Jurkowski

Fireplace

2011-11-29T14:39:00.001-05:00

And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Here are the kids in an incredible shot, happy and smiling. Our first Christmas in the new house. Spent Thanksgiving weekend putting up a mantle over the fireplace, mounting a new tv above it, putting in shelves to the sides to fit the computers and other equipment, decorating the mantle and the house, putting up the tree,... We really wanted to get everything set for the holidays.

2011-11-07T14:30:00.002-05:00

Have to share some photos here, all having to do with climbing. We've got some monkeys. From hanging ghosts in the backyard to the climbing wall at UCM.

Repealed

2011-11-07T14:20:00.003-05:00

The portion of SB 54 in regards to social media has been repealed:
http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Missouri-Governor-Signs-Law-Repealing-Teacher-Social-Media-Restrictions.html

SB 54 Social Media Section More Harm Than Good

2011-08-24T10:17:00.001-04:00

Letter to the Editor of the Warrensburg Daily Star Journal, 8.24.11

There has been a lot of discussion and debate over SB 54, mostly over the section concerning the use of social media. While there was good intention, and we all want to protect children, there are two points missing from this conversation.

First, there appears to be a lack of thorough reasoning for including the portion on social media. I've not seen any research indicating a link between child abuse and the use of social media, and I've not heard legislators citing studies. Is there an increase in child abuse directly related to social media use? Perhaps there is. If so, please share. Alternately, there is research that shows a positive correlation between use of social media in the classroom and test scores. Therefore, the end result of the bill is the lowering of test scores. In regards to the intent, it seems to be a knee jerk reaction, feel good legislation, that makes it look like they are trying to do something. Furthermore, the name of the bill, the Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, tells a story of an abused child, which naturally brings about strong emotions and the desire to protect future children. But the abuse took place 28 years ago, long before computers and social media. So there is no connection. In fact, much of the abuse took place while the student baby sat the teacher's children and also at their local church. Should they instead ban babysitting and church attendance? There seems to be a leap of logic that doesn't add up. I would prefer that laws be based on well researched sound reasoning.

Second, while we debate what the bill allows and forbids, the fact of the matter is that some schools will be so scared that they will take measures to an extreme. Does it matter what the actual meaning of the law is if the effects are drastic consequences? We see this already with internet filters and current use of technology. Some schools still block youtube and an incredible wealth of websites for fear of lawsuits. This in turn inhibits teachers' abilities to educate students. It's just one more push towards a climate of fear even if those consequences were unintended.

Teachers already have an incredibly tough job. Budgets are continually slashed, and when teachers take advantage of using free or less expensive alternatives are often blocked or frightened away. It's like they just can't ever win. Then people complain when test scores are not as high as they want them to be. Teachers have had their hands tied over and over again instead of letting them do their jobs as they are educated to do. Don't start restricting free tools, even slightly, unless you want to provide funding for alternatives. Better yet, provide both better funding and also let teachers and their communities decide what should be used.

More Chromebook

2011-07-31T11:41:00.002-04:00

I continue to love my chromebook the more I use it. Here are a few more things I've learned over the past couple weeks. First, I added Google's document view extension. Before that when I would click on a link from a website or an email with a Microsoft Word or other document I had to download it, then go to Google Docs to upload and convert. The extension gives you the ability to instantly view those documents in the browser. You can then decide later if you want to save it or convert it. If you just want a quick and dirty ability to read those email attachments this is very fast.

I'm also going to be taking more advantage of online storage. On my old laptop I have so many files that I save and later refer to. While I can still do that with my chromebook the whole point is to store files on the cloud. If my chromebook ever dies then it's easy to replace. So I can save pdf's on google doc storage or other places like Dropbox. When it comes to Word files or Excel I can easily convert those to google docs and save them.

While UCM has not given faculty their new google gmail accounts I do have the calendar and google docs pieces from UCM google apps since I was previously using them. For the docs I am going to have remember which account, personal or school, I am placing them. I really have not kept them entirely separate. For the calendar I also have personal and work appointments. As of December 1 I am putting all of my future appointments into the google calendar and phasing out my Groupwise. And I have a lot already added. The issue is that while I can view both personal and work calendars and I thought it would be nice to keep them separate, my office professional and others on campus won't see my personal, which then makes it difficult for people to see my free time. So I'm going to have to put everything into my work calendar. This isn't really a chromebook issue, but it is related to google and living on the cloud. Additionally, I'm now using Google Sites for my faculty website. I can then edit it from any computer and don't have to worry about downloading or using any specific software. However, I don't like the url so have kept my old UCM site and use that address as a redirect to google.

Since I can't skype I have used the Google Talk video conferencing. Worked good.

I've added Awesome Screenshot for Chrome OS and also Explain and Send Screenshots. They seem like good extensions that will make life easier. While there is a built in screenshot shortcut it seems like there are more features with these.

By the way, in regards to battery life I've carried my chromebook with me around conferences and have been able to go the entire day easily. I didn't think it would last that long, but as it goes to sleep in between sessions and doing other things that really stretches the battery life out. I suppose it wouldn't last as long if you used it continually as it's only rated for about 6.5 hours, but in real life it can go all day.

Some of all of this is due to the specifics of the computer manufacturer. However, the computing requirements for Chrome OS and the features that laptops are being built for (no optical drive, small solid state hard drive, smallish screen, etc.) means that it is light weight, portable, and has a long battery life. My old laptop seems so heavy and slow and old in comparison. My goal is to leave my UCM laptop in my office for the few things I might need it for and then use my Chromebook to take home, to meetings, and to conferences.

I would also like to see how much I can do this next year with only my Chromebook. I've already converted my fall class roster to a google doc spreadsheet as well as the list of advisees. I've converted my syllabi to google docs and linked those on Blackboard instead of attaching those files for my students. So far so good. It's exciting.

Google Chromebook

2011-07-19T13:16:00.004-04:00

I've had my new Google Chromebook for four days. Here are some initial impressions for those who might be wondering.

First, you have to understand that this is a completely new operating system, and there are only two options at this time: an Acer and a Samsung. I bought the Acer because it was slightly smaller (11.6 inch display), lighter, and less expensive. It's a little big for a netbook but smaller than most laptoptops. With an estimated 6 hour battery life it should be great at work when my UCM Dell can barely get through a single meeting.

The display is very sharp, and the webcam is also better quality than my Dell. It's got a couple USB ports, a HDMI, a 4 in 1 memory card slot, and a small solid state hard drive. The small hard drive is purposeful because the device is really meant to live online.

It's not Microsoft Windows, it's not a Mac. There are a few little quirks that make sense, but feels a little weird. For instance, there is no taskbar at the bottom of the screen as there is no need for a start menu. This saves valuable screen real estate. So the clock, network signal, and battery life are at the top right, in place of the minimize/maximize buttons. Since the browser is the computer, your desktop is the Google Chrome browser. There is nothing to minimize. If you try and close all the tabs, you just get the new tab displayed. Surprisingly, I placed my 11.6 inch Chromebook next to my 14 inch Dell, and I can see exactly the same amount of space on any webpage.

As for the keyboard, there is no caps lock key. They replaced it with a key just to open a new tab. The top row of keys are dedicated to browser functions such as back, forward, reload, increase/decrease brightness and volume, etc. Additionally, there is no delete key (use backspace instead), and all the keys are labeled with lower case letters instead of the traditional upper case.

So how does it actually work? Like advertised, it boots fast. They are not lying when they say it only takes 8 seconds to boot. And waking from sleep is almost instant. I could probably turn this thing on and off 20 times before my Dell even gets me to the log in screen. I can't tell you how much I like this.

When you turn on the machine for the first time it updates the OS automatically, and then does so as needed after that. You also set up the machine with your profile to log in by taking a picture with the webcam and then logging in with your google account. You can set it up for multiple users at the log in screen and/or have a guest login. Guests basically get online but can't store or save anything, like bookmarks. It's like working in incognito mode.

How did it go that first day? Worked beautifully at home. Logged into my home wireless without a hitch. At work, not so well. It was only after an hour of struggling and no help that I got online by using the university wifi guest login. Apparently the network didn't like my standard username/password. But it's not a problem because I don't need network access, don't need shared drives, don't need anything else but wireless.

