Last Day of Class?

Three weeks from today is the final day of the Semester (finals included).   In my CHLD 109 class today (a different class than what I usual talk about) our professor informed us that next week we weren't going to have class, so we can have more time to work on our Final Project.   She also decided that we wouldn't have class the next week, in order to give us even more time, because, she told us, she knew we probably had a lot going on in our other classes, let alone this Final Project (and other end of the year projects in this class).    And we don't have a final.... so..... today was the last official day of class in CHLD 109.   We set up times for how we can turn in our projects when they are due over the next couple weeks.    

Physical Activity

Today in my CHLD 105 class (the one where the teacher has been super helpful through the struggles I've had in her class) we did our Big project, the Physical Activity.   Our class as a whole (all 5 of us) wrote up a lesson plan (with the guidance of our professor) and planned for a 45 minute activity lesson.   Today we did it - oh and because we were doing the activity with the group of preschoolers that I work with, I was put in charge of the group.    I was thankful for the opportunities, experience and teaching/training I got in SLI, as they really helped.    Below is the outline of what we did.

We had a warm up in the classroom that included reading two book books, a fun physically active song and dancing or movement, and engagement in conversation and or opinions of the children.  Second we implemented our physical activity using the three stations: Ball Toss, Hop ‘N Run, and The Obstacle Course.  

In Ball Toss, children had a basket of red, yellow, and blue balls.  The children took turns selecting a ball of their choice and throwing it into one of three bins.   Each bin was labeled with a large blue, red, or yellow circle.  The children’s goal was to throw the yellow balls into the yellow bin, the red balls into the red bin, and the blue balls into the blue bin.  

In Hob ‘N Run, children took turns hopping on each of six stripes on a coloured, striped mat. Upon finishing the six hops, they then ran to the far end of the room where several stuffed animals were sitting on several foam blocks.   Each child the grabbed one stuffed animal and returned it to the leader of the centre.  

In The Obstical Course, children took turns completing four different obstacles.  First they climbed up and slid down a slide.  Second they rolled over a round foam block.  Third, they had to crawl through a foam tunnel and under a series of three foam arches.  Finally, they returned to the line by the teacher.

The lesson closed with a stretching activity called Pizza Making.  In this closing activity, children sat with both legs out straight in front of them, spread apart as far as they can.   At the leader’s instruction, several students (one at a time) that were following directions got to choose a topping to add to our pizzas.  Everyone then pretended they are preparing that topping to put on their pizza (e.g. if the topping is cheese, they rub their hands back and forth as if they were grading a block of cheese over the pizza).    Finishing up this activity each child ‘stuck their pizza in the oven’. 

   Upon finishing each of the centres, each child will receive a stamp or sticker on their hand. 

SLI Tradegy Update: Praise Report

Praise God!    Within just over a two day period the full $25,000 was raised to fund the search and transportation back to Canada for the body of the young SLI student that died (Caleb Weeks)!   About an hour after the $25,000 goal was reached on GoFundMe.com, an update was posted that Caleb's body had been found.   Praise God!   As people continue to donate to help pay for extra unexpected fees and expenses, the fundraising has surpassed $27,000 from over 230 people!!  

It is still really hard in processing the whole situation, but I am grateful and thankful that God provided the people, the finances and the resources that have been needed!   Regardless of the situations, God is Good!

SLI Tragedy

Just an update for those who don't know.   The last couple days have been emotionally rough.   Sunday I got word that devastated me.   The 2017/18 SLI Class (Via Koinonia) was on a missions trip down in Guatemala for the past week.   This past Saturday, they spent part of the day at the beach.     One of the SLI students, Caleb Weeks (19), got caught in the riptide and drowned.  I was told that both the team leader and another classmate where there and almost caught him.   I am at loss for words .  .  .  (my voice and hands are literally shaking as I am writing this). . .  I didn't know him well - I met him maybe a few times, I heard his name a lot and I had seen him around.   But this is still very painful for me.  

Search and rescue teams are still out searching for Caleb's body.  Please pray that 1) they find his body, and 2) that finances will come in to cover the costs of the search and repatriation.    And of course for the family, and everyone impacted.  Caleb had a huge impact all over.  Praise God that he was a believer, and is home now.      Below is a link to a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for these expenses.   If you feel led, please consider giving to Caleb's family.

https://www.gofundme.com/caleb-weeks-go-fund-me-campaign?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=campaign_title&utm_campaign=donation_receiptv5

The SLI class is back in Canada now.  

Medications

Just an update, I did start back on my prescription muscle relaxers.   I've had a growing pain in my neck in the last week.  Thankfully, though, once I started back on the medications, it has felt much better.  

