Insomnia. I have a cure for that!

The fourteen year-old homeschooler, who shall be known as DrS, has been suffering from Summer Vacation-itis since homeschooling began. His schedule has crept into nightowl territory. The Facebook status updates noted at 3am were a big tip-off that he was headed in the wrong direction. This is something I do not want happening, but insomnia can't be turned off like a switch.

When Reo has difficulty sleeping, I take away the laptop and restrict the use of his Kindle Fire to just reading books. No videos, no games. While he enjoys reading, there's something about reading in bed at the end of the day that really puts him out for the night.

It's not that simple for DrS, who can be kept awake all night with a good book.

So, I gave him one of my favorite books from one of my favorite authors:

Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo
[Buy it here]

Who is the monster and who is the man?

Notre-Dame de Paris, or The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, by Victor Hugo is one of my favorite novels. I have been in awe of the dynamics, the moral and ethic challenges that he posits for people in positions of power versus those who are in a less privileged circumstance, and the way Hugo unfurls the heavy curtain that covers the corruption, greed, and base gutteral humanity of those who present themselves as most pious. You are meant to read his words about his beloved France and then apply them to your own world, then challenge it. Disney's talking gargoyles nowhere to be found.

So, to make sure DrS reads it, I've assigned it. He must read the novel and write a full book review by the end of the second quarter.

In the meanwhile, I think Hugo's knack for sharing the detail of every inch of architecture present in the buildings of his beautiful city will really help DrS out with that insomnia and get his circandian rhythm back on track.