7 Tips to Pass a Test

Those who know me know that I hate tests. I think kids these days are given way too many tests, and that teachers spend too much time teaching to tests. It's one of the many reasons we homeschool and it's why I did a direct transfer (no SAT) to a college that doesn't do grades or tests! Passing a test doesn't necessarily mean you know the material, it simply means you have good test taking skills.

A few years ago, I became a Certified Professional Coder, meaning I am certified to extract diagnosis and procedure information from medical records and submit it for insurance purposes. It's a hard test. There are 150 exam questions and you have 5 hours and 40 minutes to complete it. You have to pass with 80% correct. I don't remember my score, but I do remember that I passed on my first try in 3 1/2 hours. It's not because I'm a great coder (I would say I'm a pretty basic coder), but because I have figured out how to take tests. Now, I give these exams a couple times a year. I feel terrible for some of the examinees. For some of them, it's their second or third or even fourth time taking the test and they still don't complete it by the buzzer. Here are some of my tips for taking tests. This is geared towards my experience with the CPC exam, but there will be some nuggets you can take away for any test,.

1. PREPARE: If it's an open book exam, highlight, write notes, draw diagrams, and tab the book. Anything you can do to make it easier to find information quickly. Study regularly, but don't bother the night before the exam. If you don't know it by now, you aren't going to learn it tonight. Instead, eat a healthy dinner, have ONE glass of wine if you need to relax, and go to bed early. The next day, get up early, eat a healthy breakfast, and get to the exam site 15 minutes early to claim your space and set up your area.

2. READ AND ELIMINATE: Read the question and then read the answers. You should be able to eliminate at least one. Cross it out and don't look at it again.

3. LOOK UP THE CODES: Don't code it out like you would in the real world. Go straight to the codes that are left and read them. Does one stand out as correct? Your first instinct is probably right. Do two codes seem correct? Compare them word for word. They ARE different and this comparison will give you the correct answer.

4. MOVE ON: Still stumped? Mark it on your test booklet and your scantron form and move on to the next question. You will come back to this question after you have answered all of the easy questions.

5. COME BACK: Once you have answered all of the easier questions, come back and spend a little time on the harder ones. But, know your limits. Anesthesia coding is hard, and we didn't spend much time on it in the class I took. I'm not an anesthesia coder and I really don't need to know that information, so I didn't waste my time trying, instead I focused on those questions that took a few minutes to tease out the answers.

6. GUESS: Have you done everything you could do? Did the proctor just announce that you have 10 or 15 minutes left in the exam? Got through everything you haven't answered and GUESS! You have  a 25% chance of getting it right if you do that versus a 0% chance if you just leave it blank.

7. TRY AGAIN: So, you failed your first test. If you used my tips, you probably didn't fail by much. Now you are familiar with the exam, the testing site, and you've studied those parts you didn't do well on (except, maybe anesthesia). You're an old pro at this, and you're going to pass the second time around.

Good luck on your exam! Please leave a comment if you have any test taking questions or have a tip that I've left out.

We Got a New Ice Cream Maker!

Having food allergies sucks. Marley is allergic to wheat and chicken eggs (and shrimp, but that doesn't effect her ice cream eating) and most good ice cream contains eggs. When I say good ice cream, I mean the stuff that has few ingredients. NOT the stuff with high fructose corn syrup and "natural" flavorings.

Of course, I jumped at the chance to test out the Ariete-DeLonghi stainless steel ice cream maker. Just like good ice cream has few ingredients, the ice cream maker has few parts. There is the jumbo freezer part, an ice cream bucket, a paddle to churn, the lid with an opening to pour, a spatula to scrape out the ice cream, and a measuring cup to pour the mixture into the bucket. I actually found it much easier to put my mixture into a large 4 cup measuring cup for easy pouring.

You can place your mixture into the ice cream maker either hot or cold. When I made gelato, I cooked the fruit down and I just could not wait for it to cool before I got started. It churned for the full hour and was nearly perfect. I scooped it out of the bucket and placed it in a container that I froze for about 20 minutes. After that, it was perfect. I also tried making ice cream from cold ingredients. It froze much faster. In fact, the paddle stopped churning after 45 minutes! I had to let it thaw a bit before I added our gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies.

I seriously have no idea how we have gone so long without an ice cream maker in our lives and I can't wait to share some of our recipes with you!

I did receive the ice cream maker at a promotional discount in exchange for testing and my honest review.

Spooky Spider Web Tutu

Dress up has always been a favorite past time in this house, and tutus should be worn as often as possible. I was given the opportunity to test out this sweet Halloween tutu. Unfortunately, it was not in my size, but when Marley saw it, she jumped at the chance to test it out for me. The tutu has three layers of tulle - the top layer is black and printed with shiny gold spiderwebs, while the second two layers are plain black.

What we really liked about this tutu is that the tulle layers are sewn onto satin covered elastic. Marley is very particular about the way her clothes feel. Tags always have to be cut out, and there is no way she could wear a tutu without leggings underneath. She often can't keep them on for an extended period of time because the elastic will slide up and irritate her skin. The satin covered elastic means that she can tolerate wearing it for the day.

