Hell, AmyLiz, that sounds like less than the homework Emmett's getting now in the third grade.

I know, right? In fifth grade he was doing book reports and projects. Now, they never have any work over the weekend, and in science half the time their homework is to "study." Which I know is actually useful, but with almost no other supplementary homework required? No questions, no projects, nothing?

Gah. I'm practically vibrating right now, I'm so angry with him (for getting trouble on the bus -- again), and at the school, which saw fit to threaten to send him home early this year for a rip in the knee of his jeans but apparently doesn't care that he's being given fourth-grade level homework.

AmyLiz, do the teachers give you contact information? Email addresses? If so, maybe you could contact the teachers in the classes you're most concerned about? Just a short email to ask about homework guidelines, making sure he's bringing all his assignments home, etc.

That was my thought, too. That some of it...forgets to come home.

Completely off topic: what is your favorite brand of coffee that you can buy in a grocery store? I need to find a good grocery store brand.

Whole Foods (at least in NYC) carries Ravensbrew, which is the second-best coffee I've ever tasted. (The best being the coffee that DH's parents' cook in India used to make -- he'd blend his own beans, green, and then have them roasted to his specifications. Best coffee anywhere.)

That was my thought, too. That some of it...forgets to come home.

A very politic way to put it.

Pardon my ignorance vw, but what's your major?

I'm a double major in English and psychology.

Betsy, that sounds awful! I'm so sorry!

That was my thought, too. That some of it...forgets to come home.

A very politic way to put it.

Oh, Jake forgets homework all the time. But there's homework hotline for each grade level, and team within it, so you can call and find otu what was *supposed* to come home on a daily basis. He's actually gotten better about that part of it, since we went through a very ugly first marking period.

It's the curriculum that concerns me, aside from him trying to get out of doing homework. When a whole unit in English is devoted to writing one poem (and his was maybe ten lines long) it seems pretty bogus to me. I know they read poetry during the unit, but there wasn't a lot of homework attached. And half the time he'll show me stuff he finished in class, which makes me wonder what they're doing in class that he has time to work on homework.

I hate to put such an emphasis on homework, and I don't want him coming home with three or four hours a night, but because he avoids it, and hates to make an effort, what he has now is simply too easy for him to blow through in a few minutes. It doesn't require him to make a real effort.

How do you like your coffee? Dark? Mild?

Dark, strong, but not bitter.

Get TJ's Bay Blend. So. Fucking. Good. (Here's a PDF flyer about their coffees and teas, including descriptions: [link]

Cashmere, I bought one of those stuffed pork chops the other day! Haven't had it yet, though.

I'll stop whining now, since I have to go find chocolate immediately. And then lie down before my head explodes.

I just read a direction on Jake's science worksheet, written, I assume, by his teacher, which gives instructions for tomorrow's activity. Number 6? "Now your ready to..."

I give up.

Thanks on the coffee recommendations. I knew the coffee-philes amongst the Bitches would come through for me.

TJ's Bay Blend
Ravensbrew at Whole Foods
Peet's
Community Coffee

check.