Sophmoritis?

The kid is not to blame... we are both not as gung ho as we were in the beginning of the year. He got behind and so did I, but we are trying to make it up. The best part is that even though he has not been all in with the school program, he still has been learning through reading and playing video games. YES! Video games can be educational!

He is still up for learning to write Japanese and he found a video game that will help him (I'm not surprised, are you?). He is not going to buy it until it goes on sale though. Smart kid. He has also decided he wants to cook without me or Dad in the kitchen with him. He is going to experiment with different foods which I think is a fantastic idea. 

Even though we are not entirely focused on the school work, we are still learning practical skills. This is the best part about homeschooling... it is fluid and all up to you. We are going to finish the school year strong even though we have gotten off course this semester because homeschooling is what you want it to be - nothing more, nothing less.  

Happy Homeschooling!

Taking Initiative

So, we're eating dinner tonight and the kid says to me, "Mom, you'll be so proud of me..." I'm thinking, "I'm always proud of you" but instead I quip, "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"I'm using my journal to learn to write Japanese. There are three alphabets - I'm on the first one." He then goes into an explanation of each of the three alphabets for me and his father. After dinner, he shows us his journal. He is doing a great job so far even though, as he says, he is not good at drawing. (Side note: it irritates me that someone said that to him. I don't want to assume it was a teacher but I have little faith that it wasn't.) His dad asks if he'd rather have ruled paper and he says he would. He also asks if I have a clipboard. I'm trying not to jump for joy at this point (paper and a clipboard... for the kid who does his math homework in Paint. In. Paint. With his mouse. You see where I'm coming from?).

I bring him the clipboard and the notebook paper and he tells me he's now working on something different (he spent the afternoon on Japanese). In the video game he just taught me how to play there is a dragon language which he wants to learn. Best part of that language is for every letter of our alphabet is a corresponding letter in Dragon. A bit easier than Japanese.

When I left him just now he was learning how to write his name in Dragon. I told him that once he got to a point where he was comfortable, I could teach him how to write it all in calligraphy. He seemed pretty excited about that. Imagine that... Excited about writing!

Freshman year is... not done yet

  Yes, I realize it's July but I've had a lot going on outside of homeschooling. I'm going to leave it at that.

  The only subject he's not finished with is math. Teaching Textbooks hasn't worked out for us leaving me to wonder how I'm going to finish up math for him (hence, why it's July and he's still not finished).

  I'm confident I will come up with something though. In the meantime, I have to talk about my success with a writing assignment! I had him read The Catcher in the Rye and write a book report. Getting this kid to write a report is like pulling teeth. You would think I was asking him to saw off his right arm with a spoon with the way he reacts to the words "book report". It would be quite comical if it weren't so frustrating. Thankfully, no argument for this past request and the paper he wrote wasn't bad! 

  He will be done with math before the end of July. If I type it, so shall it be.