Behind again but catching up!

I was really hoping that my son would be through with his school work by this time but he still has a few things left to do. He has three books to read. I have downloaded book studies for two of these books that I wanted him to do with them. Now I'm thinking that I will just have him read the books and have him write up his thoughts on the books. Now that's an idea. Have him read the books then write his thoughts on them into his blog. I can kill two birds with one stone so to speak. I've been wanting him to write stuff on his blog but didn't know what. What a great idea! I knew that if I starting writing about something, I'd come up with something else. I know that doesn't make sense. What is something? My old 11th grade English teacher used to get on to me about using the word "thing". She always asked what was that "thing". I still do the same "thing". lol!

But back to the school year. He has completed most of his school work. He's still working on the computer lessons but that isn't any big deal. Mostly it's the books. I am trying to get him to read more. I wasn't into reading at his age either. It wasn't until I got older that I started reading. Now that I am older still, I find that I can't keep my mind on my reading and end up losing interest in it. I have so many new books that I really want to read and finish but I just can't get into them like I use to. That makes me sad. But I'm getting off subject again.

We will beginning our new school year in a few weeks (Aug. 1st). I would really like to get these books read before then. I guess it's not a big deal except it will mean that he has extra work to do. Instead of concentrating on his new school year, he will have both years to do. I don't think he will care if reading these books will overlap into the new school year. He's pretty flexible about it. I guess I should ask him. I know he'll say to just let him skip reading the books (and before I have discarded some of the lessons) but I really want him to read them. I think it's important for him to read these books not just because they will improve his literary knowledge but it will help him in his reading ability.

It's partly my fault. I didn't make sure that he was on task. I got sidetracked again by other people in our lives when I shouldn't have. I should have been concentrating on him and his school and I didn't. Now I'm paying for that mistake.

I've been working on all the preparations for next year. I'm getting all the forms I'll need printed and filled out. Now I've got to sit down and start working on lesson plans. We both decided on a chart that is for each individual subject but covers the whole week. He'll have individual binders for each subject, so all he'll have to do is open that binder, and there's his chart showing what is to be done for that week. Each chart will cover 6-weeks so it will be easy to keep track of when the next break/grading period is. I really think this will be easier for him and me too. I will only have to just take the binder I need to look at and will be able to go right to the work that needs to be checked. Before I had to look through several pages in order to find what I was looking for. Plus the chart has lots of room for me to write his assignments. Most of the pages have separate columns for the books or materials we will be using, so I will be able to write in exactly what he is to do from just that book. He said last years assignment sheet was just too small. There wasn't enough room for me to write assignments in that didn't make it hard for him to read. I'm going to type in his assignments this year but I'm sure there will be times when I have to handwrite something in.

I've got all of his curriculum except Biology. I am planning on contacting the publisher of the textbook I want to use to find out info about accessing the website. The book itself looks pretty good but there is stuff for him to do on their "classroom" website that I want him to be able to do also. If that is only accessible to public school students, then I will have to find another book which I don't look forward to doing. He's not into science but I want this year to be more interesting than previously. He did mention that he'd rather be doing chemistry but I don't want to get into that until his 11th grade. I'm trying to stay along the same lines as the public schools when it comes to what they study when. I know last year I ventured away from that when he took Earth Science but it was one of the suggestions from another place. He is also doing Algebra I over again. Not because he "failed" it but because he didn't quite grasp it. I just feel that he needs more practice. If he zips through the Algebra and finally understands it, then we will move on to Geometry. He will have a lot to do this coming year but I don't think he'll mind too much. He won't be bored that's for sure! He will have several books to read along with doing the literature study called Movies as Literature. I think he'll like that class even if he doesn't care for some of the movies. Maybe after watching the movies, he'll want to read the book to find out what they left out! His history is just a continuation of the book we used last year. He said he didn't mind this book. We will add some other supplements to the course. Then there's Geography. I've got the Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide that I have been really trying to use since I first got it a couple of years ago. I am going to use the country study that's in it for this year. Then in 11th grade, I will use the history section to study U.S. history. I don't plan on buying an actual textbook for that. He's already learned so much U.S. history over the years that anything he does now is just a refresher. We can delve into a topic that piques his interest at anytime. I know he has an interest in wars...Civil War, WWI & II, Vietnam and quite possibly some that he has heard of but can't remember. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The UGTG has got a good country study section. He doesn't know the location of most countries (and I can't tell you the names of some of them since they have changed since I was in school). He will also be learning about manners and etiquette. He is kind of rude at times (what teenager isn't?) but he also needs to learn how to act in different situations so that mom isn't embarrassed! lol! He'll continue with his theater and chorus at Arts Fifth Avenue. He was so wonderful in the play he did and he has come so far in his socialization skills. I'm so proud of him. A friend is suppose to be starting a Y.A.G. group for our area and I think he'll really enjoy that too since he has mentioned becoming a lawyer (what happened to being a writer?). Y.A.G. is "Youth and Government" and it's sponsored by the YMCA. He'll be learning about all aspects of government and will get to use the house and senate at the state capital! Woohoo! He has also stated that he'd like to learn Italian now. What happened to Japanese? He said that Japanese is too hard although he still wants to learn it. Italian is fine by me. Maybe my friend Judy can help him with that. I'm not too good with learning a new language but having lived in Italy for 2 1/2 years, I can kind of understand some of the words. Once we get logged in to Rosette Stone through our library, he can study any language he wants. Just so he sticks with a language for longer than a few months. It would be more useful if he learned Spanish, but not necessary. He is also going to learning more about the computer. His dad brought home a CD on Visual Basic. I want him to also learn more about html and designing web pages. In this day and age almost everyone can make their own web page. I showed him how and where to past codes into his MySpace. He picked it up pretty easy but then it is pretty easy to post stuff to your MySpace. Designing a web page is different unless you use a premade page. So we will look into those two things. The Visual Basic may be something that he and his dad can do on the weekends. Only if his dad lets him do it instead of making him sit there and watch which is what he normally does (how did his dad ever become an instructor for the military??? lol!).

Well my computer keeps bringing up this pop-up window wanting me to restart my computer so the updates can go into affect. It's really starting to bug me so I guess I'll let it do it. I'll write more later on my progress with pre-school year preparations.