HOMESCHOOLING OF GRANDSON JACK~ONE YEAR PROGRESS REPORT

We get asked frequently about grandson Jack's homeschooling and are pleased to give a progress report.

It's been one year since Jack's dad pulled him out of first grade and BISD with a letter to the principal of Skinner Elementary.

Jack in his classroom

That letter is the primary legal requirement in the State of Texas to homeschool your child, along with some very basic curriculum requirements.

During Jack's first year as a homeschooler, he completed the 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade workbooks, but it's not a race.  

I ordered a separate set of 4th grade workbooks from a different publisher as Jack was being challenged somewhat at that level so no need to rush.

When assignments are too easy, students don't learn to apply themselves.  The fourth grade material is beginning to make 7 year old Jack work and think a bit.

For example, today, the assignment from the reading comprehension workbook asked the student to write an acrostic poem using the word "mouse."

"This might take me all day!"  Jack complained.

An acrostic poem is simply a poem where a word is written vertically along the left side of the poem with one letter of that word starting each line. 

"Forget about the whole line.  Just get a word that starts with that letter and go from there," I told him.  

After figuring out a subject he was actually interested in, he worked this one out in about three minutes, writing it out in cursive:

Minecraft is a game
Obsidian exists
Underground mines
Sending some creations
Ending it off

I don't know what that means, but it fulfilled the assignment.

Yet, Jack has educational gaps.  Today, in a lesson on antonyms, he only recognized old as an antonym for new, but not used as another antonym.

I realized that Jack didn't discern between a new car and a used one.  To him, cars are cars.  That's consistent with his life experience so far and his dad's values.

When I was Jack's age, we were in the era of planned obsolescence.  A '55 Chevy was obsolete the minute the '56's came out.  Most kids of that era, the boys especially, could distinguish the year and model of almost any car within 100 yards with the grill, fins, tail light configuration, etc. changing each model year.

Jack's dad, Diego Lee Rot, taught Jack to use a Korg Drum Machine.  Diego wanted Jack to show off a drum line he created, starting with a beat, then adding layers.  

"That's great Jack!" grandpa and grandma said.

Jack completed 8 pages in three different workbooks in two hours, our normal school day.

Grandpa doesn't believe in 8 hour school days and is working without a contract.