I also went to the computer settings (which opens a new tab by the way) and had it sync with my google account. All of my bookmarks and extensions instantly transferred. I've been able to use just about everything and access everything just fine. There have only been a couple quirks, but have been able to get around.

For one thing, google says you can't really hook up a printer, so instead you use google cloud print. Basically you have to go through another computer to print. Therefore, it feels like a chromebook really needs to be a secondary computer. Or maybe I just print too much. But setting it up was really easy. I enabled cloud print on the Dell, then did it on my chromebook, and tried printing a document. It worked perfect. In all, about 30 seconds to set up.

Another issue is that you can't install software, so there is no Microsoft Office, or even Open Office. You have to use Google Docs. I love Google Docs and have been using it more and more. The problem is other people still use Microsoft. However, I did uncover that you can save the office file to the computer and then go to Google Docs. You upload the file to Google Docs and it converts it to a Google Doc for you to read, share, and do anything else. So it works. It's just an extra step. Hopefully future updates will make this more seamless. I don't know why it just doesn't automatically open it as a Google Doc.

In playing with websites and some extensions I stumbled upon a problem because I wanted to do a screen capture. I've been using a free tool called Greenshot, but can't install it on a chromebook. There is a google screenshot extension, but it surprisingly doesn't work with the Chrome OS (only Chrome on a Windows machine). However, I found a keyboard shortcut to take a screenshot and then it also saves it to the local hard drive whereupon I can then upload it to wherever I need it after that.

That brings up the file manager. Under tools you can open a new tab which shows locally saved files and downloads. Nothing complex, and kind of limited, but again the idea is to do most of your work on the cloud. The one thing I can't find is how much storage space is left. That's odd.

What it comes down to is trying to figure out what you can do and what you can't, and finding alternatives. Instead of skype (since it has to be installed on a Windows/Mac), you use Google Talk and their video conferencing. Instead of Microsoft Office or Open Office use Google Docs. Instead of Greenshot use the keyboard shortcut for a screenshot. Use other online and web based tools like Picnik to edit photos online, and Picasa to store them.

While I don't think that I can do 100% of my work with a chromebook, it's probably pretty close. And it will get closer every month as more and more is done online. Some people in certain fields may have more problems because of tough software requirements. But look at what we do for teaching online. Blackboard is completely online and interfaced through a browser. Include gmail, google talk, and other online sites, use social media like Google+ and Facebook, take some screenshots, and I'm probably 98% there. I can enter grades and do other university stuff through the MyCentral website. I even have a personal faculty webpage through Google Sites than I can do online instead of having to mess with a downloaded web editor. What's missing is Adobe Presenter. I don't have an online alternative for creating those types of files yet.

In the end, the chromebook is powerful and fast, light weight, long battery life, and I live 98% online already. I'll just have to keep my Dell for those few times when I need something else. I think that machine will spend less time being used and my chromebook will be my primary device to bring back and forth home, to meetings, etc. Not perfect, but definitely happy with it.

Lots of house work

2011-07-11T14:02:00.002-04:00

It seems like an endless task. We've been unpacking box after box. Valen and Cordelia needed help organizing their rooms, and that has taken hours of work each. The older kids are doing most themselves, but we still had to help out with pieces such as putting Kalina and Acacia's beds into bunk beds, putting shelves on their walls so they had places for their alarm clocks and cell phones, and getting Byron's new mattress. We've installed new smoke alarms throughout the house, fixed a tub drain and a leaky faucet (still have a plumber coming with another tub leak), moved the cable in the front room from one side to the other, and countless other tasks. But as things are being put away, as boxes are being emptied, we are able to walk through the house and it feels like progress is being made.

House Progress

2011-06-20T23:35:00.004-04:00

Almost ready to move into the new house. Over the past month and a half we have had new tile floors put in the kitchen, eat in kitchen, laundry room and back bathroom. Painted every single room. Replaced toilets, bathroom faucets, kitchen faucet. New built in double oven, which required some remodeling. New dishwasher. Basement window well drainage put in. Brick work done outside the house on the chimney and on the front of the house. New locks and door handles, new thermostat, window air conditioner for the upstairs girls bedroom since the central air didn't seem to be quite handling it up there,...

I'm tired just listing all of that. And that was just the major projects. There were so many little things along the way.

Wood floors will be finished within the week, which then means we can actually move in. What a summer. Can't wait for everyone to come by and visit.

Profile Series

2011-05-03T11:25:00.002-04:00

Check out our program on the Profile Series:

http://www.youtube.com/user/UCMLive#p/a/u/1/ND_SbJRNMmk

Educational Technology is cool!

New House

2011-04-29T17:30:00.002-04:00

So, THE house is ours, the one we've been looking for. It fits our personality, our style, and while a little dated we'll be keeping some of that charm and then updating the rest. We will be restoring it to where it once was when built. Deanna and I couldn't be happier. We knew what it looked like from the outside, but as soon as we walked in we said this is it, stop looking at anything else. Told the realtor we found it and to put in an offer. Working with the banks and sellers has not been fun, but we finally got through it.

This is quite a year. After almost 16 years of marriage and 6 kids Deanna has finally found the time to get her Bachelors degree. She graduates in one week. With a tight job market and us being location bound there were few job openings. Actually, she only applied to one. And then she got it. So she will have her first full-time job (outside of full-time mom, and volunteering, lobbying, LaLeche League, etc.) this fall.

Valen starts kindergarten this fall. This means for the first time ever we will have no children at home. All of our kids will be in school.

Then I go up for my last and final promotion this fall. I already have a draft dossier which I will submit for full professor, the highest rank possible.

Add it all up and we are having quite a year, a lot of changes, a lot of successes, and really feel like we are moving on to the next stage in our lives.

House Hunting Adventure

2011-04-05T12:04:00.002-04:00

We moved to Warrensburg almost 9 years ago. At the time I was ABD, in the final stages of writing my dissertation and finishing my doctorate. I was hired as an assistant professor and we had no savings. We quickly found a house on a single weekend visit. Since that time we have had two more children and have made significant enhancements to the house to fit our needs, including finishing the basement and adding a third bathroom and a fourth and fifth bedrooms. However, now that we are a little more stable, I received tenure and will apply for full professor in a few months, a little bit more better off, know the various neighborhoods, and feel like it's time to settle down, we're looking for a home that we can now be a little choosy.

The downturn in the economy has brought housing prices down, as well as interest rates. Still, homeowners feel they are not getting as much as they want so some are simply reluctant to sell, keeping their houses on the market for months and sometimes years.

Many of the newer homes just don't fit our family. Floor plans seem odd, we don't like the vaulted ceilings, bedrooms are small, and dining rooms are small too.

So we continue to look and have some properties we are working on. Hopefully the right one will work out in the end.

Upcoming schools

2011-03-03T10:22:00.003-05:00

We registered Byron for high school this week and created his course schedule. In addition to the standard advanced math, science, English, etc. requirements he chose his electives. He'll be taking Spanish like Kalina is, art, and some computer classes, one semester in Photoshop and another in multimedia design. We're working on getting him out of gym this first year so that he can also take some industrial technology classes.

With Deanna and I having German as our language backgrounds I guess Kalina and Byron will now have a way to talk about things without us knowing!

Hard to believe Kalina and Byron will both be in high school this fall. It may still be a little ways off, but with the paperwork starting it's approaching fast.

Valen is excited about kindergarten in the fall and can't wait. We'll be having a preview night and school visit sometime soon. He and Cordelia will be at the same school, the new elementary that was just built this year. Brand new and just waiting for them to arrive.

That leaves Acacia as she will enter middle school, the only one with no other sibling at the same school this fall.

Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-05T22:26:00.002-05:00

We've survived the Blizzard of 2011! While winter is not quite over, and we're looking at some more snow and single digit temperatures this week, the end seems to be in sight and the worst is over. Actually, it was enjoyable in a way. Since moving to Missouri almost nine years ago we missed that Illinois snow. I really didn't mind shoveling the driveway (good exercise) and the kids have enjoyed the snow days from school and playing in the snow. The university even closed down for three days straight, a record from at least anyone on campus can remember. I've lost count but I think the kids are around 10 days off from school. In all we got 23 inches of snow, breaking the 20 inch record from 1938.

