Taylor -
Trying to stick with something when you're off by yourself is very challenging, but your willingness to practice what you know and continue to improve your strength and flexibility shows a lot of maturity on your part. Good for you! There's some good advice for you in here, especially the part about video taping, if that option is available to you. It's not a substitute for taking class and interacting with other students, but it helps you remember all the little details that get lost one by one over time.
Corwyn, congratulations on your son's recent test result, it sounds like some hard work paid off. Always nice to see that old 'hard work = success' theory validated. Did you feel that the test took good measure of his abilities and understanding of what he's learned? Too often these days, a martial arts 'test' is more a measure of time spent and willingness to pay test fees.
Good luck in your training,
- CS