Last night I got a taste of what helping Mallory with her homework will be like in years to come. And I didn't much like it.
Our task was to address the Valentines cards for her classmates. And it wasn't that Mallory wasn't excited about this -- she was. And she was even being cooperative, for once. The problem was that she wanted to do it all herself, and it took forever. And it was tedious. And my tongue was getting numb because I had to keep preventing myself from saying things like, "If you would just start at the edge you'd have room to write the whole name," or, "This is the third time I've shown you how to make an H," or, "The letters need to go in ORDER," because really, she was doing her best, and she was doing a fine job for a just-turned-five-year-old, and who cared anyway if she didn't plan ahead and most of her cards were signed:
ORY
MALL
It was just hard for me to sit back and watch her do things not quite perfectly. I need to get a grip.
Then once all the cards were done, she wanted to draw a picture for her teacher. "You have to guess what the picture is about," she said, words that would strike trepidation into any parent's heart. She drew two people with some...thing...in between them. "I'll give you a clue," she said. "The daddy has a square head and the mommy has a circle head. That's on purpose. And the baby is in the middle."
"Oh," I said. "So it's a family. Very nice!"
"But what are their names?" she asked.
"Um...Mommy, Daddy and Mallory?"
"Nooo," she said, disgusted. "I'm not a baby. What do you think the baby is IN?" she continued, pointing to the shape in the middle.
"A...swing?" I hazarded.
"Noooo." She shook her head, disappointed. "I'll draw some more." She drew the sun at the top and I said, "The sun!" Wrong again -- it was a star. "It's nighttime," she said.
"So the family is camping out?"
"No. Does it look like I drew a tent?"
"No," I said hastily. I watched as she drew more starts -- big circles with lots of spikes. After she drew the spikes she'd scribble a dot in the center of the circle. "What's the dot for?" I asked.
"That's the middle of the star," she said.
"I see." I watched her draw more stars, and then the obvious dawned. "Oh! It's Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus!"
Mallory beamed. "Of course!" she said.
Of course.
My sweetie came through for all of us today. Last night I mentioned that I hadn't had a chance to get Valentine's presents for the kids, since I spent all weekend hovering near death. Chris said maybe they wouldn't notice. But we went downstairs this morning to find cards for all of us, candy for the girls, and a rose for me. Thanks honey! Sorry I have nothing for you. Except my undying love, of course. That'll have to suffice!
Our task was to address the Valentines cards for her classmates. And it wasn't that Mallory wasn't excited about this -- she was. And she was even being cooperative, for once. The problem was that she wanted to do it all herself, and it took forever. And it was tedious. And my tongue was getting numb because I had to keep preventing myself from saying things like, "If you would just start at the edge you'd have room to write the whole name," or, "This is the third time I've shown you how to make an H," or, "The letters need to go in ORDER," because really, she was doing her best, and she was doing a fine job for a just-turned-five-year-old, and who cared anyway if she didn't plan ahead and most of her cards were signed:
ORY
MALL
It was just hard for me to sit back and watch her do things not quite perfectly. I need to get a grip.
Then once all the cards were done, she wanted to draw a picture for her teacher. "You have to guess what the picture is about," she said, words that would strike trepidation into any parent's heart. She drew two people with some...thing...in between them. "I'll give you a clue," she said. "The daddy has a square head and the mommy has a circle head. That's on purpose. And the baby is in the middle."
"Oh," I said. "So it's a family. Very nice!"
"But what are their names?" she asked.
"Um...Mommy, Daddy and Mallory?"
"Nooo," she said, disgusted. "I'm not a baby. What do you think the baby is IN?" she continued, pointing to the shape in the middle.
"A...swing?" I hazarded.
"Noooo." She shook her head, disappointed. "I'll draw some more." She drew the sun at the top and I said, "The sun!" Wrong again -- it was a star. "It's nighttime," she said.
"So the family is camping out?"
"No. Does it look like I drew a tent?"
"No," I said hastily. I watched as she drew more starts -- big circles with lots of spikes. After she drew the spikes she'd scribble a dot in the center of the circle. "What's the dot for?" I asked.
"That's the middle of the star," she said.
"I see." I watched her draw more stars, and then the obvious dawned. "Oh! It's Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus!"
Mallory beamed. "Of course!" she said.
Of course.
My sweetie came through for all of us today. Last night I mentioned that I hadn't had a chance to get Valentine's presents for the kids, since I spent all weekend hovering near death. Chris said maybe they wouldn't notice. But we went downstairs this morning to find cards for all of us, candy for the girls, and a rose for me. Thanks honey! Sorry I have nothing for you. Except my undying love, of course. That'll have to suffice!
Comments
Happy Valentine's Day to you.
Mom
I'm glad you are feeling better too. I missed your funniness.
I hate helping with homework too. At that age, how much do you help? Do you let the fact go that most of the numbers he wrote are backwards? I just don't know.
Glad you're feeling better and I enjoyed the laugh about the Valentine's.
H