Tomorrow marks Maile’s 100th day of school and to celebrate she needs to count 100 items to bring to class.
She had her heart set on jelly beans and being the over the top parent I am I scraped together the 100 dollars I was going to need to go into Target for jelly beans.
“How about m&m’s instead??” I said, hoping to snack on her leftovers while I watched American Idol.
But her heart was set on jelly beans. 100 jelly beans for 100 days of school. I don’t know why I don’t reward myself for every 100 achievement I reach.
In fact, all parents should probably be rewarded for the 100th day of school mark…who do they think is doing all this homework?? And can I say I had. no. idea. that kid homework is homework for parents too until Maile started bringing home these stupid packets that *I* have to make sure are completed and sent back every Monday. Not only do I have to forge my own signature saying we read everyday when we don’t (and I don’t care and we won’t start), but I also have to sit down and work through the most redundant, boring assignments I’ve ever lain eyes on.
I thought when I left school that I was golden. Gone were the days of “thinking” and “brain stimulation”. I didn’t know that I was going to have to relive these days.
Right now Maile loves school. She proudly filled her bucket and skipped off to school with 100 multi-colored (starburst flavored) treasures. This is all well and good. I’m relieved to know that my six year old can now count to 100. I hope she gets a certificate. After double and triple checking jelly beans per her request I am confident that I can now count to 100 hundred accurately and fairly quickly as well. Also a relief. I already knew how to do that thanks.
I’m thinking a letter to the PTA moms is in order. I’d like to request a party in the gymnasium where we can all take shots and high five each other for surviving the first 100 days of school. We will sing songs and play wall ball and chase each other because dammit if I have to relive the bad, I want the good to come with it.
WHERE’S MY CERTIFICATE!?!
annie says
I hate homework, and nothing makes me feel more stupid than having to google things to help my 6th grader in math!
Stephanie says
So cute! can’t wait to be a mom! lol great job
TheAngelForever says
LOL – Love it! I am a teacher and think the 100 Days of school/counting project has a place for kids in kindergarten. After that, I think it is lame and a waste of time and money. If you want to celebrate with the kids – lovely, but don’t make us do projects that really cost a fortune and are not done by the kids. We did 100 photos from Disney in a collage. Son helped to pick them out and we made the 5 pages to get printed. Voila! Next week, he has to dress up as favorite Dr. Seuss character – oy!
Loni says
I’m coming out of my non-commenting shell! I do not look forward to the days of packets. “Here you go, bring this back at the end of the week,” and bam, all of a sudden it’s Thursday and we haven’t started. CRAP! That’s how I’m picturing it a few years from now at least! I’m a procrastinator at heart, I don’t think I’ll pass on anything different to my child! ;)
Mama Kat says
I do that all the time!
Losrulz says
Man … we never got any awards for 100 days of school … I feel ripped off!
3 Men & a Lady says
We had our 100th day a few weeks back. My son took 100 Legos, so I lucked out and didn’t have to buy anything. Whew!
Gigi says
Ha! If you think the homework sucks now? Just you wait – it gets even worse! Pretty soon they’ll be doing multiplication, division, algebra…….I had to bow out after 3rd grade because I just couldn’t keep up.
Mama Kat says
Thankfully Pat is good at that stuff….I defer the job of math homework to him!
Eyegirl says
Having to help them with homework is at the top of my list of reasons why I never want children. I’m glad that both of you reached the 100 day mark. Only about a million more days to go until all your kids are out of school. :)
Jen @ buried with children says
Hayden’s class didn’t do a project like this. I don’t know whether to be thankful or feel left out.
I wanna go to a party and high five other mom’s that, yeah, we did it.
June Freaking Cleaver says
I hate the busy work that kids have to do, and if you have a kid who has issues at school, each evening is a little bit o’ Hell. I spent countless hours picking up ripped up pieces of papers and taping them back together so the work could get done. A paper that would take the typical kid 10 minutes might take two hours to complete.
So glad THAT”S over.
Mama Kat says
I bet that would be really frustrating! Especially for the assignments that seem so pointless.
Evonne says
I hate homework. There’s nothing worse than having to ask your child how to do something when it comes to “helping” them. I was good at math until my daughter hit 2nd grade!
Apparently 2nd grade and up here don’t celebrate 100 days, and my girl was really upset about that. So enjoy it while you can! Us parents definitely need a celebration of sorts for also surviving those 100 days!
