School of Dad - faculty Blog

Day 146

2009-04-30T17:37:00.001-07:00

Ben and I were working on learning some Flash programming this afternoon. I have not done any programming in a while and enjoyed doing it again. I think Ben could be a good programmer. He likes structure and routine but also likes to tinker, test, and extend what he has learned.

Today:

Math Chapter 8 review
Newsletter Article
Ansel Chapter 7
Betta Project
Recipe

Days 141-145

2009-04-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

Visitors for a family event have made it difficult for us to find much rythum the last few days. We had a more typical day and hope to get some things accomplished over the next couple of days.

Day 140 - Functioning

2009-04-22T03:29:00.000-07:00

In math today I introduced the concept of f(x). Until now we have been talking about functions of the form y=mx+b. Today we modified that to f(x)=mx+b. Yes, they are essentially the same. Ben developed a mental block about the change. We had to set it aside and came back to it later but he still was frustrated by it. We will make a run at it again tomorrow.

Today:

Library Trip
Math 8-7
Ansel Adams blog
Betta Project
Flash to Web

Day 139 - Focus

2009-04-20T18:09:00.001-07:00

Other things going on at home unrelated to Ben and school have made school difficult to concentrate on lately. Despite competing anxiety, we had some good moments today. Ben has been struggling with a particular math concept and we made a breaktrhrough on that. We also got out next Newsletter outlined.

Things will continue to be difficult over the next couple of weeks but we will keep moving ahead.

Today:

Reviewed Math 8-5
Worked on Betta Project Board
Outline Newsletter
Read Adams chapter 5 and responded to blog
learned about John Muir

Day 138 - Obscura 2

2009-04-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

After telling my science teacher brother about our results with the camera Obscura yesterday he suggested that we do something additional. Yesterday we were looking at the image projected on a white board. Today I made a frame that I mounted a tissue paper on. Then the image was projected on the tissue and we viewed it from the other side. This greatly enhanced what we saw. The most important part was that we saw the shape of thie image. I was not circular like the hole. Instead it was rectangular - like the window. We took turns going out in the driveway and running around so it could be watched. It was a very fun afternoon.

Today

Math 8-5 need to review
Card for Shovana
Baked Pie
Camera Obscura
Betta status
Blog Response

Day 136 & 137 - Obscura

2009-04-17T03:14:00.000-07:00

(Did not add a note yesterday.) It was a rather strange day at the School of Dad today because of a number of factors that had nothing to do with the school. Those items were mostly lowlights. The highlight of the day was building a Camera Obscura in Ben's room. We covered his window with black plastic, create a small hole, a were thrilled to see an upside down image of the view out the window appear on a foam board. It was cool and fun.

Today

Math 8-4
Betta Research
Camera Obscura
Adams Chapter 4
Other misc

Day 135 - Perspective

2009-04-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

As the lightbulb went on in Ben's while we worked on math today he said, "Some math concepts are crazy until you look at them in a different way."

Today

Ansel Adams
- Yosemite
- Pandemic Flu
- Sierra Club
- Math Problem
Math 8-4
Betta Research
Spelling Test
Camera Obscura
Music Lesson

Day 134 - Context

2009-04-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

While a three day weekend does not qualify as a break, Ben and I still were a bit out of sorts getting going today. Our work is currently centered on an Ansel Adams biography that we are reading. Today I had him read the chapter and suggest topics from the chapter that we could explore to put it in better context. It is impossible for a 12 year old (or 46 year old) to understand what life was like nearly 100 years ago. I am glad that he is enjoying the book and identifying essential elements.

Today

Read Chapter 3 of Adams book. Wrote Blog entry
Worked on Research for his Betta Fish Project (independant)
Math 8-3

Day 133 - Letters

2009-04-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ben has been responsible for writing someone a letter each week. Early in the year he typed the letters. Since the beginning of this year he has handwritten them. (I have come to believe that handwriting is important in that it requires you to be connected to the page more directly then typing does.) One byproduct of handwriting has been that then content of his latest letters has been lacking. (I could review and request changes to the typed version.) I am focusing more on content now. Today he wrote a list to Kris about a book idea he had. I thought it was a significant improvement over other recent work but still could have used a rewrite. I am not sure if I will ask for a draft in the future.

Today

long morning walk to coffee store
while there wrote letter (him to Kris, me to Vet)
Review Math 8-2 (not ready to move on to 8-3)
Looked for Recipe
Discussed Newsletter
Worked on Betta Project.

Day 132 - World Fair

2009-04-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Ben and I have begun reading the book "Ansel Adams - America's Photographer" by Beverly Gherman. In the second chapter it notes how his father pulled his hyperactive son from school to homeschool him. When Adams was 12 his father bought him a pass to the 1915 Pan-American Exhibition in San Francisco (where they lived). The fathers bought the pass expectng that his son would school himself there (supplemented by some music and other work at home).

When I asked Ben what he would have thought about that arrangement he said it it would have seemed a bit like cheating. I assured him that Ansel was curious enough to take advantage of that opportunity.

We chose this book on a bit of a lark but we are both enjoying it. I am not sure Ben can appreciate how different the world was in 1915 - yet how much the ability to be successful is a product of the same basic personal skills.

Today

Math 8-2
Betta Project - organize research
Ansel Adams Chapter 2
researched Pan-Pacific Exhibition.
Vocab
Easter Letters
Gym Class

Day 131 - No Dog

2009-04-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

Our day felt a bit wierd today (every day has been feeling a bit wierd to me lately but that is another story) because our dog was not here. He is at the Vet being treated for heart worm. The treatment is serious and I was worried about him but so far he is doing fine.

We felt some momentum on our new projects which I hope will continue to build as the week goes by.

Today:

Began Chapter 8 in Math
Worked of Vocab 15 (first two pages)
Worked on Betta Project:
- added cards
- organized data into a binder
Ansel Adams project continued to evolve.
- began writing note card for each chapter
- gathered things into one binder.
- wrote blog response
- signed up for Flicker.
Got some Easter cards ready for this weeks letters

Day 130 - New Book

2009-04-06T16:20:00.002-07:00

We began reading a new book today - Ansel Adams, America's Photographer. This is our first non-fiction read. I am trying to work on a variety of connections. This week we are looking briefly at the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and th 1915 Pan-Pacific Worlds Fair. Ben will have a weekly photo project. It will take us 6 weeks to read the book. I am pondering finishing the year by having him write a autobiography.

Today:

Math Chapter 407 Review
Begin Vocab 15
Betta Projects - review sorces, begin note cards
Mail letter to Flower Lady
Review Flash
Discuss Photo Project

Day 129 - Inadvertantly Forgot

2009-04-06T16:20:00.001-07:00

Day 128 - Limping Along

2009-04-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

It has been a tough week as we try to find rythum again. Ben's sickness yesterday did not help either of us. Today some unrelated news regarding the dog got me preoccupied - which was the last thing I needed. On the plus side, some of our projects are coming together in design and things should get humming soon.

