Am I Crazy?

Well things are going really well with Abby. She is making an effort to make friends and on the first day of her truth test, she told the truth. So, we rewarded her by increasing her television time from one hour to an hour and a half. I think it was more like one hour and ten minutes, but she doesn't have to know! It's just so hard for Murad and I to stomach Hannah Montana, ugh! However, I really do like the show called The Wizards of Waverly Place. It's such a cute show and the lead girl character is so adorable. She's so much better than slutty Hannah. Oops, did I say that? Don't tell Abby!

I think she is adjusting to our home and our rules, but sadly she'll be returning to Meade in two weeks. However, Murad and I have vowed to spend more time with her and hopefully we'll get her more next summer. Woo-hoo!

So, I'm over halfway through my master's program in school administration and I'm already thinking about getting another degree. Am I crazy? I'm so stressed out with my current program, but I found this ideal program nearby. In fact, it's at the same place where Murad will do his master's and Ph.D in Social Work. Anyways, this program is a Ph.D in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. The focus is K-16 research and policy which is an area in which I'm interested. I know I want to teach for a while longer, but I'd love to do institutional assessment and impact policy in the future and this program seems to align perfectly with my goals. In addition, the program is a cohort program and can be completed in three years including dissertation. In fact, the program is designed for working adults, so I can keep that income and not take out a bunch of student loans. We'll see. I know my parents and Murad would be ecstatic if I got my Ph.D. And with it being a three year program, I could have it done before I have kids or right when I have kids. Lots to think about. It's hard being a grown up. Can I be seven again?

Well, next week we are celebrating Maya, Murad and Sampson's birthday. Their actual birthday isn't until August 18th. However, we would like to celebrate while Abby is still here. Next Friday we're going to a birthday party for my friend Karrie's dog named Murphy. On Saturday, we're going to Texas Land & Cattle for steak dinner and then to Dave & Buster's for some fun! I can not wait!!!

Week 2

Well we've started Week 2, but not without some bumps in the road. This is Abby's second week of summer camp. Unfortunately, it's not going as smoothly as we had hoped. I know Abby is enjoying her time at camp, but she's not making any friends. She's lied to us about making friends, which I feel badly that we put a lot of pressure on her to make friends. We just really want her to be well-rounded and interact appropriately with kids her own age. I know it's hard for her especially being from a small town and she is also very self-conscious of her weight. So this week, Murad and I are going to teach her how to make friends and also get the lying in check. I know it's normal at this age to lie to please people and to escape getting in trouble, but we need to nip this in the bud before it becomes a problem. Another thing I realize we need to focus on is rewarding good behaviors rather than resorting to punishment for undesirable behaviors. It's sort of the same philosophy we used when training our non-human children. However, we can have conversations with Abby about how her behavior is hurting us, whereas we can't with Sam & Maya.

I will say that Abby has made some drastic improvements. She's adjusted so well to only watching one hour of television each day. She has her morning and night routine down to a tee. She knows in the morning that she is to eat breakfast (with no T.V.), brush her teeth, get dressed and make her bed. She knows that she's to take off her shoes when she enters the house and say excuse me when she burps. I'm so proud that she's becoming a little lady.

Sam and Maya love having her here too. Maya loves to sleep with her each night and they look forward to the long walks. Murad took Abby, Sam & Maya to the duck pond on Sunday night and they enjoyed themselves. Last night we headed to the local Baskin-Robbins. It was a fun night, but I have to admit I was upset by the lack of Baseball Nut. So, I settled for Peanut Butter n' Chocolate and Nutty Coconut.

Sunday night I had to say good-bye to a dear friend. My co-worker, Lynsey is embarking on a new journey. Two years ago she met the love of her life from Denmark. She got engaged to him over Christmas break and she's moving to Denmark today. She will be back next July to marry him in Colorado and I can not wait to see her again.

Well, I'm signing off for now. Keep the Campbell family in your prayers and keep Lynsey in your prayers as she journeys to Denmark.

Swimming

Abby's day camp didn't go swimming today (they shocked the pool), so we went swimming tonight!

Abby Update #2

Well today was Abby's third day at summer camp. I think she really is enjoying it. She LOVES the fact that she gets to swim each day. She's getting so tan and her hair is so light. She looks absolutely stunning. She got a little owie today at camp, but she's a trooper and wears her bandage with pride.

