Spring 2007 Student Mamas spinoff from Fall 2006 - Page 3

[Moon Faerie]

lol PD, I'm super excited about my Vera Bradley bag and wallet. My mil bought me the bag for my birthday last month, and my sil got me a gift cert to get the wallet when it came back in stock. My dh just thinks it's crazy.

I start back tomorrow at 9 AM. I'm a bit worried about the distance between a couple of my classes. I'm going to have to haul butt to get there.

[Jilian]

Hi student mamas : just checking in. I'm taking another semester of classes working towards my prereqs to get into the nursing program. I'm only taking 2 online classes this semester because I'm 5 mos preg. Classes end about 3 weeks before baby is due. I am really looking forward to taking a semester or two off!

I'm taking Human Development and Early Childhood Development this semester and the classes seem exciting so far. Good luck this semester everyone!

[Shantimama]

I am doing my last semester of a 2 year program in Spiritual Direction. I am seeing five people as part of my learning/supervision. It is going well - I can't beleive the program is coming to an end.

I just started an Introductory Women's Studies course. I went to university 20 years ago but I am upgrading and getting some pre-reqisites so I can apply to a masters counselling program. I don't know how long I will take to get there, just excited to be on the way.

[Potty Diva]

Well, that was a short day. I only had one class today - Principles of Literary Study- a bit more exciting than my other classes for the first day.

I have boo-koo reading to do tonight and chapter questions. I am not going to look at it until after Kailey is asleep and she will be getting ready at 8 p.m. from now on since we both have to be up and out the door by 6:15.

Do y'all think a 8:45 p.m. is ok for a 6 yr old? She goes to bed at 9:30 but many nights she is exhausted and goes to sleep at about 7:30.

We bathe at night (it takes so much time off of getting ready in the morning AND I get a few more minutes to sleep) and get all of our things prepared (clothing, backpacks, snacks).

She had fun opening with me in the morning and loved feeding breakfast to one of the toddlers- ok the ONLY toddler, nay, only CHILD there at that time.

Now the only class I haven't had yet is Foundations of Education. Same professor as Adolescent and Youth Development though.

[MamaChel]

I've had 3 of my 4 classes so far. Most of it was pretty general stuff, meeting the professor and going over the syllabus. There are 4 major projects in the three classes but one is a group project.

I think that 8:45 pm is fine for a 6 yo unless she needs bed earlier. We try to put our lils down between 7:30 and 8 but it doesn't always work b/c of classes and other obligations.

[Potty Diva]

Hey Chel- 7:30 seems so early. We don't get home until 6 as it is. I need play time with my sweetness! BUT, I don't work in the afternoons this semester so picking her up early will be something I can and will do.

Have we been putting her to bed to late? Oy!

[Moon Faerie]

I made it through the first day. And it wasn't too bad. I know it's still to early to truly tell, but I think they'll all be interesting.

Contemp. Moral Issues - it's an oral communication class, and that had me a tad afraid. I know going in that my beliefs aren't exactly mainstream. Fortunately, it more group and class discussion instead of speech-like. And it's mainly 18-19 year olds, so my experience, both life and education, will probably help a bit.

Class Structure - I'm really excited about this one. Only 2 textbooks, but lots of interesting sounding short required reading on reserve, a couple of guest speakers, a handful of short films. And the assignments sound thought-provoking too. This class may be the final shove into double majoring in sociology instead of just minoring in it.

Women in Society - not sure yet, but def. has potential. The focus of the class is group discussion, which I like way better than lectures adn note-taking.

And even though all 3 classes have lots of reading, it's only 20ish pages each per class. Huge sigh of relief there. I am still a bit intimidated by all the writing assignments though.

[Dmitrizmom]

ok.. mini vent here... here's how my day went...
6am - got up to fill out the invites for ds's bday party
6:45 finished invites, made coffee, found clothes for ds. 7:00 got mobbed by the kids 7:20 realize that ds hasn't completed his homework, and get him started. At 7:35 help ds get packed and ready to head out the door. (dh took him to school). 8:00 help dd get ready for daycare (dh took her). 8:15 finally get in the shower and "start" my day. 8:43 leave the house to head to school.

At 8:59 walk into the clinic and see my 1st patient of the day already in the waiting room (appointment was for 9). Take care of patient, work on file/SOAP notes. Get a message that my 10:30 has moved her appointment to 12. Kill time doing more paperwork. 11:00 patient shows up, I take care of her, again with the paperwork. 12:00 patient shows up with a list of what's going on... I finish with her at 12:50. Another student borrows my activator for an adjustment (I'm supposed to be in class at 1).

I get the activator back at 1:05 and head to class. Get there late, I'm hungry and tired. Teacher babbles and goes off on tangents : We watch 3 boring videos... Get out of class at 2:35.