Suzzy Rice says
I hear ya’ Mama Kat! I have six kids…mostly grown, and ALL out of schools that “celebrate” the 100th day. I was told that the “stuff” the kids bring was only to make sure the kids come to school…next years funding, at least here where I live, is determined based on the number of students on the 100th day of school. When my youngest daughter was in high school…a smaller charter school…they took all the kids that came to the movies and got them popcorn, etc. I guess the amount of funding they would get made that worth it!
Amy says
OMG! HOMEWORK!!!!! *running away from the puter, screaming*
Wait little lady, just wait, the homework demons have not EVEN begun to torture you yet. :)
Ashley says
My kindergartener had the whole “100 days of school” thing. I counted and re-counted and stuck her 100 glow in the dark stickers for her class into a bag and sent her to school to share with her friends. I then got repremanded by my 5 year old. When she made her stacks of ten’s there were only 9 stacks of ten, and one of 8. She then handed me 98 glow in the dark stickers. Which are now scattered around my car.
Mama Kat says
Hahaha….awwww, but you you meant well!! And your car will look really cool next time you guys are out for the evening. :)
Life with Kaishon says
So freaking funny!
I laughed my head off.
I HATE Kaishon’s homework too.
So annoying.
He does read every day
but he DOES NOT do a math time sheet every day.
That is just silly : )
Currently I can get 43 multiplication facts done in 1 minute.
I hope I get up to 50 by the end of March : )
Blythe says
I’m mostly amused because the actual signatures in the little book matter so little. When I’m there during the school year, I have signed off on the kids’ reading, and no one has ever questioned it at all. Fascinating.
Mama Kat says
I know! I’ve thought, “should I make the initials all different colors so it doesn’t look suspicious??”
I never do. And I’ve never been called in for lying on my kids homework.
I’m setting a great example for my daughter.
Niki says
My daughter had her 100th day last Wednesday and we were required to find 100 items to send to school with her too…only we couldn’t do candy because our school is fighting obesity and we wouldn’t want the kids to have access to unhealthy snacks. *eye roll* …maybe I will send 100 deviled eggs next time :)
Mama Kat says
How about 100 carrots??
Jennifer says
I am NOT looking forward to doing homework again. At all. That just doesn’t seem fair.
Suzanne says
That would suck doing her homework, I am not looking forward to that! You again, are hilarious!
Suz
AngieB says
Wait till you’ve got a kid doing “the cell project” and you have to remember smooth endoplasmic reticulum and rough endoplasmic reticulum, or they’re doing “the Krebs cycle” in Biology. I hear once they’re in college they have to do it on their own – I sure hope so, ’cause my brain cells are dying at an alarming rate!
Becca - Our Crazy Boys says
Ugh. I get it.
As someone who works in a school… Do you know why they do the 100 days thing??
So all the kids come to school on that day.
Because a census is taken that day by the state.
And school funding is determined by the number of children counted by the census.
Just to piss you off a little more.
Sorry :(
Jen says
I stopped homeschooling because it was so much work, but little did I know about the work that would lay before me in the way of homework help. Wow! :) Jen
kiki says
great post and adorable picture. i agree with you on all your points about homework. i’m worried about what my son will be bringing home in kindergarten and first grade for school work. i don’t think i’ll be able to help him. i’ve heard from friends with older kids that homework is hard and there is a lot of it. kids up are til 10pm doing homework. my shows are on b/t 8-10pm. that is not happening. when i was a substitute, i had to teach 5th grade a few times. i was doing fine until they got to math. i sucked at math in school. the math they were doing was, like, algebra, and i was doing that my sr yr in HS. the kids told me they are not allowed to use calculators. i had no clue how to help them, so, i looked in the back of the teacher’s book, found the answers, gave them to the kids and said, “figure out how the authors got those answers, and you CAN use your calculators.” this was almost 12 years ago and i’m still scarred by those sub experiences. i think you do deserve a party. take care.
Funkidivagirl says
How about my daughter wanted to bring in 100 (tiny…I talked her into tiny) photos of her puppy. It used up a whole ink cartridge!
dusty earth mother says
Very funny, MamaKat. Thankfully, my daughter’s school did not do the “100 Days” thing, because knowing my kid, she would have demanded 100 My Little Ponies, which I would have had to pay for with our Home Equity Loan.
