So how’s that math packet coming along? The reading of The Odyssey, plus notes? The book for French, with questions? Ready for the test at the end of Week One that will be count for 10% of your grade?
These are some of the questions that have been floating around our house for the past two months–and perhaps yours.
Happily, C. announced this evening that she is done with The Odyssey, and indeed, her copy is bristling with a neon rainbow of Post-It flags. French–she finished that book and the questions at camp. As for the math packet, she tackled that early on, and all that remains is the few questions involving quadratic equations, a topic she never quite completed using ALEKS. In terms of helping her, I’m a lost cause, and Husband Dear it turns out is rather rusty. So she’s hoping that one of her friends can help her out during a sleepover tomorrow. I must say, it’s been quite painless, as she has been–as they say in West Africa–”on it” from the start of the summer, establishing a schedule and sticking to it.
Now Ms. M. on the other hand…there is the real challenge. Her only requirement as an incoming 6th grader is to complete a math packet (she’s off the hook with reading, as she’s doing a foreign language–go figure.). For weeks it stayed tacked to the magnetic wipe board in the kitchen, where I put it so it wouldn’t get lost. Hoping to make it more immediate and accessible, I clipped it to a clip board and put it on her bed, only to have it shoved aside. She was supposed to take it to a friend’s house where they could work together, but she “forgot” it. One day I persuaded her to come to the office with me and do some work on it there, free from distractions. She made a start, but that didn’t last long. There were promises that it would be done on the road trip drive, on the long car ride to my mom’s this this week, but somehow there just never has been any time, a better offer always comes along.
The other day she actually had the nerve to say that it only counted for 10% of her grade and that she could still get an A if she didn’t turn it in.
Truth is, time is running out and girl just doesn’t want to do it. I’m dreading the knock down, drag out, you MUST sit here and do it. But I’m going to have to.
Naturally, as one of those parents who has no memory of ever having had homework in elementary school other than constructing dioramas, and certainly no summer work, I have mixed feelings about the whole enterprise. As does Dear Husband, who shared that he and his boss had been comparing notes on the subject (let the record show both not in favor of summer homework).
So, if you have school-going kid, how is it at your house? All done or anticipating a night-before-the-first-day of school meltdown? (Homeschoolers, you just get to feel smug 
)
We’re younger here (much younger). But the summer reading program ends on Thursday and we still have four insects to color in.
Not all homeschoolers get to feel smug. We’re officially starting the new school year next Monday. I’m running out of excuses for why DD has yet to finish the 30 lessons remaining from last year’s math curriculum and why I’ve not yet given her the California Achievement Test that DH wanted her to take upon completion of her current grade…
The Math packet is nearly done…thanks for asking. We did the minimum…We can’t seem to get the 60 math facts in a minute done in less than 3 minutes. Summer rust.
We do have several “reading” assignments outstanding…It would be easy if she just had to read, but – she has to do other parts of the assignment as well, and that is harder for me to keep track of. This weekend we’re going to deep creek lake, so I think I’ll make sure we have the right supplies to finish some of the “creative” assignments that went with the reading.
School started today…with the AP Chemistry packet done but AP English reading not yet. I told mine that I would NOT approve a transfer from this class and that she would need to manage it. Ouch!!
You’re a tough mama! Truth be told, we had some big drama this morning, centering around adding fractions….crying, the whole go away, come here but don’t say anything. To the point where I gave DH a call and said, please come home and deal with this. Which he did (he’s got some extra leave and things are slow at the office.). He did the entire math packet himself first, and it took over an hour. Some of the explanations according to him were very confusing. Then he went through it with her. I stayed out of it and it was done by around 2 p.m. Then he took her to a movie as a reward. Which led to C. asking why she didn’t get any recognition for doing all her work on time and without drama. Sigh.