Today:

Review Math Chapter 10, Test for homework
A few errands were necessary. Stopped at the Falls Park for a ncie walk.
Finished Book report on Invisible Boy
Set dates for Newsletter
Set dates for Fighting fish and began Research.

Day 127 - Catching Up

2009-04-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Ben was sick today (wen) so I used the day to catch up. It was not as productive as I hoped it would be but I made progress.

Day 126 - Restart

2009-03-31T19:09:00.001-07:00

I always have a hard time getting restarted. We finished a bunch of projects before spring break so this week brought all new things. We outlined a new project that Ben has been interested in related to Siamese Fighting Fish. I was reviewing a new book today that I think will be a good project with some nice side trip/connections. I will feel better about things after we establish some momentum.

Today:

Worked on Math 7-7 Problems
Outlined Betta Fish Project
Worked on Invisible Boy book report
OSU for Flute Lesson

Day 125 - 10 Weeks

2009-03-30T18:43:00.001-07:00

Ben and I started the first day back from Spring Break by putting together a calendar to get us to the end of the year. 10 weeks. 48 days of school. I am anxious for it to be a good quarter.

Today

Put together calendar for next 210 weeks.
Review list of topics and set some target dates.
Discuss possible topics for non fiction books.
Math 7-8 (Simple & Compound Interest)
Baked two pies.
Review project list.

Day 124 - Spring Break Starts

2009-03-30T18:42:00.001-07:00

No Comment. Left for WI at 2pm

Day 123 - Meeting

2009-03-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

We had a meeting today at the school Ben would attend next year. Our goal has always been to homeschool through Middle School and then get him back into school in High School. We recognize that this could represent a rather abrupt and difficult transition. We began the process today that would end in a IEP (Individual Education Plan). It is not clear to me how this will play out but I felt good about the people that we met with.

Today

Closed the book on the Australia Powerpoint
Worked toward completion of the Applewhite Metamopheisi Document
Worked on Math 7-7 (compount interest). Difficult. Will redo tomorrow.
Baked some cookies (Cooking Friday a day early).
Dealt with a case of Ick in the fish tank with a trip to the fish store and a water change.

Day 122 - Closing

2009-03-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

Ben and I are good idea generaters but we often struggle to bring projects to a close. I recognize that this is more my problem then his. We have a couple of projects to close out before the break starts on Friday. I am not feeling like we are ending either on a satisfying note.

On the plus side it was a beautiful day here and we enjoyed some extra time outside. Fresh air is good for the soul.

Today

Worked on Applewhites Pupae page. It has been fristrating for both of us.
Finished Australia Powerpoint. Not great but good enough.
REviewed Math 7-6 which Ben needed some extra time on
Decided to make some cookies for me to take to WI friday.
Had a frustrating time with some Flash Action Script today.

Day 121 - New Lesson

2009-03-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

Ben had his first flute lesson with a new teacher today. She is a graduate student at Ohio State and he will have his lesson there every other week. Today was one of the nicest days of the year and the students were out taking it all in. It is also finals week so kids are getting ready to be gone for a while. It felt great to be there. Ben and I need to get out more.

Today

spelling test
Math 7-6
Applewhites Metamorphosis - Pupae stage
Final Review of Australia Powerpoint
Quick Library trip
Downtown for Flute Lesson

Day 119 & 120 - In the Mail

2009-03-16T16:56:00.000-07:00

(Forgot to add note on Friday - 119)
Ben and I finally got the February Issue of the newsletter in the mail today. It is four weeks late. The tardiness does not reflect that we have not been working on it. Instead, the Music theme proved difficult to capture in a meaningful way on paper. The final result, which includes a web component, was worth the effort.

Today

Mostly focused on getting newsletter out
Math 7-5
Final Australia Powerpoint Edit
Applewhite Carachert Study part 1 - Caterpillar's, complete.
Flash Tutorial.

Day 118 - Inspired

2009-03-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ben and I have been working at learning Adobe Flash. He has enjoyed it but has not jumped in. Today we learned a technique that turned a lightbulb on for him. He immediately went to work and extended it in a number of ways. He is looking forward to learning more.

I wish we had more of those moments.

Today

Baked a pie for the neighbors (moving next week)
Worked on Applewhite Character study. Made Progress (breakthrough)
Edit of the Australia Power Point.
Math 7-4
Flash Animation Tutorial.

Day 117 - Daily Set

2009-03-11T14:46:00.000-07:00

Each morning Ben and I do a online puzzle called the Daily Set. It is easily learned. 12 figures are presented and you have to form six sets that conform to a set of rules. Ben beats me every day. The pattern is similar:
- He gets out to a fast start (finding 2 sets before I find one)
- I catch up and we both have 5 sets
- He finds the last one before me. (Usually long before me.)

It routinely takes him about 2 minutes and me about 3.

Ben's mind loves patterns and one step problems. If he does not get frustrated (and is interested) he is a very good problem solver - always employing an interesting approach.

Today:

Applewhite Character Study
Considerable time getting the newsletter together (new graphics, editing, CD Label design)
Math 7-4
Gym Class this afternoon.

Day 116 - Character Study

2009-03-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

We recently finished reading our group book (Surviving the Applewhites) and are working on a concluding project. Initially Ben wanted to draw a 'before and after' picture of two characters that changed significantly in the book. It seemed like a good idea - but I have nothing to offer in the mechanics of drawing and Ben was having a difficult time getting going. I decided to take the comparison and make it a written character study. Yesterday Ben mades some notes on the Physical and Emotional changes the characters had undegone. We discussed it a little more this morning and then I had him write the draft for one of the characters. He had a very difficult time translating the ideas into a narrative. Once he is frustrated it is difficult to move ahead. I am not filled with strategies to help.

Today:

Started Draft of Applewhite character study. Very difficult for Ben.
Continued with Vocabulary.
Math Chapter 7-3
Finished Australia Powerpoint Draft
Made a poster of flute finger positions.
Flash tutorial - worked on making a ball bounce.

Day 115 - Flash of Inspiration

2009-03-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

Ben and I have had the Adobe Suite of tools (Photoshop, Fireworks, Flash, Dreamweaver, other) for a while now. We use Fireworks as a graphics editor and have toyed with Dreamweaver but not done anything sugnificant with it. Last week we started with a video Flash training program. Both Ben and I are good idea people. Moving those ideas to implementation is not easy for either one of us. Of course he has a better excuse. We will focus on producing something with Flash this week.

Today:

Staretd Vocab 14
Worked on Newsletter. Good Progress. In Mail on Friday
Finalizing Australia Powerpoint
Math 7-2
Applewhite Character Study started
Continued with Flash Tutorial

Day 114 - No Update

2009-03-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

Day 113 - Breakthrough?

