Slow and Steady

My son is what I would call a reluctant reader and writer.  I'm not sure if it started because of how much of it his kindergarten teacher had him do or if it's just in his DNA (his Dad was the same way till he was 8 or 9).  Whatever the case, this is one of the primary reasons I have decided to homeschool this year and it is also the reason I have decided to unschool.

My son loves to learn.  He just loves to watch and hear about things rather than read and write about them.  Luckily our new library has all kinds of resources which have made this easier.  Not only do they have LOADS of educational DVD's they also have these small video sets (think portable DVD player but with the information pre-loaded) that he thinks are SO cool.  My son has also participated in the Dog Tales program and wants to do it again (score one for me!).  Unfortunately we are on the wait list for the next session (first on the list, so I'm hopeful).

Before I decided to unschool, I had signed my kids up for 2 classes with a local homeschool group.  I decided not to pull them out of these classes because I figured it would give them an opportunity to interact with other kids, but would also force a little structure into their schooling in the form of homework.  The fact that the class that has the homework was Lego's was a plus because I figured it would give my son some added incentive. 

It has not worked quite as well as I'd hoped, but we are slowly finding our groove.  I've found that I need to stretch it out over a few days and break it up into chunks within the day as well.  For whatever reason, my son really dislikes to write so I am also allowing him to type rather than write.  Oddly enough this has made it much more bearable for him (and in my opinion is much more useful since most people correspond on a computer anyway).

I have had a little more success with the reading however.  Besides enjoying the Dog Tales program, I have also been able to get him to read to me just about every night before bed for the last 2 weeks.  The only reason it hasn't been every night is usually because it's late and I tell him no.  He's not reading a lot, but it is certainly a start.

Each time I run into a problem, I tell myself "Slow and Steady Wins the Race."  He is a VERY smart kid and I know we will get past this phase.  I just can't wait for him to realize it himself.