Homework songs

Today started with a gift of cookies. How can a day with such a sweet start go wrong?

Well, Somehow it managed to and by the time I got home, rearranged kids, and got updates on our many current crises, I was done. Unfortunately it was 4 o'clock and the day was not even close to done.

In flies super roomie.

He wordlessly stepped in and quietly handled homework  time with my sons. For this I will be forever greatful. He did great. Twin #1 did not do so great.

45 minutes in and he still hadn't finished his reading portion. I half listened to his halfhearted attempts and declared when he finished that it must be marked as "too hard."

Apparently this declaration ended his life as he repeatedly told me while stomping and shouting. He calmed down enough for us to discuss the reason for the meltdown. Turns out he was feeling pressured to reach a higher reading level because of teasing and the feeling that he wasn't good at anything.

This was a serious moment for him and yet somehow it slid into a ridiculous riot of a time in seconds. When he mentioned being teased I mentioned how his twin had been teased all day for endlessly stating the time (he got a new watch). This cracked his bad mood a little as he explained to me that his twin sang weird time songs all day. Said twin entered the room and I asked about the songs. He smiled and was like, "oh yeah, I did that."

Then to give us an example he began to sing.

"Its 5 o'clock, its 5 oooooooclock. Oh yeah it is 5 o'clock."

Then the next song.

"He's yelling and crying about reading. Now he's rubbing his eye and holding a pencil. Now he's threatening me with his fist. But there's no hitting at our house. Now I'm waiting for him to finish his homework. Its still 5 o'clock..."

And so it went. These songs had many more words and a dance and were performed in an aikido gi. We were all laughing, even the angry twin, by the time the songs were done.

My time for me today is typing this blog in my car while I wait at aikido practice and reflecting at the helpfulness of my roomies and the awesomeness of twin 2 and his freedom of expression.