Oliver Kent comes from Sydney. He’s a thirteen-year-old student, but he doesn’t go to school. He is homeschooled(在家上学).

Oliver says, “I love being homeschooled. Dad doesn’t _______, so he has enough time to be my teacher. I study at home with him, and we sometimes go to museums and ________ what we see.

In Australia, Canada and many other countries, homeschooling is very______. Lots of parents and children like it. But can parents homeschool their children in every country in the world? No. Brazil, Greece and some other countries _______ “no” to homeschooling.

“What about ________?” People often ask me that question, says Oliver “I have lots of friends. Most of them go to school and that’s the ________ thing for them. My friend Ella also studies at ________. Her mother teaches her. We often discuss(讨论) things about homeschooling.”

Does Oliver think he is ________ other thirteen-year-olds? “Of course not. I watch the same things on TV as other kids my age. I play the same games. I worry about the same things and I eat the same food! I learn the same things. I just learn them in a different way. It’s the only difference.”

Where can you go shopping in the UK, if you don’t have much money? Read on to find out the answer.

Charity(慈善) shops

There are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK. And people like shopping there. Things in these shops are cheap. When you buy something, the money will go to help people in need. Oxfam is one of these shops. People often buy different kinds of things there. Then Oxfam uses the money to help poor people around the world.

Car boot sales(备销售)

What do British people do with their old things? They often take them to a car boot sale on Saturdays and Sundays! People like shopping in this way. Because they never know what they may find at the sale. Someone bought an old picture there with £1 and later found it was worth(值) £500,000!

Swap shops

Do you want to get some new clothes without(没有) spending any money? The answer is a swap hop! Your clothes have to be of good quality(质量) and look new. Then you can swap clothes with others. Swap shops are popular with fashionable people.

The website (网站) nationaldaycalendar.com has many special days. Everyone can send ideas to the website. The website can get about 10,000 ideas a year, but it only accepts 20 to 25. It only chooses (选择) those everyone can enjoy or be part of.

There is a day for almost every interest (兴趣). Some are funny. If you want to know more about the special days, let’s have a look!

National Middle Child Day

If you are a middle child in your family, then August 12th is your day!

It’s Middle Child Day. It’s a nice thing to both have a bigger brother or sister and a little one. Celebrate it with your family on that day. That day is also World Elephant Day. Elephants are kind and strong. They should have a special day, right? You can watch a movie about the big animal on that day.

Tell A Joke (笑话) Day

Four days after Middle Child Day is Tell A Joke Day. Some people think that jokes have a history of about 4,000 years. We cannot live without jokes today. When times get hard, a good joke will save the day! They make us happy and our days become beautiful and bright because of them. So on Tell A Joke Day remember to tell a joke to the people around you.

There are many other special days on the website. Just put the interesting days on your own calendar (日历), and then celebrate them.