Art Class for RM5 Only

My 10yo attended Art Class since she was 6yo. In the beginning, I accompanied her throughout her class and I picked up the basics of colouring using oil pastel. It is kind of simple once you know how the technique of blending a few colours together and which colour to mix. For that, we paid RM40 for 4 class of 2 hours each. After a while my daughter got bored of doing the same thing over and over again so we stopped. Last week, a boy came to my CC asking about art class and where is it to, etc. So I told him the particular he wanted. Just now, he came asking me whether my daughter can teach him instead, twice a week. After giving it a thought, why not? It will be a good experience for my daughter, she can put what she learned to practice and at the same time she can earn some pocket money. So, I am charging him half the price of going to an established art class. Instead of RM10/class, we are only charging him RM5/class. Btw, I'll still be the teacher (i'm better at it and neater too. hehe) and my daughter will assist me coz I still have my business to run and babies to mind.

Being Thrifty

Being thrifty is one of my New Year's resolutions. We are going to be a family of 8 and our expenses will increase further. Last year, every month is cukup-cukup makan and a few months we do not have enough income to cover all our expenses. Next year, our expenses will reduced slightly because we do not hire anymore maid and we have stopped sending our son to the private kindergarten. We will try to reduce on eating out because, 2 kids no longer share a plate of food. My 3 older children can finish a plate of noodle or rice all by themselves and also a waffle each after the meal! We will have a newborn by April but that won't be much of an additional cost because he/she will be fully breastfed and will be on cloth diapers too. I guess, we will only feel the pinch in 2013. That will be the year we plan to homeschool our girls. I am not so sure whether it will help reduce our monthly expenses or not. Homeschooling means I'll be paying for the textbook and workbook; in USD some more! Now, all is provided by the government. Whatever it is, this year I must learn to be more thrifty so that I can help hubby save for our children's education.

Homeschool by 2013

Hubby said that we should seriously consider to homeschool our children by 2013. That will be the year my eldest will turn 10 years old. My SIL whom homeschool all her 5 children advice us that we should start homeschooling before the child turns 10. After 10yo, their character will be more difficult to mould. If I homeschool my children, I can't provide them with Science theory if they like the subject and wants to become a doctor or pharmacist. Without it, they can't further their studies in college in that stream. How can my children become a doctor or get Pharmacist Jobs? How?

Walden U

A mommy blogger friend of mine got the green light from her husband to continue her studies. I really salute her. With no helper and 4 young children under her care, how could she find time to study?

From the day I got married until today, I still couldn't find the guts to continue my studies. I did check out Walden University's online degree programs at WaldenU.edu a few times but I dare not sign up for the course that I like.

What if I start and cannot finish. That will be a waste of my husband's money. hehe. I need to learn about Walden more. There must be a clause to how long I can extend/drag a the course that I have signed up. :)

Personal Injury Lawyer

2 of my cousins are going to the university by end of this month. The boy is going for the Foundation programme for Engineering and the girl, Diploma in Business Administration. So far, none of my cousins want to study law. I got the feeling that one of my children will follow their daddy's foot step. He/She will study law and may be one of Austin personal injury lawyers. Then we will get the chance to step foot in US and visit their office at O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath – Personal Injury Lawyers – 808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701 – 512-494-9949.

No Local College for ATIs

One of hubby's part-time staff had 2 homeschooling children. They began with ATI then realised that ATI does not prepare them for local college entrance unless you plan to study in US. They ended up sitting for a few compulsory SPM papers as a passport for them to study in local college.

Looks like my plan to fully homeschool my children under ATI has to be cancelled since we can't afford to send them to US to continue their diploma or degree. Furthermore, my eldest dreams of going into the health care jobs like being a doctor or nurse.

They will still be homeschooled but they will be doing SPM and ATI as a supplement for their character building.

Investing for UK Education

One of my friends recently sent his daughter to further her studies in UK for 2 years. I had the opportunity to ask him how much does it cost him and asked his advice how could I save up that much to send my kids for overseas studies. For that 2 years, he estimated the cost will be 150k; tuition fees, books, lounging and food.

He advised me not to save up through education insurance because the return is very low unless what they tell you. The best is to take the risk and go for investment plan like mutual plan. And if we have more money, by all means, go invest in gold or gold bullion. History has proved that gold price never drops.

Continuing Degree in the Military

Most people think that once they are selected to enter the army force, they have to abandon their studies for that 2-3 years. Do you know that you still can earn your college degree online while you serve your country? You can do research degrees and a degree to help you advance in your military career.

At MilitaryDegree.com you can learn about on-campus and online college credit and degree programs tailored to U.S. Military personnel and their families. Education benefits earned from being in the military can be used for tuition, and some schools even offer discounts for active duty and veterans.

