1. I do everything wrong.
No, I mean it, I do. Everything. Wrong. To the point that I sometimes bring my child to tears. How this is possible I have no idea. But apparently it's happening. On the regular.
2. There's no time.
Between getting off of the bus at around 5pm every day - yes - you read that right - FIVE PM. EVERY. DAY. - and every minute from when she walks in the door it seems like we're doing homework forever. After school activities? Sure. But we're probably going to finish homework AFTER the after school activities. Forget about playing outside before the sun sets, cause that's just out of the question.
3. I'm old.
I mean it. I'm 42 years old. I don't remember if a trapezoid has four sides or five (or six? Whatevs!). Or if a parallelogram even exists. It's been a long long time since I used that stuff. Give me something way simpler and I'm your gal. (See how old I am? I say "gal".)
4. Google.
Okay, so maybe this isn't necessarily homework related, but projects for sure. And research. And oooh, boy. We have to be on top of that. Because if your kid finds herself on the laptop googling something like what did Calamity Jane do for work you *might* end up with some unsavory results. [This may or may not have already happened.]
5. Coffee.
Honestly, friends, homework time is when I most need coffee. Except it's obviously not the best time to drink it, what with dinner rapidly approaching and bedtime hopefully not too long after that. But I drink it anyway. And then I wonder why it's 1AM and I'm wide awake. Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, scouring the Internet.
6. The pencil sharpener.
I was so so so glad that we found batteries for that thing. And then I wasn't. At all. It's the most grating sound in the universe, especially when you're trying to communicate to your child that she must get her homework done and ENOUGH WITH THE SHARPENING OF ALL THE PENCILS ALREADY AS YOU ONLY NEED ONE!!!
7. Dinner.
Impossible to get done while you're required to stick to the child's side as she avoids doing much of her homework. Yes, yes. I know. She's seven. She can do it on her own. And that's fine. But you know the minute I walk away from the table she is going to be doing something else. Somehow. But thank goodness for the crockpot. For serious.
8. Micromanagement.
Maybe it's me. Maybe I feel like I NEED to be beside her to ensure she gets it done. Maybe it's my own anxiety that if I walk away she's going to go off on a tangent. Or maybe it's my smart mommy sense that reminds me that in the past that's exactly what has happened. Ah, yes. That's probably it.
9. The husband.
We're have different approaches when it comes to homework. Different doesn't mean bad. Different just means different. So, let's just say it's a good thing we weren't classmates as children and leave it at that, shall we?
10. Do we really need a number 10? Can't I just say all of the above and leave it at that? I mean, it's 6:32 pm and I'm ready for pajamas. That has to be enough, right?
#7. All the number 7. We have gone through 3 pencil sharpeners and I am so glad to finally have one that plugs in and works, but good grief kids, you don't need that many sharpened, multiple times a day.
ReplyDeleteAnd having to be with your 7 year old...that so varies by kid. My oldest was decently independent last year, her sister who is turning 7 in a few days, not at all. All schooling is very one-on-one. Either the first go around or the fix-it round.
And ultimately, it is crazy they are giving your 7 year old that much homework!!!
I have a cheap little manual pencil sharpener that works WAY better than the battery one. Just sayin. Course I always start "new" pencils at the super powered electrical one at my office first. Ahem. (speaking of tangents)
ReplyDeleteI think I have learned I could never be a teacher. At least not to my own child. We both end up in tears usually. Dad is much better- esp for math. Me? I'll stick to the reading. Now that, I can do!
It is what it is! I remember when a 10th grader was taking physics and brought her homework on vacation and asked the family gathering around the table of 5 adults, for help and not one could help. We had a good laugh and the 10th grader stormed off and did not think it funny. Fast forward and she turned out just fine, no lasting parental induced damage!
ReplyDeleteIsn't homework GREAT??!! Ugh. At this point, I've sort of managed to take a step back, at least for my daughter who is your daughter's age. But my son, who is older, needs more of my direction so he'll actually accomplish something more than coding some new modification for Minecraft after school. He's doing algebra now. I know I got A's in algebra once. But I'm also 42. That was a very long time ago.....
ReplyDeleteI really think there's more homework now than when we were kids. And it's ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteSidenote- Is it weird that I kinda want to go sharpen pencils now?
Oh what is it about the micromanagement in math?? I do the same thing. He does better when I just let him be sometimes! And the pencils. There are never enough pencils!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I don't have to deal with this anymore.
ReplyDeleteI HATED doing homework with my kids.
I'm s.l.o.w.l.y working toward my kids being independent workers. The 9-year-old can and will do some of her work on her own, but the 7-year-old still needs supervision with almost everything. And the pencil sharpener? It drives me crazy, too.
ReplyDeleteOh I love this post. I am only in Kindergarten (HA, that is funny to say) and we already have homework and it already stressed me out. Thanks for making this humorous.
ReplyDelete1st grade homework is really tricky and one of us really doesn't want to do it. He fusses and fusses.
ReplyDeleteSo far, A really enjoys her homework, yet it still results in stress for me. I need to figure out a way to get over that, or it's going to be a loooooonnnnngggg educational journey.
ReplyDelete