Anyone still there?!?! I can't believe its been over a year since I lost wrote a blog post!!! A lot has happened in the last 2 or so years, I'm not even sure where to begin. If you have been following our Facebook page you may have glimpsed a bit of what we've been doing.
Jordan completed half a year at his high school, then we tried online school for the remainder of his freshmen year. He was excelling with the online courses, the school we were participating through offered to pay for him to continue with the online courses through a private institution. The new curriculum really challenged him and he began struggling with a few of his classes. Jordan felt he would like to return a brick and mortar school and returned to the charter school his Junior year. Halfway through the school year we were presented with a much awaited opportunity that meant another school change. Jordan would be attending the same high school I did when I was younger, having to be "the new kid" at the beginning of second semester. Then there were a few hiccups with figuring out his schedule and current grades for his classes seems the charter school operated on trimester rather than semesters. He will be finishing his senior year this year. He's experimenting with a new class that embraces a hidden talent/interest of his, choir, which he is really enjoying.
New grade, new name; Joey decided he would now be called Joe because he was no longer a little kid, mow being in middle school. It took Joe awhile to accumulate to middle school with the changing of classes and a greater part of the responsibility for his schoolwork resting upon his own shoulders. He was off to a very bumpy start, having very much disliked a specific teacher/class and earned himself a few detentions for coming to class extremely late. He was also still being very head-strong about not wanting to be different and resented the accommodations we had put in place to help him succeed. It didn't matter to him that we careful to keep his accommodations as discrete as we could, he was going to butt heads with us to show his independence. By second semester he backed down a bit and we lifted some of the helpful aids we had arranged for him, win-win. The following year he made some really great friends, every one of them was a girl, not only did he seek them out between classes they would seek him out as well. He had finally found a group that fully accepted him, when some of the other kids would tease Joe these girls would rally around him and stand up for him while not making it seem like he had girls coming to his rescue. Joe was taking on more responsibility with his schoolwork, but still struggled to get the assignments turned in that he had completed. He was truly enjoying seventh grade! Then our opportunity arose and he was uprooted from not only his school but his group of friends he had grown very close to. Joe would be attending the same middle school I had and was the new kid entering at the beginning of second semester. This year he has found a small group of kids to hang with. He's also realized that he's almost in high school and needs to start putting more effort into his schoolwork. He's also applied to be the school's mascot, with I think he'll be perfect at! He's also really concerning joining the wrestling team.
Jacob was top dog, along with the rest of the fifth-graders and had become very comfortable at this school but was also eager to be moving on, out of the elementary school. Jacob had quickly became one of the popular kids in elementary school, but the cool kind of popular that got along with everyone and wasn't snooty. Middle school for Jacob took some adjusting as he isn't comfortable with new situations or environments. After the initial anxiety had passed he found his place as one of the popular kids among the sixth-grader. He continued to excel in his classes, with only one incident when he began to show some insecurities about his knowledge and started "dumbing down" himself because many of his classmates were not at the same level he was. He quickly got himself back on track once we refocused his attention to be the kid his classmates aim to be. It was smooth sailing until he started second semester at his new school. He handled the transition very well and his Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome wasn't activated. His personality however took a 180, he became shy and reserved at school and had little interest in making any friends. Jacob is Jacob and he kept his A average for the remainder of the school year. This year he's a bit more comfortable with the school and is starting to regain his place among the popular kids. He also applied for a position within the school and was "hired" as the office assistant, he gets paid with school credit for the school store.
I went back to school at the community college to finish my Associates of Arts. Having taken a 15 year hiatus I eased myself back into student life with just one class. I'm glad I only took one class because this history instructor was very detailed in the notes we were to take and our responses on coursework and exams; I'm proud to say I completed the course with an A. The second semester I registered for two onsite classes and two online classes. I ended up dropping my online history course because I was having difficulty understanding what was to be learned and what needed to be submitted, I chalked it up to my lack of experience and the instructor's teaching style and my learning style were very different. I did beautifully with the other online course and one of my onsite courses; I did take a hit to my GPA with my other onsite class, after talking with classmates we concluded that everyone had done poorly in this class, the instructor had an idea of what he would have liked for an answer and if your response deviated from that per your lack of ability to read minds you were greatly marked down. Eventually everyone gets a teacher like that, overall I'm loving being back in school and am excited about obtaining my first of many degrees. This year I missed the deadline for financial aid and scholarships so I'll be taking this semester off, but I should still be on track to complete my Associates according to my plans; I only have 4 more courses to take.
