Day 117

Home Schooled by a Fool

With the curriculum about half complete, today marked the beginning of the eldest's formal education at the hands of his father.  It seems as though the "ion" theme from yesterday has carried over for one more day.  The eldest has been battling a stomach ailment over the course of the past couple of days.  The ailment?  Constipat"ion".  With a system full of prune juice and all other known natural remedies, he didn't quite feel comfortable attending school today in the event the dam broke at an unfortunate time.  I know the importance of the home court advantage, so I obliged his request to stay home.  Education, however, would not go without attention and I decided it was high time to get his new program underway.  His summer will be filled with all of those subjects not addressed in the French school system.  English, American History and Economics will be our primary focus with additional attention given to advanced mathmatics that he wouldn't likely get even in the States until 5th or 6th grade.  He is a math wiz and I don't have any doubts he is up to the task.  I already have a reading list set for him and his first book report is due in two weeks.  Poor kid thought dad would be an easy mark.  How hard could it be?  Today he found out I was serious and it wouldn't be easy.  To his credit, he quite willingly did his work and did so within the strict timeline I provided.  I am proud of him for his respect for the formality with which I am carrying out this process.  I am not his dad and he is not my son.  I am his teacher and he is my pupil.  It went so well, in fact, that I am in the process of creating a program for the youngest as well.

Now it is just a matter of obtaining a couple of student desks and a nice whiteboard to complete my classroom.  Both of my children enjoy learning, so I doubt that I will receive much resistance to this process.  The truth of the matter is, I should have been doing this all along, even while they were attending school in the States.  I firmly believe that the best thing you can do for your kids is give them a thirst for knowledge and a green light to ask questions.  No question is too absurd and all questions deserve a learned response.  My eldest's favorite past time these days is the "what if" question that comes after any explanation given.  It is clear the gears are turning and his Socratic methodology appeals to the Lawyer in me.  As a parent, some days I find the constant inquisition frustrating and I easily become impatient with it.  I do my best, however, to stop what I am doing and give whatever the question he poses my utmost attention.  I already know he is smarter than I am, I just have to keep him from realizing this fact for a couple of more years.

The rest of the day would be spent photographing Madame Chabou's Reform School for Girls for the ole scrapbook so we can spend the next two weeks tearing breaking everything down and packing it for our next move.  While we are on the subject of education, I have also re-focused myself on the self study of the French language.  Things are going well and I feel like my language skills are progressing daily.  I am also pleased to report that my cooking skills are progressing as well.  The last several dishes I have prepared were a hit with the family and I find the challenge of it quite entertaining.  That is about all I have for now.  No real witty remarks or grand revelations to share, just another day as Mr. Mom in a foreign land.  Until tomorrow.