If I go insane...

If I go insane this year I'm fairly certain that Madeline and her math homework will be to blame. We are on night three of third grade homework. I'm ready to run away or bang my head against a wall until I'm unconscious.

I may have mentioned in the past that Madeline seriously dislikes math. I'm not sure why she doesn't like it. She claims it's hard. I say she isn't willing to try. She's a smart kid, so there really is no reason why she should have any problems with math. And to be perfectly honest, she really only ever has problems with the incredibly simple math.

I think the issue is Madeline gets it in her head that she doesn't want to do the homework and then she drags her feet the entire way. The past three nights she's had about 15 minutes of math homework. This is a sheet of math that was covered in class and 50 math fact problems (this part should be completed in 3 minutes or less). If my child would focus, she could be done all of this work in under 10 minutes. Instead, she psychs herself out and spends about an hour on the worksheet. I am seriously going to go insane. Today she started freaking out because she couldn't get the last problem. It was multiple choice. The question was "Find 17-8." Madeline read this as Find 17 to 8. How on earth did she not understand that the "-" was the math sign for subtract?

I have a feeling this is going to be a long year. I need to learn to be more patient, and my child needs to learn to accept that math homework is a part of her life and just do it. I know a lot of the theatrics involved in the homework spectacle that Madeline puts on are her way of trying to get me to come in and do the work for her. I made it clear to her that I am not doing her homework, but she still tries to get me to give her the answers. If she tried half as hard to just do the work as she does to get me to do it for her she'd be in good shape.

My head hurts. I hate homework that isn't my own.