Ah ha!

I think there are so many good reasons to homeschool but, for me, the best reason is to be the one there when one of the children "gets it".  I get to see their eyes light up with the knowledge that they can do something, that they now own this skill.  Its always a beautiful moment.

I was the one there when Erin learned to read, when Katie mastered multiplication and when Ryan memorized 50 Latin vocabulary words. These moments make this journey worth any sacrifice.

We had one of these moments today.

Ryan’s writing book from the Special Services Department of Seton is called Clues for Writing.  It is a gentle way for someone with Ryan’s disability to begin to put thoughts on paper in an organized way.  Ryan writes a great deal, stories and letters but when he writes independent of instruction his writing clearly represents his autistic thought process. It’s compulsive in its content and disorganized in execution.  So while he enjoys his own writing it doesn’t make much sense to someone who is unfamiliar with his thoughts. That means pretty much everyone else on earth other than his father and I, and even then we are often be baffled.

So today’s writing assignment was for Ryan to think of an experience he enjoyed, write out a the main idea, list four details and then put it all together in a short paragraph. Well he wasn’t sure what to write about so I suggested his favorite thing, camping with his dad. He wrote out the four details perfectly and then proceeded to put together a mighty fine little paragraph.

"Ryan," I shrieked, "you did it, this is a really good story."

"Maybe someday I’ll be great at this." he said quietly looking shy and proud.

I think he’s pretty great now.