Study aids

Today's entry will be my my last one for this week as I shall be away for a period with no computer and in any event a somewhat shaky internet connection.
The last two days were study weekends with a bit of a difference as they were all English language looking at spelling and writing styles  for different audiences such as using informal and formal language to alter the tone.
I got 90% and 92% on both units which was pretty good as my spelling as a bit touch and go and while I'm not bad at writing formally, something I had to in the workplace, the more informal, personal sort is harder going.

As you know I do study and that studying involves Math so I need a basic Geometry set and this the one I currently have that comes in a slip case.

 On the reverse of the slipcase there is a an illustration of what is included  in the set.

 When you get to pull it out of the slip case  you have an aluminum  tin that keeps it all together in a simple, traditional way that also is very elegant.

 When you pull it open, in the lid you have a school timetable you can personalize while on the reverse it has information on weights and measures and this is wrapped around a stencilling kit.
As you can see we have the time honoured, rule set square and protractor couples with a compass, pencil, erasure and pencil sharpener that all fits neatly.
Personally I think this is a great basic set you can add too later on.

 

Because I do quite a bit of colouring too I did pick up this Staedtler heavy duty two slot pencil sharpener as I find myself needing to resharpen them to help keep my colouring neat.

Industriously studying...

Do you know, just as we get toward the end of the weekend where to be honest it probably was for the best I was indoors with the rain, the sun starts shining incandescently, illuminating everything.

This weekend I was studying as the impact from the electrical storms in my head I get with migraines has gone away looking at all the regular Polygons and how you work out internal and external angles which turned out to be as easy as pie!
In English I did some set work around vocabulary , looking how to use adjectives, nouns, verbs and adverbs to add flavour to your writing so it is more interesting to read and the use of formal and informal words and phrases.
This was pretty difficult because with my disabilities I have a limited vocabulary both for speech and written English, there are ten year olds with wider ones than I, and quite often I can't 'see' other more colourful word choices when I think about what I'm going to say that may help make what I say more interesting and memorable.
I don't like sounding as if my words have just been just superglued together than a few fragments to make a sentence and it may be this exercise can help with that.
I'll have a go at writing another short story before we go away as I won't be getting far this week as the coach company that runs some of our locals buses has stopped trading so something like 40% of local services aren't running including nearly all Saturdays!
The local Council are trying to sort this out but it takes time because you need vehicles and drivers of which there's a shortage so I may use that time typing out a story.

Studying in discomfort

Golly gosh so much rain this weekend that him who hacked my account on Friday been begging to stay in and use his litter tray instead!
On Saturday in English, I've been looking at the second bain of my written life the one below spelling which I'm officially lousy at and above structure, namely paragraphing.
You know I never really knew what they were for and this section left me thinking for like ages I'd thought a paragraph was the exact same thing as a sentence but seemingly they are not.
A paragraph apparently is a group of sentences talking about the same thing or follow on from each other and at least over in the UK in handwritten work you do indent the first sentence of a new paragraph whereas in typing classes I was taught not to!
The benefit of using paragraphs are that they show clearly you're writing about something new. It may be a new point in an essay, when you talk about new person or they speak if it's a story, if you're talking about a new place or a different time when people read your written work.
The section also looked  at how you link sentences together too.
I got 100% on the end test for that which included writing three paragraphs of a story to demonstrate your ability  to use them well although needless to say some of my linking words show Canadianisms.
As well, I looked at punctuation,something a person I know who helps  people stay on track but who also does private English tuition recognizes is a weakness of mine with the work covering capitalization, clauses  and phrases amongst many things.
Sunday saw the return of Math dealing with the efficient use of calculators and what the keys really do, like I didn't know what the +/- key was for(!), working out formulas which was very hard and  ordering Decimals which isn't like the Hallway Monitor bellowing at you if you're going to fast or not in line, which is something that sure happened at my school.
I got 100% in the first and last areas and just 66% with formulas but even getting that was a minor miracle compared  to how I used to be and shows just much changing how I'm treated and at the same time giving me proper support and guidance can help

I'm also working in some discomfort cos I hurt my small toe yesterday with the inward top bit nearer the foot hitting a hard plastic object as I lost my footing, getting up quicker than perhaps I should of, not really thinking. I'll spare you a picture but a small portion of is definitely bruised (it's black!!!) and while I'm a bit better today, last night I was limping on my right foot! This is not what I'm needing for later on in the week.

Weekend studying

Another weekend goes and can you imagine what I've been doing over two days in this cold and snowy time?

 Yes, I had double studying this weekend where I actually had just sit down and work my grey socks off rather than either being distracted by other stuff online or otherwise and actual get started on time as I have from now on...
Is that an offstage Ow you hear? (lol).
So on Saturday in English I was working on backing up points by using quotations and getting to grips with making sense of Shakespeare, being able to read extracts from plays and make out what really is happening to the point of being able to show I understood  what I had read.
Shakespeare isn't like me  just coming out with it even with a bit of diplomatic license, it's often wrapped around long poetic descriptions and anything but direct.
I did manage to get every question right this week as well as drawing neat boxes to make the tables to put some of the answers in.
During the week the Ks 3 Math study and workbook arrived which could mean one thing, that like it or not I had Math to work on  and was required to get myself a Geometry set and traditional exercise book to write my work in on Friday when it had been snowing.
Can you imagine it, a increasing number of exercise books with "Joanne, [Subject] Month/Year and Form: 1EB" written neatly on the front that I am to fill out over the year?
Sunday I had to tackle Math starting on what you'd call basic number work such as how you put numbers in order to express them as Math and in English as well as size before moving on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division featuring patterns, multiplying and dividing  in decimal units which cause my fears to multiply(!) as well how to multiply and divide numbers like 20, 300, 800 which I can't recall being shown not that being truthful I'd of paid that much attention to back in the day.
I'm also working through Multiples, Factors and odd, even, squared and cubed numbers too and it's all starting sink in as although this is hard for me, I did actually manage it, even going back over one calculation three times until I spotted where I was going wrong which was very good for me as I'd of thrown the pencil at you cursing until very recently.
In a way it really underscores where the work on my attitudes and behaviour slots in because it's not that this isn't hard  for me but it is something with support I can grasp but didn't want saying in effect "Too hard, why even try" which is why a very strict line has and is taken with me.
It actually shows that with a no-nonsense approach when it's coupled with support and guidance I am able to do things, that I have abilities I can use and from now on I'm to put a real effort into trying. 

I CAN DO MORE WITH THE RIGHT HELP WHEN I ALLOW OTHERS TO HELP ME
That is what being a responsible disabled adult middle is all about

Also my BFF checked in during the days to see how I was getting on, like actually getting started and I did the same for her which does seem to work well for both of us and she did well too.