Where Have I Been?

If you're a teacher you've probably heard of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. If you're not a teacher I'll forgive you for probably having no idea what I'm talking about.

I already have a state teaching certificate and a Master's degree but the National Board certificate is the highest level of teaching certificate one can acquire. To be granted such certificate one voluntarily signs up for (and pays several thousand dollars for) hundreds of hours of work to assemble a "portfolio" and then be tested on a series of essay questions. Sounds fun, right? Well, after spending the last few months working on this almost nonstop I've realized it wasn't so fun after all.

When I first signed up our state was offering a fairly significant yearly bonus to those teachers who "certify" (only 40% of teachers who apply actually receive certification). I thought this would be a great way to put some extra money aside for the girls' education. This was how I reconciled the time I would have to spend away from them to get this project done. Unfortunately, midway through the process the bonus was cut from the state budget. So, now I'm out a chunk of change and time with the girls. Not to mention all the blogging I've missed out on! Well, my portfolio was due by March 31st (Done!) and I'll take my test on May 24th. I won't know if I passed until at least next November. For now, I'm enjoying getting back to our regular schedule!

Did I mention there were 400 pages of directions? Concise, eh?

Enough about me - we just finished spring break and had about 2 hours of sunshine the whole week. It even snowed, in April. Geesh! However, there was lots of sister love this week (you know, in between the squabbles).

Maddy worked out hard.

Snuggle Bugs

Someone loves her some coffee!

Playing "car"

The Look of Love