This item will fit most little girls ages 3 - 10. Marley wears a US size 10 and it fits now, but it won't fit next year. I was able to order this tutu at a promotional discount in exchange for testing and my honest review. You can purchase yours here.

4 Ways to Keep Your Cool While Homeschooling

Whether you are a school-at-home family or an unschooling family, having your kids at home with you ALL THE TIME can get to be a bit overwhelming. Here are some tips I've found to be helpful and keep us going, even when we lack motivation.

1. HAVE a schedule. We have a hybrid schooling, where we attend a "homeschool connect" that is part of the public school system. The classes have set times and days and those are a part of our schedule. Your schedule could be as simple as, we all come together around lunch time and eat together and then read or draw for 45 minutes after lunch. It could be as complex as including wake-up times, breakfast, chores, school time, and so on.

2. AVOID over scheduling. We have a packed schedule this year, and unfortunately that has meant that Marley has had to learn that we can't do everything and choose what is most important to her. She has had to let go of a few of her other extracurricular activities in order to focus on music, which is her passion right now.

3. KEEP a family calendar. Whether you keep a physical calendar, or a digital one (we keep a family iCalendar via phone and iPad), it's important to see your commitments laid out and NOT rely on your memory. I particularly like the iCalendar because we can have a shared family calendar for activities I need to take her to, we can invite extended family members to certain events, and we can have our own personal calendars that all mesh together for our viewing and organizing pleasure.

4. BE flexible. Sometimes, there is a really awesome event happening, but attending would make you miss a lesson or other regular commitment. Sometimes, the whole family is having an off day and really needs to sit around eating popcorn and binging on Netflix. Both of these things are okay. One of the reasons we homeschool is to have the freedom to do what you want to do when you want to do it!

Do you have any tips that help you keep on keepin' on as a homeschool family? Share them in the comments!

Garden Theivery

Oh, the garden. For so many years it has been my sanctuary, my therapy, maybe not my reason for living, but definitely sustenance for my body and soul.

This year, thanks to THE DEER, it has become depressing to even look out the window at the destruction they have wrecked upon my garden. There have always been deer, rabbits, birds. I have never minded sharing a bit with all of the creatures. We share this land. But this year, they have become more bold and they are no longer sharing they are taking everything. They even eat half of a squash directly from the plant.

So far, the only things they haven't touched are the onions and a single pumpkin. Which, I'm hoping will last until Halloween.

Next year, I'm using my energy to build a deer fence.

Join the Movement: Koffee Kult

This post contains sponsored links from Koffee Kult.

As I hail from the Seattle area, I fancy myself a bit of a coffee connoisseur. I don’t have high expectations for coffee purchased of the internet, since I can go to a local roaster and watch them roast my beans. This bag of Koffee Kult’s Colombia Huila showed up in the mail, and one look at the squirrel with the crazy hypnotizing eyes has me changing my tune.

After staring at the squirrel for awhile, I noticed that the bag opening is very different than most coffee bags I’ve encountered. It’s like, a ziplock top, so you can squeeze all the air out and fully seal the bag, sealing in the flavors. I poured some of the beans into a small bowl to take a closer look. They were a nice, dark color with a bit of a shine from the coffee oils. This is a good sign - as it shows that the beans have not been over-roasted. 

My favorite way to drink coffee is black, and made in a french press. When I poured the water into the press, I noticed the water changed to a warm chocolatey color almost immediately. I gave the grounds a good stir, and went on about my business, allowing them to steep for several minutes.

Finally, I was able to pour my cuppa. Upon tasting, I found a mildly acidic, smooth coffee with a bit of sweetness. It is an excellent cup of black coffee.

The listing for the coffee states that the beans are organically sourced from Huila’s high mountain elevations. However, these beans are not certified organic OR fair trade which is really the number one priority for me when purchasing coffee. For this reason and this reason only, I would rate this coffee a ⅘ stars.

I did receive this coffee at a promotional discount in exchange for writing a review on this blog. Feel free to click on links to purchase, there are no affiliate links on this post.

Elephants All Around

We attended a baby shower for my cousin yesterday. Okay, technically, she's my cousin's wife but I don't like all that hullabaloo, so we will just call her my cousin. They are having a baby boy (no name yet) and the idea was floated around to buy the baby books instead of cards. Cards are so expensive and they get read and recycled. For the same price you can find a children's book and write on the cover. I thought that was brilliant, and so did everyone else, so this baby boy has a fresh new library to start him out.

Marley attended sewing camp at the beginning of the summer and after it was over, she and my mom decided to make flannel blankets for the baby. They turned out sew well (excuse the pun, I couldn't resist). She used soft grey elephant fabric on one side and grey and white chevron on the other. She bound it with a decorative stitch! We also picked up the book If Animals Kissed Goodnight by Ann Whitford Paul and a super soft organic elephant rattle. The whole package turned out just darling.