I think the camp is a little bit of culture shock for her. There are a lot of kids at camp compared to at her school in Meade. I think Murad said there are only 13 kids in her kindergarten class (I'd love to teach a class of only 13 kids!) . There is also a lot more diversity here. We chose the City of Richardson as her day camp because we really wanted to expose her to kids from all sorts of backgrounds. Richardson is a property rich district (damn Robin Hood laws), but we have students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. However, Richardson does have high standards of excellence in academics compared to most districts of similar backgrounds:

"A July 20, 2008 article in The Dallas Morning News reported on TAKS scores for area school districts and included an evaluation of the results. The following is an excerpt from that article.

"Pulling meaning or conclusions from the Dallas area's state testing results can be difficult. Our evaluation of the 2008 TAKS scores revealed these highlights

"Exceeding expectations

"Last year, Richardson ISD won accolades for exceeding expectations in a district that serves many poor students. This year, the district continues to show that trend.More than 34,000 students were enrolled in Richardson this past school year, and nearly half were considered poor.When compared with districts with similar demographics, such as Mesquite, Carrollton-Farmers Branch and Garland, Richardson students usually scored higher. Conversely, Richardson students do as well or slightly better than students in some wealthier school districts. For example students' math and reading scores in certain grades were comparable to students' scores in Plano, McKinney and Lewisville.
(sorry I had to brag on my school district)

So, as you can see Richardson really is a great place not only for me as a teacher, but for the students. I think Abby is going to gain more than she realizes by attending day camp here. She's exposed to so much. I think traveling to different places is the best gift parents can give to their children.

Well, as any mother, I do worry about her. On the first day of camp she told us that a boy was bullying her. "What'd he say, Abby?" inquired Murad. "Well, he said Hannah Montana can't sing good, but I know she can. He also said I can't do karate, but I can." Whew. Imagine our relief to find out it wasn't real bullying, but just healthy competition!

Today she went to Celebration Station and the movies and had a blast. She has two more days of camp this week and she starts a new camp next Monday. This weekend we'll probably take the dogs to the dog park and also get her hair cut. Her bangs are way too long. I can barely see her beautiful eyes!

Abby Update #1

Well, Abby is here in Dallas. It was a long journey to get here, complete with the typical, funny (and not-so-funny) mishaps that seem to plague the Woodard-Campbells.

Murad, Maya, Sam and I left for Wichita, Kansas early Saturday morning. Let me preface this by saying that Murad had not slept since Thursday. Yes, Thursday. He still insisted on driving and I proceeded to read him the Michael Jackson biography to keep him awake. The trip was fine until we entered the great state of Oklahoma. I-35 always has construction and Oklahoma was no different. There was one cone that was a little too far out and BAM; Murad hit it. We lost the driver's side mirror. Not the entire mirror, luckily....

We made it to Wichita and stopped at my parents' house. Murad placed the dogs in the backyard and we went inside to chat it up with my parents. About five minutes into our conversation the doorbell rings and my parents' neighbor is holding Maya. Yes, that's right. Maya jumped the fence. She loves to test boundaries.

Murad headed off to Meade, Kansas which is where Abby lives. The dogs and I stayed in Wichita that night to do some wedding stuff and visit friends. My mom has come pretty far with my wedding dress. I'm so excited for it all to be complete. And today marks the 8 month point. Only 8 more months until we are Mr. & Mrs. Campbell!!!! I'm still trying to find the perfect flower girl dresses for Abby and her cousin Kaylea. I really want something that is periwinkle with an ivory or champagne sash (the inverse of the bridesmaids), but all I can find is baby blue or something with skinny straps. I just don't think little girls should wear skinny straps. I'm almost positive Murad would not go for it. I did find a cute Ivory dress with a periwinkle sash, so if all else fails...

My parents made a big dinner for me that night (steak, mixed veggies and grilled zuchini). After that, I stopped by our friends' house. Murad and I attended Jennifer & Jason Cheng's wedding in May. They just recently moved into a new house, so I went over to check it out. Murad and I had hoped they would relocate to Dallas after graduating from med school, but they chose to stay in Wichita. Their house is great. Great location and great size!

After that, my matron of honor, Katie came over and we chatted it up for a while. Maya and Sam were extremely excited to see her. They love Aunt Kay. They seem to show their affection with tons of jumping, licking and scratching. Katie is a good sport though as she has two BIG dogs herself!

The next day, my mom cooked a big breakfast and I put Sam and Maya outside, but tried to keep an eye on them..... Maya jumped the fence AGAIN. This time she was at the end of my parents' street. Just chillin' in their neighbors' yard. She ran right back to me once she saw me which is good, because usually she bolts!

