Tips For Online Schooling From Someone Who Has Been Taking Online Classes For The Past Year

For Students:

1. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you're confused. Having directions typed out is not always as straight forward as when someone is standing in front of you explaining a concept. 
2. If your class does not have a set time that you have to be logged in, set yourself a time. It's important to have a schedule for yourself and stick to it. This allows for routine and normalcy. 
3. Take notes on everything! I am the kind of person that needs to see something in front of me, and taking notes especially helps when you are trying to answer questions or write up essays.
4. Make sure you can be focused while working. If having the TV on distracts you, turn it off. If your family is talking around you, go to a quiet space to work instead.
5. Take your time to read everything! Look up videos if you are confused. There are so many resources available to you online.
6. Remember that this is for you! You have the privilege to learn and this is an opportunity to try a different way of learning than you are used to!

For Teachers: 

1. If you can, make videos or include videos in your lessons. Some people are visual learners or need to hear the concepts rather than read them! I recommend the Crash Course Videos and Khan Academy as resources for you to utilize during this time.
2. Make your directions as straightforward as possible. Different people will interpret your words differently.
3. Consider giving students or parents your phone number. College professors frequently do this and sometimes it's easier to call than to send an email for a simple question.
4. Consider apps as a tool for at home learning. If you teach a foreign language, consider asking students to use Duolingo or Memrise for extra practice while at home.
5. Remember that everyone's situation is different right now and school may not be top priority for all of your students.

Animal Crossing Readathon: The Last Few Days

Day 10: March 18th

I can't believe the readathon is almost over and New Horizons is almost here!
I preordered my game from Target and I'm hoping it'll ship early instead of arriving Monday-Thursday of next week like it's predicting right now. I might end up purchasing the digital version and letting my boyfriend have the physical copy once it comes in...
Today I set out with the same schedule as I had yesterday. I worked on school assignments until 2pm and then put away some laundry and read 2 more chapters of Clockwork Angel. I really hope I can finish this book before the readathon is over. I also need to read the Tea Dragon Society and then I will have completed the hosts challenges for the readathon, which is not something I expected to do. I have also achieved some of my personal goals as well which is amazing! I am currently 1 book ahead on my Goodreads goal and I want to keep this momentum going! This readathon has really helped me get out of my reading slump. If nothing else good comes out of 2020, at least it will be the year I finally reach my goal of reading 52 books.

The day before New Horizons comes out! March 19th

 This will likely be my last day reading  because New Horizons will be out and I think I will be getting the digital download while waiting for my physical copy. Today I decided not to worry about school since all I have to do is respond to the class discussions, which can wait until tomorrow and over the weekend to do. So I spent the day finishing Clockwork Angel and it was so good! I give it 4 out of 5 stars! I will definitely be continuing on with the series asap!
I had previously read the first 3 books in the Mortal Instruments series and really didn't enjoy them all that much. Everyone said that if you read her books in publication order they get progressively better. So I reluctantly decided to continue with the Infernal Devices since Cassandra Clare recently released another new book and the Shadowhunter world was being plastered everywhere online again. They were right about the books getting better with this one! It felt like someone completely different had written this one compared to the first 3 I read. The characters were much more likeable and it felt like there was never a dull moment throughout the book. It also reminded me a bit of Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin, which I loved.
Really glad that I was inspired to pick this up after watching Clockwork Reader's Chain of Gold reading vlog.

Total Pages Read: 1573 
Challenges completed: 5/5
Did not do the bonus challenge or twitter challenges.

Overall, I am very proud of the amount I have read during this readathon and I am definitely excited to keep this reading momentum going! 

Animal Crossing Readathon Days 7-9: Corona Crisis?

Day 7: March 15

Did not read at all today. But my boyfriend and I got a new shelf for our living room. Now all of our books officially have a home! We went to Target to pick up the shelf and while the parking lot didn't seem any more crowded than normal, people were scrambling to buy food. All the chicken noodle soup was gone, canned tuna was gone, pasta was gone, but there was a surprising overabundance of mac and cheese. Why doesn't anybody want the mac the cheese? They are limiting toilet paper to one per customer and I am starting to worry that when we do run out there will be none left anywhere. I am planning to stay home unless I need groceries or need to pick up prescriptions.

Day 8: March 16

Woke up with a pretty bad migraine for my first day of school for the semester. Yay! Don't worry, I do not have the virus. I get migraines at least once per month due to a chronic illness. I'm fine, I keep up with my medication, just  Luckily, my program is completely online to begin with. Just about every school is now moved to online or closed completely due to the virus. I hope people stay safe. I did my introduction for class and some of the readings in the "Mastering Strategic Management" textbook. But I do not think I will count those pages as part of the readathon. They textbook even removed the author's name which I found strange. I'm hopeful that this class will be better than my last one, which felt like we did not go in depth enough on the ethics involved with environmental science.