Marry Poppins

Last night we went as a family to Bloomington High School's Play, Marry Poppins!   I didn't know what to expect going into it, as I don't recall ever seeing Marry Poppins before, either book, play nor movie.   Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed it, I loved it!  It was a 2.5 hour play and was very well done.  We "won" the tickets to the play at the Prairie School Fundraiser a while ago.   We were within the first 5-10 rows from the front and we had a great view! The props were great, the costumes were well done, and the actors were wonderful!    It made me want to go to more plays, and I felt like I could watch this play over and over again!  

Coin Talk

DISCLAIMER: I understand that the decisions I have made (that I am about to share) go very much against most budgeting methods, teachings, and consoling.

Last, last, Saturday I made a risky move and took $375 out of the $420 in my bank account and invested it into some coins on eBay.  I am a coin collector and I've been out of collecting for a while and this really excited me. I thought they were something I could make money on, especially over time.

The next day is when my car started dying and the next day, Monday is when it completely died.  Knowing that I needed to come up with money to fix the car or buy a new one, I knew that I needed to sell the 17 dollar coins that I had purchased for $375. I also posted a bunch of my coins on eBay as well But I didn't stop there, I invested in many more coins, over the last week or so. Yes I need to get a handle of my spending (especially since I don't have the money even though I'm planning to re-sell them in different lots and groups hopping to make profit - based on experience and research and studying what sells and what doesn't).  But I also think I can make money on what I purchased. I may have bid on hundreds of coins (knowing that I'd lose most of them which was true), but I bid intentionally I bid only on specific lots and items that I was pretty sure was a good deal and I could make profit one even after eBay's high fees. It is extremely risky (and I do not recommend it) yet I am praying that God will bless the lots that I am selling.

Prior to buying any coins in the last week or two, I had $600-$1,000 worth of coins and supplies in my personal coin collection. I currently have about $700 in bids on my eBay lots and I'm hoping that goes up to at least $1,000. Once my latest purchases of coins arrive in the mail, am hoping to post them on eBay and hope and pray that they sell.  Worst case scenario, I will use my upcoming paycheck to cover credit card bill, but I am going to try to do what I can to prevent that. I've spent too much out of my budget and if I allow myself get away with that without consequences, I'll be setting myself up for harm in the future.  I have many good plans for saving, and investing along with structured and constructive spending. I've set many goals in YNAB (You Need A Budget) program, and I want to work to meet them and get myself back on track. If I can sell $1,000-$1,500 of coins, I can pay off my coin expenses and begin to pay the expenses on my car.   Sadly, eBay does charge about a 13% fee on sales, so I'll have to work with that, but that's life.    God is still good.

EXTENDED DISCLAIMER: I understand that the decisions I have made go very much against most budgeting methods, teachings, and consoling.  Many would say that what I did was foolish.  That may be so, but I've learned from poor past experiences that if I beat myself up because of it, I will only harm myself and will cause more destruction in my life further down the road.  With that being said, that is not an excuse to spend money that I don't have.   My decisions may not have been the wisest use of my money but I can testify that God is teaching and reminding me of things through this.  I want to use my money wisely, though in some areas my definition of wise does not align with other's definitions.    (I am not saying what I did was wise).   I messed up, and I will have to deal with that.   I am not perfect, NPP: No Perfect People (As Pastor Steve at Koinonia Christian Fellowship frequently says).   I am praying that God will bless me through this despite my shortcomings but even more so I am praying that He will teach me through this.  

That Car Or Not That Car, That Is The Question

Well, my car may not be as bad as it first looked.    Ben, the mechanic looking at it, said that the problem was "the crankshaft position sensor, aka the ECU doesn't have a clue where the engine is ever at in it's cycle, and thus doesn't know when to inject fuel."   The part for the sensor is only $50 plus tax and shipping.   Plus the cost for Ben's time and work.  But, it is a lot cheaper than I thought.  He also thought that this would fix the shaking/vibrating of the engine.      

So now I am in a dilemma, that I would love prayer about.  I have a handful of options right now.   

1. I could keep my car and hope and pray it doesn't break down again
2. I could sell my car and buy the one that I am driving now (valued at about $3,500 but the owner offered it to me for $2,500)
3. I could sell my car and buy my mom's car for $4,000 (a nice, low mileage car that has a wonderful history (it used to be my great aunt's)  and was well taken car of) 
4. I could sell my car and look for another Toyota Echo either in Texas or to import from Canada (because it would be cheaper - possibly)
5. I could sell my car and look for another car

If I would sell my car, Ben has expressed interest in buying it.  I could probably get $1,500-$2,500 out of it.    I currently have less money to spend in my bank than what is actually there - I over spent on my credit card (intentionally) on coins - That's another story in a different post.   I hopefully will have a few hundred extra soon though.  Either way, I likely would have to take out a loan to get either the $2,500 or the $4,000 car - both of which I would like, though they are downgrades to what I have (even though they are 1-2 years newer and have 150,000 - 200,000 less miles on them than my car has).  

