Week 9: It's a Hit

This was the first week my sister got to actually home school. She really liked it. She is doing a different program than I am. She only has three classes for nine weeks and after nine weeks it changes to another three classes. Since she was behind she only had one elective class and one standard required class that you don't do a whole lot of work in. I showed her how to do her work then my mom and I left to go grocery shopping. When we got back home hours later my sister was still working and had gotten two weeks worth of the class done in one day. I think that goes to show, once again, how much time can be wasted at school.

With all the spare time my sister has had she applied for some jobs. She got an interview and landed a job. This week she started her job and now works five days a week. I have to admit that I am a bit jealous that she was able to get a job. I have wanted a job since I started homeschooling, but I am not sixteen. Now, I am stuck at home with no money while my sister gets to go out and make money.

Week 8: New addition

My older sister was still having issues at school so, my parents pulled her. She wasn't very happy and wanted to go back, but she didn't have a say. She spent this week at home while my parents worked on the paperwork to get her enrolled. She kind of shadowed me and saw what I did for school and for classes. She didn't like being at home all day and was constantly complaining about being bored. I told her to use this week off to do the things she likes to do, but never has time for. She took my advice and started crocheting again. I think she will really enjoy homeschooling. I know she will enjoy having more free time, and will love to be able to do things she wants to.

Week 7: No More Sound Problems

My tech counselor finally emailed me back and said that I should call and get a new computer. He gave me the number and all I had to do was call. Being the procrastinator that I am, I still hadn't called by the time Friday came. Before I called my dad wanted to have one more go at trying to fix it. Luckily, he was able to fix it. Now I don't have to get a new computer and transfer all my documents to that computer. Now I can watch movies, I mean attend my classes on my own computer.

4H?

When my family and I went to the local fair one of the boys I knew showed us around all the 4H exhibits. He showed us the animals him and his brothers raised and talked about how much fun he had this year raising his animal. It got me a little interested in it. It sounds like a fun way for me to learn how to care for and raise animals. I think caring for animals would be a great skill for me to learn. Participating in 4H maay be a great way for me to occupy my time and learn to manage the money I will need for my animal.

Do you or any of your children participate in 4H? I would love to hear more about. Are there certain elements that are better than others? Is there something simple I can start out with to kind of get the feel for it and learn the ropes? I'd love to know how any of you like 4H and what you like about it. I'm just curious as to if it is something that is beneficial.

Week 6: Computer Sound... Again

My computer sound is still not working. I have emailed my tech counselor who is supposed to help with the technical issues of schooling and he isn't helping. He replied to my first email and asked if it was my computer speakers or an external speaker. I told him it was my computer speaker and he hasn't replied. I am getting really frustrated. There is a lot I can't do without sound. I have to use a different computer for half my school work. I have to use a different computer for my classes and just that annoys me. I'll be in the middle of a lesson and then I will have to watch a video. I am forced to grab a different computer and search through the lesson for the video and then watch it, that really annoys me. I am wondering if I need to return my computer to the school and just get a new one. I don't know if I can do that since my tech counselor won't email me back. I am considering emailing my regular school counselor to see what she says. I am still seeking help on this when it should have been fixed, this is kind of a major issue.

So Much Free Time

I have had a lot more free time since I started homeschooling. To make sure I'm not spending all day doing nothing, I have created a journal full of things I want to do. I call it the "To Do when Utterly Bored Journal". It is just pages of things I have always wanted to do and things I want to make. The list ranges from making hair bows to making homemade cleaning products. Once I finish my school work I go through the journal and pick soothing that I want to do and then do it. Once I do something I cross it off the list and move onto the next thing. I make sure to only write down the things that sound genuinely fun. If your journal is full of things that aren't what you really want to do, you won't to do it. Then, you will spend all day doing nothing.

 I like how it keeps me from siting around on the internet all day and reminds me that there are things that are more fun than siting around all day doing nothing. Honestly, I would spend all day not really doing anything because I didn't know what to do or what to make. Now, I can just pick something off the list and do it. It makes my days a lot more enjoyable because I get to do something fun, and something that I want to do. I suggest making a journal like this so you don't waste your time and you get something done that you may have always wanted to do.

Week 5: Spanish & Sound Problems

This week was kind of my week of problems. For the first few days of the week the program that my Spanish class is through was down and wasn't working. That put me (and everyone else) behind in Spanish. Once the program got back to working my microphone wasn't working. I was suppose to record an answer to a question in Spanish and turn it in. My microphone decided not to work putting me even further behind. I tried to fix it, but I tired everything I could think of and I couldn't get it to work. I asked my dad to try and fix he when he got home and things just got worse. He tried the same thins I did and got no where. Then, my computer started screeching. You know that sound a microphone makes when it is being held too close to another microphone? Yeah, my computer is making that sound for no apparent reason. If I turn the sound on, even a little bit, it starts screeching and it echos any of the noise it hears. If anyone has any ideas on how to fix it please let me know. I'm going to contact my counselor that handles technical problems on Monday and see if he has any ideas.