I have been catching up on laundry today as much as possible. I managed to read a chapter of Clockwork Angel while putting some of that away.

Day 9: March 17

As soon as I got up I starting prepping dinner in the crock pot. We got a corned beef for Saint Patrick's day and I wanted to make sure I put it in early enough for it to be in there 10 hours and be ready at a reasonable time for dinner.
I also made myself some kind of a schedule to stick to. School work in the morning and then reading or whatever else the rest of the day. I got a lot done and was a lot more productive by having the idea that once the clock hit twelve I could eat lunch and relax for the day.
Managed to finish what I needed to for school and finish Icing on the Lake as well. It was a cute winter read. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars. I also read a bit more in Clockwork Angel, which seems to be a theme for each day. Must read at least one chapter!
My new phone case also came in today. It's a Pela case and it is 100% compostable! I had one on my old phone and I never had any problem with it. My Pura Vida Bracelets order came in too. I got my monthly pack featuring Saint Patrick's day themed bracelets and I also ordered myself the bee charm bracelet and the sloth charm bracelet. I ordered an extra sloth charm bracelet for my Aunt too since she loves sloths. I'm going to save it for her birthday in August. 
Dinner turned out delicious! I added cabbage to the crock pop about 2 hours before it was finished and I also roasted some potatoes and carrots in the oven. Yum!

Animal Crossing Readathon Days 3-6

Day 3: March 11

I woke up with some bad news about jobs I had applied for and decided that if I really care about environmental issues as much as I claim to, then I should be talking more about the issues I care about on the platforms that I have available to me. As a result, I decided to start reading This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein in preparation to review and discuss it in depth. This book covers the issues with capitalism and climate change amazingly and I cannot wait to discuss it with you all.

I also got my Animal Crossing Amiibo Series 4 Card Album in the mail! I am very excited to continue my collection! I also have a number of the series 1 cards up for sale on Ebay right now, so check those out if you are interested.

Tonight I made my take on the Mediterranean couscous from Hello Fresh. I roasted some asparagus and tomatoes in the oven with olive oil, Italian seasoning, pepper, and garlic salt. I also put some chick peas in the oven to roast with olive oil, paprika, pepper, and garlic salt. While these were in the oven I melted some butter and added some garlic and green onions to the pot. I tossed the couscous in this mixture and let it brown slightly before adding my chicken broth. Once the couscous was cooked, I added my vegetables and chick peas. Top with some feta cheese and you're done! It was so good!

Day 4: March 12

I continued with This Changes Everything a bit but had a lot of errands to do today. I did manage to listen to Opal by Maggie Steifvater which is a story set after the events that take place in the Raven Cycle Series.
My Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch Controller with KK Slider on it arrived a day early!
Also, Pocket Camp updated to promote New Horizons! How cute is that?


Day 5: March 13

I was able to pick up my special edition Animal Crossing New Horizons Nintendo Switch! I was mostly distracted by this and our brand new washing machine today, but did manage to read a bit of Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Claire. I decided to give the Shaddowhunters universe a second change and am glad I did! I picked up Clockwork Angel with low expectations, but ended up liking the characters way better than in the mortal instruments and being interested in the story as well.

Day 6: March 14

Only read about 2 chapters of Clockwork Angel today. Still enjoying it a lot, definitely want to read all of Cassandra's books now. Finally starting to understand what all the hype has been about. We had to go out to buy groceries and boy are the stores crazy busy and those shelves are empty! Hope everyone calms down and stays safe through all the virus craziness!
I also decided to paint my nails to match the colors of the joycons for my switch. 

Total Pages Read so far: 1089

Animal Crossing Readathon! TBR, & Days 1 & 2

Hello everyone! It is no secret that I have a bit of an obsession with the Animal Crossing games. I am so excited for New Horizons to come out in just 10 days! Hopefully on Friday I will have my Special Edition Animal Crossing New Horizons Nintendo Switch in my hands! I am so excited. I waited to get a switch specifically hoping that a special edition would come out along with a new Animal Crossing game!
Anyways, the point of this post is to talk about a readathon that is Animal Crossing themed! How cool is that? This readathon started March 9th and will continue through the 20th when the new game comes out!
There are 5 prompts based on characters from the game and a bonus prompt which is to read one of the Hosts choices.

I do not have a truly set TBR for this readathon, but I did have a few books/goals in mind for myself.

