Homework

Jupiter and I were home early this afternoon. Which worked out well since she had about three days worth of homework to catch up on.

We came home and had a snack. Well, she had a snack. I had lunch.

I got out the first worksheet. The one she started yesterday but then decided she didn't know what a paragraph was anymore and didn't like where I wrote the numbers to show her paragraph one two three and four. Homework time tanked and ended. So today she had to answer one multiple choice question and write a sentence.

20 minutes later she'd answered one multiple choice question and written a sentence.

On to a math worksheet. She'd started about two math facts. There were about 44 of them left on the page. I tried to remove myself from the homework area in the hopes she would stop arguing about every.single.thing.

20 minutes later she'd done six math facts, snapped the lead on all her pencils, broken one pencil in half, and dropped her pencil boxes on the floor. I sent her to her room for five minutes while I threw away the broken pencil and sharpened all the other ones. She threw all the blankets off her bed and jumped on the bed.

We switched to a reading worksheet. She took her pencil and filled in all the letter "b"'s in the passage she was supposed to be reading. She informed me that she didn't WANT to do homework. She WANTed to play. She went in the other room. I brought her the worksheet with the reading passage.

She ripped up the paper with the reading passage. I sent her to find the tape. She said she didn't know how to tape it back together. (seriously; this is the kid who wants scotch tape for Christmas). She got mad at the tape because the long straight piece of tape wouldn't cover the diagonally jagged hole she'd made in the paper. I suggested she use a smaller piece of tape.

She ripped a two foot piece of tape off the roll and wrapped it around my body twice. Then she ripped off 8 inch pieces of tape and used the counter to divide them into four smaller pieces. Whatever. She stuck pieces of tape on where I told her.

She was supposed to read the story three times. The second time throw she yawned through every other sentence.

We had a conversation about how she hates homework and school.

She said she was hungry.

While she read the story a third time, I fixed her two tablespoons of straight peanut butter and dish of peaches.

When I blinked, she inhaled all the peanut butter. She asked for more.

She ate the peaches and a third tablespoon of peanut butter.

She answered the questions on her reading paper. We were on a roll.

I started switching up the three math papers. We had to find a sales flyer from last week in the recycle bin in order to find things in a magazine or newspaper that cost less than $2. (note to school staff: could you please send home worksheets that require looking at sales ads on Monday when there's a chance the sales ads are still piled on my living room floor somewhere?). She chose candy corn and wrote out two different ways to make a dollar.

I switched her to a place value worksheet. She whipped through the first two problems.

I switched her back to the math facts worksheet. She balked a little bit but completed two rows.

She blasted through the rest of place value worksheet. She was ready (willing) to work on her own. She finished the counting money worksheet and went back to the math facts worksheet. I started painting the walls in the living room.

She doesn't like subtraction. I told her to hop from the smaller number to the bigger number on her imaginary number line and that it would be the answer. She tried it and figured out it worked. I didn't mention that I still have to do subtraction that way. She colored the little path of all the facts that had ten for an answer.

Obviously she needs a hit of protein before she has to attempt homework. I know that she needs protein...I just fight to get it into her. Not a big meat eater (except pepperoni, which isn't really healthy enough to be an everyday food. Or if you have an idea for healthy every day pepperoni, I'm open to suggestions). I've tried protein shakes and bars, but she's not a fan. Although she has willingly eaten a couple of Genis*y mint chocolate crisp bars, which is better than no protein at all. But if I give her too many, she will get bored with them and stop eating them. And she doesn't like beans or hummus.

Four more days until the end of official birthday anxiety. I hope. Wait. She has a sub on Monday. I forgot. Well, there's always Tuesday.