Monday, October 13, 2008

Parenting Fail

Havoc bought home a homework folder last Monday. In it were 7 worksheets and a list of various things to do. It was supposed to be returned on Friday. Monday we did a worksheet.  Tuesday we did 2 worksheets. Friday, around noon I realized that I had forgotten to send the folder back & it was just as well because we still had 4 worksheets to complete. Havoc was upset with me because he got into trouble for forgetting his homework. We did a worksheet Friday night & I intended to have him do the other 2 on Sunday afternoon. I forgot about it until bedtime Sunday night.

Oh, and Mayhem? He came home Thursday with a project to complete by Monday as well.

It didn't get done Sunday either.

Mayhem didn't have school until Monday afternoon, so he had all morning to color in his project.

Havoc stayed up for 20 minutes last night doing 2 of the worksheets. One involved coloring in pumpkins of various sizes & Havoc is a bit of a perfectionist so it took most of the time.  He completed the second one, coloring in different items in a pattern, then choosing what item would come next in the pattern, this morning before school. He gets up at 6am on his own, so it was no big deal but this shouldn't be happening.

I need to find a place to keep their uncompleted homework and I need to find a way to keep track of what is due when

I suck at this homework thing. I'm good with stuff due the next day, but if you give me a few days, I will forget all about it & so will they. I can see this is a habit we are going to have to develop but I expect there will be more fails before we regularly succeed.

10 comments:

Lena said...

I have done that SO many times. I think homework is worse for the parents than the kids, atleast when they are fairly young. don't fret! :)

Kresta said...

Sounds like an honest mistake. Maybe your son will also learn from it and you can kinda remind each other. :)

Kate said...

Oh no! Ha, don't you hate it when stuff like that happens!! I've had a few of those days myself. Sometimes I lay awake at night just wondering what I've forgotten to do yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that. Luckily, if it's really important and you forget about it, chances are you'll find out sooner or later that you spaced it!

Anonymous said...

Ive done that plenty. Most of the time my son actually does the work and it gets put in his backpack but he takes it out to look at it and it never gets put back because I dont know it was taken out. The way I do it is that I have my son do all the work the first night then just put them in on Friday.

Anonymous said...

It gets harder the older they get because the teachers rely on them to tell you and they don't! I'm going to have to go to school with them and write down the assignments myself!

Monique said...

Hmmm, a designated homework area could help, homework to be done can go there so you can see when there's work still to be done. A calendar posted nearby to write when things are due could help too. Good luck! My DD's not bringing homework home yet, but I'm sure I'll have some work cut out trying to keep track of it when the time comes too. Have a great day!

Aunt Becky said...

*sighs*

I hate having to be in charge of it, too. Drives me insane.

Barb said...

You'll get it! I swear it WILL happen!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I've done that too. I'm also good at stuff that needs to be done the next day but longer and it tends to get lost in amongst everything else that needs to get done.

Musings from Me said...

I use the children's backpacks as my organizer. All homework "lives" in the backpack. During homework time the backpack sits on a kitchen chair. My youngest does homework at the kitchen table, while the middle child does hers in the living room. When homework is done it goes back in the backpack. For years I lost homework by moving it to this stack or that stack. I would tell myself that I was "keeping it in a safe place to do later." Problem...I could never find the paper. Now all papers are stored on or near backpack, then placed back in backpack for return to school.

I leave the backpacks by the back door, so that in the morning I can leave the lunchbox in front of the backpack. Now the clarinet...I cannot figure out a way for my daughter and I to remember her clarinet. The problem is that she does not have a set music day, it varies from week to week.