Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

Now that the kids have been in school for almost 2 months here in Avon Lake, Brandon and I both are really learning what it is like to be parents of kids that really have to try hard to do good in school!!!!

Up until now, our kids have done very well in school and have not struggled too much other than the normal things most kids struggle with like homework, learning to read, and doing harder math etc.

Well, we are now learning that OHIO schools are much farther ahead of Utah and Washington schools and our kids are behind which really makes things hard for all of us.

Mitch comes home with at least 3-5 pages of homework a night (most of which Ohio schools taught the kids when they were in 2nd and 3rd grade and in Seattle he would have learned in 4th), on top of reading and studying for the 2 tests he usually has each week, and when I say test, I mean test. My kids have never really had tests like the ones they are taking here. These are very legit tests that even I have a hard time studying for.

We spend most afternoons from the time the kids get off the bus until they go to bed (sometimes we have soccer,drum lessons,football,piano,tumbling ,kids in the community,baseball in there as well) doing homework and studying. It feels so crazy to feel totally exausted by the end of the week and so happy that there is no homework or test studying to do over the weekend unless of course we know of a big test that is coming up or if one of the kids has a big project they are working on, which right now Mitch does.

Lets just say I am so happy when Brandon is home and is able to help with all they have to get done. He is much better at finding new and fun ways for the kids to learn.

Man, I feel like I am in school too but it is not a good thing when your 2nd grader brings home assignments that you don't know how to do.

Lets just say I'M NOT SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER (or a 2nd or 4th grader either).