We were lucky that the power never went out, the Internet never went out, and we had plenty of food and water the whole time. We were completely stuck at home during the blizzard. At one point we were shoveling the driveway and by the time we got to the end the beginning had a couple inches of new snow on it. We took a couple passes over a couple days with the shovels. You can't just drive over 23 inches of snow, at least not with our vehicles.

During the days Deanna and the kids baked a lot: muffins, pancakes, banana bread, homemade pizza, a ham,...We had so much to eat and drink that meal times and the time of day and the days themselves blended together.

With the new fallen snow, before any of it could be dirtied or contaminated, Deanna scooped up a big bowl of the fluffy white stuff and then made it into a dessert with milk and sugar. The kids said it was better than snow cones.

It was the aftermath of the blizzard that the kids enjoyed the most, when they could really go out and have fun. Byron started tunneling into a snow pile at the end of the driveway. The snow was so deep that Valen couldn't get around to it so I took a shovel and created a narrow path as wide as the shovel. It looked pretty neat too. Then the other kids wanted to tunnel and I created more paths and in the end I think we ended up with four snow igloos. Byron wanted his to go all the way through, so Valen started at the opposite side of that one and eventually they met somewhere in the middle. A very impressive looking yard.

Who knows, with global warming perhaps we'll have more snow like this in the years to come.

Back in school

2011-01-05T14:16:00.002-05:00

The kids are back in school after the holidays. Let's see...Kalina is I think happy to be back. She won't admit it, and she'll just grunt a response when you ask her, but she seemed stressed with the little kids over the past couple weeks. Byron, on the other hand, just about broke down the other night because he was the opposite and was stressed about going back. He started a long tirade about how school is a waste of time and he doesn't need any of this for real life. Deanna and I tried our best to explain, but as you know he would be happy to just read books or play on a computer all day. He still thinks he's going to be rich by creating and selling video games as a career. Acacia, Cordelia, and Valen have their own levels of excitement. The only hard part for them is waking up and getting ready in the morning.

Christmas break went fast. Shall we run down the list of things we got accomplished? Rented tons of Red Box movies, got the Dr. Who Christmas special from iTunes, went to Science City in KC, went out for Chinese food, took the van in for the recall, took my best suit in for repair (moth damage on the jacket and also the pants taken in at the waist), replaced a bathroom faucet, back half of the roof was repaired, took a fresh look at our household budget and started a new plan, and with all of that had the flu run through the family.

Only one question remains. Texas?

Another year coming to a close

2010-12-18T23:41:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe that yet another year is close to an end. 2010 saw Kalina entering high school, enjoying color guard and band, and attending dances. Byron is in 8th grade, still reading and on the computer all the time. Frequently he's silent and kind of a hermit, but other times he's the big brother to Valen, running around, helping him out, and coming up with adventures and stories. Acacia is in 5th grade, last year in the elementary school, and is in those middle years where she's still young but also trying to grow up. She too reads a lot, is on the computer, but wants to be like Kalina. It's been a good fit having the two of them share rooms this year. Cordelia in 1st grade has that age gap between her and Acacia. She is the oldest of the young kids, desperately wanting to be like Acacia. She loves doing her nails and acting grown up, yet has a hard time with clothes and getting ready for school. Valen has his last year before starting school. A joker, he wants to be just like Byron, enjoys being the oldest when he goes off to day care at Ms. Michelle's house, and has a unique outlook. You can see that there will be a lot of transitions and an interesting 2011 coming ahead for all of them.

Meanwhile Deanna finished her last semester of classes. Student teaching is coming up in the spring. I have now spent three years as department chair, and submit for full professor next year. My ed tech program is booming, and lots of exciting things could happen. Wow, I guess next year could really be a big year for us all.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T09:57:00.002-04:00

Had to keep up my tradition of including Halloween pictures every year. Amazing looking back and seeing how they have grown over time.

Election Over

2010-11-03T09:54:00.003-04:00

Well, the elections are over and things did not turn out as expected. Disappointed that Courtney Cole lost. She did an amazing job, ran a very clean campaign, had great ideas, and was supported by a great group of hard working people. I'm proud of the way she ran. She is a true advocate for education. I'm sure she will continue to make a difference in the lives of her students and in the community in other ways.

Denny the Deadbeat Hoskins

2010-10-20T08:50:00.003-04:00

Denny "the Deadbeat" Hoskins is making news across town as the Missouri Republican Party continues the atrocious advertising made of lies and exaggerations. This kind of campaigning only damages the process.

They call Courtney an “Obama Superstar,” as if this has a negative connotation. In reality it simply means the Democratic Party has identified this race as one that can be won. This is making the Republicans run scared and is why they are propping up Denny the Deadbeat Hoskins with additional funds because he hasn't been able to raise much money locally. To call Courtney Cole “a card-carrying member of a liberal special interest group” is a pretty far stretch and comes across as slander. The truth is she’s a high school English teacher, and like most teachers is a member of the MNEA (Missouri National Education Association). I can’t speak for what Courtney Cole will do in terms of taxes or spending, but to then follow up that her connection with the MNEA would mean “a massive increase in…taxes” is misleading.

Why must parties try to slam their opponents with misinformation? Let’s vote based upon the facts. If you don’t know all the information you might just fall for these flyers, which is what the Missouri Republican Party is hoping for.

Apparently the Republican Party hates teachers, hates education, doesn't care about our children, and just wants to give tax breaks to businesses. They all want individual rights to do anything they want (such as Denny's vote to allow concealed weapons on school grounds) yet at the same time will turn around and say that gay marriage should be illegal even though it should be a private matter/choice. Will they make up their mind? Do they want individual rights or not? It seems they want to control which rights and for whom.

I don't know if Courtney Cole will support the Obama administration in everything, but I fully support Democrats because they seem to be the ones more interested in healthcare, education, and the environment. My only complaint is that they have not gone far enough.

All I can say is that from what I know Courtney Cole supports education, teachers, and our children.

Start of a new school year

2010-08-28T10:54:00.008-04:00

Don't really use the blog much anymore because of Facebook, but it is neat to see how the kids are growing year after year.

Summer Time

2010-05-27T13:15:00.002-04:00

Three weeks in between spring and summer semesters. It is almost over, going by fast. It has been a little quieter around here due to the construction. Half the building was without electricity until yesterday, limited or no air until just this morning, and all of the windows are being replaced as we speak. And that's just our building. So between the construction and being between semesters it's been quiet, at least in relative terms. A few less meetings, and a few less students popping in.

I've got all the faculty annual reports turned in, a compilation department scholarship, and have drafted the department annual report. We've worked on internal program reviews, summer schedules, achievement (scholarship) awards, I've prepared my summer classes, and have started work on editing my fall classes, recorded new introductions for my classes, and starting looking ahead to what our new course management system will look like this fall. I've reviewed course evaluations, got my laptop updated from Windows XP to 7 including getting tons of software reinstalled, and dealt with the day-to-day needs of the department and the building. I'm taking the Quality Matters review course to update my online teaching skills, and to top it off have put together a draft of my promotion dossier and appendix for when I go up for full professor next year. Yes, a year out, but why wait to the last minute?

And that's just off the top of my head. There's been much more.

Courtney Cole

2010-04-19T16:01:00.002-04:00

Tonight we are throwing a get together at our house for Courtney Cole. She's running for the 121st House District in Missouri.
http://www.votecourtneycole.com/

Deanna has been cooking up all the food, and we are stocked with drink, chips, cookies, and more. We're really excited to have faculty, staff, and students from UCM as well as anyone in the area interested coming out. It's an educational experience. While we personally like Courtney and think she would represent us well, we're just trying to help make the connection between her and the voters. They can decide then which way they want to vote.

Kalina Winter Guard

2010-02-13T11:39:00.002-05:00

Here's Kalina's winter guard performance, the rehearsal for parents night. Today she is at the actual competition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIhSnxAaioI

Winter going strong

2010-02-05T16:37:00.003-05:00

We seem to be having a record cold and snowy winter here in Warrensburg. The kids used to always wish for snow days and more snow for sledding. They got it, with no end in sight. We've been busy this first month of the year with hosting birthday parties, going to birthday parties, sleepovers, band practice, guard practice, and just busy, busy, busy. Deanna is busy with her classes, I'm busy teaching mine, and all of my administrative work and committees seem to have somehow kept increasing.

