Thursday, September 22, 2011

Homework Revisited

I pick up Josiah once a week from school.  Today, Donna Marie asked me to do homework with him because she had a lot to do tonight.  She was planning something for her husband's birthday and she wanted the kids to help her with making the cake. 


I was a little hesitant.  I am not the parent.  I am the grandparent.  I am supposed to be fun one.  Let them play with the toys. Easy and not demanding and to spoil them rotten.  I think it is written in a grandparent handbook. I take this very seriously.


I am also supposed to get my kids to roll their eyes, when I let their children run amok.  I am supposed to hear "you never let us do that or eat that when we were young." That is so correct!  I was your mom not your grandparent.


Josiah and I came home and I fixed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  He was hungry.  I let that slide down his belly before we went to the dinner table and started the homework assignment.


I have said this before,  I do not think 5 year olds need homework.  I think kindergarten should be like an intro to school.  Simple.  Learning the rules. Getting used to the environment.  I think it is too soon to be bogged down by homework.  My angel had a lot of homework!


He had to write a few words 3 times each. Josiah had to write the numbers 1-20 one time each.  He forgot to bring his composition book so Bill made his own lined paper for Josiah to use.  We didn't have loose leaf.  It worked out quite well. 


What I want to know is, what happened to coloring and story time and playdoh?  It is still learning with no intense writing. My kids had a great time when they started.  Very little homework and it was only for a few hours.


The children in my area now go for the full day.  I think it is a bit of an overkill.  They have school work and learning all day and then to continue at night.  I know they want our children to be more competitive but this is ridiculous.   It took us an hour to do homework and I was beat.


It brought up anxiety of needing patience and to constantly repeat myself and to guide the child.  He didn't want to do homework.  He wanted to relax and have fun with his toys.  I don't blame him one bit.  He did a great job and I wanted to treat him with something sweet.    I


I gave his this candy. 

It lights us when you hold the pumpkin shaped candy.

It was fun but it tasted awful.  Josiah ate it .  blah.  It tasted more gum paste than sweet.  I guess kids will eat anything as long as it is candy. 


I'll have to make sure to have extra special treats, if I have to do this again.  I am no hurry to do this again.

Not a Substitute Abbie

4 comments:

  1. When we went to Kindergarten we learned to count and write ours names. We learned shapes, colors, and letters. Now when kids go to kindergarten, they expect them to know all those things already. I, too, think kids should get to come home from school and play after studying all day.

    I also loved your comments about what should be included in the "grandparent handbook."

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  2. LDS - Times are different. I hope this generation doesn't pay for it.

    Am I wrong? Isn't their a handbook?

    I could have sworn I seen it somewhere. Maybe I should write an updated one. As the grandchildren get older, I will probably add chapters to the "handbook". One title "Abbie's Revenge" Hmmm... What do you think?

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  3. I love it! You could have different sections for different ages of your grandchildren. Each section could have tips on how to spoil your grandkids and drive your children crazy at any age. Hee,hee!

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  4. LDS - I like the way you think!! It may turn out to be a best seller. LOL

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