Moving to KK

We just received a newsletter from our missionary friends who are currently serving in Cameron Highland that they will be moving to Kota Kinabalu by end of this year. They are going to continue their studies there if I am not mistaken. Thank God they are not going as far as the cosmetology schools in Wichita. ;)

If that's the case, if we do not go visit them by this October, we won't step foot in Cameron Highland again. There is nothing for us to look forward going there. Going to KK to visit them is way too costly for a family of 6. :(

Which Beauty School To Choose

If your ambition is to be a beautician, hair-stylist or start your own beauty salon, I am sure you want to equip yourself with a cosmetology diploma or degree. There are so many Cosmetology/beauty school to choose from. Which beauty school to choose? If you are in Florida, you have the Jacksonville Cosmetology School. The school is under Regency Beauty Institute which has been established more than 50 years and is the fastest growing beauty school in the country. I am sure I'd pick this beauty school if I am there because Regency graduates are recognized and sought after throughout the United States.

School Holiday Ending

The 2 weeks school holiday is ending soon. We are down to the weekends then school will begin again for another 3 months before another 1 week holiday to celebrate Hari Raya.

I await the day when my children returns to school! During the school holiday, they refused to even read any storybooks let alone their school books.

I also miss the routine. Prepare breakfast for them, send them to school, fetch them and hear what they have to say about school. Partly, I love school! ;)

Education isn't cheap

Education isn't cheap. The cheap ones does not fetch good result. You may have an intelligent child but if they are not molded according to their talent and ability. They are just like any other child.

Unfortunately, I am not talented enough to teach everything that my children wants to learn. They want to learn colouring and drawing; to art class they go. They want to learn ballet; next week will be their first class. They want to learn violin, next year they will go if God willing. They want to learn Wushu; hubby said wait till next year. Too many activities for them.

All of the above cost a lot of money! But we will try our very best to let them learn as much as they could.

Spending My USD to Purchase LeapFrog DVDs

Leap Frog learning DVDs really works. It only takes 2 weeks of viewing the DVD and my 6yo can remember all the sound of the alphabets. Even my 13mo can tell me the A and the B sound.

So, I am investing in getting the DVDs for my own coz I know I need to use it for a long time. At first I thought I will not touch my USD in Paypal as to save for my children homeschooling fees and online bachelor degree. Looks like it is flowing out real soon.

Well, when you need to spend, you need to spend. :D

Where to find money for homeschooling fee?

After a few months of sending my girl's to primary school and reading about other parents' dissatisfaction about the government school, I am somehow made up my mind to pull all my children out from the school system once they completed their primary school. But where to find money for their homeschooling fee? The homeschooling program will be either from Australia or USA which means I have to pay in AUD or USD. One of the ways is to buy gold bullion as an investment coz gold price has always been going up and up. It downs go down but within weeks, it will go up again. Since I have started buying some gold, I shall continue as and when I have some extra money. For the sake of my children's education.

Make Up School

My 2nd girl loves to wear make up and make up others too. And she does it pretty well too. She is only 5.5 years old!

Sad to say that she is not so good academically. But it is too early to say since she is only 5.5yo. I am only comparing her to my eldest who can read at the age of 4yo. But not this girl of mine. She can't even recognise all her alphabet yet. :(

No worries, I can always send her to a make up school (like what she always say) like Cosmetology school in Ohio to be a beautician. ;)

Investing in Books

This year, we (hubby and I) plans to start investing in buying more books for our children.

I have started collecting some new and used Enid Blyton's storybooks 2 months ago but I have yet to find the time to read to my children. In order to get them interested to read books, we first must read to them and make it as interesting as possible. Then they would pick up the book and read for themselves.

Next, it will be more educational books like Encyclopedia coz my eldest girl has been asking too many question that I can answer but not explain in detail.

Online MBA

After I graduated with an Honors Degree, I planned to pursue my Master Degree but duty as the eldest child in the family calls. I had to go home, get a job and support the family. When I was working, I was tempted to sign up for an online mba but we do not have online university locally.

The best one that I know of is the Western Governors Online University. They offer so many online degree and masters courses. So I told myself that I must save money and when God and time permits, I will surely pursue my studies further; online of course coz I can't leave home with 4 kids!

Degree First, Experience Second

These days arh, if you don't have a degree, don't ever dream of working in a MNC. My uncle has been working with one MNC for more than 2 decades and is very experienced in safety products. His last salary before he was retrenched is more than RM3k. Reason for his retrenchment is because he did not hold any degree! And also, the company pays lower for a fresh graduates with a degree. Everything can be learned; so cut cost lor. Get rid of the higher salary employee and get fresh newbie for a lower pay. Experience is not important. Sad!

Diploma in Education

I missed my chance to be a government servant again. When I was still working, I thought of resigning to continue my studies in taking a Diploma in Education. I was thinking of taking an online degree or long distance studies because I can’t leave my children behind to study full time in campus. Then a friend told me that the maximum age limit to become a teacher is 30 years old; I was 32 then.

Recently I met an old school friend. She is a teacher for 2 years now. I asked her how that can be possible. She told me that the age limit is 35 years old not 30! Unfortunately I will be 35 by end of this year. There you go; I miss my chance again!

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Sleeping with Textbook

Hubby slept with his text book! He should be sleeping with me right? Instead he chose the text book because he is preparing his sermon for which he will need to preach soon; part of the course requirement.

It is nice to be able to study again; if you like to study. I still have no idea when will my time come. Hubby is doing a correspondence degree. Mine will definitely be an online degree. Because I do not get bored looking at the computer screen than staring at the textbook. I know, I know, it is not good for my eyesight but main thing, it keeps me interested to learn. ;)

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