I Quit! Until Next Year that is…

This was our last week before break but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to fly. Last week was torturous to get through. This Monday started with an orthodontist appointment that took 2 hours (not including drive time), and ended with mouth pain for Lee. Tuesday just was a blahful day (haha, it wasn’t awful) but some school was managed. Today, Wednesday, we did manage to get some things done but with it being the middle of the week and 2+ weeks break coming up…I didn’t want to start a lesson in any of the subjects because we would have to redo them when we start back up.

So, I say, I quit for the rest of the year. My anniversary is Friday (15 years!) and I’ve already planned for no school that day (dh is taking the day off of work, too). Dh isn’t going to be working Saturdays for the rest of the year (not that there are very many left lol) so we may be planning some family stuff.

I think it’s time to just relax. Today is Day #92 of the school year for us and we’ve done superb! And I got word that I am an official college graduate as of 12/10/11. In celebration, I’m taking the rest of the year off from school- all school  

Actually, you may see less of me here until the new year. Yep, I’m thinking a nice relaxing break is in order. Have a wonderful holiday season

Online College for My Kids?…well in the future maybe

As a homeschooling parent (well, any parent really) I am thinking of the academic future of my kids. My dd (who is a freshman this year) has somewhat decided what she would like to pursue as a career. But should she do her studies online or in a brick-and-mortar college?

We have been searching lately for possible colleges/universities and really only have come up with about 3 likely candidates. Personally, the thought of sending her out into the world (and all of the colleges in a different state) as a freshman in college just makes me nervous. I am not one that keeps my kids in a bubble with no influence from the outside world, but I have been there, done that and would like to think my experiences can benefit her.

Looking at Online Degree Programs makes sense for our family. My dd isn’t a recluse but she does have goals that would have to be put on the back burner if she were to attend an in-class college. I personally have always liked the flexibility of online classes. She could still volunteer at an organization in the middle of the day on a Tuesday with online classes (as opposed to on that requires seat time 3 times a week for an hour and a half each time that might conflict with volunteering hours), or work part time.

She really wants to be a writer/editor/artist. She could search for an online option for any of those, such as online degree programs in art. And I know that college isn’t cheap. It is getting more expensive every year. She has plans to save during her high school years for college and she has other options, such as financial aid. By my dealing with FAFSA each year while I was in college, we are quite familiar with http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ for options.

Using an online program requires a lot more dedication, motivation and good time management than brick-and-mortar college classes. Those are things that I am trying to foster while we homeschool. We may have a little while to go before my kids are college students but it doesn’t hurt to start the search early.

This post brought to you by http://www.findyoureducation.com

What Do You Want To Be?

Many of us are already ‘grown-up’ but there are some of us that still are not sure what we want to be. When I was growing up, I wanted to be a teacher, a dancer (although I never even danced), a nurse, an accountant…and a few things in between (like an actress, like that would ever happen!). But interestingly enough, I didn’t even think about college. In high school my counselor suggested college but I didn’t really pay much attention at the time.

I didn’t even know what I wanted to be (in terms of a career) until about 6 years ago. Once I realized what I wanted to do then I started searching for colleges that would help me get there. I searched for the top online schools. I focused on online schools because with my husband’s job we move around a lot and I didn’t think we would be in a place long enough to finish my degree on location.

There are many websites that now can help you find online degrees such as Degree Jungle. If getting a degree is something you are interested in checking into more, perhaps Degree Jungle would be a good place to look. You can find in-depth rankings of online universities.

Brought to you by Degree Jungle at http://www.degreejungle.com

What's Been Up Over Here :)

Today is already Tuesday (and only Tuesday!) and I feel that I've been gone forever. 


Saturday was productive. Out of the list of to-dos I had, we finished at least 4 of them and started or got well into another 2 of them. The rest will have to wait until this weekend (ie: the rest of the fence being stained and the weed extermination). 


Sunday was good, we went to both services at Church. And I should have posted on Sunday because there was something great that I heard/thought because of the service and now I can't recall :( If I think of it I will post it another time. But either way: God is GOOD. Always.


Monday was our second week at Co-Op and a local new friend has started to attend also. She has two children, an 8 year old and a 10 year old. Her son (the 10 yo) is on the autism spectrum - but where I couldn't tell you - and he gets over stimulated easily. We worried some that the new atmosphere and the amount of kids (and people in general) might cause him to have an anxiety attack but he did surprisingly well. Her daughter, so far, is a typical 8 yo (as typical as one can be with living with a brother with autism)- she's super sweet and surprisingly (or not so surprising maybe) mature for an 8 yo. We didn't bring a potluck contribution this week so we had pb&j sandwiches made with the bread I made on Sunday. We came back home and picked up 40 lbs of flour from a generous friend from church that is moving soon and trying to lighten their packing. We will definitely miss them! I'm so grateful for the flour as I was down to my last 5 lb bag and would have had to buy more shortly. God is good :) & she is nice too ;)


Today is Tuesday (lol in case you'd not figured that out yet!) and I feel that the week has zoomed past already -then I catch myself and realize it has really just started! I am still waiting on two books for one of my classes so worry that I will fall behind. Fortunately, he's emailed everyone the first week's reading materials. Perhaps he is aware the books are backordered. I've not even started the other class other than to look at the 'homepage' for the class. Last week I did do the first assignment but haven't actually 'turned it in'. Well, I do think that all is going well.


Today for the kids' school they've done well and are moving along well. I will most likely do Weekly Wrap-Ups for that on Friday (unless I periodically get a moment- like now!). The Monthly Barden will be up hopefully by October 15th! Keep an eye open for it!