April 19, 2010

Ben seems to really love me, but he can be annoying sometimes. This morning, we went to church, and we found out that it was closed. Instead, we went out to breakfast. The diner we went to was called The Geneseo Family Restaurant, and it was nice. The tables were really small. Of course, Ben had to have the whole booth, and he sat in the very middle. I was pushed up against the wall. Ben was REALLY hyper, and for the first time this month, I was glad he went to school.

On Sunday, we had our family over because it was my dad’s birthday. John and I got into a fight, and he whacked me with the ping pong paddle. Luckily, my Tae Kwon Do reflexes kicked in, and I managed to block the hit. That’s about it for now, but I will post again soon. Bye!

Pros and Cons

I have been thinking about going back to public school, which you probably know from recent blogs. I am actually leaning towards on going back, but to help me decide, I have put together a list of pros and cons about going back.

My List Of Pros and Cons
By Connor Peters

Pros:
1. I will know about changing classes so when I go to McQuaid I wont be lost.
2. It will give me a base on what I will be learning at McQuaid (kind of).
3. I will be able to be with John when he goes to school.
4. I will end at exactly 2:30.

Cons:
1. The subjects with be 44 minutes long, and I might get bored.
2. I will probably miss homeschooling.
3. I will only be able to go to Tae Kwon Do twice a week.

4. I won't be able to do guitar.

Well, that's about it for now, but I will try to think of more. Comment on if you think I should go to public school or not.
Connor.

Hey! I Am Back!

Hey everyone, I just got back from China! That is why I haven't blogged in a few weeks. If you have noticed, I have been blogging on my moms adoption blog. My family has just adopted two boys, Ben (6 years old) and John (13 years old). You have probably already learned this from my recent blogs. Ben is so cute and he is very naughty, in a funny way. John can be pretty annoying, but can be a good companion. I am so happy to be home from China. Lately, the boys (my new brothers) have been home while I have been schooling, and they have been preventing me from getting much work done. I don't have much to say, but I have been thinking about going back to public school next year. Mom is probably going to make me do some more writing, but that is okay. See you later, Connor.

Grounded...

I just got grounded today from TV, computer (except school related stuff on the computer) and reading. Can you believe Mom was mean enough to ban reading until Sunday? I mean, who gets in trouble for reading (except for me, of course)? It is going to be a boring four days. I think what I got in trouble for wasn't fair, because I got into trouble for something I did the day before. Mom told me to go fold some socks and underwear. I think I was on the computer, so I took the laundry and threw it into my shelves. Well, I was meaning to finish it, but mom caught it before I could. I miss reading! Even though it has only been a few hours since I got into trouble, I still am really upset. These few hours have been very boring without the casual reading I do (I read while I eat, wait for food to cook etc.) I can only imagine how boring it will be tomorrow and on Saturday.

Small Thing...Big Impact.

I went upstairs today to tell Mom that I had finished my Chinese. Of course, she was on her email. I accidentally saw an email with the title: It is illegal to home-school in Germany. I feel bad for the Germans. I feel lucky that I live in America, able to believe any religion I want, home-school and make any other choices that affect our lives. I am also glad that I am able to help to orphans and bring them to our home, America. I wish that my family and I could do more. It would do my heart good to see every orphan brought into a nice warm home in America with a family. There are tons of orphans who are unable to have the warmth of a loving family, even if they have a mom that yells, or a brother that gets rather annoying. I think it is best to try to be the best people we can possibly be and make the world change into a better place to live. If there were more people like my mom or dad, the world as we know it, would change for the better. I know I am going to be the best person that I can be.

RSFBP

Today was an average day. You know, I finished a book, did some math and now I have to go to Tae Kwon Do. I also have guitar today. Same as every Wednesday. I think I am getting really good at guitar and Tae Kwon Do. My mom says that she can now actually stay in the same room as me when I play guitar. = P . I just went on ANOTHER book buying spree. I bought ten books. Mom says I can't read any of them until our trip to China. Good thing we went to the library before the bookstore, and I got seven more books. Last time I went to the library, I checked out eighteen books and read them all in three weeks. Man, either I am a really fast reader, or I have a TON of time on my hands. Or I have both. :) . I have decided that I am going to make MY OWN blog. You maybe saying, "This is Connor's blog", but I have restrictions on this blog. For instance, mom checks all my work so that I have correct grammar. The new blog, I am going to say whatever the heck I feel like saying, without worrying about my spelling or grammar. I think it will be called: RSFBP- Random Stuff For Bored People. Sounds good? Well, (look at my watch,) it looks like it is time to go to Tae Kwon Do. See ya!

