Kursstart och mini-semester i Arvika/Kil/Karlstad

Nu har vi situerat oss i vår nya hemstad och framförallt i lägenheten. Staden måste vi fortfarande lära känna lite bättre. Idag såg jag t om att de hade en bowlinghall här. Det blir perfekt underhållning för oss :)!

Flytten har gått bra och jag började nu i veckan som gått min nya kurs: Svenska/Matematik i Samspel. Jag och Aaron åkte upp till Arvika efter att hans skoldag var slut i fredags och tillbringade sedan lördagen med min väninna Sheila och hennes barn. Först var vi och förmiddagsfikade hos våra andra vänner, Petra, Marcus, Mina, Elma och Tova Nävehed. Sedan tillbringade vi eftermiddagen i badhuset.

På söndagen var vi på konfirmation i Missionskyrkan med efterföljande buffet hemma hos några andra av våra vänner, familjen Wikholm. De bor numera i ett k-märkt hus i Långsered, väldigt vackert både inne och ute där. Huset ligger dessutom vid en sjö! Flickorna var också med dit och när vi hade varit där så åkte vi vidare till Nilsby/Kil där flickorna bor just nu. Aaron och jag bodde hos flickorna över natten så att vi kunde fira Matilda som fyllde 16 år på måndagsmorgonen. Vi var ut och åt middag på kvällen för att fira henne och sedan åkte vi tillbaka till Nilsby och åt den konfektionstårta som jag hade hunnit baka åt henne under dagen. När vi hade fikat klart var Aaron och jag tvungna att åka tillbaka till Arvika eftersom han skulle stanna hos min väninna Sheila under dagarna när jag skulle vara på KAU.

Jag tillbringade både tisdagen och onsdagen på KAU på min nya kurs, Sv/Ma i samspel. Det var väldigt många intryck men också väldigt intressanta föreläsningar. Jag fick också träffa mina nya lärcentra kurs kamrater ifrån Vara. En av dem bor här i Ulricehamn så vi ska försöka att samåka med varandra till Vara på fredagar här framöver. Det kommer att bli arbete i både trio-grupper och lärcentra grupper men också mycket individuellt arbete. Jag hoppas att jag hinner trycka in allt under den tid som vi har på oss.

På torsdag förmiddag, nästan en hel vecka senare, åkte vi tillbaka hit till vårt nya hem i Ulricehamn. På kvällen var vi på föräldramöte för Aaron. På fredagen var Aaron tillbaka till sin skola igen och gick för första gången på fritids på eftermiddagen. Nu är det lördag och jag har beställt lite fler böcker till den nya kursen. Sedan så har Aaron och jag tillbringat eftermiddagen på simhallen.

Micke är i Turkiet och arbetar och kommer hem på fredag i nästa vecka. Det ser både Aaron och jag framemot.

1 week left of work...

upcoming move and school start for Aaron.

Well, here I am again updating my blog. I can´t believe that summer is running by so fast. Just another month until I start studying again. I have been working most of this time, at summer day care. The first week I worked with school age children 7 to 11 and after that I have been working with children between ages 3 to 6. I have also helped out 1 hr/day for 10 days with a 6-year old boy with severe autism. He cannot speak at all and the only way he understands what you´re saying is if you show him cards that show him what we´re going to do next. Very interesting and challenging! I also work next week and then I will have some time off.

I have my upcoming move though, down to Ulricehamn, which is a small town not too far away from the big city of Gothenburg (for those of you who don´t know this).

We´re planning a family trip to Germany on the 12-13th of August and right after that we move. Mike has borrowed a moving truck from his new employer AP & T and has made multiple trips back and forth with it already.

Aaron starts school on the 18th of August. Very exciting for him! But, I am also a little sad about the fact that both of my girls have decided that they want to go to Jr. college (i.e. equivalent to grades 10 and 12 for them) in the town of Karlstad which is closer to Arvika where we live now. What to do? I have tried to persuade Matilda (barely 16, will be on Aug. 29th) to come with us but she is very persistent and strong-willed about her decision. She feels that it won´t be a problem to live with her big sister and Alexandra feels the same way so maybe I am being a bit of a motherhen about it. I just don´t know. Any thoughts on this anyone?

Summertime and Arvika 100 years old/Sommartider

This was posted in the wrong place the other day, in another blog that I have together with my former co-students. This is what it said:

I can´t believe how far it is between my posts. I haven´t written here since I was out on my internship during the month of April. I guess I need to get better at it. Well, I am pretty much throught my course "Leadership in Pedagogical Environments," I just have one more thing to do before I pass this course. Most of my co-students are probably already done. It is something that I should have done in May but instead Aaron and I went to Connecticut to enjoy ourselves together with my part of the extended family.

The reason that Aaron and I flew to New York was that it was my mom´s 80th birthday so all five of us girls decided that we would bet together and celebrate mom at my oldest sister Kris´and my brother-in-law Einar´s place. Even Eva, my youngest sister, her husband and their little baby girl Edda came all the way from China to be together with us. I will try to post pictures from our time there a little bit later when I have some more time (read: have finished my last report). It takes a while to download photos and I don´t always have the patience to sit around and wait for them to do just that.

I know have approximately 14 days lined up with substitute jobs this summer and I´m still hoping to get a little bit more. Mike has vacation two weeks in mid- July and I am thinking about taking the third week, end of July off. That way Aaron won´t have to go to summer daycare. Then beginning of August we should be starting our move down to Borås/Ulricehamn.

