I look at my nephew Peter and he is still so young. He is in bed shortly after 8, loves his Lego’s, snuggles with his parents and is learning more about life every day. And yet, I see how he is growing up. He is taller, more of a conversationalist and has new interests emerging. He can manage to stay up later and looks quite stunning in his bow tie!
Tonight I was babysitting and I helped him with his homework. Every Friday is a spelling test, so there were words to learn and review….
I was amazed how big and hard third grade words are….especially for third graders! 🙂
Words like hypothesis, scientific, scenery, neighborhood….
Words that have silent letters and confusing endings. There were tears and fears as words were practiced. Peter and I studied and reviewed and took breaks and practiced words verbally and in writing. Anxiety increased as my favorite third grader worried about if he would get the words right. When we were done studying tonight, he would have passed the test, but his last words to me at bedtime was how he hoped everything he learned tonight would be remembered until the test time….
I am ending my day with a very tender spot for kids who are learning new things every day. I remember being a kid for whom learning was not so simple. I feel for parents who at the end of each day need to encourage kids to learn some more….
My heart goes out to all of those who have so much to learn. I trust you will all become Adult Survivors of Childhood….hang in there, some day you can use spell check and it will guide you along!