I would appreciate prayer on wisdom in making this decision and with timing as well.    

No Car; No License

Well this day has finally come.  The day in which I do not have a working car, nor do I have a legal license.    Let me explain.  

Sunday morning, after filling up my tank in my car, I drove to church.  Twice on the way to church the engine in my car died on me - while I was driving.   I assumed it was the batter since the batter light came on each time.   Each time, I would turn the key off and then back on again, and within a minute or two, my car would be running again.  

Sunday afternoon, as I came out from church, I found that my car was dead.  Thankfully a nice gentleman helped me jump start it.   It took a few minutes for it to start this way, even when the battery sounded strong.    But after those few minutes, It started up and seemed fine.  I drove home then.   Praise God for His timing, for as soon as my car turned into my driveway, the engine died again, and I just barely had enough momentum to make it to where I needed to park, just barely.    I tried starting it back up again, but it didn't start.   Thankfully, Renee and Steve had asked if I would take their van that night to the Church class I was going to, so I could fill it up in town.  

Monday morning, I went out, thrilled to find snow on my car, and the ground, and started my car.  It started without a problem.  Steve had offered that I could use his truck if my car didn't start.   So I drove to work.  Well, at least that what I was planning on doing.  I never actually made it to work at all that day.   Half way to work, I heard a series of two loud clunks, each came with a sharp jerk of the car.  Then the oil warning light came on, and the screen flashed a big red (all caps), "STOP!".   I know that this screen has given me this warning falsely before, but with all the strange dieing it's had in the last 24 hours, I figured it was wise to stop.  I pulled off to the side of the road and sat there for a bit.  The engine didn't die.  If the warning sign was correct, it may mean that I didn't have any oil (odd because I just got an oil change in January), which would explain the clucking and shaking of the engine.   Thankfully I happened have a quart of oil in my back seat.  I took it and after a few minutes, added it to my engine's oil compartment.   I then let my engine cool, with the hood up, for 15 minutes, and then 20 minutes so it could cool and settle, thus being able to give me an accurate oil level.    I checked the oil several times and each time, it said I had plenty of oil.    So I texted my work and told them I may be a bit late due to car troubles.  Then I texted my dad. He suggested that I contact Ben Koch - a diesel mechanic who has done lots of work on this car in the past (I bought it from his dad two years ago).   Ben thought through some things and asked a handful of questions and looked up a few things online.    Then he said he was going to hang up, do some research and call me back in about 15 minutes.    I then texted my work and told them I may not make it in at all.  They called back and said that is okay and understandable.  They also offered that if I needed a ride, they would find on for me.   By this point, my phone was at about 4 percent battery - I hadn't charged it in my car on the way to work like I usually do, since I was worried it would drain the batter (assuming that my battery was weak).

A cop pulled up behind me, and asked if I was alright.  I explained what was going on and he headed back to his car.    However he didn't leave.  A few minutes later he got out again and came up and asked me to get out and to get my driver's license out.   So I did, not thinking anything was wrong.  He then asked me, "when does your license expire?"  When he pointed out the date on my card it shocked me.  My driver's license expired yesterday.   It's a good thing that he noticed this, I would have never thought to look - it didn't occur to me that it expired.     Thank you God!   See, good things do come out of some of the frustrating and hard trials.    He, praise God, didn't ticket me for it, but rather told me to take care of it.   (this morning I carpooled with Bethany, and tomorrow I am hoping to head to the DMV before work and get it renewed).

Ben then texted and said that he was needing to come to Bloomington today anyways, so he was going to come stop by and take a look at my car.  (He lives about a half an hour away).

I was grateful when Bethany happened to drive by on her way home from school, and she stopped for a bit.  I was able to charge my phone in her car for about ten minutes.  

When Ben came, he dug around under my hood for a while and we tried various things.  His thought was that it's either a fuel-not-getting-to-or-thru-the-engine kind of problem or a transmission kind of problem.  However, during the half an hour or so he was under my hood (on the side of the road), he couldn't find anything worthwhile.  He offered to tow it back to his place and spend some time digging into it deeper and such.  I accepted his offer.

