.

Of course, I'm thankful for my husband, he is just amazing in so many ways!, and my kids. They are just the most brilliant, bestest children EVER.

Now, I'm going to stop the cheesy'ness. 

I am thankful for flushing toilets, hot water to bath in, underwear, the internet, Netflix, books, craft stores (specifically Ben Franklins), free speech, Oscar (my green chair in my office), and finally for people... what would I do without something to watch when I am in places where there is nothing to do. 

Thanks for reading my ramblings. 

Voting!

I hope I'm not the only one, but I think Election day is just the most exciting day ever!! So this morning, I went to our polling station (the local fire station) and voted and I took some pictures to document the day. The whole family went and the kids were very upset that they couldn't vote. But we got through the wait with some MadLibs and it was fun. Below are the results... well at least the pictorial results of my voting day, not the election results.

on our way there. 

Henry and showing off the flag

The line, it doesn't appear to be too long and it really wasn't. Just about 30 minutes or so. 

Me voting (taken by Henry)

There's my "Vote" sticker!! I am definitely wearing it with pride!

"Your argument and determination are worth a .4"

This was the response I got from my professor to a problem I had with a question on my last test. The question was worded very poorly for the answer that was supposed to be the correct answer and I had a problem with it so I told her so. It started with a nice email about how I thought the answer was wrong, it ended with me looking in the book of all books pertaining to Psychological Disorders (the DSM-IV) and proving her throughly wrong. (YES!!!) 

In the end, the question was only worth .5 points, but it was more a point of proving her wrong... which I did and I got 80% of the credit!!!

Costumes these days!

Of course this Friday was Halloween and Trick-or-Treating. And one thing that does require a little musing about are the costumes that girls feel are appropriate for them to wear. Almost every girl over the age of 13 was dressed in some type of inappropriate rendition of a normal costume. Such as "pirate girls" or "fairies," "sailor," even Minnie Mouse. They all were wearing clothes that looked like they bought them at Hustler and they thought it was something they should wear outside of the house. There are many things that I don't understand about these costumes, but the main one is WHERE THE H- ARE THIER PARENTS?!  These costumes that the girls are wearing are only saying ONE thing and which is"I want to look like someone who has sex with strange men for a living." and at some point their parents are looking at what they bought and saying "oh honey, that looks so cute! Everyone is going to love it!" I'll tell you who are loving these costumes perverted, old, grey, stinky men who are masturbating behind the bushes are the ones who really love seeing girls in these ridiculous costumes. 

In short, GIRLS, STOP WEARING THESE COSTUMES!! Respect your self enough to wear appropriate costumes that do not degrade your bodies. And PARENTS, pay attention to what your children are doing and what they are wearing. Of course they may not be as innocent as what you want them to be, but allowing them to dress as porn stars and walk the streets is no way to teach them to respect themselves and even to protect them from the crazies that ARE out there. 

Blog #1...

For my first blog I would like to tell the reader (which really may just be myself) a little about myself. Currently I work as a Children's Director at Bethel Church of Christ and I am a grad student at Xavier University. Directing Children's Ministries is not my dream career, so I am going to Xavier to get my Master's in Secondary Education/Social Studies; so, really I want to teach History to the crazy, hormonal teenagers of the world. Actually, right now I am sitting in my office, supposed to be doing "something", but I don't really feel like it, so I started a blog. Some more about me, I am married and have two children; all of whom are AMAZING. Any other interesting stuff about me might come out during the existence of this blog so I'll stop here. 

I would like to say a little something about the title of my blog, so that it is written down and dated and no one can take it away from me. The other morning I woke up with a brilliant idea... (background to my idea: Lately, I have been really wanting to get back to writing and every once in a while an idea pops into my head) well this specific morning I'm discussing I woke up with a brilliant idea for a children's book titled "Max and the 11th Dinosaur." And so, one day when I don't have 1 and half jobs, two kids, and am going to school; I'm going to write a book with this title and when I do so I do not to find out someone else has taken by title. Because, as of October 30, 2008 at 2:35 p.m. (EST), to my knowledge, a book with this title does not exist. Also, to save my book aspirations, I'm not going to tell you what the book is going to be about, but I can tell you, it will be fun.

Well, I must bid ado 'til another time. (soon, I hope)  And get some work completed.