There are at least a few people who read here but not on my discussion boards. So, you, magic answer, please!
(c/p following:)
I think that most curriculum-based homeschoolers (and many NON-curriculum-based homeschoolers...and traditional schoolers...and, oh hell, almost everybody) find themselves in this situation at some point.
You ask a question and your child looks at you like you've just spouted an extra head and are demanding verbal homage to ancient Martian dieties. In Martian.
Backwards. While standing on a flagpole and playing the mandolin.
It is a question she should know the answer for. It may be something really, really easy that you've JUST talked about. Or something she's answered many times before. Or something that interests her and she talks about incessantly. Or "what's at the end of your leg and has five toes on it?" asked of your 7-year-old daughter.
Which yes, is mine.
And yes, I'm having this happen. A lot. A frustrating LOT. We used to be able to just stop what we were doing and have a snack and come back to it when I could catch her unawares - and likely to just answer me, damnit...because she knows the answer - and it would be fine. Happened once a week or so, we're all good. But lately it is nearly every day and can happen as little as 10 minutes into talking about something. "The witch's name was Morwen and she had nine cats." "Morwen is a cool name mama." "What was the witch's name?" *blank stare*
I know that the majority of what we do is interesting to her, I don't have to cajole her into doing "schoolwork."
Wellthen.
How do I stop this? Or, well, minimize it? It is driving me BATTY!! She knows the answer!! Just SAY THE DAMN ANSWER!!!
If this is a phase let me know so that I can stop stressing out about this.
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3 comments:
My seven year old is doing exactly the same thing, we spent ages discussion her homework last night. It was a reading comprehension assignment, the answers were all in the body of the story. We would discuss it she would get the answer but then would get sooooooo frustrated because she couldn't form it into a sentence. Even when I gave her a sentence she could use as an answer she still didn't get it...It drives me nuts but I can remember doing exactly the same thing when I was her age. I grew out of it....eventually. I think the problem with my daughter is she thinks it needs to be more complex, she doesn't think that the answers should come so easily. But then again tonights upset was because something she really wanted to do looked like it was going to be too difficult so she gave up before she even started. I'm just hoping its not early puberty.....five more years please!!!!!
Ha! Actually, that makes a TON of sense. EldestD is the type of child who will, when asked a question like "why is that cup on the table?" give a 20 minute dissertation on all things CUP. It makes a lot of sense when you frame it that way - she is grasping for some way to frame it and not coming up with it, and it's simply not in her nature to just STATE the simple answer.
I think Pandora nailed it on c2pp. We've been overthinking it.
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