2009-03-05T13:47:00.000-08:00

As I wrote a couple of days ago, Ben and I have been struggling with the February (now March) newsletter. Writing about music is not easy. I thought Ben's first draft was quite uninspired. The second was not much of an improvement. I was tempted to scrap the theme and do something else. We got a little energy yesterday. Ben was engaged in the editing process. He produced a very nice article by this morning. We have a couple of ideas for finishing it up. I think it will be quite good.

Today

Edited Main newsletter article and moved ahead on the rest.
Finished a couple of old brain teasers.
Spent 30 minutes on his Australia Powerpoint
We tried to figure out how to move ahead on the Applewhite picture project.
Started Chapter 7 in Math
Watched more of the Flash Tutorial.
Went and got a Loach for the Aquarium.
Choose an old neighbor as the letter recipient.
Choose Potato Candy for our Friday Cooking.

Day 111 - Now and Then

2009-03-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

I have forgotten how Ben and I got on the topic yesterday but it ended with us deciding to write a 'Now and Then' list. This is a list of behaviors that we are not happy with. The list includes the behavior, how we react to it now, and how we would like to react to it. The goal being to think about how we can get from where were are to where we want to be. I agreed to make a list of my own.

Today:

Significant progress on the newsletter
Australia Powerpoint
Continued with Vocab 13
Worked on finalizing the cost of bread problem.
Gym Class this afternoon.

Day 110 - Wrong Media

2009-03-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

Ben and I have been having a hard time moving ahead on our February (now March) newsletter. I could not figure out the problem until we were discussing it today. It is our 'Music Issue". I am guessing that the problem is obvious. How do you adequately cover an aural topic on paper. His main article is not very interesting so I am trying to get him to connect it better to who he is and how he thinks.

Today:

Began work on the Australia Power point
Took the Chapter 6 standardized test. Errors were do to sloppy work.
Worked on the newsletter plan
Began a drawing project for the applewhites
Continued Vob 13 work.
Decided to work on learning Flash and watch a little of a tutorial.

Day 109 - Not Interested

2009-03-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

Ben and I had another episode getting frustrated with something and deciding he did not want to work on it because it had not been his idea in the first place. This is a pattern with him and I am at loss as to how to help him engage in difficult work.

Today:

Math 6 Test ( 78% )
Worked of cost of loaf problem
Got a card ready for Ms. Suzanne
Began Vocab 13
Discussed how to proceed with newsletter. Will decide tomorrow.
Discussed other projects he is interested in. With choose something this week.
Outlined Australia Powerpoint.

Days 106,7,8 - No Update

2009-03-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Failed to Update

Day 105 - Homework List

2009-02-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

I have tried many ways to get Ben a homework list that makes the 'I Forgot' response totally indefensible.

Today I began writing the list on a small (8 X 12) White board that is leaning against his computer monitor. How will he explain missing that?

Today:

Discuss plans for last music lesson with current teacher
Australia Diary Entry 5 edit.
Newsletter Draft edit
Examined 'What makes a fish a fish'
Math 6-7
Hair Cut
Stop at Library for new independent reading book.

Day 104 - Music Memories

2009-02-23T17:14:00.001-08:00

The theme for our next newsletter is Music. Today Ben and I talked about music memories - songs that trigger memories of specific events or periods in time. Ben brought up a song that caused me to flashback to when we were living in Massecusetts and Ben's sister and brother attended a local daycare/kindergarten/hippy school. (Ben was too young.) It was a nice memory and I dropped them a quick note while listening to the CD on iTunes.

Today:

Reveiwed Weekend homework. Not Pretty
Math 6-6
Final Australia Diary Entry Draft
Newsletter Status
Vocab Review

Day 103 - Cooking

2009-02-20T14:06:00.001-08:00

I asked Ben the other morning as we walked if there was anything we were doing that he really liked. He responded that he enjoyed our Friday cooking the most of all. Today we made some candies from a book we picked up at the library earlier in the week. They are quite tasty.

Today:

Cooked two kids on candy
Wrote a letter to his uncle
Added an entry to the Applewhites blog
Reviewed Math Homework
Took a mid-chapter math quiz (91%)
Edited Australia Entry
Reviewed vocabulary words.

102 - Daily Log

2009-02-19T11:58:00.000-08:00

Though evolving, that daily list that Ben and I are working from is working well of us. He enjoys the puzzles on the back of the page. The front is a guide to what we are working on that day and helps us to keep on track. I end up making most of the notes on it but that is ok.

Today:

Reviewed yesterdays Math work (6-4)
Chose book report and set deadline
Shopping list for tomorrows candy making
Chose Rod and Letter recipient
Searched for Albino Tetra Classification
Discussed studying Ohio History
Finished Australia Entry 4
Math 6-5
Read Applewhites

Day 101 - Evolving

2009-02-18T17:19:00.000-08:00

We are using the Fish tank as an entry point for some science topics. Today we were discussing classification. I was feeling under water. He does not have the background knowledge (cellular biology) to appreciate fully how choices are made. We should have started with Darwin. I am not sure how to dig my way out of this.

Today:

Outline next newsletter
Math 6-4
Added a Applewhiotes blog entry
Had a spelling test and began three chapter review.
Discussed classification
Discussed early Ohio history (BCE)
Daily puzzles, et al.

Days 99 & 100: Telling

2009-02-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

There is something telling in the fact that I forgot to make and entry on the 99th day of school (Friday). Of course I have no idea what that would be.

The bottomline on day 100 remains about the same - I wish I felt like I was doing better and hope that the costs to Ben have been less then the benefits.

Today included:

Math Review - Ben needed to finish homework. Ongoing discussion regarding checking his answers. I do not seem to be able to make a connection on this.
Read Applewhites at Cofee shop
Went to library for Ohio history books.
Reviewed status of Australia project and worked current diary entry.
Various daily puzzles.
Review of week ahead.

Day 98 - Not connecting

2009-02-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Ben and I had a problem because he did not check the answers for his math in the back of the book. I thought I could make it easier by copying the answer page so he did not have to flip back to it. When I looked at his math last night I realized he had not checked his answers again!

I am not connecting with something here but I cannot figure out what it is.

I added another twist today. He must highlight the answer on the answer page to show me that he actually saw it.

Today:

Edited australia diary based on Kris' feedback. (Similar to min but he choose to ignore a fair portion of mine.
Relooked at Math 6-2 and did mixed review.
Began talking about classification in reference to the fish tank.
Read Chapters 19& 20 of Applewhites and gave a blog response.
Journal, Daily Set, Independent Reading.
Note: New Daily page seems to be working well.

