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Would like to hear from any and everyone that has used Care Courses. I am thinking about doing one and I want to know the pros and cons of them. Are they worth the money??
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I decided to go ahead and get my CDA credential and just signed up last week for Care Courses. I opted for the book course but you can opt for a PDF course that you get immediately. The book course gets mailed to you and personally I'd rather have the hard copy so that I can take it with me anywhere and still have it available for reference later. With a PDF you'd be glued to a computer. In either case you do the work and mail it in and they grade it and if you pass (70%) they mail you your cirtificate. If you don't pass they mail your stuff back and you do it again and mail it back again. There's no charge for re-doing it if you fail and you can send it back as many times as you need to until you pass their course. I didn't read that on any other course website so I thought that this was nice. The courses are also less expensive here compared to online courses that if you fail you have to take the course over again to pass. I havn't received my course yet (it should be here by Friday) so if you are interested in waiting until then I can look it over and give you a review. I chose the Caring for Children in Your Home course which is good for 20 clock hours towards the 120 clock hours that I need towards my CDA. Hope this helps some. -
Thanks! I looked at some other sites too and you're right waaay cheaper! That was the course I was looking at also. Definitely get back to me and let me know how you like it, if you don't mind that is.Comment
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We've promoted Penn Foster Online programs for many years: http://www.pennfoster.edu/urm.php?so...cro/index.htmlComment
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Got my Care Course
Okay so I got my course from Care Courses on Thursday and I've been working on it. Remember I got Caring for Children in Your Home ... and at first I thought it was a little self explanitory and easy but I'm almost halfway through the book now and it's getting better. So far I have liked it and even though a lot of it is common sense theres a lot of new information in there and ideas that I would never have thought about.
I like this course because it's catered specifically to daycare homes instead of the typical daycare center. The book course is 101 pages softbound with extra pages in the back with forms, there are six lessons with about 15-20 pages for each section, you read the material do some true/false self check questions (about 2 or 3 for each section each with about 5-10 questions) and then theres a multiple choice quiz at the end of each section with about 10-20 questions each. The questions for the quizzes themselves (for this course) you can pretty much answer without reading the book because they are a lot of common sense scenarios (i.e. A symptom of abuse a) is almost always extremely aggresive and distructive b) is usually shy and withdrawn c) may either be extremely agressive and distructive or extremely withdrawn) but there are great articles in there that very informative and I've learned a few things.
Carinf for Children in Your Home:
Be a Proffesional
Planning
Safety
Activities
Health
A Day Home Business
Here is some more information about Care Courses:
You buy the Care Course you want (book or PDF), do the course and take the quizzes, transfer your answers to the Answer sheet at the back of the book and fill out the Enrollment Card (also in back of book). Put both into an envelope and mail back (one stamp only that you pay for). It takes them no later than 10 days to grade the sheet then they mail it back. Takes about 10 days to get back to you (if you want it free or you can get faster delivery but you have to pay for it). If you pass with a 70% or better they mail you your cirtificate if you fail they mail your stuff back and you redo it and send it back as many times as it takes until you pass. If you opt for standard shipping it's free for them to mail it back to you until you pass). Once you're done with all your courses you request a transcript for $10 and they mail one to you also. GOOD LUCK. Hope at least some of this helps.Comment
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I just finished and mailed in my first three Care Courses. I did Multi-age Groups, Nutrition for Young Children and Toilet Learning. I did the pdf courses and I printed them out so I could work on them during Quiet Time. I really enjoyed doing them. They each had alot of great information, and I did learn quite a bit (like, who knew toddlers need 1000-1300 calories a day?). I'm looking forward to doing more. I'm really enjoying the fact that I can update my credentials, without spending a small fortune too!
I'm also working on the Pre-Math course at Child Care Lounge. I'm having more trouble working on it, because it's completely online. I do much better with paper, highliter and pen in hand. I'm not sure whether I'll do more on that site. Technically, I could print out the lessons, but there are a number of external links that I would have to follow and print out as well (articles, etc).
But for now, I would definitely recommend the Care Courses. They're great! And really, you could always try just one to see if you like it or not. Good luck! And let us know what you think!Comment
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Thanks to both of you. I decided to jump the gun and go ahead and ordered "Day by Day with Toddlers" through Care Courses. I figured if I didn't like the first one then I just wouldn't do another one. DUH! :-)
I haven't received my textbook in the mail yet but I bought the PDF as well to have immediately. If I had it to do it again, I would have just waited for the testbook. It's VERY hard to read as a PDF on my laptop (not everything fits on the screen). Obviously, it would be fine if I printed it out but no point since the textbook should be here soon.Comment
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I guess I should have read your post first since I just ordered my second course and bought the textbook and PDF
. Oh well maybe I'll just buy the book next time like I did the first time. Let me know how you guys liked your courses and what you learned so I can decide which class to take next. This time I got the Learning Centers course but I havn't started it yet.
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I'm also working on the Pre-Math course at Child Care Lounge. I'm having more trouble working on it, because it's completely online. I do much better with paper, highliter and pen in hand. I'm not sure whether I'll do more on that site. Technically, I could print out the lessons, but there are a number of external links that I would have to follow and print out as well (articles, etc).
FYI- we do have an option where will print and mail all material. You are not alone in working better this way.Last edited by Michael; 03-08-2010, 10:28 PM.Comment
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Joni -- I'm heading over right now to check out that option! Thanks for the heads up!Comment
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I tried to figure out the Child Care Lounge site today......ugh!!! Is it just me, or is it really hard to navigate? Not one link worked, could not find any info on how to do the online courses with the search tab/faq's/or scrolling through old posts....most posts seemed to be 2009 or later. Just frustrated me to no end. Will probably try again on a day when I have complete silence...!
I wound up ordering 3 programs through Care Courses... May as well knock it out for the year...
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Ok question I am looking at the CDA page and looking at this
Make certain that you meet the eligibility requirements to go through the CDA Direct Assessment process:
· You are 18 years of age or older
· Have 480 hours of experience working with young children within the past 5 years in a state-licensed home or center setting
· Hold a high school diploma or the equivalent
In GA you have to have a CDA to be registered. So I have to go get a job at a center to even be able to get my CDA? That makes 0 sense...are there other ways to fulfill the 480 hour requirement?
I feel like GAs registration requirements stick you between a rock and a very hard placeComment
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480 hours of licensed center exp for CDA
I currently live in MO but we have thought about moving to GA so I have been emailing them. I have an in home daycare not licensed and plan to get my CDA it looks like that ALL I need to be a director in GA...does that sound right? But I know I need 480 clock hrs of exp in a licensed center...I dont wanna leave my home daycare to go out and work for $7.50 hr either, But I didnt do the math at first and really its only 3 months if you go full time. There are some centers around here that have evening care, I could work then or even volunteer to get my hours. Let me know what you decided and how do you like GA??
ChantayComment
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