Git 'er done!!

Okay, here's my biggest homeschool problem this year. So far.

The Boy is doing his work, but only when I sit next to him. It's not like he can't type the rough draft of a paragraph into the computer by himself -- it's just more fun when I'm along for the ride. Ditto working on a chapter of Life of Fred. Ditto working a few pages of critical thinking. I can leave him with the work, come back a half-hour later, and he will have spent the half hour waiting for me to come back. Oh sure, I've made it clear to him that it's *his* job, not mine. I refresh his memory every five minutes. "Read me what you've got so far." "Are you finished yet?" Nothing works.

I suppose I could just give him a half-hour to do his math and go on. If he doesn't finish his math by dinner, he, what, has to eat it for breakfast? Geez, he's 10! I shouldn't have to sit with him. He is, in fact, mama's little baby, but you'd think that self-respect would kick in eventually. God knows the world does not supply each of us with our own cheering section.

Don't even think about his reading a chapter of science and answering the questions -- all reading of new material must be done with The Mom.

Speaking of which, I think his reading (The Trojan War) is too hard for him. I spend more time explaining what the material means than I do reading. Past the impossibly hard vocabulary, he just doesn't understand the nuances of the plot. If Agamemnon can't get a favorable wind for his attack on Troy, the assembled armies will melt away, and he'll be the laughingstock of the ancient world. In addition, to gain this favorable wind, the prophet says he has to sacrifice his daughter to Artemis. His pride was more important to him than his daughter, so he commits a terrible atrocity, thereby starting the war on a bad note. And so on. He likes mythology, but I think this one is beyond him.

I'm thinking My Side of the Mountain or Poppy. We really liked the first of the Warrior series, but I'm not sure he's up for another. All the books I liked as a child are "girl" books, and I didn't like any of the "boy" books. So I also picked up Phantom Tollbooth, and I'll be trying to convince him that A Wrinkle in Time has girls in it, but is not a "girl" book. Ditto Caddie Woodlawn, but less so.

Let's hear it for Amazon free shipping!