All About Me (Alastrin) and my Past School Week

     Hey, this is Alastrin. I am currently in grade 10. I have a total of 11 classes that I am going to do this year. The first semester consists of Astronomy, English, Mythology, Spanish, Mathematics (Algebra 2), and American Sign Language (ASL). Next semester I'll be taking Latin, History, Visual Arts, French, and Chemistry.

     All throughout my Elementary years I had always been a bit bored since the work was far too easy for me. I of course liked that I understood the subjects and wasn't falling behind. I just didn't feel challenged too often. Since I have started high school, I've come to quickly realize just how different it was from my previous years. I had been doing in-person school for the first semester of grade 9. Overall I had a good experience. The teachers and students were all nice and everything. The only problem I had was the workload. Each class was 2 and a half hours long, and we did roughly 4 lessons a day. As well as tests and projects every other day. I enjoyed that the work was harder and more challenging, but the amount of work for all the classes was becoming overwhelming. My heath issues also contributed to the stress.

     It is now only Week 4 of this years homeschooling, but so far I feel I am doing much better. Like in-person school I still have quite a bit of work each day. It's also very challenging, making me think long and hard, but not too much as to be unfit for me. I also find it very exciting and rewarding that I am able to learn about subjects that I wish to know more about. Though I still have a big work load, I haven't found it to be very stressing. I think the main reason for this is that I can be fully accommodated for my heath needs. The high school I briefly went to was great, and really kind in helping me, but it is still easier to make accommodations when I am at home and my mom is the teacher. I have Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Chronic Migraines, and Anxiety (among other things). These can result in taking up some time that I might have otherwise spent doing schoolwork. This way at homeschool, I'm able to do the same amount of high school work, but in a healthy way.

     In this past week, I have started and soon-to-be completed Chapter 2 in my Astronomy Textbook. I will be having a test for it this Friday. I love learning Astronomy, but this is definitely one of those subjects where I have to read it over and think really hard to comprehend some of it. It can be a bit of a mix though. Either it's really hard or it's really easy because I already have learned about it in my Astronomy and Physics books that I read for fun. The specific topics that I've been learning is stuff like Circumpolar Constellations, Light, Coordinates, Motion of the Stars, Equinoxes and Solstices, Precession, Wavelengths, Telescopes, The Electromagnetic Spectrum, Frequency, Radiation, Focal Lengths, Aberrations, and much more. It's all quite fascinating!

     For Spanish and ASL, I have mainly just been continuing to practice them each day. Specifically though in Spanish, I've been learning about clothing, "La Ropa". In English I am doing a book study. I read a chapter or two of "Brave New World" everyday. Then I complete questions about it. I also practice Vocabulary twice a week.

     Mythology class this past week has been a mix of reading and watching videos about Creation Stories. I have learned about the Creation Myths from many different cultures all around the world. It's cool to compare the similarities and differences of the different countries, cultures, and tribes. Many believe that the world/universe hatched out of a cosmic egg, while some others believe that a God(s) and/or Goddess(es) created everything. As well as so much more! I have just been assigned a little project where I have to make my own Creation Myth. I can write it as a story, long poem, or some other creative way of writing. I haven't officially written anything for it yet, but I have come up with many ideas.

    Now, last but not least, Math. This subject has also been challenging, but I still like it better than it being way too easy. Like I mentioned, it's Algebra 2, so I have been learning about and doing many equations. It involves figuring out the value of "x", fractions, negative numbers, parenthesis/brackets/braces, the order of operations, word problems, and more. I am learning Math through a computer program that gives me lessons each day, consisting of a verbal lesson, 5 practice questions, and 25 marked questions. So in a few days it's coming up where it'll give me another test.

     And that's basically it. Although we did have a really awesome field trip last week, but that'll be talked about in another post. Stay tuned for future updates!