A Boy and his Dog

My grandson is a wonderful kid. We've been fortunate in having him living near us most of his life. When we moved to Florida, he and his family moved down first when he was still a baby. He had his first birthday in Florida so he is a true Florida boy. Except for a few excursions back to Maine when he and his family lived and worked in southern and mid-coast Maine for a couple of years each time, he has lived in southwest Florida near us.

His mother, our daughter, home-schooled him until he was seven or eight when he decided he wanted to go to school with other kids. So, one day he got on the school bus and went off to school with his neighborhood friends. He did well in his classes and loved school. He's now almost finished with eighth grade and looking forward to high school. Along the way he learned to play the trumpet and is looking forward to possibly having private lessons this summer. We are all proud of him.

     My grandson fishing at his other grandparents' camp in Maine. 

I can't help thinking of his experience and wondering if I would have enjoyed being home-schooled. I loved school even though I was shy and quiet in class. Because I loved learning new things I did well in school and was happy with the variety of activities available for me to try. As I got older I found myself mostly bored in my classes and usually got through them by reading ahead in my textbooks. The teachers never seemed to notice, or if they did, didn't care because my grades were good.

 My grandson's dog trying to catch fish.

                             
I think now that homeschooling would have been good for me and my younger sisters and brother, and possibly for my older brother. We lived in a small town and had neighborhood friends to play with, and we usually spent our time walking the streets of our town to see what was happening elsewhere. I would have loved reading and learning as much on a subject as I wanted, and probably would have blossomed in an atmosphere where I would have been free to explore whatever peaked my interest.

                                    Fishing in Southern Maine.