Next week Deanna and I go to the state capital (mini time away even though event filled) for a legislative day (MoACTE and MACTE coinciding for me, MoACTE and midwives for Deanna), then a DESE Educator conference which I have to leave early from to get back to another budget meeting with our strategic planning council, and then to the TechNet conference on Friday. With other meetings I think I have a "couple" hours in my office next week. We'll be getting more baby sitters, farming out the kids, and a combination of things to keep everything running.

Birthday Party

2010-01-22T23:38:00.004-05:00

Valen had his first birthday party last week, and Cordelia's will be coming up. This is their first although they have been to several others. Actually, it was hard scheduling Valen's because there were four birthday parties in his class over a single weekend. I guess they are getting in to all of this because that's what everyone does around here. Our other kids really have not had too many of their own. But Acacia had a sleepover in place of a party last month. They are all very social and really enjoy this whole party thing. Games, activities, making individual pizza's, frosting cupcakes, presents...They have quite a blast. And they are growing up fast.

Decade

2009-12-31T15:39:00.002-05:00

Ten years ago, New Years' Eve 1999, we were living in Rockford Illinois. We had a 3 year old (Kalina), 1 year old (Byron), and a newborn (Acacia just a week old). Since then I have finished my doctorate and Deanna is getting close to finishing her bachelors as the kids are growing up. Tonight we have had six kids, have been in Warrensburg for almost 8 years, and our oldest starts high school in the fall.

Think about where we will be in another 10 years. On that New Years' Eve Kalina will be 23, Byron 21, and Acacia 20, all college or college graduates, with the youngest Cordelia 15 and Valen 13 in high school.

School Christmas Programs

2009-12-13T10:25:00.001-05:00

Here are some clips of the kids and their school programs:

Kalina
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbKMcauPri4

Acacia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EsjFBlAfio

Cordelia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t678P3_HdGQ

Not blogging much

2009-12-12T21:18:00.002-05:00

I seem to be blogging even less nowadays since Facebook is so convenient, and short updates are what everyone likes to hear. What's been going on in December? Kalina's band concert, Acacia's school Christmas program, Cordelia's school Christmas program, each and everyone one of us finishing the semester and the year in one way or another, and on and on. Lots of A's given out, lots of A's received. Gingerbread houses, cookies, potlucks, parties at work and school. Below normal temperatures, no snow. Looking forward to the semester break and the holidays. Lots going on.

It's about time

2009-11-04T17:27:00.002-05:00

It's about time. Conan and Beth are expecting, which means our kids will have another cousin to play with. The distance will still make it difficult, but when we do get together it will be good. I'm sure my kids will have a lot of fun teaching this new baby how to get into trouble. Hoping there will be many more cousins in the future, especially before the age difference grows.

Stitches

2009-10-22T08:08:00.002-04:00

Last night was another adventure to the ER. Byron was working on his Halloween costume, with duct tape and a pair of scissors. It was actually his sword that he was working on at that time, and apparently the scissors slipped and he cut himself pretty good. When I heard Acacia yelling that Byron was hurt I ran into the kitchen and saw him standing at the sink. I applied pressure, grabbed some paper towels, and got it running under cold water to clean everything off and see if it would stop bleeding. When I finally took it all away to see what it looked like it was bleeding pretty good, and was pretty deep. I knew immediately that it would need stitches. I yelled to Acacia to tell Deanna, who was in the shower, we needed to go to the hospital right now. Deanna got dressed quick, then traded places with me and Byron so I could then get shoes on. Helped them get in the back seat of the car and while I stated driving Deanna called friends to see if they could come over and help. Kalina took care of the rest of the kids until then.

At the ER they looked at it right away, but it took about an hour before they could fit us in to actually stitch him up. Luckily an off duty doctor came in and was helping with the overflow of patients. Byron was pretty pale, wanted to sleep, and was "slowing his breathing" to help slow the bleeding. The worst part was the shot to numb that part of his hand, so the actual stitching was not that bad. They also gave him a tetnus shot since it's been about 6 years since the last one. Stopped by Walmart for more bandaids on the way home.

Quite an adventure. Byron has needed stitches more times than any of the other kids. But Valen is still young. Seeing the things he does I just wonder what else we have in store with those two.

Canoe

2009-09-30T14:32:00.003-04:00

This is from Labor Day weekend. Grandparents and Uncle Donald came out from Colorado. Rented canoes and went to a lake just a few miles down the road. A little tentative at first, but they all really got into it and had fun. Cordelia was especially afraid of the water. But no accidents, no tipped boats. Kalina and Acacia went off on their own what seemed like a good mile away.

Canoe

2009-09-20T21:24:00.002-04:00

Had a great time camping with Byron and boy scouts this weekend. Took a canoe trip down one of the rivers. Not too fast of a ride, but enough that we actually felt it moving. The water was deep in a few spots though the water level was low and in places scrapped bottom and had to get out and wade through to lift the canoe out. The scenery was beautiful, with cliff walls and lots of trees and forestation. Stopped several times for breaks, eat lunch, etc. We left the campsite after breakfast and made it back in time for dinner.

The new tent worked out great. Unfortunately it was dark Friday night when we got there, and it was my first time taking it out, so it took some fumbling but finally got it.

Byron enjoyed running around with the other boys, playing with the fire, and hanging out in general. We stayed only one night and not two because I think Byron had had enough by then, and then that's when the rain started too, so it was probably fine that we headed back through the storm. It rained all night and early into Sunday morning.

Acacia's 3rd grade MAP scores (from last spring)

2009-08-23T14:00:00.003-04:00

Acacia has a lexile score of 890 for reading level, an Advanced score for Communication Arts, and is at the 87th percentile. For math she is also Advanced, at the 99th percentile. Way to go Acacia!!

First day of 2009-10 school year

2009-08-18T21:46:00.009-04:00

Hard to believe, but Cordelia began kindergarten today. Super excited, new backpack and lunchbox, and ready to go. No fear, and was running out the door for the bus.

Now why can't they be like this all the time? Kalina and Byron were in a playful mood and posing for pictures, hugging and not fighting.

Here's a nice fancy dinner to celebrate the day. Nice china and silverware, good manners.

Valen is already shaping up to be the class clown. This was one of the few shots where he wasn't trying to shoot webs like Spiderman, or some other type of superhero pose.

This is a good shot that really shows how tall Acacia is getting. When you put her next to the younger kids you can tell. She's off at a new school this year too as she moves up.

Basement bathroom remodel

2009-08-02T11:10:00.003-04:00

Well this is it finally! Our basement bathroom is back. So nice to have a third bathroom again. When we first moved into the house there was nothing there, just a floor drain and a the toilet drain roughed in. Wide open unfinished basement. We then put together a bathroom with Deanna's Dads' help, and then hired out to get the rest done. But it wasn't perfect, more functional than anything. Good enough at the time.

After redoing the two upstairs bathrooms we decided to tackle this one next. We completely gutted it except for the ceiling, doors, and the two walls that were framed in.

We then tiled the new shower (including a bench to sit while shaving legs and a recessed shelf for shampoo bottles), framed and add dry wall against the cement wall, added a new toilet, sink, vanity, medicine cabinet with mirror, light fixtures, tile floor, and heating element under the floor.

The tiling was the hardest because of all the cuts that had to be made. This was not a simple square, but fit in under the staircase, lots of angles, some vertical and some slanted areas. Then the shelf and bench really made it complicated. It was hard enough just getting the cement board up in the first place, and then all of the tile.

There is not a speck of the original floor, wall, or ceiling left from when we moved in. Wouldn't even recognize it. So now it is completely finished.

Another birthday

2009-07-02T17:51:00.001-04:00

What a great looking bunch. Here they are for Byron's 11th birthday!!

DVDs at the UCM Library

2009-06-30T14:50:00.002-04:00

The university library has a new DVD collection that is brand new. It's also totally automated with a really cool self check out system. Swipe your UCM ID, find and select the titles you want, and then print out a receipt. The receipt has a barcode that you take over to the DVD stacks. Scanning the barcode unlocks your DVD so that you can take it out. Kids have found a lot of movies and TV shows as well.