During this time I have also moved out of my apartment, June 1st (since Mike and I got back together) and we also have the house out on the market now and will be moving down to the west coast (see above) where Mike is already working. The reason I write Borås/Ulricehamn is that I want to check out the school districts a little first. Mike´s job is a little bit outside of Ulricehamn on the way to Borås ... so for that reason it doesn´t really matter what town we live in.

You can see "our" house and what it looks like nowadays on this link:

http://www.hemnet.se/bostad/villa-6rum-arvika,taserud-arvika-kommun-ekvagen-11-1974075

I think Micke and the kids have made a good job about changing it from its previous condition. I can´t say that I´ve been a part of it since we lived apart for so many years. I wish that I had some pictures so that I can show you what it looked like back in 2005 when we bought it.

I have also realized, when reading my profile, that the information that I have there is a little out-of-date. I am not studying to become a high school/jr. college teacher anymore. I have instead decided to study to become a K-6th grade teacher instead and switched concentration this past Spring.

Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention it. Arvika is celebrating its 100th birthday this weekend so a lot is going on here. A lot of music activities of course and the church, Trefaldighetskyrkan (also 100 years old) is serving approximately 14 000 cookies downtown today. I think you can guess where my Matilda is on her way :) Yesterday, they served free jubilee cake also and they have opened a new modern playground that Aaron wants to try out.

VFU (praktik/internship)

Time sure flies by! Almost Easter now. I have almost finished additionally one course called "Young People in the Community" on my way to becoming a teacher. These past two weeks I have been out on (an) internship. It has been an interesting experience, I have been in a second grade and I have really enjoyed it! I also think that I have thrived some in that environment. The kids were so sweet and the teaching instructor that I worked with has been wonderful, she has already taught me so much! I really am going to miss being together with them. I wish that the internship had been a lot longer than it was, it was only 8 days this time. Part of this course has been about learning about the value-system and I took a few interviews, one from the principal of the school and a couple from a 2nd and a 3rd grade teacher. We have to make a so called PIM - video (I had never heard of it before starting my studies) based on the value - system. We also have to write a research paper based on the interviews and the observations that I have made. This has to be a 7 page report and I hope that it won´t be too much of a problem to start and complete it. This and the PIM - video is something that we have to present on May 3rd when we are going to Karlstad University. At least I have a little extra time on my hands, for about 10 days, because my family is taking a cruise in the Caribbean enjoying themselves, so that leaves me all by my lonesome self to concentrate on what I have to. It´s a good thing that Aaron and I have a trip to NY to look forward to in mid-May. This will collide with the next course that I am taking whcih is called "Leadership in Pedagogical Environments," but I will just have to bring my computer and my books and try to work on it a little while gone. My summer break will start following that. at least when it comes to my studies. Instead I will have to work a little but I hope to be able to spend some time with my kids too before school starts again. I cannot quite believe it, but my baby boy Aaron will be starting school in the Fall.

About 1 more week until I start with a new curriculum

Now I am taking another week´s break while I am waiting to start my new course called "Nature and Sustainable Development." It starts on the 24th. I wonder what that is going to be like?! I have taken my final exam in English Grammar and now all there is to do is to wait for my result. It felt like this exam went better than I had expected it to but I´ll just have to wait and see. Anyway, my teacher didn´t have too many questions on grammar analysis which I thought that she would. There were a lot of fill-in the blanks so as long as I did that correctly I shouldn´t worry too much :) I also, finally, passed an exam that I took for the 3rd time in December so that feels good too.

Tomorrow, Aaron and I are going to Stockholm to see his grandma (mormor). He hasn´t seen her since May so I think it´s about time for them to see each other again. I haven´t seen mom since our trip to China back in September so it will be nice to go and visit. It´s always nice to see the capital again also. I am hoping that I will get to see my friend Julia too, we´ll see though. The most important is that we can spend some time with mom.

Stressed out

I have no idea how I am going to handle getting a passing grade in Math before December 1st and writing and passing an exam on December 11th . I thought it was before Christmas that I had to send in additional grades but everyone else tells me it´s December 1st. I am trying to get a hold of a student counselor but the one that I have talked to previously is on vacation until November 29th. I am trying to get hold of the other two of the 3 that work there but one doesn´t want to handle my "case" and the other is never around. I´ve sent her an email and I am hoping to get a reply from her tomorrow.

I am wondering if I´ve made a mistake by not keeping to my previous plan but I really do NOT want to work with teenagers so I guess not.

I just feel like I am not spending the time I should with my kids, I am always either tired or superbusy with something. But I should try to decorate for Christmas with them, they´ve been asking me to do that.

Studies

I am starting to feel more and more distressed about my studies, it´s not a good feeling! I have an exam to write before Christmas and a math test to do also. Both of these have to be done in order to apply for the new Teacher´s degree teaching Primary School children instead of teaching Secondary School children which I first applied to. Besides that I have to keep up with the English grammar class that I am taking. So, suffice it to say, I have a full plate. I am probably working more than a 40 hour week, at least that is what it feels like.

I want to be able to spend time with my kids too, especially since they´re not around me all the time. I want to be able to help Matilda with her choices when applying to "gymnasieskolan" and to spend time with Aaron doing enjoyable things for both of us. I barely see Alex since she is living away most of the week, studying in Karlstad and having her volleyball practises in Säffle plus everything else that is going on in her life right now.

Sometimes it just feels like I should work more and just study a little but I don´t know if that is the right way to go about it either? What do you think? Anyone have any suggestions?