Day 97 - Daily Log

2009-02-11T13:25:00.001-08:00

I began givng Ben a daily sheet today. (I have done other variations in the past but did not feel they were helpful.) The front of the page list work for the day and other considerations. The back of the page is a couple of Brain Teasers. The front has sections like: "Are you thinking about:", "Don't Forget", or "Things we must finish today". I am hopeful that the creation of the page will help me better organize the day ahead.

Today

Got his Australia Journal up to day. Hopefully will finish another entry this week.
Got some Valentines out.
Worked on Math 6-2 (Proportions)
Gym Class This afternoon.

Day 96 - Lousy Start

2009-02-10T11:42:00.000-08:00

Our day got off to a lousy start today. I graded Ben's math homework and found that he had a number of answers wrong or in the wrong format.

"Did you check your answers with the back of the book?"
"I forgot."
He forgot despite the fact that I remind him to do so everytime I give him homework and is said "Check Your Answers" on the page he was doing on the work on.

Perplexed would be the kindest way to describe how I was feeling.

Today:

We spent most of the morning getting the Fish Tank running. It required one trip to the fish store. It turned out very well. We need to do some studying before adding fish.
Checked out two new games - "Set" and "Ken Ken". We enjoyed both of them very much. Good brain excercise.
Worked on revisions to Australia Diary entries based on feeback from Kris.
Other daily routine: Journal, Reading, etc.

Day 95 - Nonyo Beezwax

2009-02-09T17:39:00.000-08:00

I put a couple ot SAT math questions of Ben's daily work page. He solved one of them exponentially faster then I did. We also worked on a rather complex logic puzzle. It took our combined effort to answer it. (We were equal contributers.) He submitted the answer to the website I got it from. The response form asked for his name. He put "Nonyo Beezwax". My chuckle for the day.

Today:

Reviewed the tasks for the week ahead.
Detailed what we needed for the Aquarium.
Wrote a thank you note.
Practiced the Flute and worked on a composition for his teacher.
Worked on his 4th Australia Diary Entry
Introduced this weeks vocabulary words.
Read two chapters in Applewhites
Started Chapter 6 in Math.

Day 94 - Sweet

2009-02-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

For our usual Friday cooking, Ben and I made some Marshmallows today. Just to make sure they were sweet enough we dipped some of them in chocolate. It was a fun way to end the week.

I began giving Ben a page of brain teasers today. He loves 'puzzles' and I will give him 3 or 4 daily. (I have been giving him some weekly math problems from a single source. I am gathering these from a variety of places and getting better diversity.)

Today:

Cooking - Marshmallows and Sour Cherry Brown Betty
Spelling Test including writing a story using 5 of the words. Ben chose to use 10 in his story and used them properly.
Chapters 13-15 of Applewhite. He is enjoying the book and is not missing important plot elements.
Getting ready for some office reorganization.
Daily brain teasers, Journal

Day 93 - Aquarium

2009-02-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

Ben and I are going to be getting our Aquarium operating again. I will use it as the conversation starter for the science topics we will cover in the weeks ahead. Out topics will include:

- classification (what makes it a fish?)
- biome/ecosystems
- microscopic life
- photosynthesis
- working towards genetics

Ben is looking forward to getting some Loaches.

Today

Worked on his Australia diary entry regarding the Great Barrier reef. This included a discussion of the characteristics of the different Australian states.
Reviewed Weekly Vocab in advance of tomorrows test.
Worked a some daily brain teasers
Discussed our Aquarium Project
Made a trip to the Library to return some items and get cookbooks.
Did Applewhite reading at Caribu. (Also Diary)
Practiced Flute

Day 92 - Joy

2009-02-04T13:51:00.000-08:00

I have been reading “Letters to a Young Teacher” by Jonathan Kozol. Today I was reading a chapter about ‘fun’ not being considered an essential element of modern education. That certainly hit home with me. Ben has a naturally joyous side to his personality but I do not sense any passion or excitement in the work we are doing. The problem is that when trying to keep the boat floating is hard to think about charting a new chart.

Today:

Worked on Australia Diary Entry (more research needed).
Worked on some Math Problem solving techniques (he has some very good natural problem solving abilities.)
Reviewed current Vocab.
Discussed Plans for Aquarium and accompanying Office reorg.
Gym Class.
Journal & Independent Reading.

Day 91 - Unclear

2009-02-03T17:22:00.001-08:00

Ben is working on a multi-part writing project about Australia. We have frequently discussed that each piece has two naratives. One is about a virtual trip to Australia. The second is general information about Australia. We spoke a number of times about how to weave these things together. We outlined how each entry could address a different Australia topic.

He worked on the draft of a piece yesterday. I told him I would read it today and give him some general editing suggestions before he mailed it on to Kris (she works with him on writing). When I read the draft there was no general Australia information at all.

Was I not clear? Was it too complicated for him to process so he skipped it? Did he simply not want to? I do not feel much closer to figuring him out.

Days 89 & 90

2009-02-02T16:44:00.000-08:00

We had two weather days last week. Yes, a snow day for home schooling is ridiculous but when there are two other kids in the house that are home from the public school it is hard to get anything done so we do not try. We were back to school Friday but it was a rather 'stupid' day. We had no enthusiasm and it showed.

Today we began what promises to be an actual 5 day week. We were busy, I hesitate to stay productive. Today's unanswerable question was whether I am offering Ben anything fundamentally different then what he would get in 'real school'. I wish I could give a definitive YES to that.

Day 88 - Close to Home

2009-01-27T13:49:00.000-08:00

Ben and I began reading a new group text today - 'Surviving the Applewhites' by Stephanie Tolan. It is about a delinquent sent to the Applewhites home school (because he was expelled from the local school). The Applewhites are a creative/artsy family except for one daughter(E.D.).

I laughed when I read that her describe her family as having a 'disturbing lack of focus and follow-up'. I guess it hit close to home....

Day 87 - Quality

2009-01-26T16:32:00.001-08:00

I was very unhappy with the quality of the math work that Ben and done on Thursday. WE talked about his need to provide better attention to work he was not very interested in. I offered an incentive (bowling Friday) based on improved quality between now and then.

Fridays work was as bad as Thursdays. I was perplexed but mostly maintained my cool. We reviewed what he had failed to do (neatness, check answers in the back of the book, use the 'does it make sense' test) and then I assigned him more problems from the same section. Those answeres were not in the back of the book so I had to do all of the problems to give him a list of the answers.

I was pleased that he did a much better job on the redo and gave a similar effort to todays work. Hopefully that can be leveraged to more good work.

Day 86 - Bad Habit

2009-01-26T16:30:00.000-08:00

I had been in the habit of adding something here everyday - no matter how sort (lame?). I forgot to add something Firday. I will focus on being more faithful from this point.

