Education

Reading Eggs Program Review

Reading Eggs Program Review

photo credit: abbamouse We’re pretty sure that the kid is going to start homeschooling either after this year’s pre-k or after kindergarten, since I really am not too sure about commuting an hour and ten minutes each way to and from school. As a result, we are always looking for new ways to introduce school-related stuff without it being too painful. As I was flipping through Parents magazine (I have no idea why we are still getting it; we had a one-year free subscription after the kid was born. He’s four now, so I am pretty sure it ran...

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Bloggers Unite for World AIDS Day

Hello! I am back from vacation, which was wonderful. I have many new blog posts planned, but I wanted to talk a little more about AIDS awareness today. HIV and AIDS is a topic that is very familiar to me, as it was the topic of my doctoral thesis. I thought that I would just share a couple of interesting tidbits that I learned about while completing my studies. 1. There seems to be this idea that contracting HIV is no big deal, since the virus can be managed with anti-retroviral therapies. However, this is not always the case....

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Register to Vote!

Register to Vote!

If you are a US citizen, now is as good as time as any to register to vote.  Not letting your voice be heard is a tragedy! In case you are wondering, HeadCount is an organization dedicated to registering voters at music events throughout the country.  I’ve seen them at Phish shows and Bonnaroo, and they are good people.  When you click on the button and register, I get a chance to win a Jam Cruise.  Please feel free to get a button for your site as well. Have a good day!

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We found a program for the kid

If you’ve been following some of my previous posts, you know that a recent source of stress in our lives has been finding a program for the kid for the next school year.  It seems like some good karma has come our way, and we found something that is a great fit. My kid is only 2, so we’re trying to find something that doesn’t last all day, but gives him the chance to interact with other kids.  We always go to the free story time at our local library (as well as visit the library at least once...

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Free books for kids from Dolly Parton

We are regular visitors to our local library.  A month or so ago, I was a little surprised to see Dolly Parton’s smiling face on a brochure at the children’s desk.  After a moment of wondering how Dolly manages to look exactly the same as she did 25 years ago, curiosity got the best of me and I picked up the brochure. Dolly, bless her soul, has started a program called the Imagination Library.  This program partners with local communities to provide free books (1 per month) for any child under the age of 5 who signs up.  Here...

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Take free classes with HP

There are a lot of short classes on a variety of topics available for free at Hewlett- Packard’s Learning Center. Topics include Windows Vista, Microsoft Office programs, networking, and general business skills. The classes usually run for 6 weeks, and there are forums to keep things interactive. I have taken one course so far; I didn’t participate in the forums, but I found the information to be useful. I just signed up for a course on Flash animation (it starts on 8 May if you are interested). Just thought I would share in case you are looking to update...

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Our financial story – student loans – part 2

Today, it’s time to focus on my student loans. I was very fortunate to not have to take out any loans for my graduate studies – a small but sufficient graduate stipend combined with my husband’s income helped us out.  However, I spent 5 years completing my undergraduate studies (I am a geek who did a triple major) and my last year was expensive. In total, my federal undergraduate student loans totaled roughly $15000, which included an unsubsidized loan for $1450. I also had to take out a private loan in my last year for $6000. Even while in...

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Our financial story – student loans – part 1

I thought that student loans would be a good place to start documenting our financial journey – as I am bringing my graduate school career to a close, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at what our education cost us. Today, I will start with my husband’s student loans. Starting off, he had federal undergraduate student loans totaling roughly $18400 (these days, that’s not bad for 4 years at a private college!) which he began paying in September of 2000. In September of 2002, he went to an accredited school for massage...

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