Murad and Abby made their way back to Wichita, but not before he got pulled over for the missing mirror. Luckily, he only got a warning. And we found out today it's not illegal to drive in Texas to drive with a missing mirror as long as you have two others. He's getting it fixed tomorrow. Luckily, it wasn't too expensive. We were envisioning $500 and it was more like $100. Whew!

Here are some funny quotes from Abby I'd like to share:

--Murad was driving and the song "Turn off the Lights" by Teddy Pendergrass came on and Abby goes, "Daddy, this would make a really good lullaby." Yes, Abby it would. A freaky one and one we hope you won't hear for a LONG time! Haha!

--Murad was talking to his friend about her baby-daddy. Abby goes, "Ashlea, is that a knee-high daddy?"

Today was Abby's first day at summer day camp. She absolutely loved it! I was a little nervous. Abby is used to having a stay-at-home mom and Murad and I both work and go to school. I was just very scared that she wouldn't adjust to the big city and being away from us all day. This summer camp is awesome though! It's through the City of Richardson which is where I teach. It was the last camp that was available, so I was worried that it wouldn't be great. It is though. The day camps in my area were not like this at all. In fact, they were so bad that my parents refused to pay for me to go to them. Instead, I rode my bike to the pool each day and my parents saved their money for me to go to church camp in Colorado. Ahh, those were the days. Even though kidnapping was big when I was growing up, I never feared riding my bike. But I digress...

Today, at camp they played outside and went swimming, which Abby loves. Each day they do something different and on Wednesday they will go to Celebration Station and the movies. I think she'll really enjoy it. Murad and I have afternoons off, so we may try to chaperone the field trip.

I know she misses her mom and her sister. Tonight, it was so cute when Stacie (Abby's mom) put Lexie (Abby's little sister) on the phone. "Abby, I miss you so much. You need to come back home." "I'm sorry Lexie, but I can't come home until after summer camp." Abby is so grown up, or at least she tries to be. Today she was the only one at camp who put her game away properly. She helped Murad and I with the groceries. She's becoming a little lady.

Well, I'll leave you with a picture from tonight. Doesn't she look just like Murad?

Website Evaluation -- Whole Child Education

The average student in today's society, is much more technology savvy and faces many more challenges than what was seen before. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has created the Whole Child. The Whole Child focuses on maintaining healthy students, creating safe environments, ensuring student engagement, providing support for students, and maintaining a challenging curriculum.

The website provides those who access it with updated news on student health and interests. For example, one article highlights podcasting as a way to engage students. In the article, teachers were allowed to create digital lectures for students to access on their Zunes. This is just one way the website stays up to date with information concerning technology and students. In addition, the news articles are delivered in blog format, which allows readers to comment on the articles and create a dialogue.

While the website does provide relevant information, the website can be hard to navigate in some areas. For example, it is hard to find out the origin of the website besides the purpose. In addition, despite listing the partners with which they work, there is little mention of scientifically based research strategies. Another negative aspect of the site is the lack of contact information. The contact page only provides a way for readers to fill out a contact sheet. However, no address, or phone numbers are listed.

Despite this, the website is very valuable for the 21st century. With the many challenges that our students face, it is time that a website address the needs of the whole child. I would highly recommend this website for teachers, but especially for administrators who are looking to create a holistic curriculum program that addresses interpersonal skills, health, safetey and student engagement.

summer is slipping away....

So, I will be posting a rather educational post on my blog this week. (just to warn you avid readers). I have to do it for my grad school class.

It's weird. I didn't think I would learn so much in my grad school classes, but I have. At first I didn't know if I wanted to actually be a principal, but now I'm sure of it. I think I will miss being in the classroom, but I think I will enjoy the leadership position. The extra $15,000 a year doesn't hurt either. However the work will be difficult. It's definitely not a cushy job, but I enjoy a challenge. In fact, I'm even considering getting a doctorate in education (Ed.D or Ph.D), so that I can be a superintendent. I'm "CONSIDERING " it. I'll probably wait until Murad gets his Ph.D. We'll see though. More student loans, but hey an education is worth it, right?

so save the dates are in the mail. people are already receiving it. hopefully, liking it? I'm so mad because I discovered an easier way to make them yesterday. And I could've added more things to it. Oh well, I got them sent out and there isn't anything I can do about i now. Oh and how awesome am I that I sent my mom's friend a save the date envelope without a save the date enclosed. Genius! I think the invitations I'm making will be very nice though. I'm so excited to do those!