For the last week we’ve been helping Honey bunny with a project for school. She’s required to complete a report on the planet Saturn (her choice) which includes:
- 1-2 pages written by the child including a summarizing paragraph,
- a title page,
- a bibliography,
- 3×5 card with 4 facts,
- for her oral presentation,
- a 3-D model of the planet
Now, she has known about this project for over one month… has she worked on any of it until the week before it’s due? Um, that would be a big fat -No! What is it with always waiting until the last second before a project is due to begin working on said project?
And here’s the thing, I really didn’t like working on projects, assignments, blahbity blah blah when I was in school yet now I have to help my child! I don’t wanna do it. {stamps foot} Obviously, as her mother I am her primary teacher in life and a teacher’s assistant to her classroom teacher. Therefore, I will help her in any & every way that I can. But I’m not going to do it for her. Which is a discussion in & of itself for another day… parents who do the projects for their child because they believe the final result reflects on them as parents.
What really kills me is the drama & the whining & complaining & tantrums (and that’s just from me) that inevitably follow the announcement that it’s time once again for her to work on this project. Boy oh boy does this bring back memories from childhood. Like the arguments I had with my own mother about how and when to do the assignments. I’m having those same arguments with my daughter. And what I know is that this is only the beginning. Well who am I kidding? Since she’s been in school we’ve had arguments about how & when to do homework – not just special projects. She has a minimum 8 more years of school. On top of that, we’ve got Pumpkin to go through all this joy with as well. GOODY!
I’m not entirely sure if all the debating and arguing is because she’s as stubborn and strong-willed ~read: know-it-all~ as myself or if every child acts this way when it comes to homework and projects but I’ll tell you what, it’s annoying as hell.
Some of the items have been easy enough for her to start and finish on her own like the 3×5 card with 4 facts and the title page & bibliography. Some of the items, hmmmmmm, not so much. Like the summarizing paragraph portion of this assignment! It has taken her half a day. Ridiculous! I know. But she continually wants to write new facts or pieces of information and then has to start again from scratch. It has been so challenging trying to explain to her what the purpose is for the final paragraph especially given the fact that she is so apt to argue with me. Grrrrrr. Guess I should call my mom to apologize for all the years I fought with her over my homework. Oh, and that “mother’s curse” thing, it really works.
Well, Honey bunny’s gonna have this project wrapped up today if it’s the last thing I do. I’m tired of it hanging over our heads like a great big thunder cloud. That and I’ve got enough other tasks that need to be accomplished… say… getting all our tax papers together for the CPA.
Thanks for listening (or reading, if you must be technical),
Ciao