At this point I still need to do paperwork/prep in the Micro lab for lab at 3:45, unfortunately I have a patient scheduled at the outreach clinic (OC) 1/2 a mile from school at 3. : I run up to the lab, find that part of what needs done has been done (I love one of my co-workers for his forethought), finish what still needs done.

at 2:55 get into my car to get to the OC. Get there, find the staff doc. Spend 10 minutes updating her on the patient. Wait, wait, wait. No patient. Finally call patient at 3:35 - they aren't coming and want to reschedule for 2-3 weeks out. Get them rescheduled and go let the doc know. She tells me that they need to be seen sooner - preferably next week. I'm to call the patient tomorrow and get it done. I say fine, and head out at 3:40.

Head back to campus, roll into the lab at 3:43. Students arrive and off we go...

I'm thrilled that I saw patients today. I really hate it when my time planning gets shot to heck with rescheduling and no-shows. Lunch would have made it all much more bearable. In the end, everything got done. I'm beginning to think that having 2 workstudy jobs with 30 hours of class is a little insane. :

[MamaChel]

Originally Posted by Potty Diva

Hey Chel- 7:30 seems so early.
Have we been putting her to bed to late? Oy!

No my lils are 4, 2 and 10 mos. And right now at 9:25 have decided that they are NOT sleeping and there's nothing I can do about it. We try for 7:30ish, some days work better than others. My classes all start in the afternoon so we play in the mornings.

[applecider]

Dmitrizmom-that sounds crazy!! My head would probably fly off somewhere in there.

So far my classes this quarter seem relatively easy. Not much homework, just a lot of reading. Plus, this Q, my MIL is watching DS one day a week just for study time. So I know that I have at least 5 hours one day to just read or do whatever. So I'm feeling much more relaxed this time. HOwever, I CANNOT let this get the best of me and end up scrambling around at the last minute because I've been goofing off doing other things. Like being here! I decided at the end of last quarter that I really needed to limit my computer time. Like allow myself a certain amount each day and that's it. And I found what I need to do is shut off the computer or it will tempt me to come back. And I'm working on some meal planning but we'll see how that goes. I kind of like being spontaneous and creative in the kitchen! Anyway, here's to another quarter/semester down!

Sara

[~ATenthMuse~]

Just checking in. Classes start for me next Tuesday. Ugh. This break was not long enough. Getting closer to the end, that's always good.

Good luck to all you mamas! Hoping it's a smooth and quick semester for us all.

[Oregonicmama]

hi mamas!

I am going to the local community college here in Eugene, OR. Last semester was my first semster of school since I was 19 and I'm really enjoying being back. I was planning to do the nursing program, but after one nursing class I realized that is not the path for me. So I changed my major to Biology, but now I'm not sure about that either. LOL

Neway... this semester I am taking:

Introductory Algebra- this is through the Math Resource Center, so I don't actually go to class. I just go in if I have questions, to show my homework, or to take tests. It worked out great last semester, but I'm not so good with Algebra, so I'm kinda nervous about this semester. Hopefully it will be good.

Body Sculpt- my 1 credit PE class that I take so I don't have to completely bust my ass ( but this class busts my ass, just in a different way! LOL)

Career and Life Planning- a class through the Womens Center for single moms and displaced homemakers to help us figure out what to study/ do with our lives.

Life Transitions- This and the one above go together. And there is a 1 hour discussion group once a week too.

so far i really like my classes. I am already behind though. I'm a slacker. But i'll catch up over the weekend. I'm really hoping the classes through the womens center will give me some direction. I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up! lol

I was having a childcare crisis and didn't think i would be able to find anyone for my 2 yr old DD, but last Friday (2 days before classes started) I found a great lady that has been doing childcare in her home for 30 yrs. Iwas going to put my 5 yr old in the very overpriced YMCA afterschool program, but the lady I found for DD2 is just around the corner from DD1's school and I was able to get another mama from her class to drive her over there after school 2 days a week, so now they can still be together (and it is substantially cheaper YAY!) And she doesn't care if I'm late or early, and she does drop in (i'm single and have no family nearby so that is awesome for me!).

Good luck wiht your classes ladies!!

[Oregonicmama]

subbing

[MamaChel]

Man, this semester is gonna be tough! So far 3 of my 4 classes require at least one site visit/interview, some require 2. So I have to get the approvals for the interviews from the state before I can do them so that my childcare is covered. At least they are interesting assignments.

[marilynmama]

Back to school, back to school. I have 14 chapters for just one class to read just this week...but at least it is OB so it is pretty interesting. Ya, nursing school keeps ya busy. I haven't even had time to crack open my other texts to read! Ughh.