Just learn it yourself

2009-06-05T22:43:00.002-04:00

Today we went out for Chinese food for Byron's 11th birthday. Out of the blue he says "Why can't the schools just give us the books and everything we need to learn at the beginning of the school year, then we can go home and read everything, and then come back and they can just test us on it?"

Standards based. Independent learning. Individualized. He could care less about socialization, Vygotsky and social learning theory, and group work. But there are some schools out there where this model is being used. Interesting that he thought of it.

Wisconsin

2009-05-20T11:12:00.003-04:00

Wisconsin was fun, but tiring. About 25 hours in the car driving there and back over a three day weekend. The kids, for the most part, were good in the car. Yes, there was some fighting and frustration, arguing over which movie to watch, food spilling, and so on, but it was a very long drive.

The water park at the hotel in Elmhurst was a blast. Byron especially liked the water slides, though they were too much for Deanna! The little ones enjoyed their own play area, and the hot tub was always good. We went swimming Friday night as well as Saturday morning.

Then we were off to Pewaukee Saturday afternoon. The kids got pizza and stayed in the room during the wedding and dinner. Tried to get them to dance at the reception but were no fun. I think they were just tired, but it was horrendous trying to get them settled into bed. Deanna and I went back down for a couple dances, but had to cut it short.

Sunday morning was back in the pool again. Kids got us up at 7:30, and I had coffee in one hand and Valen in the other as I walked through the shallow end.

After checking out we went to brunch with Grandma and Grandpa Jurkowski. Food was great. It was then a long drive back home, a short stop in Rockford IL since we were passing through, and I was exhausted as we pulled in at 1:30 AM.

So we got to see my parents, grandfather, brother Conan and wife Beth, Uncle Mike and Aunt Laurie, Cousin Scott, and of course Cousin Cheri and her new husband Jason.

We have a teenager

2009-05-05T11:02:00.002-04:00

Kalina turns 13 today. It's hard to believe how fast she is growing up. For her birthday all she wanted was an afternoon of clothes shopping with her friends at the mall. She's also now looking for a chair that she can lounge in but hasn't found anything yet. May have to order one online.

National Junior Honor Society

2009-03-24T21:39:00.003-04:00

Kalina was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society tonight. Huge ceremony at the Middle School. Kalina was not impressed because she says the standards are so easy. We're still happy to see her doing so well.

Wisconsin Wedding

2009-03-24T13:23:00.003-04:00

Just got the wedding invitation to Cousin Sherri's wedding in May. Nice to get back to the Milwaukee area (the actual wedding is in Pewaukee) and see everyone. We got a suite reserved with two sets of bunk beds so we will all fit in one place together instead of needing multiple rooms. The kids are looking forward to the mini-vacation right before the end of their school year. I'm sure they will want to spend time in the hotel pool with Grandma and Grandpa.

What a coincidence

2009-03-17T16:38:00.002-04:00

This afternoon I was working on a new course, trying to brainstorm as to what it should cover, and thinking about a textbook. There was one book in particular I kept going back to because I had an older edition on my shelf. I went to Amazon.com to see if there was a newer edition yet and how much it would cost students. I decided at least tentatively that this would be the book to use, put the citation in the working syllabus, and went out to ask our office professional about getting a teacher copy.

I grabbed my mail that had been delivered today and, while chatting with our office professional, opened a package. It was the brand new edition of the book I had just been looking for. Freaky!

Kalina wins writing award

2009-03-15T16:34:00.001-04:00

Kalina won first place in her middle school writing contest. The essay contest was on what the American flag stands for. She won a certificate and a $10 gift card.

Incubator

2009-03-06T09:12:00.002-05:00

And one other big project that I've been working on is our Educational Innovation Incubator, or just Incubator for short. With NCATE it's been difficult to get much else done, but we do have a lot of the basics done for this huge, ongoing initiative I've been tasked with. I'm doing the website for this too.
http://www.ucmo.edu/incubator/

Reflections

2009-03-06T09:07:00.003-05:00

Here's the new College of Education Reflections magazine. It's a way that we are publicizing all the great things going on here in education at UCM. This is hot off the press (or computer really as they are just now sending them to get printed). I'm in there myself a few different places, three to be precise.
http://faculty.ucmo.edu/ncate09/reports/coe_reflectmag.pdf

Accreditation

2009-03-06T08:53:00.004-05:00

Want to see everything that we've been working on for re-accreditation for education programs at UCM? I'm creating the electronic document center so that the NCATE (national) and DESE (state) reviewers can access everything online. Over 1,235 documents so far, we're getting close to being ready for the visit at the end of the month. While some of these documents are a single page Word document, others are 100 page program reports. Quite an ordeal. Good thing we only have to do this every 7 years. So this website is nothing flashy, but simply trying to keep it organized and easy for the review teams to do their work and find what they need quickly without being distracted. For the past month it's meant working 12 hrs a day, 7 days a week since I still have the rest of my job to do too.
http://faculty.ucmo.edu/ncate09

Boy Scout

2009-03-01T22:31:00.002-05:00

Byron completed the transition from Cub Scouts this weekend and is now officially a Boy Scout. Here he is preparing to shoot the ceremonial arrow. Note the ropes and the safety precautions so no one accidentally gets hit. He did good though, shot the target cleanly.

California

2009-02-17T14:47:00.002-05:00

Off to California tomorrow for a department chair conference. Should be pretty interesting. Normally my conferences are all discipline specific, and am almost always presenting something myself. This time it's all administrative and governance related, with quite a broad group of people.

Wish I would have more time there. I fly in to San Diego in the morning, the conference starts later that day, then the conference ends on Saturday and I fly back that afternoon/evening. But with all of this NCATE stuff that needs to be done before the site visit next month I really can't afford time away. 38 days to NCATE and counting.

House hunting

2009-02-08T12:00:00.002-05:00

No, we're not leaving Warrensburg. But considering the low interest rates, the stimulus package that will include tax rebates for purchasing homes, and the fact that there just aren't many kids near by, we're going to start looking at homes within the city limits. It would save a couple minutes driving, but the main benefit would be if kids could walk to school, if I could bike to work on nice days, if we could find a neighborhood where the kids had a lot of friends. I don't know what will happen, but we'll see.

January Birthdays

2009-01-30T21:15:00.005-05:00

Look at these two. It's hard to believe, but they are growing up. Valen turned 3 and Cordelia turned 5 this month. Cordelia was excited about makeup and pink girly things, as well as a game for her Leapster, while Valen won't put his Batman action figure down.

Honor Band

2009-01-17T21:42:00.002-05:00

Tonight we got to hear Kalina play in the middle school honor band. They pick the top couple 7th and 8th graders from each school in the area, bring these best of the best together, practice new music from 8am until performance time, and then give a concert in the evening. They really sounded great.

Christmas in Colorado

2008-12-31T18:34:00.005-05:00

Christmas in Colorado was quite exciting this year. Grandpa and Grandma Habben had the whole family out before Uncle David goes off to Germany with the Air Force. So we got to spend time also with Uncle Donald and Aunt Debra and her family. They took us up to the mountains and stayed at cabins for a white Christmas and a lot of snow. Colorado Springs is already at a mile high, but we were at over 8,750 feet.

The kids enjoyed (and us too) the snow, sledding, ice skating, roller skating, archery, indoor rock climbing, arts and crafts, gingerbread house making and much more. The fireplace at the cabin warmed us up in between activities, and the kids were happy to see snow over two feet deep. Much more than they are used to in Missouri.

For Christmas Kalina enjoyed getting a cell phone with unlimited texting, Bryon and Acacia got Nintendo DS's, and Cordelia a Leapster. So they are all enthralled with their electronics.

Outside of the mountains, we spent time outdoors in Colorado Springs, as you can see in the real rock climbing at Palmer Park.

Acacia growing up

2008-11-30T12:52:00.002-05:00

Acacia is always wanting to learn how to do everything. This was the last time we needed to mow for the season. She kept asking about trying the lawnmower so I let her try it. I thought she would tire after a couple of minutes, but she kept going and did the entire back yard. That's a good 45 minutes or more.

