We’ve been tantrum-free for a while now, but I’m bracing myself for more episodes now that online school has started again. #Singaporemath is challenging because of the way it delves into the concepts. It’s not enough to know the answer- you need to break it down and show the different ways to solve the equation. It’s not for everyone, but I like it!
But even for kids who already know the answer, it can get frustrating. They can get lost in the solutions and end up with the wrong answer, which they otherwise would have gotten correctly if you had let them solve it intuitively instead. When Kyle gets frustrated in class, he acts up by being silly, throwing a tantrum, or simply refusing to do any work. Yesterday, he put his head down on the table and started grunting and growling. After I calmed him down, he kept acting extra silly, and wouldn’t answer the seat work. After some struggling, and almost losing my patience, I finally thought of asking him- “do you find it hard, or are you bored?”
“A little bit of both.”
We told him before school started again this week that if he does really well in class and is well-behaved at home, he can get a prize- but he has to work hard for it. His enthusiasm only lasted a week. So I reminded him- remember you said you would work for your PS4 or PS5? Well of course it will be hard! If it were easy, then the prize wouldn’t be as good. You really have to study, anyway. So it’s either you study hard and win a prize, or you study not so hard and you don’t get a prize. You might as well work for the prize, right?
And you know what? In life, you have to work hard to get the best things. Do you know how hard it was for me to give birth to you? It was so hard and SO painful! But it was all worth it, because you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.
With that, he finally stopped grunting and smiled at me. We hugged and he went back to his desk to answer his maths diligently.
“I’m so proud of you, Kyle! See, I knew you could do it if you just focused!”
“Yeah, mom, I’m so proud of me, too!”
Aren’t kids amazing? 🥰
Hoping all you moms and dads out there are easing back into school alright! We can do this!