Will you be one of the crazy shoppers that get up at 4:00 am to find a great deal? (Of course, I mean crazy in the nicest way possible)

I have to admit, I have been out early on Black Friday a few times.  A couple of the times I did it, it was not as bad as I thought.

On another occasion, I was pregnant and had to wait in the checkout line for 45 minutes.  Standing in place for so long caused my blood pressure to drop (I think I was locking my knees) and I almost passed out.   Needless to say, after that year I took a break.

This year I am considering giving it another try.  Why not?  If I can buy the Lego set that my son wants for $40 instead of $80, I think it is worth it.  We’ll see what happens… Wish me luck!

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Has the cold and flu season hit your home?  (I couldn’t resist the swine flu clip art.  My daughter loves pigs and since she is the one that is sick right now, I put it up for her).

I knew it was only a matter of time before the germs would find their way into our home.  With two kids in school it was inevitable.  I am hoping, crossing my fingers and praying that it is just a minor case of the seasonal  flu but we are only on day 1 so I need to be prepared.

Since I do not want to simply let her watch High School Musical 1, 2 & 3 all day, I decided I should think of some fun yet mellow activities for her to do while she is not feeling well.

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Is your family on candy overload?

It is amazing how much candy can be acquired through a couple hours of trick-or-treating.  My daughter only made it to about six houses when she decided she had enough candy and was ready to return home.  Sure enough, she was right.  She had filled her bat bag to the top and was content.

My son continued the trick-or-treating mission and we now have enough candy to last us until 2015.  Since we only let our children eat one piece a day, it may actually last that long.

Besides sitting down and eating candy all day long, there are a number of activities your children can do with their bag of candy.

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Is your son the next Albert Einstein?  Is your daughter the next Marie Curie?

Of course they are!  Many parents believe that their children are geniuses in training.  But have you ever had their abilities tested?

This year my husband and I decided to have our son tested.  Last year our son complained that he was bored and did not enjoy school.  We assumed it was the initial shock of going to school.  However this year we are having the same problem.  Therefore we wanted more concrete information we could use to show his teacher that he needed and desired more of a challenge.

We knew he was above grade level in some areas but were not sure how he would measure on an achievement test.  First we looked into having his IQ tested.  However after realizing the cost - $300+ and the length of the test - 3 hours, we decided this was not the best fit.  Of course if we needed to prove his intelligence for special programs we would have.  At this time, it was not necessary.

After realizing we needed something a little more basic, I started paying attention to what homeschooling parents were doing (I believe homeschool parents are a great source for any and all resources.  Keep up the good work!).  I found that a number of homeschool children were tested using the Peabody Individual Achievement Test.

The Peabody test is individually administered by a trained examiner.  The test takes between 60-90 minutes and is very affordable ($45-$60 depending on the administrator).  It measures achievement in the areas of general information, reading recognition, reading comprehension, mathematics, and spelling.  At the end of the test, parents are given easy to understand scores.  The test gives a grade equivalent for each section.

Overall I was very please with the Peabody test experience.  Our son enjoyed the test and was very relaxed with the tester.  We gained valuable information which will hopefully help us and his teacher provide him with work to fit his needs.

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Are you nervous for back to school?

As back to school approaches, there is a feeling of apprehension not only for students but for parents as well.  Parents want their children to succeed in school but more importantly they want them to enjoy school and enjoy learning.

For our son, school is not something he enjoys.  He does not get excited to go, he does not want to be there.  He loves learning but wants it to be on his time in his house.  So why doesn’t he enjoy school?  He claims he is bored.  Which I am sure at times he is, but I do not think that he knows everything that is taught in a day.

Our goal for 1st grade is to have our son love school.  Is this possible?  We will have to wait and see.  However I am trying to be proactive and do what I can before school even starts.

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