Homeschooling a Boy

I know, I know....I already said that homeschooling a boy is way different than girls, but as I was sitting at the school table this morning about to pull my hair out.....one of the major differences was staring me in the face.

Caleb is working on a Creation book. Every day, we make a page that corresponds with the day of creation that we're learning about. Friday was Day 5....Birds and Fish. Easy, right? Nope! It took FOREVER! I was kind of excited because he was really getting into it, and not just flying through it so he could get down from the table. Today, as we were doing land animals of the 6th day, it occurred to me exactly why it was taking so long. When my girls did this project as kindergartners, their attention was on the "activity". They cut, colored, and glued until the page showed what they had intended. Caleb's attention is on every single, itty, bitty, detail and wants to know how and why every single detail relates to anything that he has encountered EVER before. For example:

Caleb: "Mommy, this is a raccoon like RJ in Over the Hedge. Can raccoons live in the water?
Me: No, raccoons live on the land.
Caleb: Can they live BY the water?
Me: Sure.
Caleb: Can they stick their heads IN the water?
Me: I'm not sure....probably.
Caleb: Can they put their heads all the way UNDER the water?
Me: I don't know!
Caleb: Can I put my raccoon sticker with his head in the water?
Me: YES!!!
Caleb: This is a hippo like the hippos we saw on the science DVD we watched last week. Those hippos were in the water.....
Me: Just put the hippo in the water!!!!

Needless to say, he is so particular. Every sticker had a place, and every place had a reason. He really is doing much better than I thought he would. But, I have decided that he is going to be my child that forces me to slow down and enjoy more of the schooling process instead of just getting through it as fast as we can. He is also going to be my lesson in patience! :)