A Writing Breakthrough

These are my new favorite pants. Found them for about $1.50 at a thrift shop (the only way I shop). They didn't come with the avocado stain. That's from lunch. And that's my new no-longer-a-smoker waistline that I'm working on accepting, because -apparently- I'm serially starting a diet tomorrow because there's ice-cream today.

The other day I posted something about this writing assignment - how Lu had put zero effort into it, and how disappointed I was.

The next day, we sat down and I had him read it to me. He agreed that it was pretty crap. I told him that I thought that it was a waste of time and paper to have a writing class if he didn't really want to write (and I tried to do so in a non-judgemental tone). I also told him that knowing how to write well could be really handy in life, and how cool the writer's life can be. But that, if he really wasn't that interested, we could skip writing class. 

I was afraid he'd take me up on my offer, but then, on his own, he picked up his notebook, went back to his desk, and wrote an entirely new comparison/contrast essay titled "Homeschool vs. School". 

The handwriting was better, the spelling was better, and he put a lot more thought into the actual writing.

 

After we edited, he wrote a final draft and then typed it up.  

- For typing, I'll sometimes put a book over his hands on the keyboard,

to get him to keep his eyes on the screen. -

I'm not sure exactly what it was, 

but something clicked.

Here it is, typed by Lu:

Homeschool vs. School

When I was five years old I started going to a school. I kept on going there and made lots of friends.  One day I met a boy and he became my best friend.  A few years passed and he started to bully me all the time.  So I decided that I would start to homeschool to spend my time with my mom, instead of spending it with bullies.

Homeschool and school are similar in many ways.  You have fun in both of them.  You have special activities, you have your friends and your teacher close, and you have recess. The most important thing is that you learn and you have fun learning.

Homeschool and school are also very, very, very different. In homeschool you have lots of fun with your mom or dad, while in school you have fun with your friends. In homeschool you can work inside or outside. In school you have to work inside. In homeschool you learn more than you do in school, you have more fun, and you can choose what to learn. 

The last sentence of the second paragraph. That one's my favorite.

I'm glad that, besides the bullying, he remembers his school experience fondly, and that he sees homeschooling as something that he chose. Kids, like adults, appreciate having a say in things, and given a choice, they'll often surprise you for the best.