mothers on the verge

While The Rabbit is not the worst foot-dragger in terms of attacking homework, it's still not pleasant. And why should it be? After 6 hours at school, she comes home for a quick snack and another hour at the desk making change on paper, and writing book reports. She's 5. There's an interesting story today on MSNBC about how lack of playtime can hurt our kid s . I get it that it's a different world today. I understand that between No Child Left Behind and the competition that's overtaken the city schools she and I have almost no choice but to engage in some of this rote work. But I can't help but remember my 1st and 2nd and even 3rd grade years: We made dinosaurs out of clay. Held a garter snake. Built a city from milk cartons. Made tacos for Cinco de Mayo. And painted flowers. A lot of flowers. I don't remember writing words 4 times a day to learn them. Don't remember 3 sheets of math homework a night. And certainly don't remember screaming at my mot