The Story of My Week

First of all, I got a hefty dose on the receiving end of homework this week.  To say it has been hell is an understatement.  One kid had a massive (in terms of a 4th grader) New York project.  And while I normally would say I heart New York, this week my sentiments have not been as kind. I do not care that the state insect is a ladybug (cute) or that the state beverage is milk (yum), and I soooo did not care what the state muffin was, so we didn't find out.  I was happy to see the wine red garnet as the state gem (my anniversary stone), but other than that, the only thing New York made me think of was getting away on vacation, like to Niagara Falls (also beautiful).  Beyond that, I was really past hating this project.  The teacher in me required the kid in 4th grade to do the work herself, which in turn made the mommy in me crazy!

And in the background, the 7th grader was multitasking...book report pieces that would eventually become giant Oreo concentration cards and a timeline of the Revolutionary War were all spread out on the office floor.  I teach the Revolution (they were doing the timeline about a novel in a different class) and I was having trouble making the connection to the Oreo.  I was pretty sure none of the Valley Forge provisions included the double stuffed delicacies.  While that was all over the floor, she was trying to brainstorm her Optimist speech on "Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem." She was answering texts while I was gluing pictures on the Oreos, and I finally told her I thought her form of cyber communicating (aka. texting) was a problem, and then found out she was texting a friend about yet another project from school.  Somewhere in the mix I figured out that the Oreos did not have anything to do with the Revolution, and spent the next few minutes digging everywhere on the computer for any information about the Battle of Philadelphia that happened in "either 1777, 1772 or 1775" because "those are the only dates left to pick from!" (lol)  The Revolutionary War teacher in me was cursing Philly and still thinking about the poor Patriot forces camping out in the cold at Valley Forge, and somehow wishing we had some Oreos in the house. 

Thin mints will have to do...

Back to the New York project, we were nearly ready to print when I got slammed with slope intercept.  I love, love, love Math, could do it for hours, don't get bored at all, the numbers facinate me.  But wow, checking 7th grade math is a challenge without an answer key.  I find myself figuring 30 problems from a set each night she is with me, and some nights I am on the phone figuring them.  While I love Saxon math and the spiral setup, it can knock you off your feet to reteach yourself slope for just 2 problems.  That means that when the next 2 problems are on negative powers, I have to spend time remembering that, while seeing the upcoming problems and hoping with all my power that I can simplify and expand like terms, find the area, circumference and perimeter of various shapes, find proportions, and graph certain coordinates...all in the same math set.  I've gotten to the point that I have retaught myself so much, it is actually a little easier now.  But I still have to figure every answer to be able to check her answers.  Tonight she called me at school before I left (still there at 5pm) to ask about a proportion question.  It was a story problem, and having her tell me on the phone was quite funny...pretty sure she repeated herself about 5x!  When it was done, I texted her and said "that was way too much brain stimulus!"

So the New York project is printing, and the slope is sloping, when along comes the 4th grader's book report info.  Are you kidding me?  Rachel was invited to the basketball game, and even though she had so much homework, she really wanted to go, and Mom she really needed a break.  She was gone for a few hours, and came back for us to tackle the speech.  By then, Tye and Amberlea were in bed, and I only had one kid saying my name.  Luckily, she had already made a long list of pros and cons for cell phones, iPods, email, etc., and had a great quote ready to go.  She had a good layout for her speech, and we were able to put it together quickly.  It was ready to print, and all she had to do was put it on notecards and PRACTICE by tomorrow.

Midnight bedtime for a 13 year old 12 year old (at least for 7 more days).  Great mothering!  But honestly, besides the ballgame, which was a necessary break in order for me to be sure little man wasn't tearing up the house and the middle child didn't feel completely neglected and the oldest child's brain didn't explode, there was not any other time in the day.  She worked on homework straight through from when she got home until she crashed at nearly midnight.

By the time Wednesday came, I had done nearly 6 hours worth of homework in 2 days, and that was just the part that demanded my undivided attention.  That doesn't include the other math sets I checked and the fact that I taught all week and did homework help tonight after school.  My brain is tired.

And to top it off, I found out today that above mentioned middle child did awful  not so great on a Science test this week.  I am frustrated that I didn't remember to help her study, but even more frustrated that she didn't ask me or her dad or Abby (she's almost 10, and she needs to let us know).  I wonder just when we would have had time to do this, but I know there was time.  I think.

On the way out of school yesterday, I saw my sister.  She was talking to Tori about getting her science experiment ready, and then another project that required research.  I was thanking God dearly that Tye is not in Tori's 1st grade class, which would mean that we would also be doing all that work this week in the midst of everything else, and in that case I would really be in the loony bin stressed.

So what has Tye been up to?  Running, skipping and galloping.

A lot.

That is the new rule in P.E. when you aren't listening.  If you are talking or not paying attention during instructions or when the teacher asks, instead of sitting, you run (or skip or gallop).  I saw the P.E. teacher in the office last Friday, and she mentioned that Tye had skipped and galloped quite a bit during class that day.  We got a good laugh among friends, but I told her I would talk to him about this.  We had a long talk over the weekend, and lots of reminders.  On Tuesday, I happened to be in the hall upstairs, just as he was coming back from P.E.  He hugged me and I kissed him on top of the head, finding out in a not-so-pleasant way that he was sweating!  I said...ooo, you having been running!  And before he could say anything, another kid said...yep, he has been running, but we haven't.  I looked up into the eyes of the P.E. teacher, and she nodded and said...yep, he's been running.

Oooo.  So it was a stern talking to, the "I'm going to be checking on you and blah blah.

So yesterday afternoon, I said...how did P.E. go today? 

Hmmm....he stammered around and said...we didn't have P.E. today.  So we walked on towards the van, and just as we were getting in, he said...we had music, and she sent me out in the hall.  He just looked at me in a matter-of-fact stare.  I said...great, now I have to check with both teachers.

Then today in the office after school, the P.E. teacher said...well, he ran again today.  I just sighed.  She knows I want to know, so she is doing great at keeping me updated.  And she is my friend, so I feel like she tells it to me straight.  She said...he isn't being bad, just not listening.

Did I mention there are 23 kids in his class?  So there HAS to be some order, for gosh sakes.  He HAS to follow the rules.

I asked...so what did he do?  She said...when I asked everyone to get quiet so we could continue, as soon as it was completely silent, he would say...woo, woo. Repeatedly. As in, everytime she started to talk.

So he ran.  He was kind of packing on the pounds at the beginning of the school year, and come to think of it, he has slimmed down some.  I will have to ask her how much he has been running!  So tonight there were more consequences and the guilt trip about being disrespectful to the teacher, and she is so nice and so on.  He is going to work on earning some rewards, while also losing privileges if this continues. 

Thank God tomorrow is Friday. Woo Woo!

Except that he has P.E. again.