Required Reading

Monday, January 10, 2011

Spelling Bee.




After school one day last week:


Isaiah:  "Mom, can I watch T.V.?"


Me:  "No."


Isaiah:  "But I did my homework. And my sight words. Why not?"


Me: "Because it's a school night, that's why -- and because I said so."

Silence.


Isaiah:  "Then can I play with my Nintendo D.S.?"


Me:  "No."


Isaiah:  "What about playing on your iPad?"


Me:  "No, sir."


Isaiah:  (groans) "Well, what CAN I do?"


Me:  "You can practice your spelling and your sight words. Or read a book to Zachary. How 'bout that?"


Silence.


Isaiah:  "Mommy?"


Me: "Yep."


Isaiah:  "How do you spell 'ING'?"


Me:  "ING? Uhh, I-N-G."


Isaiah:  "Okay.  Because this--what we are doing right now--is B-O-R-I-N-G."

Touché.

6 comments:

  1. Very cute! We currently offer two products that help a child learn and spell sight words - a board game and an activity & coloring book.

    For more information, please visit us at www.sightwordsgame.com.

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  2. I laughed out loud reading this because a)your son's natural wit is wonderful, and b)I have had the same conversation with my older son more times than I can count!

    I wish I could tell you it gets better, but in my experience it gets worse and your treasure has started early (mine didn't start seriously complaining of boredom until he was about 10). Now it's "I've done my homework, I've done the extra math, I finished reading everything (yes, we currently do not own any books which my 12-year-old has not already read, except for those that are too mature in content for him to read - and he has read everything from Herodotus, to Dumas, to Cervantes, to Douglas Adams, to the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, and countless other adult and kid books, the next Amazon order arrives in 1 day!), I've done my extra French, I've written the essay you asked me to write, can I please play my game?"

    It's hard to resist the constant attempts to cajole, persuade, push, beg, etc., but the answer is still, "No, it's a school night!"

    A friend of mine gave me a great quote a couple of months ago, "Boring people get bored!"

    So now, when he says, "But I'm booooored!" That's what I tell him and he seems to have taken the challenge to NOT be a boring person and figure out a way to entertain himself. ;)

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  3. It starts early doesn't it? Hold your ground and encourage his wit and sense of humor. Wait till he's 14. He will have you laughing nonstop. No I am not being sarcastic. I love boys and I never laughed as much as when my boys were teenagers. Their friends made me laugh and they did too. You have a funny one there. Enjoy it!.

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