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    The FIRST homework assignment

    While in the pre-k class, G’s program participates in a Virtual Pre-K program. There are packets we can check out and activities to do at home. There are several activities that all kids are asked to do. It’s not brain science: just needs to get done.

    The first was a family tree. It was assigned in the beginning of the month, and when I read it I saw the deadline for the end of November, so I put it aside, planning on working on it around Thanksgiving, when we’re home for a bit, and my schedule somewhat calms down. In my mind, I swear I thought it was due 11/29 (or something). Well, in cleaning up my pile of to-do papers, I came across it again and 11/26 was in big, numbers. It was now 11/24. Damn! 2 days to go, and I needed to psych G up for it.
    I told him what we needed to do, and I gave him a choice: he can draw pictures of the people in his family, or I can print pictures out. He said he wanted to draw. Good news for me – no need to hunt down pics of everyone. You’d think that with as many pictures as I take I’d have an easy time finding good ones of everyone? Not so much – I have lots of pics, just not pics that will help this assignment out.

    Saturday blew by, Sunday came, and the thing was due on Monday. Now G changes his mind and wants me to print photos and not draw anymore. Crap! Ok – photos found, time to print, and then I realize how much our printer sucks. I don’t have time to send things to Costco, and come to terms that at-home printed photos will have to do and a bunch of 4yr olds don’t care about the quality of images, and loss of color gradation as much as I do. I cut them up, and handed them to G to position them in a way he wanted. The tree didn’t really have to be a tree – it could be a collage, but I seriously had to sit on my hands and let him do the assignment when he was randomly assembling people and groups with little care for which brand on the tree they swung on. But, it’s his assignment, and a first of many, so I had to let him. I then asked him who everyone was, and wrote their names on a spot of the page he told me to. Thankfully at least the names were associated with the photo  I asked him if there was anything he wanted to say about anyone, and the only thing he brought up was cousin J’s nick-name from last week-end “Dirtywater”. Don’t ask me why – it was cracking G up to call J that all week. No one else got a cute nick-name, and I really didn’t want to press it, less someone ended up as “Poop-head”. Yeah, I wouldn’t put that past him right now.

    http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8199/8231934272_6f841ca1b8.jpg

    Finally assignment is done. I put it aside for the glue to dry from prying and dirty little fingers. And of course, the next day, I forget to take it. I had to go back home and make a second drive to school to drop it off.

    Total mommy fail here. I taught my child to 1) procrastinate; 2) ignore deliverables; 3) accept lower-quality product. I mean, it was fulfilled, and delivered within the requested timeline, but damn, I gotta do better next time. I’ll hang my head in shame now.

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