Speaking from the Heart

I am not only who is looking forward to Friday. Mark is too. While he was studying for PSAT, his school load was light. However, this changed after he took the exam. He began his 7 daily subjects on Monday. Although it has been a big adjustment, he has been a trooper.

I made several changes to his curriculum. For starters, he has to read out loud and discuss literature with me. I am also spending more time with him in different subjects. He doesn't care for this, because I slow him down.

Since Mark is in middle school, I am holding him more accountable for his syllabus. He has to finish his daily work. If he decides to take a break and go to the park for the afternoon, he knows he has to finish his work when he comes home. Sometimes it means no computer nor T.V. for the night.

Twice this week, Jeff observed Mark's laboratory experiments. It is great to hear Jeff challanging Mark with questions like " what kind of gas is emitted from the combination of baking soda and vinegar? Why does the liquid of red cabbage turns blue, when ice cubes are a added to its boiling water?" Having Jeff around motivated me to also challange Mark. When an experiment doesn't come out right, I have learned that it is okay to redo an experiment. The feeling of accomplishment outweights the time spent redoing the experiment.

I might be a little hard on Mark, but I am training him to become a leader of tomorrow.

Mark, Katherine & I went to Chuck E. Cheese for a timeout from shopping. Each kid received 25 coins. When Mark used his last coin, he asked me for one more.

My heart was torn between granting and not granting his wish. I could spoil him this one time. After all, it was only one coin. There was no harm in fulfilling his request. Then again, was I teaching him to enjoy the present and not worry about the future?

Of course, I didn't want to teach Mark the latter. I explained to him that it was all right to have fun. At the same time, he must be wise with his money. If he wanted to play a new game, he should have saved the last coin.

As a parent, It is my responsibility to prepare Mark for adulthood. I would rather teach him about money now, than having him learn it by trial and error.

After the birthday slumber party, this is going to be an easy week. Grandma is coming to town. When Grandma is around, it means " we shop until we drop". It is usually the kids and I who drop first. Although it was hard to concentrate on school, we managed to put in two days of schooling.

Katherine finished her American History chapter and seatwork. Mark continued to prepare for his PSAT. Mark and Katherine usually are not in school during Grandma's visits. I account for Grandma's twice a year visits in their schooling. I call it "The Grandma Factor". Since Mark's PSAT is in two weeks, he will continue to prepare for it while she is here.

In addition to studying for PSAT, Mark started Apologia General Science. He likes Apologia better than last year's science textbook. It is written in a format of a history. Mark, a history buff, absorbs the material like a sponge. I like Apologia, because it has hands-on experiments, and I can find the supplies around my house. Mark performed first lab experiement, density in nature, in our kitchen. As you might have drawn to a conclusion, our kitchen has been converted to a science lab during school hours.