Homework

Emma's upper and lower case c.
Emma's upper and lower case b.
Henry's upper and lower case a.
Henry's upper and lower case z.
And more of Henry's upper and lower case A.

These are only part of what we do for homework. Emma has assigned work every day except Friday and then I add one or two activities. Henry's main focus is on learning his letters and numbers and he is assigned work every day as well except for Friday. We still work on letters and numbers on the weekend. There has been noticeable improvement from both of them since our parent/teacher conference and report cards came home the other day. They don't get letter or number grades at this point. They split the "grades" into three designations-M=mastered, P=progressing, N=needs improvement. Both kiddos have some of each. We are proud of both of them. Both have adjusted well to being in school and are learning everyday. I think one of the issues is dealing with being sick almost the whole time since school started and another is their sleep schedule has been off. When you don't feel well and are tired, well, it's hard to learn and absorb information. So we are taking it one day at a time. Some days, homework is fun. And on other days, it's like pulling teeth. As soon as they get home, they have a snack and then we do homework right away. I've tried waiting until later to do homework with them and it doesn't work well. This way, we get our work done and then they have the rest of the afternoon/evening to play,etc. We have a couple of concerns. First, when I was their age, I had a learning disability and it made my first few years of school difficult. Second, Daddy(Jason) had/has dyslexia. We think that there is a possibility of both of these traits being passed down to the kiddos. It is slightly too early to tell, so we will wait and see. We'll continue to work with each of them.

We decided a long time ago that we wouldn't quiz the kids with flashcards and other things when they turned three. And we didn't. You've probably heard this before, but I'm going to say it anyway, my children are bright, imaginative, beautiful kids. I've heard that not just from family and friends, but complete strangers. We want to raise them well with a wide knowledge base. And we want them to enjoy being kids. I am also very happy to say that they both have great teachers who are patient and caring and do what is best for the kids every day. I think with all of us working together, things will keep improving.

I guess what I'd also like to say is, if you are felling disappointed, frustrated, scared, tired, and worried about your kids schooling, don't feel alone. It's an exciting and trying time, but I'm trying to take it all in because it won't be like this forever.