Day 85 - In The Game

2009-01-22T16:38:00.000-08:00

I feel like I have been in a fugue state since coming back from Christmas break. I was getting things together and then my back went out. I was feeling signs of clarity today. Ben and I had a productive day.

He is working on a large project related to Australia. I am struggling with my own organizational issues as I help him to move forward.

We had a discussion today regarding the quality issues with some of his recent work. We are working on some incentives that hopefully will help him to improve his focus.

Day 84 - 'Back' at it

2009-01-21T13:58:00.001-08:00

My sore back took a step backwards today but Ben and I were able to soldier on. We finalized a draft of the Janaury Newsletter, kept moving ahead in math, worked on his Australia project, and a variety of other miscellaneous things. That said, I feel ongoing anxiety about the quality of the work we are doing together.

Day 83 - Inaguration

2009-01-20T13:29:00.000-08:00

Our shortened week got off to a wierd start. I hurt my back shoveling snow on Sunday and was out of commission the rest of that day and all day yesterday. I stayed off the pain medication so we could have a school day today. It was poorly prepared for but we made it through.

It was inaguration day for President Obama. Ben and I enjoyed watching the coverage from Bush and Obama leaving the White House together until after the final benedicition at the ceremony. I was surprised how closely Ben paid attention. We both were quite curious about what various participants were thinking as they participated in the event.

Day 81 & 82 - Skipped

2009-01-20T13:28:00.001-08:00

Last days without posts for the year.

Day 80 - Tough Choice

2009-01-13T17:19:00.001-08:00

We have had a hard time picking our next group read. Given Ben's project relating to Australia, I thought it would be a good idea to find a book with a Australia connection. A few were recommended but rejected for various reasons. ("I do not want to read a book with 'pony' or 'cannibal' in the title." "I do not like the idea of an Evil Genious.")

I gave up on the Australia angle and looked for something with a 'little guy wins' theme. I recieved three recommendations. Ben has read them all.

I am not sure what Plan C will be.

Day 79 - Australia

2009-01-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

Ben began working on a social studies project involving Australia. He is currently doing some research. Next he will diary a 5 day trip to Australia. Finally he will create a powerpoint of the trip. (He is following a Social Studies Fair project outline from the school that our writing helper works at.)

We have enjoyed learning about the land down under. For our weekly cooking last week we made ANZAC Bikkees -an australian cookie designed to provide nourishment to WWI soldiers. We have been looking for a book set in Australia for our group read but have yet to find one that looks exciting. (I wanted Ben to go with me to see the current Movie 'Australia'. He liked the idea until he saw it was almost 3 hours long.)

Day 78 - Forgot

2009-01-12T17:13:00.000-08:00

Forgot to add a note

Day 77 - Hand Writing

2009-01-08T16:41:00.001-08:00

I have been trying to get Ben to write in a journal since the first days of the School of Dad. I have told him that how he writes (by hand or by typing) and what he writes about is not important but I wanted him to do it daily. I have had periods of success but his journal writing was directly related to my vigilence.

Beginning with the new year we have done something different. I got us both a journal and at an appoionted (variable) time we sit and write together. The writing is done by hand and we do not read what the other has written.

I have found hand writing quite satisfying. It requires a different thought process then typing and it is gratifying se see the final product. My writing content is nothing special and may evolve to something more introspective over time but right now I just enjoy the moments.

Day 76 - Library

2009-01-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

Ben and I headed to the Main branch on the Columbus Public Library this morning. We have a branch near our home but it did not have a couple of videos that we wanted to we took the ride to downtown Columbus.

I do not remember spending any significant time in the library as a student. This is even more remarkable given that was pre-internet days so if research was to be done that is where it was to be done. It probably speaks to the quality of the work product that I was producing.

I enjoyed the library today. I was thinking it would be nice to come back by myself and browse at leasure.

As I said to Ben, it is humbling to be in a library because you realize how much there is to know - and how little of it you can hope to actually acquire. I did not mean it to be discouraging and I do not think he took it that way.

Day 75 - Easing into it

2009-01-06T16:54:00.000-08:00

Ben and I had another good day today. We (broadly) reviewed the topics to be covered in the weeks ahead and began review of the math we had completed before break. We have a solid list of things we would like to accomplish.

We reviewed half of the 180 spelling words that we had covered in the first part of the year. Ben spelled 87 of them correctly - and only could use about 65 of them in a sentance. Clearly we will need to do some more review there.

I am writing at 8pm which is always the low point of the day for me. Fortunately the best time my day (morning) is when Ben and I are working together but I am often finding myself with little in the tank when planning time comes in the evening.

Day 74 - Back at it

2009-01-05T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ben and I had a good day today as we got back into the swing of things at the School of Dad. Ben's Aunt had sent him a 'Flat Stanley'. We started the new year by doing a little research, taking Stanley to a local monument, and then preparing a letter. We sent off the report early afternoon. The excercise got us thinking again and was a good 'warm-up'.

I have been struggling all year to get Ben to write in his journal. I decided that from now on each day we will have a period of silent time were we will read and write at the same time. After mailing our letter we stopped at the Library for a couple of research books. We took the opportunity to sit at one of the library tables and do our journaling for the day. We both have new journals and are hand writing them. I enjoyed the moment. I am not sure what I will choose to write about myself.

Tomorrow we will focus on some goal setting and think about how to meassure our progress.

Days - 71,72,73

2009-01-05T16:47:00.000-08:00

I got lazy as the pre-Christmas week came to a close. Ben and I were busy wrapping some math, reading, and writing up before the two week haitus. We both needed a break.

Day 70 - Teachers

2008-12-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

I put the following note in the December School of Dad newsletter that went in the mail with the Christmas Card today.
"Ben and I continue our ‘School of Dad’ experiment. I was reading a New Yorker article recently that suggested a kid with a good teacher learns 1.5 years of material in a year and a kid with a bad teacher learns .5 years of material. I would like to think we are doing the former (and I am pretty confident we are not doing the later) but Ben’s learning falls somewhere in the middle. He has a great and interesting brain and I hope we are helping it develop. Some days I struggle just trying to figure out what he is thinking.
One thing is clear – while I have always respected teachers, I hold them in even higher regard now. I hope that every child (including Ben) is fortunate enough to have a great teacher at least once in their schooling. "

Day 69 - Keeping it Simple

2008-12-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

The last month has been difficult for a variety of reasons. We have set our sights on getting some basic things accomplished before the end of the week (and beginning of the Christmas break). We are focusing on some simple things: completing the current Math Chapter, finishing a essay on the last book that we read, wrapping up some science topic. Tomorrow we will focus on getting our December Newsletter out.

We will need some renewed focus when January comes. Right now we are just trying to keep things simple.

