World History and Geography: Andorra

It has been an interesting week. I intended to add several countries to this blog, and yet it is Thursday and I have only done one. Today's country is Andorra, and what an interesting little country, and I mean little. This is another of the countries so far that I would not mind visiting someday. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be that easy to get into it.

Below are some videos I have selected for you to watch. You can always watch more, or even read more. There is a book at the bottom you can purchase through Amazon. Please note I do use affiliate links in this blog.  We will make a food dish from each country, as well as other projects that I have not yet determined.  This class will most likely be for her senior year, so I have plenty of time to put it together.

Start of 4th Quarter

It has been a crazy few months.  Adjusting to my husband working from home due to Covid 19 and my son back to doing college work at home.  Plus disinfecting the house every day, and keeping everyone safe.  We have quietly moved into our fourth quarter.  Caitlin has shown great progress this year and I am so proud of her.

She has completed the Oceanography curriculum and is studying to take the final.

She has completed ASL first year.  The final grade will be posted,

She has completed  Civics and Government and is studying for the final.

That leaves Math Algebra 1B and Language Arts.  Plus, last week she started the driving school on FLVS.  She will be able to sit for her driver's permit when she is done.

We are still volunteering weekly at the dog shelter.  Socializing in these times has become a challenge.  We do meet on the bike path for the girls to skateboard or use their Heelies.  We limit the time to one hour per day.

I am so glad we bought the pool last year, as all the springs are closed.

I will be working on making new posts as I was initially doing, and then got distracted.

I hope everyone is well.

Almost Time

It is almost time for our first homeschool graduation.  The program has been created, the menu created, the church booked, and the reception hall reserved.  I have purchased some of the decor, but I still need to get the diploma, and get some pics done through the years.  I have to check with my son to see if his girlfriend is doing the slideshow or not, and what his entrance song will be.  We are keeping a very simple menu.  We are not fancy, so I see no need to have a fancy party.  The party is at the springs, and they have very strict rules about decorations.  I will share the program details on the next post, so stay tuned if you need ideas.

I am also in the midst of starting to plan 9th grade for Caitlin next year.  I have not accomplished much, lol. 

Drama is really heating up now, even though the show is still 2 months away.  It takes up a lot of time, but both of them really love it, and it covers their Arts credit for high school.  We continue to walk at least 3 days a week to be sure to get our PE credit, and we are doing a Health course in may, only 8 hours, but it is a great class.  

Thinking of Next Year School Year and Online Education Classes for Kidney Disease

Well, I have been slightly busy this last month.  First my FIL came to visit, then I started back to work, and this past week my sister came to visit from NC,  An update on the Sjogrens Saga.  I saw the Rheumatologist about two weeks ago, hoping to have a lip biopsy to either prove or disprove Sjogrens as the cause of my chronic dry mouth, and eyes.  Just to put it mildly I was not impressed with this doctor.  At first a little standoffish and unfriendly.  However, he did warm up towards the end of the visit.  All my labs were normal, the last set, except for my C3 and C4 which were extremely low.  He said, and I actually agree that there was no way those could be correct, because I would have had other labs that would not be normal, plus I was feeling fine.  He said the lab that my insurance insists I go to does not have quality results.  Great, that is awesome!  He said I could do the test again through his company, and it would only cost 500 dollars as my insurance would not cover it.  Um, no thanks.  Then he told me he does not do the lip biopsy, that I have to see an ENT doctor.  Good grief already!  Another 40 dollars, and that is if my insurance covers it.  So, I have to find that out.  The Rheumatologist said he does not think is is Sjogrens because my labs had all returned to normal., nor does he think it is any Autoimmune Disorder, which I am actually ok with.  Because, I can not take any of the immunosuppressant drugs he would want me to take, one because my kidney can't handle it, and two I work in the medical field.  Having no immune system would not be a good idea.  So, now I wait, again.  This is why people don't go to the doctor, because it is ridiculous the way the system works.  On the renal side, my kidney continues to  improve, though they do not think it will ever regain full functioning capabilities.  The good kidney is holding up well.  I will be doing some of these online kidney classes offered by Davita.  They are free of charge, and you can take live ones if they are near you.  Online just works better for my very busy schedule.

On the homeschool side of my life, we are starting our 4th quarter tomorrow.  DJ is finishing up a very challenging Chemistry two semester course, and will finish up the second half in the fall.  He just really needs a break, so time consuming this class was.  He will complete Geometry over the Summer break, as he started it in February.  I will be registering him for the August SAT, but he does the questions of the day test prep, and so far he has a near perfect score for Reading and Writing, and the Math could still use a little work, but is not horrible.  He is looking at Santa Fe College next Summer or Fall semester.  We have a lot of prepping to do for next year, as it will be his Senior year.  He will be doing most of his classes on FLVs, with the exception of Japanese, and History.  He will do Japanese on Time4Learning, and History will be Greek Mythology, curriculum not chosen yet.  I will be looking at various sources for that, and will share them when I figure it out.

Caitlin will be in 8th grade next year, and this year I have discovered that she very much hates workbooks.  I chose Alpha Omega for her, for this year, and though not challenging she hates them.  Her Saxon textbook, my preferred Math choice, she does not like either.  She wants online Math.  So, we started using Easy Peasy Homeschool, middle school Math, and she is doing quite well.  We will finish up 7th grade Math using Easy Peasy through the Summer months.  Her writing is still not what I want, and I am unsure what to do with that.  My son did not like writing either, but he learned to love it.  I just have to find the right fit for her.  I will be looking at Teachers Pay Teachers for some ideas.  She has changed her mind and wants to do French instead of Spanish, and I will be looking at FLVS for her to do that.  It will be her first time using FLVS, and I think language would be a good place to start.  She absolutely hates History, and since it will be her last year where I can really pick and choose how I want her to learn, I think we will do video and living books on Inventors, famous Women, and Black History for her next year.  I will update as I go, and discover things to use.  I also have to really buckle down and start looking at putting together our portfolios for this school year.  Being sick, and having so much family visit, has thrown me off my normal organization path.  But, I have everything, just need to get it in order.