Renee was willing to take some of her time, to come and pick me up and bring me back home, and Ben went to Bloomington to buy the part needed to tow my car with his truck.  

It's likely that he will have my car for a few weeks - he did mention that he doesn't know how soon he will get deep into it.  But I didn't have much other choice.   I had just made a coin investment (via eBay) this weekend, and it brought my bank account down to less than $50.  I will have to resell those coins once they come in, and I am currently working to sell some of my other coins.    I am looking into other cars on craigslist, as I do not know if my car will be worth fixing.  It is possible that it will be totaled and I will have to junk it or sell it for parts.  I am praying about what direction to take, where to get the finances for it, and what to do in the meantime.   Any prayer would be greatly appreciated.  

The Big Pink Balloon

You know it's a not-so-good sign when you wake up thinking you had a dream where you broke your alarm clock as it was going off.  Not that I would say this from experience or anything....   Yeah, so this was my morning today.

I normally plan about 2 hours to get ready in the morning, and this morning I had 10-15 minutes.    I woke up, Praise God that I woke up when I did, shortly before I needed to leave.   And it wasn't like I could just skip class, I had an observation/teaching I had set up with Prairie Christian School (PCS) this morning, and I couldn't miss that.   Sad to say, I skipped all the spinning rims and ate a banana and an orange on the way.  (Side note: when I finished the banana, I through it out my window into a field.  However it didn't make it into the field.  If you have ever tried to throw a banana peel out the passenger window while driving before, you'll know what I mean (apples are a lot easier).   The banana would have made it had my car been stationary, however it was indeed moving.  Thus the banana peel smacked my mirror, leaving a smudge and plopped down on the side of the road.)

Anyways I made it to PCS in good time, and found that I had plenty of time there before classes started.   I prepped and reviewed while I waited.    I was blessed to be able to get not one, but two observation/teaching projects done.      One was a singable book, which I did The Seals on the Bus (suggested by Bethany) and (also suggested by Bethany) The Blue Balloon.   The latter was used not as a singable book, but as another Dialogic Reading project - involving lots of questions and engagement from the kids.  Having done The Seals on the Bus first really helped, in my opinion, draw the kids into engagement for The Blue Balloon.    To further engage them, I decided to bring in a blue balloon for them to play with (the class was a group of three kindergartners).   The book was about a BIG balloon, so I brought in my BIG 4-foot blue balloon (that you can buy for $1.50 CAD in Canada at Dollaroma).  I didn't quite blow it up to it's full 4 foot diameter, but it was well over 2 feet wide.    I started with the blue balloon, but come to find out it had a hole in it.  I was very thankful that I had brought my last and final big balloon as a back up - it was pink.   Needless to say, the kids loved it.   Well, that is, they loved it for about three minutes - then it hit the corner of the light fixture and went from 2+ feet wide to 2+ millimeters thick.  Then Becky, the teacher, asked how my clown skills were.  Not overly sure what she meant, she brought out some long balloons and a pump, and I spent the next 40+ minutes playing with them making balloon animals and shapes.    They stretched the ability I thought I had with making balloon animals.   (Becky had a meeting (on the other side of the classroom, that took longer than she expected, so she was very thankful that I was able to stay and play with them with the balloons for this time).  It was fun and enjoyable, and it makes want to come back again.    

I made it to class a few minutes late, but it didn't make much difference.  

Come to find out, later in the day today, that the second book I had read this morning for an upcoming observation, is no longer needed.  The professor of this class, Dr. Hartle, who has helped me so much and has been very helpful and flexible, decided today to drop that last assignment, so we have more time to study for the final exam.  

There were also 3 students gone today from that class and so the two of us remaining got out fifteen minutes early.     (My second class today, the other child development one, didn't have class today, as it was an out of class observation day).    In class with Dr. Hartle, our next, and now final, assignment is called a Physical Activity.  As a group/class, we have to come up with a 40-45 minute lesson and activities to teach some of the preschoolers here at the Child Development Lab.    This activity is still 2-3 weeks away, at least.     However, as we were talking about it today, it looks like Dr. Hartle is going to try to see if we can teach the preschool classroom that I work in, since I already know the kids.   That has it's ups and downs.  It will be easier since the kids know me and respect me, and I know them, but on the flip side, Dr. Hartle may make me the lead in our group because of it - which will be good but stretching.    More to come on that.   