Day 67 & 68

2008-12-15T05:14:00.001-08:00

Ben and I focused on gettings some things accomplished we could feel good about over the last two days. With one more week of school we had some writing and math to wrap up before the break. Our days had a satisfying if not intense flow to them. I expect next week to be another strange week as we prepare for the break and our trip out of town. I feel good about what we have done but not as good about the amount accomplished.

Day 66 - Finally

2008-12-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

It took us until Wednesday to get Day 66 in because Ben has been sick. He was less then thrilled about getting back to work today but we got through the day. I kept it simple and by the end of the day we had made some progress and done some things we enjoyed. We have a busy 7 days head until Christmas break begins.

Day 65 - Tough Week

2008-12-07T17:41:00.001-08:00

Ben and I finished the week making some Lefse. We enjoyed doing it and were pleased with outcome. It was probably the most satisfying thing we did this week.

As we were walking today I was telling him how I find it interesting that two people that both like patterns and routine have such a difficult time being organized. Are our minds trying to get something they know we don't have? Lack of structure is not good for either of us. He is dependent on my to provide it at this point. I struggle to find it.

Day 64 - Retry

2008-12-04T17:56:00.001-08:00

Ben and I went back to the Ohio Historical Society today to see the Norman Rockwell Exhibit. (I checked the website this morning to see if I had missed something regarding the exhibit hours. I had checked yesterday and I was certain it gave hours for every day. Today the 'hours' section shows hours for Thursday through Sunday. I could have swore that it said something different yesterday but I am sure my memory is faulty.)

Ben and I both thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit. It included recreations of some of his Saturday Evening Post (SEP) covers, with other related historical information interspersed. The staff included actors portraying characters relevant to different time periods. Other docents offered tips and explanations not provided on the posted materials. The were 6 people working in the exhibit. Ben and I were the only ones there for the first 30 minutes.

I had always seen his work as nostalgia pieces. It was interesting to hear about his work process and see what he was trying to accomplish. His first SEP cover was published in 1916. His 322nd (and last) was published in 1965. He went on to produce work for Look magazine (he had a falling out with SEP). There is a clear technical and content progression in the work. Some of it was due to better technology (photos instead of live models as well as advancements in printing). Other progression was certainly a product of his maturing. I was surprised to learn he was born and worked for many years in New York City.

I was glad that we had made the trip - again.

Day 63 - Nostalgia

2008-12-03T18:15:00.000-08:00

I would like Ben to write in a journal every day. The form of the journal is not important to me, I just want him to do it daily. It is part of my 'Writers write' mantra. He will do the it, but most often it is not reflective of the interesting way that he thinks.

Yesterday we were talking about it and we talked about how much fun we have looking back each day on this website. "Wouldn't it be interesting if 20 years from now you could pick up a journal and get a real look back at what you were thinking about at this point in your life?""I don't know. It might make me feel nostalgia."

We talked about what 'nostalgia' was. What I said was that nostalgia is a longing for a time that probably never was because we were only recalling the parts we wanted to remember. What I should have said was that an honest journal would not cause nostalgia because it would recall both the easy and hard times.

In the spirit of nostalgia, I recalled that the Ohio Historical Society recently opened a big exhibit on Norman Rockwell. Ben and I looked at some of Rockwell's paintings and talked about what he was trying to show. We saw his portrayal of family life, patriotism, small towns, etc. It could be argued that his work captured a moment in time that never really existed but those viewing thought/wished it did.

This morning we took a ride over to see the exhibit first hand.

Needless to say: Closed. (Because of state budget cuts the museum is only open Thursday through Sunday - though this information appeared nowhere on the website.)

Day 62 - Normal

2008-12-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

It was our first post holiday ‘normal’ school day. It got off to a bit of a rocky start but we recovered with a trip to the aquarium store for a plant we needed for science. Of course they did not have it, but we enjoyed walking around the store. Ben was planning what we should put in out aquarium when we restart it after Christmas.

I hope that we will get out a lot between now and Christmas. We are planning a trip tomorrow to the Ohio Historical museum to check out a Norman Rockwell exhibit.

Day 61 - Wierd Continues

2008-12-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

That last few days at the School fo Dad have been wierd. Last week Monday and Tuesday we were getting ready for Visitors and Thanksgiving. The visitors left this afternoon. We are finally ready for a 'normal' day tomorrow..but am I ready?

Days 59 & 60

2008-11-25T17:19:00.001-08:00

With only two days of school this week and relatives coming at Tuesday afternoon, it has been a strange week at the SOD. Ben and I are both feeling out of sorts and are hopeful that some normalcy will return next week. It did not help tha the book we finished yesterday came to a very sad conclusion. We started our Day monday reading the last two chapters and we never really recovered.

Looking forward to December.

Day 58 - Sick Day

2008-11-24T06:15:00.000-08:00

Ben was not feeling well so we worked on some easy things in the morning and he took it easy in the afternoon.

Day 57 - better word

2008-11-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

I had a doctor’s appointment today and the Dr. asked what I did for a living. I told him that I homeschooled my son and he said, “that must be interesting.”

“A better word would be humbling” was my reply.

Day 56 - Flash of Enthusiasm

2008-11-19T13:10:00.001-08:00

Ben has been excited about some work he is doing with Adobe Flash for a website he likes to visit. He has struggled to do a couple of things that he wants but has preferred to figure them out for himself rather then get help from me (a good thing since I do not know anything about Flash). It is good to see his enthusiasm. I wish we were doing something that captured the same level of attention.

Day 55 - Strong Memories

2008-11-18T18:37:00.001-08:00

In the blog for our reading book I reflected on how the author drew upon what must have been a very powerful (and frightening) childhood memory. I asked if anyone had a similar memory. Ben became quite upset when he read then entry. He certainly did have a memory like that – and he did not want to think about it. I told him that it would be fine if he wrote about how the question made him feel.

I did not probe for the details of the memory that upset him. I did offer that writers frequently use their work – even fiction – to ‘deal with’ issues from their own lives. Others use difference processes. The important thing is not to keep things locked up inside.

Day 54 - No Comment

2008-11-17T17:59:00.001-08:00

Busy day. Not commenting tonight.

Day 53 - Retool?

2008-11-14T18:14:00.000-08:00

As Ben and I cooked a Lemon Cake Pie (yes – Cake Pie) today, we listened to a discussion on the local NPR station regarding places to visit in OH. I have been thinking eve since that it might form the basis for a major School of Dad retooling.

Details later.

Day 52 - Newsletter

2008-11-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

We finished the rough draft out our November newsletter today. We will do a final edit and get it in the mail tomorrow. Originally I had wanted the newsletter to be an independent project for Ben. I quickly realized this required a level of planning, organization, and interest that he was lacking.