Average Day at School

Well, you can probably figure out what this blog is about from the title. An Average Day at School! Today, my math/biology tutor couldn't make it to our house because she went to Boston for the weekend, and on the way back to Rochester, one of her tires popped. That meant that instead of math with my tutor, I got to finish my book! I managed to read 120 pages in 45 minutes! After that, I took a John Hopkins math test online. On Friday, I did the John Hopkins 5th Grade Test, and scored only a 77%. I don't know who was more mad, me, or my mom. To make up for the stupid mistakes that I made (all careless errors from being in a hurry), I did the 6th Grade Test today. I scored a 91%! wO0t! w0Ot! I was really happy because I can now to do Honors Pre-algebra, if I want. I cannot believe that I did so badly on a 5th Grade Test, but then did so well on a 6th grade test today. It may have something to do with that it took me 21 minutes to do the 5th Grade Test, and an hour and fifteen minutes for the 6th Grade Test. I am thinking about doing another course online, but last time, when I took the computer course, it was a pain in the butt! Another thing, I finished my math at exactly 10:00 AM, which is when my math tutor usually finishes. That means I was right on time. Then I finished my Guitar at 10:30, also perfect timing. Now, I have to finish my Writing at 11:00! I am mad that I finished my book. It was the end of a 2 book series and they were REALLY good. At least there is a movie. I guess I am going to have to see it. The series is called Arthur and the Minimoys. At least that is what the first book is called. The second book is called Arthur and the Forbidden City. Well, that is about all I have to say. It is time to study my vocabulary words. Zaijian! (good-bye in Chinese).

My Wish Upon a Star...

Homeschooling is awesome; don't get me wrong, however, I wish that mom let me read a bit more. She is always nagging at me to put my book down and go do some Freerice . Freerice is a educational website that donates rice to poor people. Back in Abe Lincoln's time (Abraham Lincoln was home-schooled) all he did was read books. He didn't have a fancy computer to use; no, he just read. And look how he turned out! He was one of the best presidents America has ever known! I want more reading! I want more reading!

My Day #1

Today was a busy day, but I still managed to end at around 1:00. I guess from this blog, I have managed to be more time efficient. Well, that's the point right? Today, I woke up at around 7:15. Got up, had some eggs. Mom is making me have protein with each meal now. She claims it makes a big difference in how I behave. I also had some cream of wheat (didn't have any "Diet" oatmeal). Then I had my math tutor from 9-10. Chinese tutor from 10:30-11:30. I then had to finish all my school work.

Mom has been chaotic about the adoption lately. She has been to the mall every day since Saturday for the boys, Ben and Jack. My brother and I want Jack to be called Josh, but mom doesn't. Ben is six, Jack/Josh is 13 almost 14. My mom has been so nervous, she has been getting mad for no reason. Mom also just bought a Polaroid photo printer (not the old fashioned ones, but a new one about the size of a Blackberry). It was only $40, what a deal! It prints the pictures when ever you want, not just when they are taken. Amazing the technology now. Signing off...

Moms a bit grumpy wouldn't you say?

Today mom was really mad at me. I don't quite remember why she said she was mad at me, but I do remember that she said that going back to school may be better then homeschooling. She later admitted that she was grumpy and that she was really nervous about adopting Ben and Jack (we finally named them). Well, just because you are nervous and grumpy, doesn't mean you have to yell at me every minute. I feel sad. Logging out...

Chinese Project

Today I went to my third grade teacher's classroom to present My Chinese Project. Originally, the project was supposed to be for 45 minutes, but it ended up taking an hour and 15 minutes. It was fun, and I think I did well. I had a power point presentation and a ton of Chinese artifacts to show. I also taught the third graders some Chinese Characters, and they seemed to enjoy that. Mom keeps on saying that I did awesome, and I couldn't have done better. Maybe so, but I still forgot the Chinese character for 7 and I felt like an idiot. I don't have that much to say, except that I felt good to see my old teachers again. I also felt awkward seeing some of my old classmates. They even asked for my number so that they could call me! It was great fun. I have to say though, it took an awful darn amount of practice to be able to do it well. I spent at least 8 hours making my presentation. Then at least 2 hours practicing it. Now I am wiped out! Well, that is pretty much all. Signing out...

Guinea Pigs: Who Knew?

Today I am going to get a guinea pig, named Max. Max is a friend's guinea pig, but she just found out that she is quite allergic. That means I get a free guinea pig! We once babysat Max, and he was actually fun. I just learned that you can actually train guinea pigs to do tricks. Who knew? I spent a lot of time on the internet researching guinea pigs. I learned what to feed them, how to train them, that type of thing. At first, I wanted an otter. I read a story that had an otter as a character, and it seemed like it would be a cool pet. I looked on the internet about otters, and found out that in order to get an otter, you need to get a permit. Also, they will attack you for no reason sometimes. Then I wanted to see if I could get a mink. That was a no-no too. They have the same problems as otters. Then came the idea of a ferret. I learned that ferrets actually make good pets. Well, they make good pets if they like their owner, and have a good attitude. Mom would not agree to get a ferret. They stink too much, she said. The funny thing is, right after I did all this research, I went to a friend's house for dinner. Guess what? I got a guinea pig while I was there! I guess mom likes guinea pigs and not ferrets. God works in mysterious ways, but still, I did not expect this! I'm a new pet owner!

Tip #4: Curriculum

A curriculum is a big part of homeschooling. I have already talked about making a list, and checking it twice, but you should have a curriculum to use as a reference for your list. For instance, most of the books that I read are on the John Hopkins Reading List. Sure, I pick some of the books that I read, but I have good idea of what I should be reading. Thinks of it as a tower. The curriculum is the base, and what you do for the day is the body. Every structure should have supports. Every essay should have examples. It is just like life. Wait, let me rephrase that; it is life. I am not saying to go out and buy a curriculum to use. Try looking at my curriculum, and use it as an example. Every kid is different. I mean, that is what homeschooling is about. Don't home-school blindly. Some help is nice!


P.S. I will try to put a link to my curriculum. I can't promise anything though. Hope this helps!