I've been spending a lot of time with Eldest lately helping her with her school work. Since we moved and switched schools she has had to do a lot of catching up in order to be at the same level as the kids in her new grade 4 class. We have found out the hard way that switching from a low-rated, heavy ESL school to a high-rated, "upper middle class" school is a big transition. There are a lot of areas that the kids here are much further ahead in, particularly math and writing. So I've been spending 2-3 hours most days after school tutoring her on math concepts that she should have learned (but didn't) at the start of the year. She is a fairly good student but has definite problems with organizing herself and using her time effectively. She is being treated for ADD but she still has to work harder than most kids to keep track of everything. It has been very stressful for me to make sure she is doing ok and nothing is falling by the wayside. I'm so afraid that she is not going to do well and slip through the cracks in the system. A lot of the time I feel like a bad parent because she doesn't seem to pick things up as quickly as other kids and always seems to be struggling to get her assignments done. I know I have to step back and let her find her way but it is really hard to release control of the situation and accept that she will never be a "perfect" A student.
Besides math, she is woefully behind in the writing department. The kids in her class here are actually doing research assignments and detailed reports. She has never done anything like this at her old school so, consequently, has no clue how to tackle this kind of project. So I am helping her quite a bit. Of course I'm not actually going to do any of the work for her but I am helping organize everything and breaking the project down into smaller pieces that she can work on one part at a time. Currently she is starting a research project on a First Nations band of her choice. She actually chose the Coast Salish Indians because they are the ones that knit the Cowichan sweaters...awww! She is also expected to do a poetry assignment during the same time period. For this she has to pick 10 styles of poetry and write 3-4 poems for each one. Since she has never done poetry at her old school I have to help her out quite a bit with this as well....sigh.
In the midst of all this school angst I have been faithfully working on the Tangled Yoke cardi. I have joined it all together and just finished the cable chart today. Let me tell you it was a challenge. It took me hours to do those 18 rows and my fingers are killing me! I'm hoping to get the whole thing finished in the next couple of days and get some pictures up.
Tomorrow I am going to a small, local fibrefest. Hopefully there will be something cool to report in my next blog post!
Oh, I so understand where you are at right now with your daughter's school! My oldest has been a challenge, too. He doesn't have ADD but he does have issues like: he doesn't always do the work he's capable of, if he isn't interested in it, he doesn't care if he does well or not. We have to work really closely with him at night to get him to take the time to do the homework right. And we're in constant contact with the teacher. And my kids go to a "spotlight" school, which means that the majority of the kids in the school are at the poverty level. We've thought about moving, but the housing market is so bad here in Illinois. I've worried and worried about my oldest, and then I worry that my husband is helping him TOO much and will end up doing the work for him. And then I worry that I'm doing damage to him by worrying too much. There's no winning. I figure this must all be a part of parenting. But stick with it, because it will get better! And don't think you are a bad parent because she's not getting it immediately. She will not slip through the cracks because you are an involved parent. She may be slow at picking it up, but that doesn't mean she won't eventually get it. By the beginning of the next school year, she may great right off the bat. And if not, then you'll work with her and keep in contact with the teacher. I understand what you're going through. So make sure to have fun at your fiber fest and treat yourself to something nice!
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