We had a hard time picking a theme for this month’s edition. The process consisted of me throwing out ideas and Ben not liking them. Finally I came up with something he thought would work – an issue about his collections. He had to write a main article, a second page article with pictures that showed and described some of his favorite items, a first page list of collecting do’s and don’ts, and a graphic. Most of the writing time was done as homework. I was very pleased with the quality of his work this time. I decided against recommending any major edits so what went out truly reflected his work. I think he felt good about the product. I hope some enthusiasm carries over to the December edition.

Day 51 - Short morning

2008-11-12T18:12:00.000-08:00

Noon arrived a little quickly today – with half of what I had hoped to accomplish still undone. We read two chapters of a new book today and then listened to them on tape. By the time we had discussed the work we were well over an hour in. It was worth spending the time but left me wondering what to put off until tomorrow.

I am seeing incremental progress is the work Ben is doing. He seems to respond as well as I am able to be consistent. Ben (and his brother and sister) come by their organizational issues honestly.

Day 50 - Hard & Simple

2008-11-11T17:57:00.001-08:00

Ben and I watched a PBS video about the Shakers so we could get some background knowledge for the book we have begun reading: ‘A Day No Pigs Would Die’. The video was made by Ken burns in the late 1980’s. It is interesting how different kids process the same information as adults. The first thing that Ben made note of was the ‘short’ work day. He had misinterpreted a statement that ‘they had done a full day’s work before breakfast’ to mean that they did not have much to do in the afternoon. The first word he used to describe their lives was ‘hard’. I am sure they would have preferred ‘simple’. As much as they do not seem like they go together, I would say both.

Day 49 - Moving

2008-11-10T18:13:00.001-08:00

I had a good weekend of preparation and felt good about what Ben and I accomplished today. We began working on a small project related to the Model T (introduced 100 years ago). We also continued to plow ahead in Math and worked on a science project he enjoyed. I am trying to keep us moving – physically and in content. I think I was successful in both today.

Day 48 - Listen / Read

2008-11-07T14:42:00.000-08:00

Ben and I listened to the second chapter of our book today. We read along with a highlighter in hand, marking interesting phrases, terms we did not understand, and other important information. After the chapter was over we switched highlighters (different colors) and then went back and compared what we had chosen (and highlighted things the unique things the other person had selected). About 50% of what we highlighted was the same.

We had a good discussion of the chapter. Hearing someone read it certainly enhanced his comprehension. The plan going forward is that we will read the text and then listen to it. I will try to build some awareness of how listening is changing what he gets from the text. Hopefully that will help to develop his reading skills.

I felt good about the work we did not the book today. We will work on some background knowledge Monday and read again Tuesday.

Day 47 - Think About it

2008-11-06T17:21:00.000-08:00

Ben and I continued with some planning today. One stumbling block was the plan for the newsletter that I would like to publish by next Friday. One thing that I have learned is that telling Ben to ‘think about ‘ something is a futile suggestion. He did not bring anything to the table regarding the newsletter and did not seem very interested in the themes that I was throwing out. We need to hammer down the theme and outline the articles tomorrow. I am sure that he will do a lot of ‘thinking about it’ tonight.

Day 46 - New Book

2008-11-05T17:37:00.000-08:00

Ben and I began a new book today – “No Pigs will Die Today” by Robert Newton Peck. The person that helps me with Ben’s language arts suggested this book. I have some reservations because I do not think it is a book that Ben will like very much but we are going ahead with it. We hope to finish it by November.

I bought the Audio version on iTunes and we listened to the first chapter together. I warned Ben that it would be a little grizzly. In the chapter the main character helps a cow give birth and is hurt badly in the process. Normally Ben is quite squeamish but he did not seem bothered. He was actually able to retell the main events to me so I considered that a good sign.

Day 45 - Boring

2008-11-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

Ben and I were doing some planning for November and December today. The topic of Geography came up. I have observed that Ben’s awareness of US geography is poor. I suggested that we will work on some basics – States, Capitals, Major Rivers, Mountains, etc. Ben immediately got quiet.

“What’s wrong?”
“Dad – when will I ever need to know that! I don’t plan on visiting other state capitals!”

I knew that this objection reflected his observation that learning these things would not be fun – even boring. I did not attempt to sell him on the value of knowing these things but rather focused my comment on the simple fact that everything we need to learn is not exciting to cover.

Day 44 - Remake

2008-11-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

Ben and I did our usual baking on Friday. We made his choice – a lemon jelly roll. The finished product clearly was not right. The filling was not thick enough. I suggested to Ben that we should make it again to see if we could get it to turn out better. He was satisfied with the original but I was not so I made the second cake by myself (after 'school' was over).

This simple story says a lot – but I am not sure exactly what.

Day 43 - Ear Loans

2008-10-31T03:59:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of weeks I have been asking Ben to pick an article from the newspaper or a magazine and write a one paragraph summary. Yesterday I asked him to pick an article from the latest Newsweek for us to look at today. He chose an opinion piece written by the mayor of Ketchikan, Alaska - the once building site of the 'Bridge To Nowhere'. I read his summary without reading the article and laughed at a part where he referred to an 'ear loan'.

What do you know about the proposed bridge? I immediately remembered the multi-hundred million dollar bridge to a island of 50 people. That is correct, but not the reason for the bridge. It seems that 30 years ago they were building an airport for this isolated town and they built it on the other side of the waterway, with the promise that it would be linked sometime. Currently the only access is via ferry. (The town is located at the base of mountains and so there was no nearby flat land to build an airport on the towns side of the water.)

The airport services 250,000 people a year. The surrounding flat land serves as the only developable land in the area. The town would like some room to grow to meet the needs of the many Cruise Ships that stop there during the summer.

It could easily be argued that $395 million dollars (a figure that was interestingly left out of the opinion piece) is still too much to pay to meet this need. Still, framing the issue as a bridge to a island of 50 people is a bit disingenuous as well.

In talking about the article we looked at the location via google maps. (It looks like a stunningly beautiful place.) We also defined and looked for the source for the term Earmark (rooted in the practice of identifying livestock ownership with cuts on the ear).

I was reminded that 'the truth' is rarely as clear or simple as it is often framed.

Day 42 - Strange Week

2008-10-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

It has been a strange week at the SOD. Our afternoons have been Halloween focused and the mornings we had worked through the routine stuff. I am in a bit of a holding pattern as we get to the end of October and plan a November that needs to be different from September and October.

(Better entries will be forthcoming here next week.)

Day 41 - Keeping Busy

2008-10-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

In addition to our regular work, Ben and I spent some time getting his Halloween costume together. He is going as a character of his own making so that leaves some flexibility in the quality of the final product. The headpiece of carved Styrofoam painted yellow is quite a sight. The faculty is in an unsettled mode as we try to figure out how to proceed. We are keeping busy and focusing on Math and Writing.

