Projects

Strange day today.  Not our normal Saturday.  Except for the laundry and cleaning and chasing girls around part!

I say strange because I felt like Jeremy and I were both so overtired that we were quite snappy.  We both got very little sleep the last two nights and Riley woke me up at 5:30am today.  I was patient in the morning, but as the day went on, little things were getting frustrating.  Madi even asked in the afternoon "Why are you guys so grumpy?"  To which we said that we're just trying to get done what needs to get done and we're overtired.  Not a good excuse - just honest.

Madi loved the conversation this morning.  She has really loved seeing the boys as she hardly has time with them on there.  It's really cute to see her interact with them!

For most of the day she worked on her school projects.  She has an Alamo project due, a LEAP project and she needs to make a Valentine's box.  We're trying to guide her, but not do the work for her.  Though Jeremy did use the hot glue gun to help prop up the Alamo, but we weren't going to have her burn her hands doing that!

Earlier in the week, Madi told me "I can't wait to see the look on my teacher's face when I tell her I haven't worked on my project (referring to her leap teacher)."  We knew she had a project going on in the class, but didn't have information on it and every day we ask "Do you have any homework?  Fasttmath?  Spelling?"  Madi usually says "No," but then goes "Oh wait!" and does her work.  (Which she is doing awesome as far as her grades go!)

So in response to her statement about the leap teacher, I said "Well, I can't imagine that it will be one of joy."  She responds "Well you don't give me time on the computer after dinner.  You don't give me time to get it done."  This took me back quite a bit as she had just spent 10 hours on WOW this past weekend and was on her iPod or reading before dinner on other days.  So I talked to her about responsibility and not placing blame on others.  That her assignments are hers.  Not ours.  Was frustrating that we didn't have information about the project other than what she had talked about and really didn't know much about it.

So I talked to her leap teacher about it and she said that instead of doing a lot of research, Madi has been asking to play a bridge game during class.  And asks for it all the time.  When asked about her research today, Madi said she wrote down half a page of information, but doesn't know where it is.  And she was in class for six hours and said that was all she got done.

Today she spent much of the day doing research and getting more information for the project.  Found out it is not due until the end of February so it's good.  She's got time.  Just has to use it wisely.  We told her that she needs to look at the project as though it was something else because she is always so incredibly creative in her questioning and pondering of subjects.  Instead of thinking "I don't want to research this right now" or "there's nothing else I can find," be her creative out of the box thinking self.  Because it will make it more fun and she'll develop an incredible project.  So she worked on it for a while today.

She also finished the front of her Alamo project.  She doesn't know where the paper that tells her what to do is - but she said she knows what the project is.  We just said "ok" and while we know nothing more of the project, will let it be a lesson in being responsible with what she is supposed to do.  I know she listens in class and her teacher has told me what an amazing difference she has seen since the beginning of the year in her behavior in class and her talking which is great.  We're just having to trust that it is the whole assignment.

We've been tougher on her with the responsibility area of school because she is wanting to make us responsible for her assignments, but we do believe that our short talk with her about it this weekend went well.  She's so smart.  She just needs her intelligence to be used productively and for positive things instead of manipulation and blame.

Tonight she read a bit, we ate dinner, watched a little tv, and then we read through some of the past blog posts on the other blog I keep for Riley and Jules.  Started it in 2010 and haven't written too much, but there are some funny posts.  So we read it together and had some good hearty laughs.  Madi was really sweet reading it.  And it was fun to watch her laugh.

I got to thinking that most of my blogs on here are serious.  And how I'll try to find some funny stories to tell when I remember them.  Ten year old humor is so much different than two year old humor and while there are plenty of great stories, they're just different and harder to tell without someone else saying "I guess you had to be there."  Hope that makes sense! :)

I'm sure the highlight of her day was that I went to the mall and had to get her new bras.  She's been having major growing pains in her legs and stretching them out a lot.  I think her body was just craving food and was wanting to grow and so if you know of any good things to do for her pains, let me know!  I will google some tonight too.