I'm taking OB, Peds, Pharmacology, and Med/Surg 2 this semester. Fun fun fun.

I'm in Oklahoma City and we had an ice storm move in this morning and it took me almost 2 hours to get home (usually a 30 min drive). What a way to end the week!

[Houdini]

Can I join y'all?? I received my Associate Degree in Law Enforcement in March. I working on my Bachelor of Criminal Justice. I reviewed my requirements last night and only have seven classes left for completion. I can take three of them Spring Quarter and one in the summer (possibly). The other four are offered at some point next year, though I don't know which Quarter.

I am currently taking:

Communication with People with Disabilities which is going to be a really interesting class. The instructor was my sign instructor for the past three quarters, so I am very comfortable with her. We have two deaf students in our class with three interpreters, so their perspective is really cool. We will have four reaction papers based on movies/videos we watch. The rest of the grade will come from participation and two tests.

Elementary Statistical Reasoning which scares the hell out of me. My friend gave me no choice, but to sign up for it. It is required, but I have been avoiding it. We have had one test so far and he tests every two weeks. I have never had a class with that many tests before, so I am not sure what to think. I was so freaked before the first test. So far, I think it is going alright.

Sociology of Gender with an instructor I am very familiar with. She was also one of my mother's profs. This class is actually online, which is much better for me. We meet for chat once a week for an hour, which I can do from home. We have discussion questions weekly to answer and then we respond to another student's answers to say if we agree/disagree. I am not at all worried about this class. We have the typical two tests and one paper based on a book we chose from three possibilities.

Criminal Procedure which I absolutely love! This is my passion. I have zero issues with this class and expect fairly smooth sailing. The only glitch may be it is taught by one of the local judges. He seems like a mellow guy so far. I am reserving judgment until the midterm. Then I will decide if I was too confident in my abilities.

I did have a fifth class, but dropped it b/c I didn't have time to devote to it and keep my GPA up.

So there is my introduction. Nice to share with others going through the same thing.

[Dmitrizmom]

Originally Posted by Houdini

Elementary Statistical Reasoning which scares the hell out of me. My friend gave me no choice, but to sign up for it. It is required, but I have been avoiding it. We have had one test so far and he tests every two weeks. I have never had a class with that many tests before, so I am not sure what to think. I was so freaked before the first test. So far, I think it is going alright.

I've found that when tests are more frequent, there is less material on each one and it is easier to study for - the tests become more like quizes - it forces me to stay caught up and I do less cramming before the exam. Good luck with it -

[Potty Diva]

Hi Houdini!
I agree more frequent "tests" = less material for each. It also forces me to stay on top of the reading/assignments so I do well on each one. And for some reason I seem to retain much more information with frequent testing.

[Potty Diva]

Originally Posted by MamaChel

Man, this semester is gonna be tough! So far 3 of my 4 classes require at least one site visit/interview, some require 2. So I have to get the approvals for the interviews from the state before I can do them so that my childcare is covered. At least they are interesting assignments.

I hear ya. Thankfully I only have 3 classes which require observations and I can space them out how I like them. The other "interviews" are all about process and not the actual interview. I know process I'll have 10 hours a semester in one class and 15 in the other and I can combine them (do one observation for two classes which I am head over heels happy about.

I have a giant semester long paper for Principles that I am going to start researching for this weekend. I also have a 10-15 minute presentation for my British Lit class for Monday that I am doing on the Terrestrial Paradise (Columbus). The rest is just reading and doing a few end-of-chapter exercises.

The bulk of my weekend will be spent reviewing and refreshing my German knowledge

[Potty Diva]

Originally Posted by Nikel1979

I made it through the first day. And it wasn't too bad. I know it's still to early to truly tell, but I think they'll all be interesting.

Contemp. Moral Issues - it's an oral communication class, and that had me a tad afraid. I know going in that my beliefs aren't exactly mainstream. Fortunately, it more group and class discussion instead of speech-like. And it's mainly 18-19 year olds, so my experience, both life and education, will probably help a bit.

Class Structure - I'm really excited about this one. Only 2 textbooks, but lots of interesting sounding short required reading on reserve, a couple of guest speakers, a handful of short films. And the assignments sound thought-provoking too. This class may be the final shove into double majoring in sociology instead of just minoring in it.

Women in Society - not sure yet, but def. has potential. The focus of the class is group discussion, which I like way better than lectures adn note-taking.

And even though all 3 classes have lots of reading, it's only 20ish pages each per class. Huge sigh of relief there. I am still a bit intimidated by all the writing assignments though.

Yeah! for making it through the first day! I am sure you'll do great!

I also prefer group discussions as apposed to pure lecture. I need to SPEAK it many times to retain it It's why I talk to myself a lot