Homeschooling Weeks

I've been SO busy with everything that I haven't had ANY time to blog. As you know, we started homeschooling this year. We've been going for eight weeks, but not eight weeks strong.
I'm just not going to go in depth about everything I've been doing, but here're my top things I didn't know before I started homeschooling:
#1 Saxon math, in the geometry level, has 30 math problems a day, more than my middle school homework had.
#2 Double-speed First Form Latin is too slow for me.
#3 It is really easy to drag your feet on finishing science experiments.
#4 There's a lot more room for creativity in answering history review questions when you're doing so orally. For instance: "Who were the Olmecs?" "The first major Mesoamerican culture to carve giant stone heads before mysteriously disappearing." "Who were the Toltecs?" "The guys after the Olmecs, who, like many ancient mesoamerican cultures, mysteriously disappeared." "How were the Olmecs and Toltecs similar?" "They both were early mesoamerican cultures that disappeared– or did they?" "You're not even looking at the book." "No, I'm on the floor stretching while you read questions from the answer key."
#5 The urge to sit on the floor to do schoolwork is a tough one to fight.
#6 We have to go to the library every week.
#7 "Life Skills class credit" is code for "Chores with a Smile."
#8 "Time Management in Homeschooling" means, "Get the work done before 5 o'clock."
#9 Facebook during Spanish class becomes possible, but not appealing.
#10 The answer to "Is homeschooling worth it?" is, without a doubt, "HECK YEAH."

Goat Stall

Today was interesting* and eventful†. It all revolves around our little goat shed that takes up a corner of the backyard. It's not in great shape, and getting worse all the time. It's been serviceable, but not excellent. 

This morning, at my summertime seven-o-clock, I went outside to take care of my pets. I let Peanut and Blackie out. I let out the geese. I propped open the door, and Mary darted out. She ran right into my stomach, and, though I didn't lay a hand on her, I kicked the shed. Then I grabbed some hay, and slammed it into the basket. Then the shed did an amazing thing. 

It fell down. I am not kidding. It honest-to-goodness fell apart into pieces. Mary was outside, and I managed to keep the plywood from falling on me too hard. I got kind of nicked up**, but I didn't even need stitches. Thankfully, I was not trapped, just whacked. 

As a result, we need somewhere to keep The Goat. Mary can stay on her chain for a day, and maybe even to sleep (it's warm enough), but Dad says we should just build a sort of stall leaning against the garage. 

It's kind of funny to think that only last night, Mary slept in a shed that doesn't exist any more. It's nothing more than the sandy patch of the yard, with a little hay still sprinkled around. 

*bizarre †hectic **bruised and scraped 

Operation Gain-Some-Weight

I went to the doctor last week. Apparently I'm in fine health, except my weight.
I am 105 pounds. 47 kilos. I'm also 65 inches tall, or 165 centimeters. That puts my BMI at, oh, pathetic. Specifically, 17.5.
Doctor says I need to gain weight this summer, which is not going to be easy. Why not? Here's my breakfast menu.
1/4 cup granola
1 bagel (large)
6 ounces yogurt
1 banana
Seasonal fruit
2x3x1/2 inch slab of ham
1 cup milk
1/2 cup juice.
Oh, and I'm best described as hyperactive. Mom, thankfully, has been trying to find constructive outlets for my energy. I now do gymnastics, baton twirling, dance classes, swim lessons, and noncompetitive basketball. I'm still hyper, but I have more fun this way.
So my goal this summer is to gain 20 pounds. That will make me an even 125, with a healthy BMI of 20.8.
Well, I'm off to have a quarter cup of peanut butter and six bananas. Breakfast was two hours ago, and it's still an hour till lunch!

The Curriculum Fair

Mom had already gone to a curriculum fair in Nebraska (Pine Creek is really near the border), but a few days ago she dragged me to a fair here in Iowa, in Spruce Hill. We looked at a million stands and mom bought a bunch of books. She got:
Saxon Geometry (I've already done Algebra 1 in school)
Winston Grammar
A thick book called "WORLD HISTORY"
A million science brochures
A dozen or more catalogs for foreign language programs
A book titled "SAT prep for Over-Achievers."

All the homeschooler kids there seemed like they were having fun and were chatting with the vendors. Quite frankly, I don't know why they enjoy shopping for work so much.

HOMESCHOOLING!

So, just an hour ago, I was eating dinner. I had just taken a bite of baked ziti when Mom and Dad asked me a big question.
"Joan, how would you like to be homeschooled next year?" they asked.
I started choking and coughing. Normally, I would have just swallowed then hollered my surprise, but, ever since I got my braces a week ago, choking is normal.
"What?" I wheezed as soon as I could.
"Homeschooling. We've thought a lot about it, and we're going to homeschool you for ninth grade."
"What?" I repeated. This time I got a more thorough explanation.
Allie is homeschooling too! You see, her little brother, who is seven years younger than her, is having trouble in school. Her parents decided to take her out of school, too, and mom liked the idea of homeschooling me!
The reason they told me is because mom wants to go to a homeschool conference in a few weeks. Allie and her mom are going too, and Mom thinks this will be a good time to look at curriculum.
Of course, I instantly agreed to homeschool. I mean, who wouldn't? Maybe somebody who only has friends at school, but not me, as long as Allie is homeschooling too, two houses away.
I haven't been bloging for a while, because, quite frankly, it's been boring. But now I think I'm going to have to get this blog back up and running! :-D

Ahem... If you will turn your attention to Joan...

ACK!

Okay, okay, sorry to start a posting that way. I'm just a little nuts right now.

It's just that Shimmy, my gerbil, just had her babies! FIVE OF THEM! Also, this morning, when Shimmy was just having her babies, my parakeet, Sunny, decided that she would learn how to talk. So, now, hours later, we have five baby gerbils and a talking parakeet. The most annoying thing is WHAT Sunny says. Most of it, she picked up when we were running around crazy. She says the following: "FIVE!?!?! Oh, gosh, gotta go. I'm late! Where did you put. Baby gerbils!"

So, that's about it. Just kind of figured I'd tell about these interesting events.

We Interrupt This Program for an Important News Bulletin!

News flash! No, nothing interesting has come up, particularly. I'm just giving a general update.

School/Activities: I got the lead in the Halloween Play at school. I also have a baton twirling show the day before the play opens. I'm the executive editor for the school newspaper. And I'm still the patrol leader of the Palomino Patrol.

Pets: Blackie is the same as always, Peanut is bigger and more rambunctious, The Cats have become increasingly wary of Peanut, Shimmy and Squeak have learned to ride in a pocket, Mary is at the Farm, Muriel is same as always, The Geese are always trying to "defend" me from Peanut, Shimmer hasn't been looking so good, and Sunny has learned to imitate the song "King of The Golden Hall" from the Lord of The Rings movie in the whole.

"That's All Folks!"