She also wanted to try ironing my dress shirts this week, and asked Deanna to show her how to sew and put on a new button.

While all of the kids have wanted to be involved, she has been the most industrious.

Science Olympiad

2008-11-22T20:48:00.002-05:00

Kalina has been complaining about all the time she has put into Science Olympiad with school, and complaining that all the other students are "nerds" that just "want to talk about science all the time." My, oh, my.

Well, they had a big competition today. Deanna got her on the bus at 6 am this morning and went with her for the day long events. I don't know how many teams and events there were in total, but Kalina came home as one of the stars of Warrensburg. She got a 1st, 4th, and 5th place. Now she says she wants to keep participating. She's very competitive and enjoys doing well.

Department Party

2008-11-16T22:05:00.002-05:00

Friday night we had the entire department over for a potluck. We supplied the wine, homemade rolls, meat, and cheese, and with all of the sides, salads, and desserts, we had a ton of food. It was really good to have everyone over. Deanna had not met all of the faculty before, and there were a few spouses that were new to me too. We had a great time, from Jason talking about bull riding and the birth experiences of his children, Dick and Cathy being Star Trek and Serenity fans, Dave reminiscing about Chicago back in the 70's (I pulled out my pictures of when I went to Bozo's Circus), and so much more. It was a lot of fun and a good way to get to know my colleagues and their families. It seems like just the other day I was a new Assistant Professor going to my department Chair's house for a holiday party. Now we're the ones hosting.

Milwaukee Airport

2008-11-11T08:52:00.002-05:00

The AECT conference was great, but it sure was long and tiring. Flying out added on two whole days to the trip what with the time at airports and layovers and shuttles. Originally I had a direct flight each way, but those flights were canceled. For some reason, Midwest decided it would be better for me to fly from Orlando to Milwaukee before going back to Kansas City. Well, one benefit was that I had a couple hours to see Mom and Dad and Grandpa.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T14:13:00.002-04:00

This year was another fun filled, chocolate covered, adventure. Here you can see Kalina as a zebra (she also had a tail and a pony tail but it's hard to see), Byron was a Sith, Acacia a spy, Cordelia a princess, and Valen a tiger.

Valen was still pretty amazed at all the other trick-or-treaters, but was sure not to pass up any place handing out candy.

Later we went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. Then the oldest three and I went to the haunted dorms of UCM. Yeater Hall's third floor has been closed for years, but you can still hear things happening up there even though the floor is locked off. Pretty spooky.

2008-10-24T17:19:00.002-04:00

Here's the latest ad for our Educational Technology program. They did a pretty good job. It's in grayscale for print publications.

Crop Walk

2008-10-12T19:55:00.003-04:00

Byron went camping Saturday night, and then we did the Crop Walk on Sunday. Weather was great and we had a lot of fun like always. This year we helped pass out water on one of the stops. Kalina walked separately with her friends and met up with us at the end.

The Embarrassment has Begun

2008-09-18T07:56:00.002-04:00

Kalina is complaining that Byron embarrasses her at school. Yes, it is more evident now that he has skipped a grade and is at the middle school with her. Part of it is his autism. He does tend to have more socially awkward situations than would be otherwise. And even though they fight a lot he likes to point out to everyone that Kalina is his sister and announces it everywhere, very proud of the fact.

Kalina is also competitive with academics. Their MAP scores from last spring came back and they both did incredible, above average in every area, and each had something in the 99th percentile. Kalina's lexile score for reading was 1090, which puts her around junior/senior year in high school, around 5 or 6 years ahead. But Byron, two years younger, got 1070, which is so close it's really about the same.

Then again, that's just what siblings do. She would probably be embarrassed no mater what.

Band

2008-09-16T12:29:00.003-04:00

Kalina started middle school band practice. Had to drop her off at 6:30 this morning. Seems a waste to drive back home since already being in town so I just go into work early those days. However, since I have to go to Kansas City for a meeting this afternoon/evening getting home at 8pm it really feels like a long day.

Apples

2008-09-01T22:08:00.002-04:00

It's starting to feel like fall now. We picked apples from the university greenhouse last week, and then this weekend we picked some from our neighbors tree. They never really use their apples and they just end up falling to the ground, so in return for taking apples we cleaned up the ground around the tree. Then Deanna spent the day cooking, mashing, canning, etc. I'm not sure exactly how much we ended up with, but it was something like 3 gallons of apple cider, 20 quarts of apple sauce, and some leftover to make apple butter later on.

Labor day weekend was not quiet, but it was good too. Kalina did a fundraiser at the Elk's Lodge for Girl Scouts, we did the apples like I mentioned, we replaced an old and leaky kitchen faucet, gave the lawnmower a good seasonal maintenance, and we bought our first gas grill. All these years we got by with a little charcoal grill, and never really used it much. End of season clearance time at Walmart made this possible.

And we also rented a few movies. I realized the kids never saw the Indiana Jones movies. They were too young, and the latest movie is not yet out on DVD. So we rented the first two. The kids like those kinds of action, adventure, mystery movies with clues and traps. Although looking back at it now it seems a lot more violent than I remember.

Summer's Over

2008-08-17T19:23:00.004-04:00

Well the summer is officially over. This morning I volunteered at the MuleHaul, helping freshmen and their families unload their cars and move into the dorms. I was there bright and early at 7 am. It was a good day as temps were moderate and sunny. Last year it rained, and the year before that it was in the 90's.

The kids started school last week Thursday so they have had two days now. Kalina (7th grade) and Byron (6th grade) are at the Middle School, and Acacia (3rd grade) is at Ridgeview. Cordelia and Valen still at home.

Byron is now adjusting to having to move to room to room throughout the day. The Middle School is quite a leap. He had to learn how to use a combination lock for the first time, and said he misses recess. He also has to wake up to catch the bus at 6:45. Kalina was never a problem as she just gets up and moving. Byron needs prodding.

Baby brother got married

2008-07-15T15:20:00.006-04:00

Had a great time at Conan and Beth's wedding. It was a quick trip and a lot of time on the road with the kids, but it was good to see everyone. Deanna and I like having a new sister-in-law. They get along well together, and she's on her computer as much as I am because those IM's from her pop up all the time, then we get carried away in conversations. The couple danced the night away, it was a nice ceremony and the weather was great, and we got to see much of the family.

As we were there we got to see Theron one more time before leaving for Bulgaria for two years, and our sister before she leaves for the Marines and ends up who knows where. That only leaves Don at home with my parents. Six down, one to go.

4th of July

2008-07-05T19:54:00.005-04:00

We walked in two parades on the 4th, supporting David Pearce, Republican, for Missouri state Senate. He was our Representative for our district and a local Warrensburg person whom we have gotten to know over the years. It was a lot of walking, but the kids had fun throwing candy and handing out stickers and fliers. It was a full day and we got a lot of sun, but couldn't have been much better.

When we came back home that evening Anthony "Art" Arton, Democrat, stopped by our home to chat. We were shooting off bottle rockets and generally having a good time as the kids are now getting old enough to do a lot of this themselves. Byron especially enjoyed lighting firecrackers. Art is running for Davids old seat as our state Representative. I've know him since he was the student representative on the university Board of Governors. He's been very active on campus and around town.

Hopefully both of our favorites will do well later this year. Deanna and I differ on several points, but agree on many others. I'm generally a Democrat and Deanna is generally Republican, but we both look for the best and will support the best person. My biggest issues are health care, education, and the environment.

Flickr

2008-07-03T16:16:00.000-04:00

Want to see all of the latest photos? Check us out on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/odinjurkowski/

The World

2008-07-02T21:13:00.002-04:00

Uncle Jeff and family have been teaching in Australia for several years now. Soon they won't be the only ones so far off. On Deanna's side David will be stationed in Germany for the next couple years. Around the same time on my side Theron will be joining the Peace Corps and going to Bulgaria, also for a couple years. Meanwhile, Bronwyn is joining the Marines, so who knows where she will be off too. After this summer it will be quite some time before we see them all.

