We had a nice, quiet evening at home last night ringing in the new year with ginger ale toasts, kisses and hugs, and a fireworks show happening somewhere in Manhattan that we could see pretty well from our living room windows.

This morning W said, "I want to do math and reading, Mom". He loves his workbooks as long as he:

- does it his way
- sits on my lap
- does the pages he wants
- stops when he's had enough

He loves to write words. He prefers capital over lowercase letters usually and is starting to get the concept of writing on the lines. He can sound out words with a silent "e" - correctly changing the vowel to a "long" sound. Today he made plural nouns by adding an S at the end, put 4 pictures of the Pilgrims' Mayflower journey in the correct order, learned about natural and man-made things, added and subtracted insects, and learned what a fraction is. He'll bring the book over to me at least twice a day.

He is learning so much on his own. He chooses to actively pursue learning because he finds it so enjoyable. Of course I do believe learning is everywhere and in everything, but he'll hyperfocus for a couple of weeks on something until he's accomplished what he set out to do. This was evident a year ago with tying his shoes, getting through a BOB book on his own, and batting a ball. The girls' interests and ways of learning were very different, so this is new and very cool for me to experience with him.

I'm pretty sure a few years in school will suppress and then extinguish all of this beautiful enthusiasm and determination. Thank goodness I learned about homeschooling while my kids are still young enough for it to make a difference. As of now, W will be h/s'ed come September. When people ask me why, I will say that after 3 years of intense research and over a year of experiencing it, I see that it provides a far superior education and it's definitely a better way to grow up. How that for short and sweet!