I think I might actually cry.

Tears of joy that is! Our lives have gone through a lot of changes over the last several months, not the least of which has been how we homeschool with the boys. For a long time, we were unschooling and that worked out so well for us and brought us to where we are today. Both boys are amazing people and have impressed us with the knowledge they have gained without the use of textbooks to guide them. In fact, Iain and Ryan have both expressed an interest in doing more schooly-type work so I have been trying to find the *right* thing for them to do. It was not easy but I think I have found something that is a good way to segue back into that school world. A book report!

I knew this would be a challenge because the only books Iain likes to read are graphic novels based on video games like Legend of Zelda and Pokemon. There’s nothing wrong with reading these books, reading is reading, but for the book report, I did want both boys to challenge themselves and read something that was more of a chapter book. So off we went to Barnes and Noble and Iain and Ryan were given the task of finding a chapter book that would interest them. Iain ended up choosing a book called, “The Chocolate Touch” and Ryan chose, “Bunnicula, A Rabbit Tale of Mystery“. I didn’t doubt that Ryan would be able to handle this task because reading comes a bit easier for him than it does for Iain. But this morning, I was pleasantly surprised by a conversation I had with Iain while he ate breakfast.

Last night, I sent both of them up to bed to wind down with their books and by the time Sean and I got upstairs, they were both asleep with bookmarks denoting the last pages they read in their books. This morning when Iain got up, one of the first things he told me was how awesome his book is! He said he is about 25% of the way through it and really likes it so far. When Ryan got up, he told a similar tale. For me, a person who used to LOVE to pass the time by reading a book this was music to my ears. I was incredibly nervous about having them work on a project like this but now, it feels like it was a good move. I cannot begin to tell you the emotions I felt upon hearing Iain tell me how funny his book is or when Ryan said he wants to get the other books in the Bunnicula series. Sometimes, I do think kids need a little push to try something new. If they try it and don’t like it, that’s fine, but you’ll never know if you don’t at least try.

Hope all is well in your world!!!!