Sweet Sisters

I have to admit that homework has been a bit of a trial for us. There are several reasons for this.


First of all Sydney has more homework than Savannah. Now I know that the reason for this is that Savannah does a lot more in the classroom since her teacher has a helper and they tend to get more done because of this. Sydney's teacher does not have a helper and thus discipline issues must be dealt with at the expense of learning at times because he has to do it all himself.


Second, Sydney is just naturally more easily distracted than Savannah which means it takes her longer to do anything anyway because she gets sidetracked. This is evident in our daily lives too, so it isn't just a homework issue. Just this morning while getting ready for school she went in her room at least 3 times to get panties and socks and came out with neither. In general Savannah can finish two worksheets in the time it takes Sydney to do one and I really don't think it is because Savannah is so much smarter, it is just a matter of concentration.


Third, I will admit to a certain level of frustration myself. I readily admit that I have no patience! Now my mother might argue, because she thinks I have the patience of a saint since having twins. She may think this because it has been a long time since she was dealing with a 5 year old, and certainly not two. Also, I think she has probably blocked out all memories of my brother growing up to protect her sanity and she had to have as much if not more patience then. Plus I think everyone has a certain level of tolerance for different things and I have discovered that while I can tolerate a lot of noise and don't freak out whenever someone gets hurt I have no tolerance for people who can't read!



Anyway, back to the homework issue. So lately I have to make Savannah go into the other room when she finishes her homework so that she doesn't distract Sydney, who is still only half way through. The big problem with this is that Savannah does not like to be by herself. Sydney would be perfectly content to play on her own (which she demonstrated just the other day when she came home early from school with a sore throat and played quietly by herself on the floor in the living room the entire afternoon while mom and I read our latest books). Savannah, not so much. But last night she went into the living room sat down at their little princess table with a piece of paper and a pencil and I didn't hear a peep out of her.



When I went in to check on her she had made the cutest thing. On one side of the paper she had drawn a stamp and made 3 lines of squiggles like an address. On the other side she had written "I love (a crooked little heart) my Sydney. I am happy (a little smiley face) but sad (a little sad face, and this was because she misses daddy she said). Love (the heart again) Savannah."