Two Simple Words

Veteran’s Day is just around the corner.  How do you show the Veteran’s in your life that you appreciate them and the sacrifices they have made for our country and the freedoms we enjoy?  Here is a teaser from a post I wrote for this week’s article at the Homeschool Blogger’s Company Front Porch, I hope that you’ll stop by and check it out.  

I have a confession. Until the past few years, I’ve not really thought much about Veteran’s Day. Terrible. I know. It’s not that I didn’t teach my children that it is an important day, I’ve tried to tell them about the men and women that have served our country, past and present. It just didn’t mean much because personally, other than my grandfather who passed away eight years ago, I didn’t really know anyone who had served in our military and sometimes I tend to take our freedoms for granted.

My grandfather spent WWII stationed on a boat in the Pacific, he never, ever talked about his experience in the Navy. Frankly, it seemed as though he didn’t want to be reminded of that time in his past when he was a young man. I guess I grew up thinking that it was better not to mention a Veteran’s service, as though they had somehow forgotten the time they’d served and by my mere mention they would somehow be reminded of a nightmare they were trying to forget. I learned to tip toe around the subject as though it were somehow a dark secret or something dishonorable.

You can read the rest of my article, Two Simple Words at The Company Front Porch. 

How will you spend Veteran’s Day?

Financial Accounting: A Review

Professor in a Box: Financial Accounting is a first accounting course designed with the homeschool high school student in mind. Aimed at future business owners, investors or employees of companies that invest in stocks or mutual funds, this program will have your student reading financial statements in no time.

As someone that has a hard time keeping her checkbook balanced, when it comes to teaching my children accounting, I’ll take all the help I can get! 

I assigned this course to my oldest son, who seems to have become the guinea pig for my recent reviews.  As excited as I was for him to get started, I did worry how he would do with a formal program since we are pretty laid back and unstructured when it comes to most subjects, math included. 

The course is a college level program for the high school age student, requiring only basic math skills. I was excited by that statement and then I realized that basic math skills are assuming that the student has completed an algebra course, which my son has not.  Nevertheless, my son was eager to begin the program. 

I quickly discovered there are many positive aspects of the Financial Accounting Program:

1. Ease of use. This is a program that is very user friendly. I was able to open the case, insert a CD in the computer and get my son started within minutes while I continued to browse the Instructor CD.
2. The entire 28 lesson program is fully contained on 4 CD’s. No textbook is required.
3. The lecture slides, which the student views,  are available as PDF’s to be easily printed if desired.
4. The instructor, Michael P. Licata, Ph.D. is very thorough and knowledgeable.
5. There are two options available for taking the course-
       A) the full College Level Course, or… 
       B)  the Short Version that will allow some of the components of the  program  to be skipped while still ensuring that the student is prepared to take the CLEP Financial  Accounting Exam.
6. The course is set up in four simple steps-
       A) watch lectures,
       B) complete the homework,
       C) check your answers,
       D) take the exams.

It really couldn’t be much simpler than that!

Personally, there were only a few minor issues that I would like to note:

1. The lessons are long. However, the beauty of home schooling is  adapting a  program to work for you and not being a slave to the program. You can adjust the lessons as needed and break them up accordingly.
2. The answers to the Chapter Problems are on the student discs while the exams and exam answers are on the Instructor CD. I‘d have preferred for all the answers to be on the Instructor CD so there is no temptation to peek at the answers. When it comes to math, mastery is key.
3. Some of the Chapter Problems require that your child use the Internet to complete some research, which may be an issue for some families. 
4. The program does utilize Excel templates, which are included, but it would be helpful if your child had a basic familiarity with Excel prior to beginning the course.

My son, who has been enjoying the course, appreciates the straightforwardness of the instructor as well as the examples he gives as each new concept is clearly introduced. Each new term and application is fully covered.  From a beginner’s point of view, my son is sometimes slightly overwhelmed by the amount of  information that is presented. This is by no means an easy course, but my son hasn’t let that deter him and is plugging right along, progressing nicely.  

You can purchase Financial Accounting directly through Professor in a Box for the current sale price of $99.95 which comes with a money back guarantee! 

Professor in a Box also sells a second course, Principles of Marketing, with a new Entrepreneurship course available in 2011.

