School

It's back to school time for all those kiddies in public school again. It's a little anti climactic for our household. Since we are home-schooling year round now, there really isn't a solid beginning or end. Of course I think it is much better this way, the kids really seem to enjoy learning and we can take trips whenever we want. But, I do like the deals when I can take advantage of them. Having new school supplies is fun, and since I'm in school now too, I get to actually use some things. Clothes, I have to be careful, there really isn't a huge reason to buy clothes, it's too hot still for them to wear the fall clothes and there is no point buying new summer clothes since it will only be "hot" for a few more months. So, I like to wait until after the back to school ruckus when the fall clothes start going on sale before I actually buy their cool weather clothes. Usually I can come up with some coupons from Old Navy or Children's Place and get more for less.

The one thing I do look forward to, is new books and curriculum for the kiddo's and now me. I get email from used curriculum groups all year long, and I pick up what I know I'm going to need for the next level whenever I find a good deal, but the majority of good deals come when new school year gets ready to start because so many people are ready to part with their things. Now, I would sell some of my curriculum, but alas, since I have two more to start school in the next few years, it makes no sense. I really can't part with anything until BooBoo gets some use out of it. I have come to realize though, that that is A LOT of books. I really need some kind of organizational units/shelving for all of my curriculum. I would really like the husband to make me something, but he has another project that he wants to work on, so I really don't have much to work with now, and won't for the foreseeable future. But, on the upside, I have finally gotten a system for keeping portfolio's for the kiddos and I have a computer program that I can enter all of their information and make report cards and all that other fun bookkeeping stuff that I haven't been able to do up until now. So, I'm at least going to go back to last fall to create the records, and that should be good since the oldest is just entering 6th grade this year.

I made it through my first summer semester of courses, and unbeknownst to me I took a course overload at 12 credits. Had I realized this was a course overload and how stressed out I would be for a few weeks, I may not have done it the way I did. But, I did. And I got 12 credits out of the way, so with my transfer credits I now have 24 of the 60 I need for my AA. I'm taking 14 more credits this fall. I have to pay for 1 class, which is 2 of those credits, but it will be less I should have to take in the summer then, if I stay on schedule. I don't know why they say that an AA is a 2 year degree and 12 credits is considered full time, because most AA's need 60 credits, and that doesn't break down into 4 semesters......But, hopefully I'm on the right track now and will graduate before the money runs out. Then I get to figure out how to pay for the BA, etc. I wish I could just stop there, but to do what I want to do, it's going to take more than that. Hopefully I will feel smarter by that time.....