Gerbils

2008-06-25T10:38:00.002-04:00

We have Gerbils now. Kalina had been talking non-stop about getting another pet and kept listing all of the different options, from fish to lizards to ferrets (thanks Theron). When a friends family said they were trying to get rid of some gerbils they did not want any longer Kalina jumped at the chance and kept at us. So we got two cages and three gerbils total. Kalina and Acacia are thrilled, constantly taking them out to play with. They really are good natured animals, and the girls handle them just fine. Cordelia and Valen love watching, but that's it. They keep their distance, but love seeing them. Byron on the other hand couldn't care less. He thinks they look like rats.

Where does the time go?

2008-06-13T15:12:00.003-04:00

Boy it's been busy this summer. Here's a few updates. Kalina's favorite birthday gift was her mp3 player. She's really growing up. Byron's was a sonic screwdriver. Can you tell our favorite family show we watch together is Dr. Who? Acacia's half-birthday is coming up and she wants a digital camera.

The kids have all been riding their bikes a lot this summer, when it's not raining. I don't think we've ever had such a rainy summer before. Other than that they've been watching a lot of movies. The rental store gives out a free rental for each A on their report cards. Between the three oldest I think they got something like 22 movies. Kalina and Acacia are also funny because they've been setting their alarm clocks for 6 am every morning so that they can jump on the computers before the rest of the kids wake up. Byron still sleeps in and is the last one to sleep at night as he reads until we force him to stop. Interesting contrast between the boys and the girls.

Louisiana

2008-05-28T20:28:00.002-04:00

We had a great time in Louisiana visiting everyone. Cousin Emma is growing up fast and we got to meet the brand new baby Christopher. The timing was good as we were able to be there for Emma's birthday party. May was awfully hot, but not as bad as it would be later in the summer. We spent time playing in the back yard, went to the beach and rode in Uncle Matt's boat, ate spicy crawfish, and saw the alligators at the store. Overall, a great Memorial Day weekend.

Donuts

2008-04-28T14:01:00.002-04:00

"Donuts!" said Valen half asleep upon waking this morning. Must have been having quite a dream. He continued to repeat over and over that he wanted donuts, and was quite agitated that we didn't have any.

Then again, yesterday he woke up saying "No, Cordelia, no."

Grades

2008-04-24T11:03:00.002-04:00

Just got Kalina's latest report card. Apparently her worst class is art. She only had a 96%. Accelerated math was 98% for the quarter, and everything else was 102%, 105%, 107%. Gets upset when she loses a single point on something, and always does extra credit.

Been Crazy

2008-04-15T13:34:00.002-04:00

It's been crazy lately. We're still remodeling two of our bathrooms, Valen has been a daddy's boy and wants to be held all the time, except for when he's playing in big brother's bedroom with all those neat toys, Cordelia wants to go to school and play with her friends and socialize and hates playing alone, Acacia's very organized and obsessive about things, Byron gets in trouble for reading too much, and Kalina complains about everything and isn't happy when she has 110% on her report card.

Watch This Guys

2008-03-28T20:27:00.003-04:00

Valen's favorite phrase lately. He likes to climb, stand on things, raise his hands and show he's balancing, and then tell everyone to watch him. And he'll say it over and over again until you look. He's a show off and a dare devil.

Latest Science Olympiad

2008-02-24T12:09:00.002-05:00

Warrensburg did not make it to the State finals, but they still did pretty well at regionals yesterday. Kalina got two fourth place finishes and a first. Considering that her division was middle school 6, 7, and 8th grades, being among the youngest and still doing well was great. There was fierce competition from so many schools. They took over UCM and really had a lot of independence and responsibility. Events were spread out among many different buildings with no one standing over them taking them from place to place. She's really growing up.

Don't like

2008-02-16T13:58:00.002-05:00

"I don't like it Mommy." That's what Valen says when given his medicine for his cold. His vocabulary has just exploded since he turned two years old last month.

Our first droid

2008-02-12T11:37:00.000-05:00

We are so excited. We got our first droid this week. Deanna ordered an iRobot Scooba to clean the kitchen and bathroom floors. The kids really are hard to keep up with. While technology is obviously everywhere in our home, incorporated into so many devices, this really does feel like a big step forward. Just turn it on and let it go. It's mobile, autonomous, knows not to go down stairs or over thresholds, etc. Now we just have to make sure they don't take over the world. I for one welcome our robot cleaning overlords.

Science Olympiad

2008-02-02T21:46:00.000-05:00

Kalina got a 1st in one of her events today as well as a couple other medals. The Warrensburg team got 2nd overall. Later this month they go on to the regionals. Everyone is quite excited. It's good to see Kalina enjoying this so much. In fact, we had to be at the school at 6:45am this morning (Saturday). She must be dedicated.

If I had a nickel...

2008-01-26T16:31:00.000-05:00

If I had a nickel every time someone said:
"I hear you're a new Chair...My condolences," or "So I see you've made a switch to the dark side,"
I'd be rich.

A lot of people don't want the headaches of being a Chair, and it is an awful lot of work and responsibility. I've heard many say that being a Dean is easier. But I truly enjoy this. Do not regret the move at all. It's a new challenge.

Straight Hair

2008-01-21T22:25:00.001-05:00

OK, this is not something that you've ever seen. Deanna had her hair done today, and on a split second decision she agreed with the hair stylist to straighten it out. As you know, her hair is very curly, naturally. Alway has been. That's where Acacia gets her curls from, and Cordelia got some of them. Of course this is temporary. It will probably last only a day or two until it springs back. But it sure feels strange. Very neat. We like it.

Christmas

2007-12-27T15:36:00.001-05:00

Christmas 2007 was another adventure. We had a great time with family visiting. We had Uncle Donald and the Habben grandparents from Colorado, and Aunt Debra and Uncle Matt with cousin Emma from Louisiana. We baked cookies, had a feast of gluten free turkey, stuffing, pies, etc. Some of the kids were a little under the weather, but not so much that they couldn't play and have a good time. The holidays go by fast and it's hard to believe New Year's is almost here. Just look at how big everyone is getting.

You can tell Emma got her height from Matt's side of the family. Her and Cordelia are about the same size yet over a year apart in age. They got matching dresses from Grandma Habben.

Here is just part of the cookie making fun.

and here is Valen asleep on my shoulder as we walked the house. Note my winter beard.

New Dept

2007-12-17T11:49:00.001-05:00

Check out my new dept at http://www.ucmo.edu/cte

We still need to update it and move my program over, but that's on my to do list along with quite a bit else. You'll find that it's quite an interesting department. I'm really looking forward to the move.

Golden Compass

2007-12-05T11:50:00.000-05:00

We bought Byron the Golden Compass trilogy and after he reads it we'll pass it along to the rest of the kids. We were excited seeing the trailers to the movie and look forward to getting the DVD when it comes out next year as we don't go to the movies that often.

Although I will always be a librarian at heart, my move into Educational Technology and the physical move across campus really means that I won't be in any way connected to library science except in the fact that our programs are in the same college and I teach at a university.

So because of my library background, and the fact that costs can add up, we tend to borrow extensively from the libraries. That means all of them: school, public, and university. Seldom do we actually buy books. Usually it is reserved for something special, for a series or something that each kid will want to read or re-read over again.

Thankfully Deanna and I are of the same mindset in that any time a book stirs any controversy, we want to read it, and we want the kids to read it. It just encourages us more. Now the whole controversy over the Golden Compass is pretty silly, and I'm personally glad that we have an author like this willing and able to get these ideas out to our youth. In fact, I would encourage all students to read everything on ALA's banned books list. If there is any kind of controversy, then we need to uncover what that is.

Or maybe we just like get a kick out of doing this to spite the protesters.

Beard

2007-11-17T22:43:00.000-05:00

Another thought. It occurred to Deanna and I that these recent events strangely coincided with the new beard I started growing. Think about it. A week ago I started growing a beard, looking older and more mature. All of a sudden these job opportunities arise from two different places. Coincidence? Maybe I should do a research study.

Not moving after all

2007-11-17T22:34:00.000-05:00

We were so very close to moving to Utah, but at the last minute an opportunity was presented to me that I could not pass up. It's good for me professionally and for the family. We also don't have the stress of relocating across the country.

As you know, my faculty line was moved to Educational Technology last spring. My program will now be moving from the department of Educational Leadership and Human Development (ELHD) to Career and Technology Education (CTE), all within the College of Education. With that move I have been offered the position of Department Chair, as there is currently an interim chair that is interested in teaching and not the administrative responsibilities. Our current Dean was the chair of this department earlier this year.

