Homework

                                         

When I was a kid homework was such a drag. I hated it for several reasons, one being my own perspective and the other being my Dad's. He was really hard on me, and had a hard time understanding why I struggled with seemingly easy concepts. Well, Dad, I feel your pain.
My second child and I have had a long standing conflict when it comes to homework but not for the same reasons my Dad and I did. This kid,(heavy sigh) THIS KID, is freakin brilliant and we struggle day in and day out. Admittedly some days are better than others but it is still very much the most dreaded part of my day.
He is so disorganized and forgetful that I have to believe its a side effect of his brilliance. I know he knows this stuff, that's why I get so exasperated with him. He writes so fast and sloppy I can't even read the agenda book half the time so I'm left to try and decipher it like some sort of foreign secret code just so I can figure out if all the pertinent work is present and accounted for.  You know, 4th grade is not what it used to be. I don't remember having that much work. (course I can't remember where I put the new rolls of toilet paper half the time either) And then this stuff needs to be corrected!?! I'm lucky if I can spot the wrong answers, but please don't tell me you don't know how to do it!?! Okay so the truth is, I learned more than I realized and can even pull it out of the fog I call my mind periodically, but certainly not on demand! And Then there's stuff that needs to be signed!?! I'm not talking PTA forms and the like, I'm talkin nightly reading logs, daily agenda entries and pretests (that I have to give him). And by the way if these things aren't signed and on time the poor kid gets penalized!!  Its all I can do to remember my own name at the end of the day!

The only saving grace or curse (depending on how I'm feeling that day) is that my oldest had the same teacher for 4th grade. This teacher is great, we all love her, but I'm convinced she derives certain pleasure in giving us parents "homework" too. I am thankful, however, that my kids all have different learning styles and ages, cause I could not hack doin this homework crap for more than 1 kid. (on top of restraining myself from stringing these kids up on the daily)  I think I would have a nervous breakdown. I may still have one but that's another blog for another day.