Workbooks and Worksheets

This year at Gaige's co-op, he is taking Algebra 1. In order to be fully prepared for this class I asked him to take a review course of basic math skills at home. We could fill any obvious holes he might have. He agreed. I went to Sam's Club for one of their hundreds of pages of cheap worksheets. I wanted to pick up a math workbook for him. When we got there the girls started begging for their own Comprehensive Curriculum of Basic Skills workbooks. This is about 4-500 pages of worksheets related to math, English, reading, reading comp, and usually spelling. I didn't want to waste the $7.something on workbooks that I knew they wouldn't use. BUT THEY PROMISED!

So already Brenda is crying it is too hard. I don't get it. I can't do it. BUT SHE PROMISED!! PROMISED! She would work this workbook through. What to do? Is the work too hard? No. Does she like the worksheets... yes. Are we going too fast? No, in fact it is taking us two to three days to complete a sheet sometimes. So what is the problem here? The problem appears to be this... she doesn't like to not know something because then she feels like she cannot do it. She would rather pretend like it doesn't matter and only focus on what she knows. Can she do this work if we work slowly toward understanding? Yes of course. I don't like worksheets. But I see this great opportunity here. We can work something out. This constant I CAN'T DO IT attitude she has about anything that doesn't come easy to her.

I thought I better get creative here. I used something that I am using in my own life right now for a goal of mine. Affirmation. A song really. Made it up myself. Don't worry about the tune. I will make a new one daily probably because I will forget the old one. Here goes something like this.

I am learning and I will soon understand it.
I am learning and I will soon understand it.
Like the rain it is soaking into my brain.
I am learning and I will soon understand it.
I am learning and I will soon understand it.
I don't know it yet. Soon I will never forget.
Like the rain, it is soaking into my brain.
I am learning and I will soon understand it.

Small side note here. Big Bret does not think this song goes together well. I don't think that matters. It is more about some annoying song that some day will be burrowed into their heads like a bad smell that they can't get out of their noses. Then they will hopefully remember that the path is as important as the goal. If you don't care about anything else but getting there, you miss all the scenic view on the way.

I sing this until we are all giggles and ready to move on. Moving real slow is good. We are in no hurry. But this mantra it will stick soon. Ha ha ha. She will sing it to her kids some day.