I recently looked up top resolutions for the new year—and saw some interesting lists. They were the typical ones you would expect—lose weight, exercise, get out of debt, eat more healthfully, spend time with family, etc.
But what struck me most was the recurring use of the word MORE.
I cringe when I see a writing project that requires various skills without the lessons on those skills as well. (Check out our Meaningful Composition samples to see how skills should be taught with every writing lesson, especially involved skills such as quotations, dialogue, scene setting, researching, and citing sources.) This next tips explains this more fully…. Read more →
It is easy to get in a rut in teaching writing—and have students write the same types of writing over and over (often narrative or informational from a given source). This is especially true if your writing program focuses on one type only (as many of our second semester books do; that is why we recommend your student do one first semester book first before delving in to his favorite type of writing only). By eighth grade, we should be making sure that our students can write various types of writing well….
(1) ALL (or nearly all) of a degree earned through CLEPs
(2) CLEP in lieu of taking courses in your degree (to save time and money)
1. Super great study skills/tester
2. Doesn’t mind having a less “distinguished degree”
3. Is getting a less specialized degree (more liberal arts/humanities/social
work/history/psychology, communications, etc.)
4. Can save TONS of money (especially over living on campus and getting a degree)
Donna Reish, of Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character, brings you this episode about CLEP testing for college credit. Donna describes the two primary reasons for taking CLEP (College Level Equivalency Program) tests: (1) To test out of an entire degree (or most of it); (2) To earn college credit towards a degree that the student will be pursuing or is pursuing. She explains the steps her family has gone through to use the CLEP for both approaches (as some classes toward a nursing degree, for 3/4 of a degree, and for all of a degree except for two classes for which there were no tests available). She then details the steps you will want to go through to get the most out of this college testing option, focusing on how to decide if a student would be a good CLEP candidate, how to choose the exams to take, and how to prepare for the exams.
One of the most important things to do in going “back to school” is definitely incorporating chore sessions (including having trained everybody in their chores during the summer). I have been writing (and podcasting) a lot about this topic this summer, so rather than re-inventing the wheel here, I will direct you to some of those for more help.
I remember vividly the two summers before my August and September babies were born. I had double the motivation to get the chore schedules updated—a new school year and a new baby’s arrival. I made mini posters for above the washing machine, and we had “laundry lessons” for several days. I upped the look of the chore charts to try to excite the kids a little bit about the new divisions of labor. We timed the tasks to be sure they could be done in the allotted time. We instituted “room to room” for three to five minutes before each chore session to ensure that everybody’s things were up out of the way before the cleaner or assistant chef or little laundry lady started her tasks.
