OK, perhaps I am a really mean and cynical person, but I doubt that your DS will ever look back on the poems with fondness. He did them, he hated doing them, and they are done. The keepsake part of this may be a red herring. They will be bound nicely and he will throw them out when he moves away to go to college. Or you will keep them in your house.
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Because I don't think he's ever going to care to look at it again, I'd say to see if you can get him to find a way make work that meets the teacher's expectations. It's schoolwork. Once you start bending on meeting standards with a tricky kid like this, you have new problems.
DeeDee
Thanks for being my saner half on this, DeeDee. That is what I couldn't articulate but inherently knew. The "mommy" in me wanted a precious memory, but you are right. It's schoolwork, and if I let this particular 12-year-old negotiate different standards, he will extrapolate on this new freedom in the future in ways that might be far more difficult to manage.
And, thanks - that drawing is one of my favorites - especially my husband in the background with his empty coffee cup. And the size of his cereal bowl is pure fantasy, since it was a special treat that he didn't think he got nearly enough.
He's making an iBook using the new Mac app - my bet is that his book he makes on his own will stay with him a lot longer than this one.
