The "In's and Out's" of Magnet Schools.

Ok basically it is a public school with specialized areas of interest...this particular one is called Galileo; ergo it is a Math and Science specialized school. (it is the only magnet school available within our school boundaries. they are building an art/music one but it is not ready yet.) It is free because it is part of the public school system, but if you apply, it is a lottery to get in. They take the names on the waiting lists and draw so many names for each grade depending on how many spots are available each new year in a particular grade. If the oldest sibling in the family gets in, younger siblings automatically get in, but not however visa versa. Which is why Jacksen got in for Kindergarten and Morgan did not for 2nd grade.

The reason I wanted my kids in this school is basically because it is a Magnet school and a newer one at that, they hired and pulled a lot of the best teachers from around the area to teach at it and they have really great funding with newer/better learning tools/supplies/equipt.

Here is a good explanation I found of the difference between public, Magnet, and Charter schools.----I highlighted what I thought was pertinent info.

What is a Magnet school?

A Magnet school is part of the public school system. Usually students are zoned into their schools based on location. Students mostly go to the school which they are closest to (this may not always be true since boundaries can seem arbitrary). With Magnet schools, the public school system has created schools that exist outside of zoned school boundaries. The point of them is that they usually have something special to offer over a regular school which makes attending them an attractive choice to many students, thereby increasing the diversity of the student population within them (in theory).

Magnet schools are different from private or parochial schools in that they remain part of the public school system. They differ from Charter schools in that they remain part of the public school system bureaucratically. Charter Schools have a different organizational model (i.e. they have a charter that releases them from the regular school administration). Magnet schools operate under the same public school administration (they don’t operate on their own).

Distinguishing them from other public schools, Magnet schools usually have alternative or otherwise compelling modes of instruction. For example, you might find a Montessori Magnet school. A school doesn’t have to be a Magnet school to be a Montessori School. There are also public schools that aren’t Magnet schools which still offer fine academic experiences. Magnet schools differ from other public schools in that they receive additional funding to enable them to spend more money on their students, supplies, teachers, programs, etc.

Something--you asked for it.

Ok I'm blogging something at the request of my friend kimberlee. As I have been rushing around trying to buy all the correct school supplies for my boys and trying to beat everyone else so that I don't have to be the one that 'there wasn't any left', I have been hit with frustration. I had signed both boys up to get into a Magnet school and they have been on the waiting list for a year now. Jacksen got in for kindergarten this year, but Morgan did not. Well I got a message saying that there was a second grade slot for Morgan, but I was supposed to respond by Wed. @ noon. Well I didn't get the message till Thursday and by the time I called them back, it was too late and he is back on the list....at the top, but back on the list. Now Morgan will have to go to the regular elementary school one more year and he didn't even get the teacher I wanted him to get. ARRRRG!!!!!!! and his friend that was in his class last year was supposed to be in his class, but he got into the Magnet school as well. Oh and did I mention that I don't like the principal at the regular elementary school, she is a man hating, controlling, manipulative vortex that I avoid at the risk of being sucked in. ( I have had several confrontations with her, some of them ugly)
ARRRRGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!

There that is what is going on with me right now. Oh and that excruciating pain, I found out from a physical therapist I've started going to, that I pulled my abductor muscle---It's the one that runs up your inner thigh and is connected to your pelvic bone and with my bones softening and moving and the amount of pressure there right now, somehow, I pulled it.

Up to our pits

The Last two weeks Micah had Annual training where they did Gunnery and he came in 2nd(not bad for a rookie:) Right before Annual training he had some leave time to use up so we managed to float the Boise River and take the boys to the Boise Zoo. At the Zoo there was kind of a park area where ducks were floating in the river and some nice climbing trees. Jacksen (my ER/No Fear child) immediately started to climb and big brother followed (Can't have little brother showin him up!) although not quite so confidently as Jaks (Morgan is definitely the more cautious of the two).

