I took the family to see a production of the Nutcracker. I had never seen it before. It was wonderful. It was production geared to the kids. The ballet was about 45 minutes long, then they had a story time, craft, and refreshments. Now I have one question. There was a drag queen dressed up in a Victorian dress that MC-ed the event. I totally did not see the connection. Does the drag queen have a part in the full production? Any of my ballet reading friends have any answers?
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My kindergartner, Caitlin, gets homework about once a week. It usually involves coloring, cutting, some categorizing, and pasting. She also gets a calendar with 25 short activities to do throughout the month. The activities include things like write and label objects in your room and name food you ate on thanksgiving. She also has a reading log to submit monthly. There is a math extra monthly assignment. The last two are optional but I want her to do them. Now first question, is this average for a kindergartner? Second, she hates doing the coloring, cutting, pasting, and categorizing homework. She cries. A. Lot. An assignment that should take 10-15 minutes takes over 30 minutes. It frustrates her. It frustrates me. I don't know what to do. I never hated homework to the point of tears. Of course, I didn't have homework in kindergarten either. I've tried setting a timer for 10 minutes of work and10 minutes of a break but that made her cry more. Any suggestions on how to handle this?
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Do you have a money limit on presents for the kids or do you buy a certain number of gifts? Usually the kids want a more expensive gift and then get a couple of small ones. This year neither one of them wants a big gift but they do want a ton of smaller things. I feel bad that I am spending less but I don't want a ton of toys either (even if they are monetarily less than previous years.) How do you deal with gifts for the kids.
8 comments:
Good post. We have a budget limit with the children and we stay within that limit. They make a Santa list but they know Santa has to have enough toys for all the children of the world, so they don't always get everything on their list. Usually, Santa knows their top fave so he narrows it down! ;)
We thought about taking a trip this year instead of presents, but at this age, I think the children would miss the Santa magic a little. Can you believe it's almost December?
I don't know a whole lot about the Nutcracker although I have seen it. I don't remember a drag queen. That sounds very unusual.
As for Christmas, we are on a very tight budget, always are. Every Christmas our kids get one Santa gift, one gift from Mom and Dad and one gift from their siblings. We try to limit the amount for the gifts too. The Santa gift is usually around $30-$50, the gift from Mom and Dad around $25 and the gift from their siblings around $10-$15.
Have a wonderful week!
I have cut way back on things for the kids over the years. I guess I don't have a specific budget, but since I'm on my own now, I'm really having to keep it simple. However, it's my traditions and baked things that really make the holiday for them. :)
The drag queen? HUH????
My kids think the FedEx guy is Santa so I just hold off on my reviews and have them open them as Christmas presents lol .
The drag queen? No idea!
My kindergartener has homework 4 nights a week. Tonight he had to write capital and lowercase H 3x each and draw and label something that starts with H. Plus reading. Other nights he'll have a math worksheet, too.
I hate his homework. I'm cranky.
We don't go overboard with our kids for Christmas. Not a real limit, though.
As a teacher? I can see both ways. As a teacher, i give work to have the parents work with their child, see their progress, and continue the learning at home. It helps for the child to see it is important both in and out of school.
As a mom? I so get it too! Elijah has a bunch of homework every week and I get overwhelmed as well.
You wouldn't believe the amount of parents who face this same brick wall as us. For me? I try to tell myself that each item we do is another learning experience in some way. There are certainly things we would rather not do at night (hello? cook, clean, laundry!?) but are a part of our routine nonetheless. For students, it is important to learn this lesson, as it relates to life in and outside of school. *sigh* did that help or confuse you!?
Sam had a monthly "homework packet" in Kindergarten. We broke it down to one thing each day. I thought it was a bit much, but I loved his teacher and he had a great year.
Have a fabulous Tuesday!
I stick within a limit for each kid. (we have 3). This year it was easy, the money was just not there, plus they are a bit older now and understand times are tough.
usually though to make it fair, I give them the same amount of gifts to open. Big or small.
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