Is it Summer Vacation Yet?

I can see the end of the tunnel, but  we are just not quite there yet. The last week has been spent making sure Mr. Homework Avoider, caught up on his work.  Memorial Day weekend was not the kick off to summer for us, it was instead being spent trying to get him to finish his Independent Reading Project.  He had a packet of 3 pages front and back filled with questions and short answers.  There was a ton of writing involved, and it  looked a bit overwhelming.  The assignment was to be done as he was reading the novel of his choice. Each worksheet  was supposed to be for about a third of the book.   He chose a 462 page fantasy book called The Amulet of  Samarkand.  He did not quite do the assignment in the way he was supposed to.  Since he loves reading  and writing not so much, he read the entire book in a short time and ignored the reading log. The entire quarter, I tried to get him to work on his packet.   Finally, he no longer had a choice. The assignment was due, and it was a BIG part of the quarter grade. I kept telling him to just get it over with, and then he would have lots of free time.   He didn't listen.  He tried to avoid doing it the entire weekend.   He finally finished at 8 p.m. on Monday night. All I could do was smack my forehead when he admitted to me that I was right when he finished. It really was a big relief to have it done.  If only he had listened to me a few days earlier!   Last night I helped him with his 2+ page Reflection Letter about how much he has grown as a student this year.   I had to laugh to myself at his answer to the question about what  habits do you need to change.  In his letter to his teacher he said, he really needs to just do his homework right away, and not let it pile up to the point that it is overwhelming. Now if only he will listen to is own advice!!   As of right now English is all caught up, and most likely done except the quarter final. Whew!  We have just one assignment left  for Biology, and about four left for History. As he sees the pile dwindle, he is becoming more excited.  He finally realizes that the sooner he is done, the sooner his free time can begin.   The goal is to be done with it all by this weekend.  I can only hope!!