If you’ve done something small like forgetting your pencil in class or getting caught with a snack, you have little to worry about. Simply do as your teacher asks to fix the problem and then move on. There is no need to fixate on the problem and make yourself worried and distracted from the rest of the class.  For example, you might tell yourself something like “Everyone makes mistakes. I’ll do better next time.” Keep in mind that repeatedly doing small things might lead you to be in more trouble than if you just do it once. If you continue to worry, you’ll be distracted and more likely to get into trouble again. You might feel like you can lie your way out of the situation, but that rarely works. You are far better off to own up to your actions and accept responsibility. This way, your teachers are more likely to think that you are taking the situation seriously and will respect you more. You may have gotten caught breaking a rule, and now your mind has gone straight to the worst possible scenario. Instead, think about anyone else in the school that has done something similar. Try to remember what their punishment was like, or if they had one at all. This will be a good indicator as to what kind of trouble you are in. Even if you get in trouble a time or two, your life isn’t over. Avoid the urge to create a doomsday scenario in your mind. You will still be able to graduate, have a good career, and lead a happy life.

Summary: Forgive yourself for minor offenses. Avoid compounding the situation. Try to recall anyone else that committed the same offense. See the big picture.


Before you start planning your family game night, decide on a day and time frame that works for everyone. Family game night should be attended by your whole family, so check with everyone in your household to find out when would work best for everyone. Make sure that your family members know that their presence is important to you and that family game night wouldn’t be the same if someone was missing. Once you have nailed down a day and time that will work for everyone, figure out what games everyone wants to play. If everyone agrees on a game, that’s great! But if not, you may need to take a vote or select a game at random. Keep in mind that some games take less than an hour to play, so you may be able to play few different games and make everyone happy. Some popular choices for family game night include:  Monopoly Pictionary Apples to Apples Scrabble Sorry Candyland Clue Cranium Jenga It’s a great idea to have some things to munch on during family game night. Ask your family members what snacks they would like to have around to munch on. Or, you might even want to eat dinner during your family game night. Choose something easy to eat while playing a game such as pizza or sandwiches. Try having everyone help prepare dinner or snacks to kick off the family game night. Make sure that you choose a good location to play your games on family game night. There should be enough room for everyone to sit and the location should work with the board game. For example, if you plan to play Monopoly, then sitting at the kitchen table might be the best way to go. But if you plan to play Pictionary, the living room might be a better setting. Do you plan to invite any family members who are no longer living in your house? Do you need to purchase a game? Think about any other things that you need to do to get ready for the game night.

Summary: Figure out the best day and time to have your game night. Poll family members on what games they want to play. Decide on snacks. Choose a place to play. Consider other aspects of the game night that will require planning.


Several schools, programming companies or other sources have created websites that will very easily calculate covariance values for you. Using any search engine, enter the search term “covariance calculator.” Read the instructions on the website carefully to make sure that you enter your data properly. It is important that your data pairs are kept in order, or you will generate an incorrect covariance result. Different websites have different styles for entering your data.  For example, at the website http://ncalculators.com/statistics/covariance-calculator.htm, there is a horizontal box for entering x-values and a second horizontal box for entering y-values. You are instructed to enter your terms, separated only by commas. Thus, the x-data set that was calculated earlier in this article would be entered as 1,3,2,5,8,7,12,2,4. The y-data set would be 8,6,9,4,3,3,2,7,7. At another site, https://www.thecalculator.co/math/Covariance-Calculator-705.html, you are prompted to enter your x-data in the first box. Data is entered vertically, with one item per line. Therefore, the entry on this site would look like: 1 3 2 5 8 7 12 2 4 The attraction of these calculation sites is that after you enter your data, you generally need only to click on the button that says “Calculate,” and the results will appear automatically. Most sites will provide you with the intermediate calculations of the x(avg), y(avg), and n.

Summary: Search the Internet for covariance calculators. Enter your data. Calculate your results.


. Unlocks Dry Bones.
Summary: Win the 100cc Leaf Cup or race in 1,050 races.