Jill's Journal: Our sweet Madelyn had her 4-year-old well-child checkup today (along with four shots – poor thing!) and I took the opportunity (before the shots!) to discuss with our muy fantastico pediatrician how we would handle annual well-child doctor appointments while on the road. He knows us and knows our three kids and said very bluntly that we simply shouldn’t worry about it. The kids are in the best of health, are all far beyond the average developmental milestones, and are simply thriving. The good doctor simply recommended taking along each of their immunization histories, as well as staying on track with vaccines. We’ll do that by going to a clinic or a local pediatrician wherever we might be when they’re due. Sounds easy enough!
He also gave us a huge vote of affirmation, saying he thought this would be the best education any kid could ever experience. We heart Dr. I, the world’s greatest pediatrician. :-)
Showing posts with label doctor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doctor. Show all posts
Monday, December 21, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Schooling on the Road
Jill's Journal: Since home schooling was never something I envisioned in our future, it is with a bit of trepidation that I approach it. A conversation with a pediatrician this week gave me some enlightenment. Much to my surprise, he said Kentucky does not regulate home schooling in any way. I had learned previously that I just need to submit some paperwork to the school district when we decide to do this, but I expected there to be a curriculum to follow, something in black and white to get me started and hold me accountable. He said it’s totally up to us as to what kind of approach we want to take. A Christian or secular route? A general overview or study focused more on one aspect? Yikes. I want the best, most well-rounded education for my young children. This is going to take some research to find what suits us most effectively. The doctor said he’s come across quite a few home schooling groups over the years and I guess one of the first steps is finding them. Thank goodness for the internet.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Patience is a Virtue
Jill's Journal: Patience is not one of my stronger suits. Oh sure, I have an abundance of patience with my girls and my husband, but not so much in just about every other area of my life. I’m very much an “immediate satisfaction” kind of girl. And that is why waiting until 2010 to fulfill this dream is a great challenge for me! I want to do it now. Right now.
So why is 2010 the magic year? Well, we’re not jumping into this lightly. Luckily, even if I didn’t get the patience gene, I did get the logical and responsible gene. The primary reasons we’re waiting another year and a half to “fulltime” it in an RV include:
*A major life change like this with small children attached takes some planning! And plans have begun in earnest. We want to be fully prepared in every way possible. Much research goes into everything from finding the most compatible RV home for our family to little things like dealing with the girls’ well-child doctor appointments from the road.
*A four-letter word called debt. This, to me, is one of the ugliest words in the English language. I despise debt. We’ve been working hard for quite some time to eliminate ours. Earlier this year, we could actually see daylight. We were so close to being debt-free (including student loans!) that we could taste it. And then an evil three-letter word intervened: the IRS. A mistake we made on our taxes some years ago came back to haunt us and we were quickly blindsided with enough penalties and interest to make our knees buckle. The amount rivaled that of a new car. A rather nice new car. So, we had little choice but to push all our financial goals – like buying a new house or now, an RV – back two years so we can focus on our tax debt. We call it the two-year plan! If all goes like we hope it does, by 2010, we’ll have zero debt with the grand exception of our mortgage. That’s what I call an exciting prospect!
*Schooling. Our girls are young and right now only our oldest is in preschool, but we still don’t want to uproot them in the middle of the school year. In the fall of 2010, Erika will be ready for 1st grade, Madelyn will be starting second-year preschool, and Victoria will still be a year away from preschool. Although home schooling has never been something I’ve wanted to do, we can all handle it for a year. We think it’s better to do it for one continuous school year than interrupt a school year already in progress, so summer is our launching goal. I’m already checking into requirements and paperwork and how home schooling works in the state of Kentucky, which will remain our home base.
*Kristi and Adam. My sister and her new husband committed to Kentucky through May, 2010. Kristi arrived here from California nearly a year ago, got married this summer, and will finish nursing school at University of Kentucky in May, 2010. It is such a wonderful treat to have them here and we enjoy their company immensely. Who knows if we’ll ever get to live this close again? We don’t want to leave during their too-short tenure in our town!
So why is 2010 the magic year? Well, we’re not jumping into this lightly. Luckily, even if I didn’t get the patience gene, I did get the logical and responsible gene. The primary reasons we’re waiting another year and a half to “fulltime” it in an RV include:
*A major life change like this with small children attached takes some planning! And plans have begun in earnest. We want to be fully prepared in every way possible. Much research goes into everything from finding the most compatible RV home for our family to little things like dealing with the girls’ well-child doctor appointments from the road.
*A four-letter word called debt. This, to me, is one of the ugliest words in the English language. I despise debt. We’ve been working hard for quite some time to eliminate ours. Earlier this year, we could actually see daylight. We were so close to being debt-free (including student loans!) that we could taste it. And then an evil three-letter word intervened: the IRS. A mistake we made on our taxes some years ago came back to haunt us and we were quickly blindsided with enough penalties and interest to make our knees buckle. The amount rivaled that of a new car. A rather nice new car. So, we had little choice but to push all our financial goals – like buying a new house or now, an RV – back two years so we can focus on our tax debt. We call it the two-year plan! If all goes like we hope it does, by 2010, we’ll have zero debt with the grand exception of our mortgage. That’s what I call an exciting prospect!
*Schooling. Our girls are young and right now only our oldest is in preschool, but we still don’t want to uproot them in the middle of the school year. In the fall of 2010, Erika will be ready for 1st grade, Madelyn will be starting second-year preschool, and Victoria will still be a year away from preschool. Although home schooling has never been something I’ve wanted to do, we can all handle it for a year. We think it’s better to do it for one continuous school year than interrupt a school year already in progress, so summer is our launching goal. I’m already checking into requirements and paperwork and how home schooling works in the state of Kentucky, which will remain our home base.
*Kristi and Adam. My sister and her new husband committed to Kentucky through May, 2010. Kristi arrived here from California nearly a year ago, got married this summer, and will finish nursing school at University of Kentucky in May, 2010. It is such a wonderful treat to have them here and we enjoy their company immensely. Who knows if we’ll ever get to live this close again? We don’t want to leave during their too-short tenure in our town!
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