Jordan completed half a year at his high school, then we tried online school for the remainder of his freshmen year. He was excelling with the online courses, the school we were participating through offered to pay for him to continue with the online courses through a private institution. The new curriculum really challenged him and he began struggling with a few of his classes. Jordan felt he would like to return a brick and mortar school and returned to the charter school his Junior year. Halfway through the school year we were presented with a much awaited opportunity that meant another school change. Jordan would be attending the same high school I did when I was younger, having to be "the new kid" at the beginning of second semester. Then there were a few hiccups with figuring out his schedule and current grades for his classes seems the charter school operated on trimester rather than semesters. He will be finishing his senior year this year. He's experimenting with a new class that embraces a hidden talent/interest of his, choir, which he is really enjoying.
New grade, new name; Joey decided he would now be called Joe because he was no longer a little kid, mow being in middle school. It took Joe awhile to accumulate to middle school with the changing of classes and a greater part of the responsibility for his schoolwork resting upon his own shoulders. He was off to a very bumpy start, having very much disliked a specific teacher/class and earned himself a few detentions for coming to class extremely late. He was also still being very head-strong about not wanting to be different and resented the accommodations we had put in place to help him succeed. It didn't matter to him that we careful to keep his accommodations as discrete as we could, he was going to butt heads with us to show his independence. By second semester he backed down a bit and we lifted some of the helpful aids we had arranged for him, win-win. The following year he made some really great friends, every one of them was a girl, not only did he seek them out between classes they would seek him out as well. He had finally found a group that fully accepted him, when some of the other kids would tease Joe these girls would rally around him and stand up for him while not making it seem like he had girls coming to his rescue. Joe was taking on more responsibility with his schoolwork, but still struggled to get the assignments turned in that he had completed. He was truly enjoying seventh grade! Then our opportunity arose and he was uprooted from not only his school but his group of friends he had grown very close to. Joe would be attending the same middle school I had and was the new kid entering at the beginning of second semester. This year he has found a small group of kids to hang with. He's also realized that he's almost in high school and needs to start putting more effort into his schoolwork. He's also applied to be the school's mascot, with I think he'll be perfect at! He's also really concerning joining the wrestling team.
Jacob was top dog, along with the rest of the fifth-graders and had become very comfortable at this school but was also eager to be moving on, out of the elementary school. Jacob had quickly became one of the popular kids in elementary school, but the cool kind of popular that got along with everyone and wasn't snooty. Middle school for Jacob took some adjusting as he isn't comfortable with new situations or environments. After the initial anxiety had passed he found his place as one of the popular kids among the sixth-grader. He continued to excel in his classes, with only one incident when he began to show some insecurities about his knowledge and started "dumbing down" himself because many of his classmates were not at the same level he was. He quickly got himself back on track once we refocused his attention to be the kid his classmates aim to be. It was smooth sailing until he started second semester at his new school. He handled the transition very well and his Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome wasn't activated. His personality however took a 180, he became shy and reserved at school and had little interest in making any friends. Jacob is Jacob and he kept his A average for the remainder of the school year. This year he's a bit more comfortable with the school and is starting to regain his place among the popular kids. He also applied for a position within the school and was "hired" as the office assistant, he gets paid with school credit for the school store.
I went back to school at the community college to finish my Associates of Arts. Having taken a 15 year hiatus I eased myself back into student life with just one class. I'm glad I only took one class because this history instructor was very detailed in the notes we were to take and our responses on coursework and exams; I'm proud to say I completed the course with an A. The second semester I registered for two onsite classes and two online classes. I ended up dropping my online history course because I was having difficulty understanding what was to be learned and what needed to be submitted, I chalked it up to my lack of experience and the instructor's teaching style and my learning style were very different. I did beautifully with the other online course and one of my onsite courses; I did take a hit to my GPA with my other onsite class, after talking with classmates we concluded that everyone had done poorly in this class, the instructor had an idea of what he would have liked for an answer and if your response deviated from that per your lack of ability to read minds you were greatly marked down. Eventually everyone gets a teacher like that, overall I'm loving being back in school and am excited about obtaining my first of many degrees. This year I missed the deadline for financial aid and scholarships so I'll be taking this semester off, but I should still be on track to complete my Associates according to my plans; I only have 4 more courses to take.