Day 40 - Not 41

2008-10-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

It should have been Day 41 today but on Friday I had to make a trip to WI for my Sisters 50th birthday. Originally I was going to take Ben but that plan changed for a variety of reasons – mostly because he did not want to sit in the car for 8 hours there and back. His brother was home from school on Friday so I left him home, with a list of work to take care of.

In that he accomplished none of the work, the day could not even be counted as a half day. He was reintroduced to the concept of consequences today. I did not sense he was talking responsibility for his mistake, but he will fully pay the cost nonetheless.

Day 39 - The Talk

2008-10-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

Ben and I had a talk today about whether we need to look into him going to ‘regular’ school. The main driver is the recognition that he is not getting the peer contact that he would like. We understood that is a cost of home schooling but we felt the benefit of studying on his own terms would make up for it. I have not been feeling like he has received that benefit, but he is paying the cost.

Many things to think about.

Day 38 - Math Problems

2008-10-22T17:07:00.001-07:00

Since the beginning of the year I have given Ben a set of math problems to finish by the end of the week. Some weeks they have been difficult. Other weeks they have been fairly straightforward. My initial intention was for him to present the finished work on Friday. I told him that he could show them to me any day and I would tell him if they were correct but I expected them correct on Friday.

I quickly realized this would not work. He was doing them (poorly) at the last minute with little regard to presentation or whether they were correct.

Next I told him to have a rough draft of them mid week so I could see progress. This proved ineffective as well.

Now I have him present one problem each day. Initially this still produced a rough effort but I have been stressing presentation and ‘telling the story’ of the problem. The last couple of days he has done much better. It is good to see the progress.

Day 37 - His world

2008-10-21T17:34:00.000-07:00

I asked Ben for a tour of his Wiki world today. He has been very anxious about it lately because of a fear that kids under 13 were going to be blocked from the site. We were talking about some website development and I asked about how things were done on the Wiki.

Ben gave me a tour but it was clear that it was making him uneasy.

“Is something bothering you Ben?”
“No – it just makes me uncomfortable.”
“Why is that?”
“This is my place and I like having it to myself.”

With that we moved on to something else.

Day 36 - Cars

2008-10-20T16:37:00.001-07:00

I continue to struggle with feeling like I am not making a significant connection with Ben. He is fairly transparent and it is easy to tell when he is not excited about something. We will driving to the Library today and I was talking with him about this (not a new conversation). I told him I am open to exploring anything but I cannot figure out what he is currently interested in.

We drove for a while and he said, “Dad, you know what I think would be cool?”“What?” I asked with some anticipation.“I would like to know how a car works!”
I was a bit skeptical since he has never expressed any interest in this topic before. Still I contemplated what we could do as we drove. It would be a very interesting topic.

Once home he never spoke of it again. I will bring it up tomorrow but I am guessing he was just filling a silence.

Day 35 - Interest Gap

2008-10-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

Each week I ask Ben to write a letter to someone. He has to pick the recipient by Tuesday, write a draft by Thursday, and put the final copy in the mail on Friday. (In addition to giving him some regular writing experience, I had hoped this would also generate some incoming mail but that has not happened.)

The purpose of the draft is not to give me an opportunity to edit it. Instead I want him to take the assignment seriously and I want him to know that I will be reading it and offering comment. I do not require changes or modify the text.

The letters have not been very interesting writing. I have told him that I (as well as the recipient) would prefer a short interesting letter to a longer one filled with fluff. He is quick to fall into a pattern of asking a lot of question while offering little introspection.

It is easy to gage Ben’s level of interest in a task by seeing the result, and this work has showed a clear lack thereof. This week he was talking about his Halloween costume and I reminded him of the great time he had last year making a paper mache mask at the Art Studio of his 5th grade art teacher. In this week’s letter he chose to write the teacher a note about that memory and told him about his current costume plans. It was an animated and funny letter that was the type of writing I had hoped he would produce previously.

Bridging the ‘interest’ gap remains the primary goal and challenge at the SOD.

Day 34 - Redo

2008-10-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

Ben had a Math problem that he needed to prepare on paper and then present on the board today. He had the same task yesterday and his presentation had been OK but the written work was not very good. I told him to redo it for today after modeling what I was looking for.

The written work today was again subpar. He had not redone the problem from yesterday and today’s problem was not presented well on paper. Furthermore the answer – though correct – was not presented the way it was told to be presented (in scientific notation).

Ben was not happy when I told him that he needed to do both problems again, this time in the form that I had asked him to. He was indignant that I would ask him to redo something where the answer was right.

“But the answer was not right.”
“Yes it was."
“No it was not. The problem called for the answer in scientific notation. You did not present it that way.”

I understood that his complaining was mostly excuses masking the central issue – he simply did not want to do them again.

I provided the same thought I always do – “You would save yourself a lot of time if you slowed down a little and did things correctly the first time.”

I did not sense him immediately taking it to heart.

Day 33 - Contrast

2008-10-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

Ben worked on two projects today that were an interesting contrast. First he worked on the draft of a prompt related to the book that we just finished reading. This work is being edited by someone else and I have taken myself completely out of the loop. I did not review the first draft, the comments he received, or the second draft he made based on the comments.

In the second project we were gathering and graphing some weather data. We did this together. We spent considerable time on presentation, including graphing. Left to my own devices, it is the type of thing that I could spent a lot of time fine tuning.

My guess is that with the first project he did not take sufficient time processing the comments, and in the second the level of detail was beyond his interest or need.

The ultimate question is will his next writing or data analysis project be most influenced by the work on these tasks. I honestly do not know, but will be sure to find out.

Day 32 - Comics

2008-10-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

Ben is a big fan of the Comics. He can spend a remarkable amount of time reading the two pages that are printed in the daily paper. Today we branched out a bit. We looked at the organization of the paper. It has four daily sections and we discussed the content that could normally be found in each. Then we looked through the Main page and came upon an article about the government changing its recommendation for the amount of Vitamin D that should be ingested daily. We discussed what foods have Vitamin D naturally (few), and which are fortified with it. We looked at the cereals in the pantry and found only one that has Vitamin D – “that is the only cereal that we have that I do not like.”

Then we looked at the Wall Street Journal for contrast.

The exercise was another reminder of the simple things that we assume our kids know. (It was also a reminder of what a poor newspaper reader I can be.)

Day 31 - Economics

2008-10-10T13:18:00.001-07:00

Like everyone, the global economic situation has made this a difficult week. There is nothing for most of us to do. There is no understanding what is happening. A sign of improvement could probably not be recognized if it were to happen. I told Ben as we walked today that uncertainty and powerlessness are a tough combination. Fear is the greatest byproduct. It has cast a feeling of anxiety that has been ever present. I remember the similar feeling last year at this time as Susan was looking for a job and where we would land was uncertain.

Ben and I got some fresh air this afternoon. It was the best thing the SOD could have done today.