• Finish The Raven King 
• Finish Icing on the Lake
• Finish Blood for Blood
• Finish Truly Devious
• Read a book from my TBR or Trash list
• Read With the Fire on High
• Continue the Cassandra Clare books? 
• Read the Tea Dragon Society for the host choice book
• Get ahead on my Goodreads challenge before school and life hits HARD!

Day 1:

I woke up really not feeling great. I think part of it has been the time change that happened. I have been exhausted lately! Took the morning to finish The Raven King which I gave 5 out of 5 stars to! It was fantastic! I was originally thinking that maybe I would just start rereading the Raven Cycle series right away, but I had other plans already and didn't want to just be stuck on this world. I do feel like I need to reread this series though. There is just so much that happened and I think there are things I definitely missed the first read through, especially since I was listening to the audio books. Would love to get physical copies next time!

Instead of finishing books I already had started, I decided to pick up With the Fire on High in order to complete the Able Sisters challenge of reading a book with a strong family theme. This book is about a teen mom who is struggling to balance school, her child, and her goal to become a chef. She decides to take a culinary class at school that involves a trip to Spain and follows her struggles not only with school, but with relationships and what she wants to do in life.

Today we also got our new futon frame delivered and put that together. So glad to have a couch to sit on again! After we moved in February, it hasn't felt like much of a home here. I feel like we are finally starting to get life together!


Day 2:

Today I also woke up feeling exhausted, but this morning finished With the Fire on High and it was so GOOD! I give it 4/5 stars. Because I liked this book so much, I decided to start The Poet X which is also by the same author. So far, I'm about halfway through and am not enjoying it as much as With the Fire on High, but appreciate the own voices aspect as well as the writing style. I'm going to use this one for the KK Slider challenge of listening to an audio book.

I also read a bit more of Icing on the Lake. I'm about halfway through it as well. I started it in either December or January, and I just haven't gotten around to finish it. It is such a cute rom-com type story and the characters are really fun. I don't know which guy to root for in the love triangle going on, they both are so different.

I'm waiting for a bookshelf to come in and can't wait for my books to have a place to call home instead of being stacked on the floor! Will update tomorrow!

Influenster My Food and Family

Tonight for dinner we tried the Slow-cooker chicken and wild rice soup recipe from My Food and Family. It was super easy to make and tasted great too! I made this soup as part of the Influenster my food and family badge. I will definitely have to check their website again in the future when I need new ideas for recipes. This soup was perfect for a cold fall night like tonight. You just throw all the chopped veggies and chicken in the croc pot and then in 3-4 hours add in the rest of the ingredients and then it's ready. It was also my boyfriend's birthday and he loved it!

Dear Ex-"Best Friend"

Dear Ex-"Best Friend",

I wish things didn't have to end the way they did. Abrupt... in anger... and me feeling betrayed. I wish that the good times didn't feel like they were all a facade to appear a certain way to those around you. You called me your "best friend" without knowing the truth of what those words meant. Turns out, I didn't even know the real you, I wonder if anybody really did or ever will. I feel used in order to keep up an image. The "good girl" image that I gave off and you wanted. I am too trusting. I would have done anything for you, like you were a sister I never had, but you wanted someone when it was convenient for your needs. I gave up asking you for anything because when I did you were nowhere to be found.

Always busy, always vague. Enough to ward off more questions yet keep your "friends" close. I wish I had known all along about the things you were lying about in order to try to hide the pain. I wish that you had been honest from the start. I would have accepted you the way you are and would have been there to help you work through everything you had on your plate. Maybe then you would have realized that the using wasn't what friends do. Instead you lead a double-life, maybe even more. When confronted, you stuck to your lies while discussing me behind my back. I will accept whatever kind of person you are, but liars are my exception to that rule. So I ended things because there were more second chances than I could count anymore.

You pushed people away in the darkest moments. Then you broke when things were looking up and you needed to be strong. I tried the best I could to be there, to visit you in the hospital, to invite you out, to just be there to talk. I often feel that I didn't try hard enough. That somehow if I had talked more, or talked less, or checked up, or had done any number of things differently... then none of this would have happened. But I know that this is not the case and that some storms cause damage no matter how prepared you are for them.

I truly hope that you can get the help you need and get your life on track. Mental health is no joke, and if you are struggling still I hope you can reach out to somebody and be honest. Even though things ended poorly and in anger, I do not wish for anything negative to happen to you. You deserve better than what you were handed and what you decided you deserved as a result. You deserve the happiness that only you can bring back into your life. The choices we make in the past do not mean that we cannot move forward and make better ones in the future.