The Queen's Rambles

If you’ve been reading long, you know that Erik and I struggle with homework. He kicks, screams, yells, tantrums, sulks, cries. Anything to get out of doing homework. It has been a lot better since he has a different teacher (current teacher out on mat leave), but he still doesn’t enjoy it, probably because it is way too much writing.

So yesterday he’s doing a math worksheet and asks me how do “do that thing with the x instead of the plus or minus.”

Yeah right. Like I have a clue how to teach a child how to multiply. Like he’ll actually sit still and let me explain it. I told him he would learn it in 3rd grade.

He brought it up again today and promised he would do his homework if I would just “pretty pretty pretty pretty please teach him the x thing.”

How the flying f-ck am I supposed to teach a 6 1/2 year old to multiply? I didn’t really grasp the concept when I first learned it and I was much older than that.

So I quickly showed him the idea of the “x” meaning “sets of” so 3×3 means 3 sets of 3. I drew it out with little dots and he immediately understood it. He started asking me to give him questions and he got them all right. Every damned one, even 8×8. And he did them all with mental math. Then he begged me to make him a worksheet, so I wrote out a 20 question worksheet and I sat there in shock as he did every single problem correctly. He only had trouble on the Zx0 problems, but quickly got that straightened out in his mind as well.

He truly is his father’s son. I am not trying to brag, even though I know this is totally braggy. I am just amazed that his mind can understand the concept of multiplication with barely any help from me. I learned multiplication tables in third grade, but it took me forever to understand how the numbers made sense and what we were actually doing with the numbers.

The worksheet has been tucked into his folder because he wants to show his teacher. I think this substitute teacher will be happy and congratulate him on a job well done. I don’t know what his real teacher would do, but I wouldn’t anticipate a big pat on the back from her. I find it sad that I don’t believe she would have been impressed or happy. I think any teacher should be happy and supportive when a student shows an interest in a new skill, especially a fundamental math skill. Even if the kid does talk too much and can be annoying because he won’t. Shut. UP. I know that’s why she doesn’t care for him.

I need to come up with a great teacher appreciation gift for his sub. I think her last day is May 22, but will have to confirm that.