Day Fifty Six

My time out with some girlfriends yesterday was good for the soul. It marked the first time I'd left since we started home schooling.  I felt really really odd leaving Banker at his computer with his schedule and heading out to lunch with ladies.  He's fine to be here alone of course, he's 12 and when I was 12 I was babysitting, late into the night, very small children. It's the fact he's doing school.  Learning school?  Taking school?  Hmm, what is the right description.  In any event, he's in school and it felt odd leaving him to it, happy learning dear! ?

I guess he doesn't use me for too much of his English classes but at least I'm here for reference, for conversation for clarification.  I'm not sure I'll be dashing out too often while he's still working.  I'll just go later in the day so he can be closer to finishing up and I feel less like I'm leaving him to totally self teach, which he is but at least it's when I'm here.

The boy worked hard yesterday and today.  He got up before 7 and worked on his English studies until well after I got back.  He worked through into some of his scheduled Wednesday work as well, social studies, because we are going on a field trip that day and he didn't want the work to pile up on him this week.  I checked his online stats and he didn't do as well as he could have.  We are both having a bit of trouble taking the one subject too seriously and I need to rectify it.  We did have  discussion about the ever looming Texas History book he brought home from school and the final verdict is he can work through it at his leisure, it's grade less and he doesn't have to do the charts inside it.  He said he will peruse it ?  hahaha  when he has empty bits in his days.  That works for me.

I was very pleased he'd taken the initiative and did some of the work scheduled for Wednesday without any input from me, he's a hard worker, that one.

He spent a long time on the porch, out back, on the newly laid out seating area working through his English workbook. He likes working out there and I'm delighted we worked to fix it up for us to use daily and with guests!  It's a giant porch, 44 feet or something and we've broken it into thirds...

One end is the hammock and bbq end.  The other end is the plants and green end.
 
The middle section is the seating, fridge, tv and hanging about enjoying the shade in Texas area.  There are ceiling fans on both end sections which keeps it very breezy through the whole area.

It's one heck of a classroom if you ask me.

Again, he laid out there for a couple of hours with the dog laying by his side while he read taking periodic breaks to just sit and look at the trees, the sun, the wind blowing.  It was quite magical to spy on him.

I think the home school thing is growing on him daily.  I think he's "getting" it.  I think he's loving it.

Today is the big review math test, three chapters from the new pre-algebra he started and hasn't looked at in a week.  I'm really interested to see the results.  It might have significant bearing on whether we continue to have math just once per week.  I am happy with all the other subjects having chunks of time between but not math.

He doesn't seem too worried ;-) I am so very proud of him and his work ethic and his study habits.  I don't think we could pull this off if he was any other sort of kid. I'll be honest, I look at some of the kids I know and think there's no way they'd have the experience the Banker is having.

I think he still thinks he isn't learning quite so much, I know his Latin is falling behind and he did love it, I may need to find a video lesson program for him there, the book and online subscription aren't doing it for him and he does love it.  On the whole he's learning so much he can't comprehend it I think, his language is different, his terminology and turns of phrase, it's all changing and whether he notices or not, I certainly do.

He sang yesterday.  He sang today.  He danced, he giggled, he is happy.  THIS is the life I wanted him to have.

/Tracy