2. My least favorite part of my day is…
My least favorite part of the day is homework time.
I have made no secret about how much I dislike homework. I dislike every subject. I dislike the way the teachers have to teach the subjects. And I dislike the battle I need to fight to get my kids to do their homework in the first place.
When my kids started asking for help with homework that was over my head I started grumbling to myself about how I had already done this all once in my life and I’m not equipped to do it once more as a mom. In school, learning was a survival tool only. I learned just enough to pass a test and then promptly forgot everything I was ever taught.
My kids have learned that if the topic does not have something to do with the Holocaust or something you might learn from Animal Planet, then they should go to their Dad for help.
This has worked out great for me. Last night, Laina decided to get to work building a conveyer belt that she needs for her Science Fair Project. You know…the Science Fair that’s happening tonight. You didn’t know she had a Science Fair tonight? Well join the club. I didn’t know she had a Science Fair project either until she started asking for glue. Thankfully, she pulled her Dad in to help with the project right away and I tucked myself away into a corner to avoid getting called on.
My girl thought she could build a conveyer belt with a piece of cardboard, some duct tape, and motor she pulled out of a toy horse that walks when you push a button. Pat guided her along as well as he could considering she really didn’t have any of the appropriate materials for this conveyer belt. He showed her how to measure properly, but she opted for eyeballing the process and then things didn’t line up correctly. There were some tears and a lot of frustration and when all was said and done, she decided she would leave the horse motor out of the creation altogether and just settle for a conveyer belt that doesn’t rotate.
Before she headed off to bed, I was like, “Laina? Was this something you were instructed to build by your teacher?” And she was all, “No, I just wanted it as a display with my posterboard.”
If she had told me just two or three days ago I could have ordered a toy conveyer belt from Amazon. I’m bad at homework. And I’m really bad at building inventions. Especially inventions that require working motors.
But I’m reallllly good at ordering things from Amazon.
The Prompts:
1. The best part of my day is…
2. My least favorite part of my day is…
3. Share how snow makes you feel in gifs.
4. Write a blog post inspired by the word: new
5. Share one piece of great advice you’ve received.
6. Tell us about the best book you read in 2018.
Cathy Kennedy says
Kat,
Being a former homeschool mom then helping with homework wasn’t escapable, even for the hard subjects which still gives me nightmares. Luckily for me, there were no surprises and thankfully, my kiddos were all too eager to get their studies done quickly in order to have the afternoon & evening free. I hated science projects when I was a kid and thought the science fair was waste of time. Some kids really thrived on doing that stuff but not me. I wasn’t nerdy enough I reckon. I’m so glad my school days are soooo far behind me as well the homeschooling chapter closed. Thanks for hosting and sharing!
John Holton says
“I learned just enough to pass a test and then promptly forgot everything I was ever taught.” You and I are so alike, it’s frightening.
Abby says
“…and motor she pulled out of a toy horse that walks when you push a button” = next year’s science fair.
Donetta says
I always loved when my girls would tell me about a school project, that required materials we did not have, at the last minute so that we all were frustrated, crying, and angry before bedtime. Well, their bedtime… I’d usually stay up half the night or more in search of anything that would come close to what they needed or what their teachers demanded. lol.
Beverly Nickerson says
That’s a funny story about the conveyor belt that didn’t happen. When I was in school in the late 60’s and early 70’s, bring home math homework was a big problem because I didn’t understand it and neither did my parents. And the school system kept switching between “New Math,” and “Old Math,” making it even more confusing. I blame their inconsistency in method for myself doing so poorly in math in high school.