Dec. 16, 2006 - OH NO! It's a Frustrated Mom Rant!!!!!
Strap your seat belts for a RANT….
Grammar stinks! This is how Brandon is feeling right about now and I can’t say that I disagree with him. I have spent all week explaining the difference between Sit/Set, Lie/Lay, Rise/Raise and how to write them in the proper tense. Sooooo…Bran has not made a passing grade in Grammar all week. I don’t get it. He knows how to speak. He uses them properly when talking but have him fill in a blank on a worksheet and you’d think English was his second language!
He is very bright and can tell you the right answers when you do work verbally. Brandon just can’t seem to get information out of his head and onto a piece of paper! I know he is just as frustrated as I am, like there is some kind of block between his brain and the paper. I feel like I’ve failed him in some way. Have I babied him along too much? OR Am I expecting too much? How much writing should he be able to do in the 5th grade? He desperately hates to write. I got him HWT, Sequential Spelling and Easy Grammar this year thinking I had finally found all the perfect curriculums to help this year. Between the 3 of those I truly thought he would make a brake through this year on his writing. Is it too early in the school year to be expecting improvement? May be I wouldn’t be so down if it didn’t bleed into everything else too!
All this week I have written Bran’s math out for him because we needed to do two lessons a day to finish the book. Left alone it would take 4 hours for him to do that. Honestly all I do is write the answers he gives. He knows them! He is good at math! But today I made him do his math alone because it was a test grade. We have been doing 2 lessons a day in about 30 minutes and the lowest grade he has made all week was an 88. It took him over an hour to do 27 problems and he made a 68. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Is it a mind block having to do with writing? Is it a lack of focus? I do push him to stay on task and move on when I do the writing for him. But how healthy is it for me to keep doing that just to get the work done in a decent time? When will he learn he has to focus himself? During math he got up once to sharpen his pencils, twice to go to the bathroom, once to answer the door bell, once to get a drink, once to get a straw for the drink, and then once ……..he honestly thought he needed to go water his rabbit?????? Again…… ARE YOU KIDDING ME? ALL OF THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE IN THE MIDDLE OF A MATH TEST?????
Brandon is a wonderful boy. He is smart and has a heart of gold. He is going to be something great, I just know it! We have just some how have to get past his inability to get things from his mind and onto paper. Meanwhile today was report card day and dispite his bad grades this week he still had A's and B's all the way around. We are off for the Christmas holiday until after New Year's. So we'll start fresh in the New Year. May be we just need the break!
Comments
Dec. 16, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by drewsfamilytx
It sounds like y'all definitely need a break! When mom and child are both frustrated, you both need to step back and take a little time off.
My son is in second grade and hates to write. It's not quite as bad as it was last year but it still is painfully slow. He speaks, dictates and spells well. The physical task of it, however, is not fun for him I guess. I'm hoping that switching to cursive will make things better for him.
Can you find a special little test corner for him? And make a rule that you must go to the bathroom, get a drink, etc. before the test begins...He is not allowed to get up during the test. Period. Also, maybe you can set a timer for him. If you know it has been taking him 30 min to complete a page, then set the timer for 45 (so he has time to quickly doublecheck his answers). Make a goal for him-- reasonable time and accuracy equals something fun.
We dislike grammar here. I think we just have not found a good program yet. I did get simply grammar off of HomeschoolBuy so we'll be trying that after the break...Or I might get one of those AO Lifepacs for grammar. I like the idea of filling in the blank and it being self-explanatory...so I can even save that for the end of our lessons so he can finish as quickly as he wants in order to have more play time before lunch. :-)
As far as the changes here at HSB, it is going to take some getting used to. I know there are some things that didn't quite make the transition properly, but they are working on that.
Camo pant capri's are really cute on little girls! I'm just not crazy about them on women. And yes, you are totally right about the hunters!!! LOL
Ahem...I have had the delicious creamer you mentioned and I still had two spoons of sugar. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but it's true. I guess I should ask for toothbrush and toothpaste in my stocking this year!
Hope you have a great weekend, April!
Love,
Marsha
Dec. 20, 2006 - boys and writing
Posted by Anonymous
Hi April,
Yes it is good to be back. Thanks.
Someone once told me that when boys start to mature, you might as well forget academics and give them physical labor. They were right. Those harmones start pumping and the boys brains go to mush! If you have yards to rake and heavy things to move, let them do it.
I read history to my son yesterday and then asked a question. I had to read it 4 times before he came up with the answer and I was reading the answer everytime in the text!
I have also read that some experts say not to even study grammar until 7 th grade. Before that they should be read to and reading out loud.
Good luck with the writing. Andrew doesn't like to take the time to write, either. He doesn't mind talking, though! That's why we call him motormouth!
Merry Christmas, Linda
Dec. 20, 2006 - boys and writing
Posted by lillinda
Most boys hate to write.Both of mine do. They both like you to listen to their every word, but writing it down is a whole nother ball game!
I read that some experts don't even recommend grammar until 7th grade. Before that they want you to read out loud and have the child read out loud too.
Someone once told me that when a boy hits puberty, their brain turns to mush and you might as well hang up academics. Treat them to lots of physical labor and athletics. My son does better if between subjects, he can take 5 or 10 and ride his bike or jump on the trampoline. On bad weather days, he enjoys terrorizing the cat by running thru the house with a stuffed animal on a string!
I wish you lots of luck with the writing and if you find something that fits, let us know.
Merry Christmas, Linda
Dec. 21, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Halfadozenkids
My son had the same problem. I ended up having him read it allowed. That helped alot.