WHAT DID I DO WHILE MY HUSBAND WAS BUSY @ A.T. FOR TWO WEEKS? Well I canned. Apricot Jam. Lots of Apricot Jam. I had a friend who wanted to learn how to can and put a "wanted anyone's spare fruit or veggies" ad on craigslist and got buckets and laundry baskets FULL of apricots. I helped her can for a few days while our kids played together, then when she said she was done and there were still 2 laundry baskets full SOOOOO then I went to my sisters and we made MORE Apricot Jam until we were sick of it. Then I gave the rest to friends to deal with. In total I took home nearly 60 pints of Jam. There is something satisfying about opening up your pantry and seeing it full of home canned goods. The highlight of this is that my friend that I taught how to can(and who's hubby is Nat'l Guard with my hubby---so they were both gone), had a neighborhood pool so nearly every evening of that canning week, we took the kids to the pool---it was the highlight for them and me :) Swimming is amazingly relaxing when your pregnant. (Thanks Amber :)

After our hubby's were done with A.T. They had a Family picnic for everyone's families, complete with Jumping apparatuses, A Dunk-Tank (where everyone had the opportunity to dunk their Commander!) and water balloons and squirt guns. The water balloons were a big hit with the kids. Our boys thought this was a good way to "get" Dad. After several attack efforts on their part, none really doing any terrible Damage, Micah grabbed both boys and dragged them threw the grass where they emptied out the dunk tank...After that all the other kids started attacking Micah with balloons and he had to bust out some cat like reflexes closely resembling some Matrix moves.

handicapped sticker please

So I'm wondering how crippled you have to be to qualify for one of those handicapped parking passes. I think I'm just getting old or something...but I am having serious issues with my hips putting me into excruciating pain. I feel like the biggest idiot sometimes because I can't even stand up or sit down without feeling like an invalid. I think I've narrowed it down to either my hips have never really been in perfect alignment and now that I'm older and pregnant my muscles aren't as great at supporting the weight and keeping it off my hips--(one of my hips is rolled forward a bit----thanks for the genetics DAD!) or the nurse at my Dr.'s office seemed to brush it off like it was normal to hobble around in extreme pain. She said it is just my ligaments stretching---It doesn't feel so much like stretching as it does sheer pain. I think next time I go to my Dr. I'm going to ask if I qualify :) And people wonder why pregnant women waddle.

How much More "boy" could they be

What better thing to do on a Saturday than set up a "bike fixing shop" Morgan carried Micah's tool box all the way into the living room (I was pretty impressed cause it's pretty darn heavy--even to me.) and they decided that they needed to "fix" Jak's bike. The Roller board that they were using to get in and out from under the bike was Morgan's mini-skateboard.
Complete with "safety goggles" (their sunglasses) and "work gloves" (a gardening glove that they lost the mate to so they only had one.) and red electrical tape everywhere (not really sure what purpose that played in the whole scenario.)

Incidentally, the HUGE band-aid Jacksen is sporting on his forehead is from a header he took the day before off of his bike. He actually flipped over the handle bars and landed on his forehead. That'll teach him to watch where he is biking and look out for curbs! I could barely get him to Ice it. He just wanted to go back out and play. Perhaps that is why they decided his bike needed "fixing"

As Promised

So here is our most recent Ultrasound of our baby boy...our still nameless baby boy budge. I thought this was the cutest one with his little fist on his chin :)

Thank You Kung Fu Panda!

Last night we went and saw Kung Fu Panda (Highly recommend BTW) There was a part where the panda gets hit in the groin on a gauntlet sort of thing, and says "OH, my Tenders!" the boys of course thought that was soooooooo funny and have been finding ways to use the term "Tenders" and giggle all day today.

Apart from appealing to kids through potty talk it was a good movie, no hidden adult agenda (like Wall-E or Happy Feet) Just a warm fuzzy, good message movie...WAY TO GO Dreamworks!