You ARE in 2nd Grade, RIGHT?

Last night was Diva’s first night of real homework and good grief! 

Last year was a struggle for her and I – trying to get into the homework rhythm was tough and her mind was always otherwise occupied (umm daddy in the sandbox will do that to a kid!).  At the end of the year she was advanced but with a huge emphasis put on math and fluency as that is where she was doing so poorly.  Some days I feel that I failed her as a parent because I allowed her to worry about her daddy and gave her too much Leigh way with it.  I am not sure if that was the case or if she would have struggled just as much with him home.  Either way, this year is pivotal or they may want to retain and I just REFUSE to do that.

So last night she opened up her super cute little folder (1 step from a PeeChee) and we reviewed her homework for the week.  HOLY COW, that’s a lot of work!  Her Tuesday work alone is:

• Write your 15 spelling words 3 times a piece
• Practice your 12 vocabulary words (different from spelling words)
• Pages 1-4 of your math book
• Practice your reading fluency sheet
• Read for 20 minutes

There is the full week of work in there so we know what to expect and it’s basically the same amount every night.  In addition to her Thursday spelling test and Friday vocabulary test she will have her weekly fluency exam and bi-monthly math tests.

Of course she dawdles and whines and there is often some crying in there so it takes us a minimum of an hour to finish all of this... occasionally longer.  Somewhere after that is bath time, dinner time, family time... and then bed.  She has had a bed time since she was little and I have barely altered it because it seems that she really needs the sleep.  She also still chooses to nap on weekends.  We got home, did homework in AN HOUR, then shower (no time for a bath), dinner by daddy and we all cuddled up and watched Rio.  She was about 30 minutes late for her bedtime but it was totally worth it to sit on our couch as a family watching a cute movie. 

At what age did you alter your child’s bedtime?