Secondly, it's first grade homework---she has no idea the joy that awaits several years down the road.

So today was report card day for Laurel (as opposed to Rachel--while she is just in a older toddler room, she gets one too--a blog for later) and we were hoping to see many "4's" in regards to her reading.  Quick explanation to the childless--Report cards rate a child's ability from a 1 to a 4.  A 4 is a consistent above grade level effort, 3 is on par...and from there we don't want to see anything else.  Back in my day, as a first grader I was graded with checks, pluses or minuses (actually never a minus for me).

We were very excited to see the "4's" with her reading.  At the beginning of the year, she was reading a bit here and there but now, she can sit down with a pretty thick book.  We knew that there wouldn't be any "4's" with math--the highest that any child can get is a 3.  When the teacher was explaining why and the standards that the city has, I think I tuned out and started to make a mental grocery list.

But then we saw it...there was a 2.  Laurel got a 2 when it came to completing her homework assignments.  Holy shit--are you kidding me?  First of all, it's my God damn birthday and this 2 grade may sully my fancy birthday dinner at Bertucci's.  Secondly, it's first grade homework---she has no idea the joy that awaits several years down the road.  This is Number 2 all around!  

Ching and I get Laurel's report electronically through our work e-mail so as soon as I see it, I know he has seen it and I swear I am can hear his little fingers typing furiously asking, albeit politely, for an explanation.  The explanation was quite simple.  Laurel had 15 assignments to pass in and she only passed in 6.  These assignments were very easy.  Everyday, Laurel was asked to either read a book or read with someone else.  Her homework was to write down the name of the book, the reader's name and what day of the week the reading occurred.  On Friday, she should have passed in this sheet.  Laurel did this only 40% of the time.  

I am appalled that Laurel was one of those kids that didn't do their homework.  When I was in school, watching another child not doing what they were supposed to gave me some strange feeling of anxiety.  I tended to stay away from those kids.

But then I am blaming myself because every now and then I would see a blank reading sheet and I would ask her about it.  She said it was fine and it wasn't a big deal.  I thought it was a random occurrence.  Obviously at 60%, it wasn't all that random.

And then Ching Wang is focusing on that God damn Sunday math homework!  Homework that was lengthy enough to illicit a dollar reward when the weekly math packet is done.

Ching and I decided on the united front to address this tomorrow so my glorious celebratory dinner at the Bertuch remains conflict free.  We will praise her for her reading and her math, but we are addressing the responsibility of homework.  We need to lay down the law starting in September.

But in the mean time, the Wang household will be hamster free this summer.  No homework...no rodent.  Perhaps, this isn't number 2 after all...