Earn College Credits with CLEP Exams at A Fraction of the Price

I will be using CLEP exams for some of my nursing requirements, and I am hoping can use some of them too. You just have to pass the test to earn college credits.

A More Normal Week and Standardized Testing

I am so glad we homeschool.  The last 11 days would have been worse, if I had to worry about making up school work for the kids, and all that nonsense that goes with public school.  Homeschooling afforded me the flexibility at a trying time, when I needed it to be flexible.  You can not get that from public school.  So far, this week has been more normal, and we have achieved a lot.  I even got the laundry room all painted, and looking beautiful.  We will continue with home repairs, and updates through this year.  The major work that needed to be done, was completed three weeks ago, and that is a huge burden off my list.  Usually by now, I have started thinking about opening the pool.  I probably will not be doing that until April or May, this year.  We had planned on getting a state park pass, for the year, but now with all the rain and snow, up North I am afraid the springs are all going to be flooded for some time to come.  There are already flood advisories up for the Santa Fe River.  So, for now that will be placed on the back burner.  Of course there are other things than just the springs at the state parks, but that is one of the best things to do. 

I have decided to give both of the kids the CAT, California Achievement Test, at the end of this year.  It is affordable, and will give me a clear indication of where they are. It can be taken online, or you can have it delivered to your home.  Then I return it for grading. You also do not have to be a certified teacher, or have a bachelors degree to administer it.  It will be included in our school portfolios, for our annual evaluation.  It will be accompanied by our standard portfolio.So, yes I will do both.  DJ will take the PSAT in 10th grade, then the SAT in 11th grade.  We have already started preparing for those tests.  I will share some great resources for preparing for those tests, in the coming weeks.  Have I ever said I hate the Common Core?  Well, I hate the Common Core.  I know homeschoolers in Florida do not have to follow the Common Core standards, but as the past 11 days has shown me, if I ever needed to put my kids in public school, I want them to be somewhat prepared at least academically.  My 5th grader is no where near where the standards would like her to be, but she is improving every day.  My 9th grader is good, with the exception of Math, which is getting closer every day too.    My biggest complaint with it, is that it is not fair.  What do I mean?  If they want these harder standards, fine.  But, start them with the incoming kindergarteners, not kids who are already half way, or more done with their schooling.  I also think it is  harder for parents to help their kids with homework, because they were not taught that way, and I am hearing from public school teachers even, who are having a hard time teaching it.  I just think it is completely dumb the way it was done, and that is my opinion. 

We Survived A Difficult Week

It has been a crazy week.  We did only two full days of school, and one half day.  We did not get to do our Art, or Geography, and no tests this week.  Next week, the kids, and my husband have all kinds of things that they have already made commitments to, so we will have to play catch up during our school hours for sure.  I want to do our Native American Art, and Irish in America with Geography project.  I am trying to keep our Geography within the US, but covering various nationalities in that general idea.  Since March is St Patrick's Day, we will do the history of Irish in America, traditional Irish food, and a Lucky Charms graphing data assignment.  We didn't get our experiments done either.  I hate to get behind, but sometimes life just takes over, and things happen. 

Estate Planning In Plain English

We had a family emergency this week, that even though it could be anticipated, many people do not anticipate or plan for it to happen. I am talking about a disastrous car accident, that resulted in severe injuries. Now we are dealing with the after math of that, and all that comes with not being prepared. It isn't that we weren't prepared, but the family member involved was not. To make matters worse, care was refused, and now there is no income to pay for things needed. So, we are stuck with stress, grief, and a lot of uncertainty. Take my advice. Don't wait for a tragedy to happen. Talk to your loved ones, and if you can, I say if, because some are so stubborn there really isn't a thing you can do, convince them to prepare. Prepare doesn't mean you have to spend a ton of money. But, there are some basics that should be thought out, and planned for. A DNR, a legal one, or Living Will with Health Care Proxy should be one of them. If you have specific wishes, you need to make them known, no matter how uncomfortable. These are things, my husband, and I ourselves will now be tackling. It is a very real lesson learned, in a very difficult way. Don't think it can't happen to you, it certainly can. Estate planning, end of life care, emergency care, care of minor children, etc are all things that should be dealt with well in advance. Pets, don't forget pets. To say the least, our school week has been jumbled, but we are getting through it.We will also be looking into Aflac type policies.  They are affordable and a wonderful thing to have in a state like FL, that doesn't offer workers disability insurance.  At least the employers I have known do not.