Enthusiastic student

Its Friday. Riley has to look forward to another long day at home. Riley hasn't taken a bath in a few days so as an activity we wrap his arm in saran wrap and send him off to the well needed showers. He comes back in clean clothes and sweet smelling.



I tell him if he gets some thank you cards written, I will take him out to the store. He writes a couple. He also goes on his computer to make up a nice insert for the cards, then loses interest. The door bell rings. Thank goodness for elementary school in service days. Its grade day, so no school for our neighbor boy. He is available to play. We don't need to go out now.

The boys play for a while, then the door bell rings again. It's Riley's tutor. She is available to teach. You have never seen such an enthusiastic student. Riley leaps off the couch and turns off the TV. No whining, no complaining, he gleefully gets his pencils and serves his teacher tea as they settle at the dining room table for an afternoon of study. His teacher even comments how wonderful it is to be received with such enthusiasm from a student. They get right to work. Today the topic is Algebra 1.

We have not waisted the other days the teacher could not come. We have learned about the architecture of the Coliseum in Rome, and how the Pyramid of Gaza was built and why, through a video the teacher left earlier in the week. I asked Riley if he could find something to learn each day he is home. Some small piece of history or fact that he could then tell his father and me at the end of the day, he would not feel the day was waisted or lost from education. As a result he opened a book on Lewis and Clark. I set up some questions to ask about them and Riley went to work reading to find the answers.

So, today he is excited to be learning. He is a sponge soaking up knowledge. The topic is math and everyone is happy.