You can read what other reviewers had to say about this product on the TOS Review Blog.

I received this product free of charge, in exchange for my honest opinion. I hope this review will help other families determine if this product would be a good fit for their own families. 

Natural Well: A Never Ending Pit

Last week we joined a friend and her two boys for a great hike to Natural Well, which is located on Monte Sano Mountain and is part of the McKay Hollow trail section. 

We met at the trailhead located on the right hand side of Monte Sano Blvd. just past Burritt on the Mountain.  The trail is pretty easy, though it is rocky underfoot. Shoes with thick soles would be handy as my cheap tennis shoes weren’t really cutting it.

Along the way you’ll find rocks and boulders along both sides of the path.   You’ll also see evidence of possibly a mill and some type of building as you approach the well. I don’t have any information about either at this point, but I do plan to do a bit of research a bit later. The return trip from the well has a couple uphill climbs on the way back to the parking lot but not anything that was too steep or difficult.

The well itself is actually a pit cave and looks just like the picture, a huge gaping hole in the ground, though it was cool to see. A pit cave is described as a cave passage that is is actually vertical instead of horizontal and can’t be explored without the use of a rope or ladder. The shaft you see in the picture descends nearly 190 feet straight down, before sloping to a total 325 feet below the surface of the mountain. 

If you are skilled in caving and rappelling, you can get a permit from the Monte Sano State Park office and explore the entire 1,150 foot horizontal passage with underground domes, waterfalls and tight passages.  

I don’t think anyone in our group is quite that adventurous yet, but on the other hand, viewing  an underground waterfall sounds pretty spectacular. I think. Right now I’ll stick to enjoying it from the comfort of my own home via this YouTube video that I found.

The pit is surrounded by a short partial wall (in front) and a chain link fence,  but personally, I wouldn’t leave my children unsupervised.

At about 3.5 miles round trip, this was a great fall hike, probably one that we’ll add to our growing list of favorites in Northern Alabama.

So, I’m curious. Have you been caving or rappelling? What has been your most memorable adventure?

Reminder: Field Trip Friday is Coming Up!

Just wanted to send out a quick reminder to those of you that are interested that Field Trip Friday is coming up this week. I’ll be posting about a field trip that we went on a couple weeks ago that was one of the BEST field trips ever so I hope you’ll stop back to see what we’ve been up to and share your outings as well!

In case you missed it or you’re new to Field Trip Friday you can read the new guidelines here.

Can’t wait to see what you’ve all been up to! Until Friday…Happy Field Trippin’!

EAA Young Eagles Flights: What to Expect

This past month, both of my boys had the opportunity to participate in a Young Eagles Flight and fly for the first time in their lives in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk.

The FREE Young Eagles Flights are offered for children between  the ages of 8 –17, allowing the child to experience a flight with an experienced EAA member volunteer in a general aviation airplane.

This program that can be found throughout the United States and around the world, designed to introduce children to the adventure of flying and encourage them to pursue an aviation career.

Sounds like a great program, doesn’t it? So, how can your child get started and what can you expect from the experience?

1) Locate a Young Eagles Coordinator near you and schedule a flight. 

2) Arrive at the airport on the day of your appointment, locate the Young Eagles registration table  and fill out a registration form.

3) Your child will be teamed up with an experienced pilot that is part of the EAA Program.

4) The pilot will give your child a brief tour of the plane that includes a pre-flight inspection of the plane and a look at the instrument panel. 

5) The flights typically last for 15 –20 minutes.  My son was excited that the pilot actually allowed him to fly the plane once they were in the air, but I don’t know if that is part of the normal routine.

6) On the ground, your child should be presented with a logbook and certificate. The  registration you completed will be submitted to the EAA Young Eagles Office and your child will officially be registered in the World’s Largest Logbook.   

The Young Eagle’s Flight Plan doesn’t stop with that first free flight, but continues with an EAA Student Membership that will allow your child to enroll in a free flight training course. After completing the first phase of ground school your child will receive a voucher for their first flight lesson free of charge. After completing the program, children are eligible to apply for scholarships to pay for flight training at the school of their choice.

My boys enjoyed their flight so much that they have both decided to pursue a pilot license. It will sure make those trips back to Ohio a lot shorter!