He Got It--Now what

Ok-- It was like a light-bulb, and now Connor is programming madly in HTML. Darn. I was hoping to really challenge him and find something he COULDN'T do well, because, honestly, don't we all learn the most when we can't do something? Now, he's totally got this college level computer course mastered, and I have go find something else really hard for him to learn. Sometimes I hate it that my kids are so demanding. It would be so much easier to have average and normal kids who are not going to actually change the world someday. Ok--Who am I kidding? I'm STILL working to change the world myself. I just know in my heart that one of our foster children, or one of our exchange students, or one of the kids we adopt, will make the world a better place.I really expect nothing less. And they know it too. Yep, it's a pain in the butt sometimes, but they know they are supposed to do something FABULOUS and leave their mark on this world.We parents just have to support them in their endeavors and wait for them to find their purpose or calling. Although Connor will probably change his mind about becoming a Priest, he clearly knows that he needs to "Be the change you want to see in the world." (Ghandi)

Growing up

An interesting thing happened today. Connor blogged about his homeschooling, and remarked that he thinks he might be trying to grow up too fast. He came to this conclusion because he realized that maybe he bit off more than he can chew with the online college computer programming class. He's been struggling with the course material, and now he finds it burdensome. I am, of course, thrilled. Finally, he has realized that he can't possibly know all there is to know at age 10. In fact, being 10 and just going outside to play is sometimes enough. He doesn't need to excel at everything, and he can give himself permission to just be a child. I am not going to let him drop the class though. I also want him to see it through to the end, and if he doesn't pass the course then that is the natural consequence of his actions. I didn't want him to take the course to begin with (it was almost $1000) and now he won't insist that he can do college level work. Yes, Connor is advanced academically, but emotionally he's just not ready for that kind of pressure and commitment. The course ends at the beginning of December, and we will NOT sign up for another one. Lesson learned.