Starting with the most important update: we lost our third level insurance appeal. The outside agency agreed with the insurance company’s decision to reduce our hours from 12 to 10.
I believe there is another level of appeal I could go for that involves courtrooms and judges, but, based on the explanation letter from the outside agency, I don’t believe the outcome would be any different. And frankly, I’m not willing to invest any more hours into the process right now. If Fulton gets sick and requires hospitalization, or becomes weaker, I’ll be able to make the case for more hours. If they try to cut him down even further in a few months, (becaue he’s SO HEALTHY) I will need to go through this all again, at which point I will probably go as far as I can with appeals but for now, I’m just DONE.
So I’m focusing on the end of school and having as much fun with it as I can. I got a free trial to Ancestory.com and we’re going to work on a family tree with a focus on finding family members who served in the military. We’ll see how far back we can go before my trial ends. We did a zoo trip last Friday (The reptile house was reopened!!), and I’ll try to throw another field trip in next week. Plus, we’re finishing up Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar so that’s another movie to watch. Lots of stabbing, death, and battles so, it’s a clear favorite.
I don’t think I’ve ever done a year-end homeschooling review post before, and I don’t plan to start now, but I did want to share a few things I really liked this year. Some are new, and some are old favorites that continue to work in our homeschool.
- The History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer – Great, comprehensive, yet very readable, high school spine for the ancient time period.
- The Good and The Beautiful – Both their Marine Biology Unit and 9th Grade English Program.
- SnapType – Wonderful app that allows you to take a picture of a worksheet and complete it on a tablet.
- Abeka Math – Kids still hate it (Though Teddy says it’s better than his public school math program.) Still gets the job done beautifully.
- The Story of the World Ancient Times Activity Book– Got their downloadable version to make multiple prints of everything destroyed in our hardcopy. Provided lots of wonderful art and geography lessons.
On Monday we attended a small Memorial Day service at our town’s veteran’s park. It was nice, well attended, and the weather cooperated beautifully following several days of cold, rainy temperatures. It was the 100 year anniversay of our town’s WWI memorial which was dedicated on May 30, 1921. The WWI theme inspired me to show the kids Peter Jackson’s WWI documentary They Shall Not Grow Old that evening. The movies uses footage from the Great War updated with color, background noises, and corrected speed, overlaid with veteran narration recorded in the mid-20th century. It was really good, though Teddy wanted more details about everything and Fulton could’ve used less dead bodies. In that vein, I don’t think the CGI enhanced maggots and fly sounds were necessary, but I do think it’s important for the kids to see the ugly side of war and not just read about exciting battles and the like.
Most of you know my first real book Better Thank Okay: Finding Joy As A Special Needs Parent is coming out this fall, but if you’ve been here any amount of time, you know I’ve created and contributed to several smaller works over the years. One of the most popular, is Rosaries Aren’t Just For Teething:Reflections on Mary By Mothers which features popular Catholic mom bloggers sharing their thoughts on all the mysteries of the rosary. Editor Michele Chronister has re-released this title with all profits for the next few months going to the Archbishop Robert J Carlson Adoption Fund. You can support the fundraiser by purchasing through Amazon, or if you’d like a signed copy, I still have a few first editions I can send out. Visit my shop if you’d like one. If you’re looking to get into a rosary habit, but are struggling and feeling overwhelmed, you’ll really appreciate, and hopefully even be motivated by, those of use who lean on the rosary and Mary’s example even in the craziest, or hardest, of times.
I believe that covers the highlights and the one really big low light. How was your week? Write it down then link it up below. Be sure to include a link back to this post so your readers can find the rest of the Quick Takes. I look forward to reading your posts!