Family Reading

Over the last couple of months we have done much better with bed time reading. We read Charlotte's Web, The Wizard of Oz, How to Eat Fried Worms, and are now finishing up Pinocchio. I was not planning on How to Eat Fried Worms, but Jonny got the movie from Netflix, so I thought we would read it first and then watch it. I remember my teacher reading it when I was in about fourth grade. I really didn't like it then and that hasn't changed much. But it was interesting to compare with the movie. The book was about accepting dares and how that almost ruined the friendships of the boys. The movie changed the premise to all about bullying. Reading about worms before bed turned out to not be such a great idea. We had to finish that one during day light hours.

We watched the Wizard of Oz after reading that book too. Isaac has always loved the scarecrow and now Rebecca has to carry around her oil can.

I love Pinocchio. We read it about 4 years ago too. I was so impressed with how undisney it was. Every time Pinocchio made a mistake it was bigger than the last and it took that much longer to recover and pull himself back. By the time he finally becomes a real boy, he has truly had a change of heart. Jonny doesn't sit and listen, but he does overhear sometimes. He laughed when the cricket told Pinocchio that "boys who do not obey their parents and listen to bad companions all turn into little donkeys." We would have finished it last week, but I got a cold and would lose my voice after a half a page.

I wonder what we should read next.

Happy Birthday Isaac

Isaac had a birthday on Sunday. He is now 9.
We went to Shoreline between Conference sessions and had a little party.

Isaac really wanted a pinata

So we managed to find one. They are not so easy to find when you are looking for them.

Next time we will just make it.

Steven beheaded it. His trophy.


Uncle Hyrum climbed the tree to get a better view.

It was simple and fun.

Another School Report

Well, I took my first objective assessment last Saturday. Instead of going to a proctored testing site they are starting something new. I use a wide lens web cam and take the test from home. I need to set up the camera so that they can see my work area and my face. It was kind of freaky knowing someone was watching me through that thing. I guess they have someone watching 10 people or so and then if he/she sees a problem with one of the testers, that tester is sent to someone watching 3 people. If that person sees something suspicious then it is sent to someone watching just the one and he/she can stop the test. It apparently works pretty well. I will probably get use to it though. I did have to kick the rest of the family out of the house though. I am not suppose to have anyone else in the room. Probably because they could conceivable be feeding me answers. They would distract me anyway. If the computer was in its own room we probably wouldn't need to do that, but we have the computer in the living room.

So I passed my health and wellness test. As I was looking at the vast amount of resources for the constitution/government class, I was impressed. Students can choose from not just the text but more than 30 hours of video lectures and other resources. I decided that I wanted to focus my study energies and asked my mentor if I could take the pre-test to see where I was at. I passed that with a 92% with out studying. Hey, it pays to be a nerd sometimes. So I am ready to take that test too. I will do that tomorrow. Good thing I didn't spend $50 for the book.

Then I looked at my next class. It is a math class, but wait. This test requires the same text that I used in my UoP math class two years ago. So I decided to take that pre-test also. I passed it too - barely though. But at least I know what I need to study. I like math, but if I am not using it all the time I forget it. Even on the problems I couldn't answer, I was just staring at them knowing I knew how to do it, but it wasn't coming to me. As soon as I look it over it will come back. So I think I will take that test in the next 10 days or so too.

That will complete my scheduled 12 credits for this term. The term isn't over until the end of January so I will be able to squeeze in a couple more. You pay a flat rate per term and you can do as many classes as you want to in that time.