Just one of the reasons I won't be homeschooling this one

JJ is such a different learner than I am. He has no interest in practicing anything. He isn't patient enough to do something just for the sake of doing it.

Remember how he learned to walk? Never held our hands to try taking steps. Never pulled himself along furniture. Nothing. Just up and started walking one day.

It's like that with everything. Which probably explains why he's only potty-trained at bedtime and when we're standing in long line-ups.

In the fall, we did swimming lessons. JJ and I were in a class together and KK was in a class by herself, at the other end of the pool.

Towards the end of the lessons, our teacher kept saying that JJ was so much more comfortable in the water than he'd been at the beginning. Even some of the parents made a point of mentioning the difference in him.

But I'm his mommy. I know better.

He was not more comfortable in the water. He never was uncomfortable in the water. He is a water baby. No fear. None. At. All. Which is why he often looks like this, even on dry land:

It wasn't that he was more comfortable in the water. It just took him a few weeks to figure out who the teacher was, so he knew who to impress.

I'm sure there was more than one time that the lifeguard thought of throwing the life-preserver out to him and I. But that thrashing in the water? It was just me trying to get him to do the skill that the teacher had asked us to work on. Not once would he perform the skill for me, but as soon as the teacher appeared, he would execute it perfectly ONCE. Then she'd move on, and the water thrashing would begin again.

It happened again today.

For months now, he's been counting like this, "one... two... one... two.. one... two!" I've been trying to teach him to count to three by counting everything that comes in twos or threes with him. And still, one... two... one... two...

Today, when I was cooking dinner, he ran into the kitchen, threw something on the counter and ran out, telling me that he was hiding. And then he proceeded to count to four. Just like that. I didn't even know he knew four existed. We exchanged high-fives and I went back to cooking.

Back around the corner he went, and this is what I heard:

one...two...three...four...dog...five...six...seven...eight...nine...ten...

Just like that. Confidently and clearly, he counted to ten.

There was great rejoicing in the land.

So, he counted to ten, once. And now that he has mastered the skill, he has no interest in it and has gone back to counting however he wants.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I'm going to have to leave his formal education to the professionals.