Cuties At School

Today in my Child Development: Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum class (CHLD 105, the class I've had both great joy and stress in), our wonderful professor started off the day wonderfully with offering each of us a Cutie (orange).    I love Cuties, I could snack on way too many of them at once.    Then she started class and it went well, with some good discussions, stories and involvement.   It is going a lot better than the first half of the year.  The professor said at midterm after she gave us a self- and professor-evaluation to fill out so she can improve her teaching from it.   She then said she was going to try to have a day of discussion over each chapter then a day of notes - before midterm it was flipped, notes then discussion.  In my opinion having the discussion first is very beneficial to learning and makes it easier to pick up on - plus the way she has been doing discussions has changed to an easier to pick up on and engage in discussion.  Praise God!! He is so good!     As I was leaving class, she offered me another Cutie, and I happily took another one, thanking her and telling her how much I enjoyed it, since I enjoy them so much.   Then as she was packing them up to go, she stopped and said that I could just take the whole bag.   I am very happy to do so!   I love these things!   God is so good to me.

After class stayed at school (I didn't go home for supper - I packed one in my lunch) and stayed and did homework until about 7:30 PM in the computer lab.   I am excited to say that I am much further caught up, and after the work I got done today, I feel a lot less overwhelmed about the projects to come, I knocked out a big chunk.  Even though I have yet another at least 6 observations and activities to do in a classroom, I was able to have at least 4 set up between two appointments this week: one at the Child Development Lab at Heartland Community College (where I work, though not in the same classroom) after work on Wednesday April 3rd, and the other the next day before class on Thursday morning, at Prairie Christian School in El Paso (I've done observations in the past in each of these schools).    

Coming up in my other child development class (CHLD 109), I have the big, Final Project.  It consists of researching 6 different tools/strategies of observations, assessments, and Screenings.   After doing a write up on those 6, 2 from each of the above areas, I have to do one of each of the 3 areas in a classroom.    (two of those three, I am hoping to do on Wednesday - one of those two is actually our next assignment before the big assignment, but I am doubling up on it and going to try to do only one to cover both assignments - we will see).     I was able to drudge through 5 of the 6 areas of research today and the 6th one will be partially in class next week.    I am excited to be this caught up.     

Sunny North, Snowy South

A few weekends ago, the weekend just after I got back from Canada after the funeral, I took a 3 hour trip north with my dad to my aunt and uncles house up in Wisconsin.  My grandma had spent the week there, and my dad and I were going up to spend the night and then bring her back home the next day.   My dad met me at work, as soon as I got off just after 5:00pm and the two of us drove up together in my grandma's car, which she so graciously let us use - which happened to work out beautifully since I needed a car that week since my car was back in the shop - and my grandma was out of town - God lined that up wonderfully (Thank you God!).

Though I really didn't like being away from home so much (as I was home only one night (I think) over March Break), I really enjoyed spending the extra time with my dad, grandma, and aunt, uncle and cousins!   (I also got to enjoy supper at Grandma Siebenthal's house with grandma and grandpa prior that week (when I went to drop my car off in the shop and pick up grandma Baurer's car)!!)   Dad and I spent the night Friday and then we left with grandma Saturday morning.  In that too short of period of time, lots of fun took place, in playing rummy with my dad, having conversations with family, and playing fun and exciting activities with Lavel and Karisa!   Dad, Grandma, and I almost didn't leave on Saturday morning though.  We got word that overnight a bad snowstorm had slammed central Illinois, though it was sunshine way up in Wisconsin.   I was excited, as usual, since I Love snow and all it's sorts.   But we decided to take a risk and head back, sadly I wasn't allowed to drive, but it was fun none the less.  There were good conversations and sights on the way back.  We made it a good chunk of the way back before we saw any hint of snow, but when we did start to see snow, the snow came piling quick.   With cars and semis in the ditches and slow traffic we found our way to the exit we were looking for.  The only thing was, once we got off the interstate, we had 40-60 minutes on state, county, and back roads.   These roads of course were white, and very difficult to see.   Normally I don't think this, but we were fortunate to get off on out exit behind a semi.  The semi helped provide us a vehicle to follow in the whiteout.   But the semi didn't stay the whole time.  When the semi turned off on another road, we found no one to follow.  Fortunately it was clear that a plow had gone through, so it took some of the visibility and hazardousness away.  Unfortunately we found the plow parked in a parking lot not much further down the road (as it seemed he had reached the end of his duty to plow) and we braved the whitewashed roads ahead with very limited visibility and dense fog at points.   But, praise God! we made it home safely and without much struggle, minus the smell of some burnt rubber as out tiers did a lot of spinning on the drive.    Upon arriving at grandma's we found 8-10 inches (20-25 centimeters) piled up on grandma's front lawn.    That you God for the time with family that weekend!  Thank you God for safe travels!  Thank you God for all the snow! 😉