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!

Ivory Bodywash

I just want to rave a bit about Ivory bodywash. No, seriously I do. The other day I was at Wal-Mart (due to planning a wedding I have to shop at Wal-mart, a place I loathe---more about that in another post) and I was looking for some bodywash. Usually I buy that stuff from Bath & Body Works, but since I was there I figure I'd check out something a little less expensive. I saw Ivory Body Wash and thought, "hmmm. I wonder what this is all about?" They had a few different fragrances. I went with the Lavendar scent.

It is the best body wash. Your skin feels clean! Your skin feels moisturized, but not greasy. I love the scent. Not too heavy, but it just has that nice Ivory, clean scent with a hint of lavendar. The best part is that it is only $1.97 a bottle! How amazing is that?

nine months...oh my!

so the baby that is my wedding will be here in nine months. Okay less than nine months. Eight months and three weeks. I am getting more excited about it. My goal is not to put any of our portion of the wedding (my parents are funding a large part of it) on our credit cards. Because of this, I've been working like a dog. I subbed for a week of Pre-AP summer school, went to an AVID conference and next month I teach summer school. Luckily, I enjoy these things. I just really don't want to start our wedding with a ton of debt, so pay the wedding as we go and then after the wedding pay off my credit card (or pay it down...I hear it's good to have a balance) and then buy a house! We'll see. Whatever is in God's plan.

So, I have made some wedding related purchases. Today I bought light blue cardstock and opal metallic envelopes. When I get them, I'm going to start making my save the dates! Woo-hoo! This week I also need to purchase stamps. I'm thinking superhero stamps will be cute and Murad will like them.

Last week Christina and I toured Hotel Indigo. So nice!!! It's one of those trendy Dallas hotels, but surprisingly it's not super expensive and the rate their giving our guests is awesome. One main selling point was the location. It's across the street from our wedding location. Some of the other selling points: Aveda hair and bath products, flat screen t.v.'s, free Wi-Fi. Also, it's a small hotel, so they're very accommodating. For example, the hotel bar is only open until 11pm. If we tell them in advance, they'll keep it open until 2am. Almost like a private party! We can also have our rehearsal dinner there. I really hope my future father-in-law likes it. It would be so ideal to have our dinner there.

So, I found the dress....for my girls. There's no way anyone can see my dress. Why? Because it doesn't exist! My mom isn't done with it yet. However, the dress my girls are going to wear is stunning. I wish I could wear it! I think people might be confused if I did. It's a champagne colored gown. The brown band will be sky blue on my girls' dresses. I can't wait to get them.

I am that girl. I am that girl who is obsessed with her wedding. But right now I'm more obsessed with doing my homework. I need to get motivated and off the computer....Adios!

I'm back and actors i loathe

I'm back from Austin! I got back this afternoon. The trip was fun, but it would've been more fun if I wouldn't have been alone. I did make a point to venture outside of my hotel each night. I even ate in a restaurant by myself! I've never done that. It was an experience! The trip was pretty suite...(haha, get it?) I did have a large suite all to myself. I had three sinks, two tvs and three rooms (if you include the bathroom) all to myself. I felt a little selfish! I ate like a queen as well. Embassy Suites provides made to order breakfast each day, and the lunch they provided each day was very filling! Since it was an all expense paid trip, I made sure to eat well for dinner.

No, but seriously the trip was good. I worked with other Language Arts teachers, as well as special education teachers and life skills teachers to review the state assessment for 6-8th grade Reading for students with cognitive disabilities. I learned so much from the meeting. I learned what those teachers must go through each day to provide effective instruction for their students while assessing them. I have so much admiration for them. I also learned some effective strategies for my special education students as well. Most importantly, I got to meet some really cool teachers. We all were from different parts of the state, but we worked together to create something meaningful for students.

I will say that I was the youngest teacher there. That was a little intimidating, I will admit. I got over it though and didn't let it stop me from sharing my ideas.

Okay, so now to the real meat of the post. Last week Murad and I went to see The Hulk. Edward Norton stars in it and after we left I started thinking of how great of an actor he is. Then I started thinking about actors I loathe (I won't use the word "hate." I detest the word "hate."). One actor popped into my head immediately: KEANU REEVES. Oh my goodness, how much does he suck? Murad thinks he's a good actor, but he's not. He's horrible! Name one movie that he enhances....see you couldn't do it! Here's another actor I hate: KIRSTEN DUNST. She needs to quit acting and get a real job. Maybe you'd like to share some actors you loathe, too. Come on. You'll feel better once you share!