my take on homework

I might just be a lazy fuddy duddy stick in the mud, or perhaps people think I sit at home with flash cards beating my kids if they answer something wrong, but I've been shocked by something since dash1 has started kindergarten this year.... peoples attitudes towards homework.

And I'm just poop-myself-surprised at the number of people who have had no shame in admitting that they have done their kids homework.

And fyi one of the mom's admitted not just to doing her kindergartners homework, but her 2nd graders sentence writing homework, going to far as to fake his handwriting.

Here's my thing, a. I've done school, I did my time with homework, no way no hell am I doing yours now.  b.  It's your responsibility, if I let you out of doing it what am I teaching you?  and c. I'm over that whole oh-it's-just-kindergarten attitude.  

The days of kindergartner's napping are long gone. Our district wants kids at a 2nd grade reading level, like yesterday, so by doing their homework you certainly aren't helping them out.

I get it, the homework battle can be nasty.  I was counting my blessings that dash-1 cames home and nicely sat at his little desk and did his homework while I make dinner.  Now he has a new sort of homework, more writing based and his teacher wants the kids to sound out the words on their own.  Right or wrong. 

Dash-1 does not enjoy being wrong.  This has led to some battles as of late.

However after I explained last night that he wasn't "wrong" per say, but that he was learning, they are different in a similar sorta way.  Oh and I added that if he didn't figure out the whole writing thing, he wasn't going to go far in life and he wasn't living with me till he was 35. 

Hey sometimes life calls for honesty. 

But back to homework. I don't know how much other kids his age are getting, I'm not sure if he gets a lot or a little by comparison.  He has a book we read a couple times a night {a new book every week and a worksheet we do about it on thurs. night}, a math worksheet {he had one with a ven diagram that I'm pretty sure I did in middle school}, and then he has a packet with a different writing assignment every night .

It would seem from my conversations at the playground after school and birthday parties that most parents aren't so keen on the homework.  Of course when I went into his school the other day at least a quarter of the class couldn't write their names on their assignments either so maybe there is a correlation.  I don't know.

My kids are kinda on the smart side.  I wouldn't say I have the next Einstein, {dash 2 might be sitting next to me trying to pick his nose with his toes and I have to admit I'm curious to see if he can do it} but they are on the top side of their classes, but then again we work with them at home.

We expect a lot from them.  Granted with getting moderately smart kids God proved he had a sense of humor and gave us rambunctious hellions but hey, all's fair right? But to me high expectations of your kids are still separate from expecting them to do their homework.

It's my opinion that you aren't doing your kid any favors with a relaxed attitude on homework.  Not to say you need to embody the late General Patton during homework time, but unless it says "optional" ITS NOT OPTIONAL!

It's homework folks.  You explain it.  They do it.  It gets turned back in.  There doesn't seem to be much room in that whole equation for me to run amock with it. 

All kids are different, they learn at different speeds, homework is meant to reinforce what is learned at school, to challenge and work those muscles inside their adorable little heads, it's also so that we as parents can see what's going on.  If I'm doing it for him, none of that is happening.

But something else is. 

I'm teaching my kid a valuable lesson.  That rules don't apply to him. 

{And just so we are on the same page here, I am in no way talking about kids who have academic modifications made for them.}

Your setting up the expectations now that they will carry with them later on.

Like I said, maybe I'm just a fuddy duddy.  I'm cool with that.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to fetch a Lightening McQueen for someone before he fashions a tool to get it off the top of the book shelf , that by the way, never ends well.

Was it you?

The winner of the Christmas cards giveaway courtesy of the awesomely awesome Tiny Prints is.....



LivKit!

Congrats and because this is a giveaway that is moderately time sensitive I've emailed you.

Thanks to everyone who entered, if your bummed you didn't win, no need for the sad face, head over to the Tiny Prints site and check out their 2 day 20% off your ENTIRE order coupon code!

And if I might add, while your add it, after you've made up your pretty cards, toss some address labels {matching of course} in your shopping cart.  Very affordable and so worth it.  I did not this year and have already wasted 4 sheets of those crappy self printing ones.  Waste. Of. Time. And money.

Sanity is fleeting, save it while you can. Right?

Again, thanks to Tiny Prints! And to everyone who entered!

Christmas Cookie Hop Anyone?

I'm headed to the commissary tomorrow, that means I spend the day thinking about all the things I want to cook so I can pick up the ingredients at the commissary for a fraction of the price as they are here in town.

In case your wondering, I usually don't write a list, I'm sure there's a good reason, I've hidden my writing utensils, dash-1's run off with them, I put my list together in the car while driving, something like that, there's always a reason right?

For whatever reason I don't write a list, then I end up at the commissary with my frazzled self and my entourage roaming up and down the shelves forgetting most of what I need only to find out I came home with 3 bottles of ketchup and we already had 4.  You get the idea.

But I'm going to try to do a little more for this visit since December is a very special month. 

December is the MONTH OF THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE! 

And yes, the birth of Christ is a very important thing, no need for snarky comments about how I'm going to hell because I refered to it as the month of the cookie. 

{For those of you who are thinking "no that doesn't happen, people don't leave comments like that!"  Yes. Yes they do.  For months. Actually years.}

But back to the cookies. Christmas cookies are really really delicious.  Like wicked awesome sorta delicious.

{And in case you didn't know, I shared this with the ornament swap folks, calories consumed during this month do not count}

So the point, cause I'm pretty sure there is a point to this post {or maybe not why start having a point now!} why not do an online cookie hop?

While your whipping up your holiday goodies, take a picture, write up the recipe on your blog and then link up over here in my little corner of the web.  If folks seem interested I'll set up a linky and a start date {I'm thinking next week to start and then just leave it up for the month?} and we can all get fat and happy together.

What better way to find a new recipe {and not just cookies, any type of baked good, desert type of treat will work} and share a favorite?  After all aren't the holidays about sharing?

And getting fat and happy.

So who's in?