2/5/08 The Math Homework

16 months old and still crawling! It's official. All three of my children are genuinely late walkers. Katrina is walking more than crawling now, but she still crawls when she really needs to get somewhere. Her walking is getting better and better, though she's started holding her hands above her head for balance, I think because she's trying to go faster. But it's still mostly a game, rather than a mode of transportation.

She did have fun walking around barefoot after I changed her and took her leggings off. First, I had to peel off a hugging brother.

Seeing her legs bare under a dress, I think her ankles are still pretty skinny!

I was intrigued today because Gabriel's math homework seemed to take a sudden leap in difficulty, with actual addition problems. So I scanned it to comment on that, but later realized that the page with addition problems was an "extras" page.

The regular math homework is simpler and more conceptual: draw a line under the longest item in each group, then draw the longest item overall in the box at the bottom, and is the sort of work Julian does too. (Gabriel did do it, but his light writing didn't scan well.)


But I think the "extras" page is a lot more advanced, or certainly a big step ahead of what the previous "extras" were. He finished both quickly without any trouble, though he didn't recognize the format in the 2+2 problem (that you write the answer under the line).

He also reads all the words, including the tiny-printed instructions at the bottom of the page for the grownups, and for the most part can follow their meaning. But he needed explanation for the "Are there enough?" problem: "Enough what?" he asked. (Hmm, is that climate discrimination? We don't wear mittens here!)

If we were the sort to push him, he could handle a lot more than this, I think. He was certainly more interested in the "extras" page, as each problem is shorter and it goes faster than work that involves drawing, as most of his homework does (like drawing the longest object on the regular homework page).

But really, he's just a kid, and mostly, he wanted to get back to assembling some Lego kits he got for his birthday. And I'm just fine with that.

2/5/08