This is a good step in my progression: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Program Coordinator, Department Chair. I will be very happy with this for the next few years before moving on to the next step. We enjoy living in Warrensburg, and everyone at UCM has been great to work with, so we are all excited and happy about how this turn of events has transpired.

Don't Panic

2007-11-13T09:57:00.001-05:00

Kalina is starting on one of my favorite series: the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The middle school didn't have the first book so she skipped to a later one while we order the first through interlibrary loan (our copy at the university is checked out). It's fun seeing them get excited about the same books I enjoy.

Meanwhile Byron is reading Treasure Island for school. Surprisingly, he's not enjoying it. I thought it would be right up his alley, but he can be picky.

Scores

2007-10-31T22:34:00.000-04:00

We now have one of those honor roll bumper stickers on our van. Kalina is doing outstanding work. Byron gets a lot of attention because of his social issues and him now having skipped a grade, but we just found out today Kalina scored in the 99th percentile on the math section of the MAP test, and 96 in communication arts. In 6th grade she is reading at the 10th grade level. Meanwhile, Acacia's teacher gave her the IQ assessment and she scored very, very well (I won't say here). I believe she is still at 6th grade for reading. Remember, she's only in 2nd grade. She started Harry Potter but it doesn't seem to be interesting her like it has for Byron and Kalina. She'll find her niche. All of our kids really take off once they learn to read.

Halloween 2007

2007-10-31T19:25:00.000-04:00

I'm not exactly sure about Kalina. She had some strange type of super hero octopus dancer. That's her imagination.

Byron did this last minute, but was very excited. He pulled out all of his fatigues and grabbed a Star Wars gun to go with it.

Acacia the hippie. Not sure where she got the idea from, but it was perfect. Her hair is all natural and it really fit the part.

Cordelia had been talking about the witch costume for almost an entire year. It finally paid off. She had been super excited.

And of course Valen in his tiger outfit. He was just an infant last year, so he started to get the hang of it. His expression on his face was the best. He was so intent on watching all of the other people and figuring out what was going on. The kids are used to dressing up all the time, but not in seeing the whole world like that. I bet by next year he'll be running along with the older kids.

Skipping

2007-10-23T19:24:00.000-04:00

Byron has three days of 4th grade left. After the school gave him the fifth grade assessments and he scored in the 96th percentile and considering his behavior and everything else we've uncovered from testing and evaluating him, next Monday he will be moving into 5th grade. A small step, but it should hopefully be a little better for him.

Jelly Belly

2007-10-16T22:10:00.000-04:00

Speaking of Harry Potter in the last post, when I was at my conference this week I stopped in one of the stores to find something to bring home for the kids. I found these little boxes of Harry Potter Jelly Belly candy. Some of the flavors were normal, but mixed in were some strange ones: dirt, earthworm, soap, sardines, black pepper, vomit, grass. The funny thing is that they actually do taste like that. It's not just a silly name. The kids got quite a kick out of them. And I thought that buttered popcorn was strange. But I actually like those.

Harry Potter

2007-10-10T11:53:00.000-04:00

Well you all know Byron has read all the Harry Potter books. He started in 1st grade and got caught up, and then read the last two as they were each published.

Kalina had always watched the movies but never really got into the books. This fall she decided that it would be a good idea to read them too. She has discovered that books and movies don't always match, and we have all of the books on the shelf. So she picked up number 1 and started going through the series. I thought it would take her the year to get through so much but at breakfast this morning she was half way through 7 already. She's only been at it a month or so.

Reading

2007-10-03T22:03:00.000-04:00

Acacia is reading like the rest of the kids. In second grade now she is reading at a 6th grade level, the highest in her class. Not surprised. We all love our books.

Washington DC

2007-09-30T14:33:00.000-04:00

Saw a lot of Washington DC during an afternoon I took off from the conference. It was a lot of walking, but the weather was great. We took the train and then walked across the Arlington Memorial Bridge (over the Potomac River). Our site seeing included:

Lincoln Memorial
Reflecting Pool
Washington Monument
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial
WW II Memorial
White House
National Museum of Natural History

and finished off our walking tour in China Town.

Rising Expectations

2007-09-28T13:05:00.001-04:00

Well this has certainly been an interesting experience here at the NCATE conference in DC. Maybe I just have rising expectations, perhaps I'm seeing things differently as the years go by, or perhaps it's just chance, but I've been disappointed with many of the speakers. Not all, as some of them have been wonderful, and I'm learning a lot. That never ends. There's always more to learn. And I'm not talking about presentation style or speaking ability, but content. So many times I've been sitting there thinking to myself that what they're saying is just missing the point, wondering why they haven't considered something else, and thinking that some of their reasoning is flawed. Sometimes it just seems so clear to me and I feel like it's all coming together. Not that I'm perfect or the most experienced, but I am seeing things in a different light. For example, the professor talking about their programs evidence of student learning floored me with an apparent lack of consideration of competencies and what they were actually measuring.

Will we be moving?

2007-09-26T09:49:00.000-04:00

Two universities (now possibly three??) are currently looking at me for administrative positions. All are exciting, all have their strengths and benefits professionally and in terms of community, and all would be great opportunities. I have a couple other applications out so we'll see if those start coming through too as they had later dates for reviewing applications. We'll see what happens and if we get an offer.

Upcoming conference

2007-09-24T22:16:00.000-04:00

My next conference presentation is coming up in three weeks. I'm trying to tie together both worlds (library science and educational technology) as you can tell by my topic. This will be my first ed tech conference, but I'll be talking about school librarians and tech coordinators working together. Now I just need to find the time to finalize it. I've been so busy trying to get so many new things going around here. At least the NCATE conference this week is out of state and I'm not presenting there. I actually went to the public library to grab a book to read on the plane. A rare moment lately to actually read something for fun rather than for work. Not that that's not fun, but I do enjoy fiction too.

Deanna's Kitchen

2007-09-04T15:20:00.000-04:00

Deanna has been told over and over again that she should sell her gluten free foods. It's a specialty that really has not been met. What you can buy at the store is expensive and not as good as home made. So Deanna has started a business, registered it with the state, and is now selling out of our home. We're optimistic. The offerings should grow over time, and hopefully we'll have to figure out how to reach further by shipping orders. We're limited with only our home kitchen, but wouldn't it be a wonderful problem if we outgrew this capacity? There has been some initial interest in the area that is promising.

http://deannaskitchen.googlepages.com/

Pacing herself

2007-08-25T16:58:00.000-04:00

Kalina told me the other day that she was reading her books very slowly on purpose. Previously she had never gotten around to the Harry Potter series so she's started it this month and has gone through the few few. She's afraid that there are not enough good books in the world and that if she doesn't pace herself she'll get through all of them before she finishes 8th grade.

Meanwhile Byron, who's just starting 4th grade, finished the last Harry Potter book in about a week this summer. It's just one novel after another for him.

School Starts Again

2007-08-19T15:31:00.001-04:00

Here we go again. It's been a busy summer and went by fast. Hard to believe that Kalina is now in 6th grade. She's excited about her new school, music, and her role as a conflict mediator. You'll notice it was a bit earlier in the morning that the bus came for her.

Meanwhile, Byron is all set for 4th grade. He also moves into a new school this year. He's excited about science and new books.Acacia is ready for 2nd grade and is again the only Jurkowski at her school. She just likes everything, but especially math and PE. She'll be sitting next to the mayor's daughter but that may not last long as they are both chatter boxes.

Finally, Cordeila (above) starts preschool soon for a few hours a week, and Valen (below) will be at home alone with Mom.

Colorado Springs

2007-08-14T12:08:00.001-04:00

Just a few pictures from our trip to visit family in Colorado this summer. Here Deanna took a picture of us with Grandpa and Grandma Habben after a hike. They sure have a lot where they live. Deanna misses the mountains.
Here is a nice family shot on a big rock that we climbed.

And here we are way up on the bridge overseeing the waterfall. Grandpa Habben was down at the bottom and took this shot. Later, I took Acacia and Byron along the hiking path all the way to the top. It was quite a hike, but Acacia is very competitive and had to beat us.