Stephanie says
I can’t say much about school since I am back at school!
Carolyn says
I love this article. It’s so refreshing to find somebody who feels the way I do about the homework thing and reading 20 minutes a night. There’s nothing like fighting with my kid to do his homework when I need to be focusing on dinner and a million other things. GAH!
My kids go to the library with me frequently and I read bedtime stories, but I am not force feeding twenty minutes of reading to them a night. No how – no way!
Holly S says
The worst part for me was when you said M&M’s and she said Jelly Beans. Is there REALLY going to be a day my child thinks for himself and I can’t force my opinions on him. Damn!
Sharon says
Last year we did 100 “one Hundreds”! I cut out a giant 100, and Munchkin wrote “100” on it 99 times. The year before we did stickers, because I was up to my eyeballs in them and managed to convince him that they were the perfect thing to use.
Mama Kat says
I love those ideas! Easy and CHEAP!
angel says
OH I hear ya there. Although our school system is pretty cool the kids can decorate clothes, shoes, pants you name it with 100 things.. We had snow days prior to our 100th day so guess who forgot it was 100th day lol.. you guessed it but I wasn’t the only bad mommy lol
Justine says
Ha! We already had our 100th day of school weeks ago and guess what? I didn’t have to do a damn thing for it! Neener neener!!!!!
What photo program did you use to cover their faces with flowers? That’s so stinkin’ cute!
Justine :o )
Mama Kat says
That’s my favorite part of editing photos…adding captions and covering up strange kids faces.
:) I use picnik.com
Jen says
LOL! You failed to mention the most important part: that means there’s only 80 days left! :-)
I never had to do this. In fact, I never remember counting the days of school I had or had not completed until senior year of college when we had a party on the 100th day before graduation! Now THAT is a 100th day worth celebrating!
I actually look forward to “going back to school” with my future kids. I always loved school. I just don’t look forward to math homework… but that’s what Jed’s for! He’s an accountant… he’s REALLY good at counting! ;-)
Melissa says
Ha, my first grader’s 100th day is coming up too. And like you, I had no idea what I was in for with the homework (starting in Kindergarten!) and the STACKS of paper she brings home each night. Thinking she’ll be fully responsible for it in a few years offers no solace, as I have TWO MORE with whom to go through it all over again.
Mama Kat says
I’m right there with you!! It’s actually great training though, now I know what they’re going to expect of Laina when she starts up.
kisatrtle says
Tomorrow I am rewarding myself with 5 glasses of wine for the next 20 days.
Lauren says
The 100th day of school was always my least favorite when I was teaching elementary school. I hope you saved some of those jelly beans for yourself!
Tickled Pink Twice says
Glad to hear that I’m not the only parenting hating homework and it’s only 1st grade. We, I mean, my daughter just celebrated the 100th day with a big project. Just another day with even more to do.
thatgirlblogs says
no one tell them they have 2000 more days til graduation. let them have this moment.
Michelle says
Ummm the moms in your school don’t get together after dropoff on the 100th day to celebrate? I think you need to start that tradition. First day, 50th day, 100th day, last day — we all get together to celebrate (or commiserate) while the kids are in school. :)
adrianscrazylife says
I here ya. This is my 3rd time around the school system and I am just.so.tired of it by now. My middle son struggled so much with his homework that they held his cap & gown literally “hostage” until the morning of High School graduation! I remember doing that last English assignment for him at 1 in the morning because I just didn’t damn well care. This is why I’ve been terrified to ever check out a private school for my kids. I don’t care about the money, but I don’t think I could live with the homework load!
Amethyst Moon says
Wow! I had forgotten all about 100 days celebrations! When we lived in Maine (almost 10 years ago) it was a really big deal, and yes, the girls had to count out 100 things, but in Florida, the day goes by just like any other. kind of miss the excitement of it. Hope it was good one.
Lourie says
I hate to say it Kat, but it only gets worse. And then they say stuff like, “That’s not how my teacher said to do it.’ I haven’t done the 100 day thing in a few years. I think my son will have to do cars, since he has like a bazillion!
Brae says
Amen sista!! LOL. You always give me the laugh I need to shock me back into being okay instead of grouchy.
Pink Haired Momma says
I am dreading the days of homework, but in the mean time i will amuse myself by reading your hysterical homework posts!!
Heather says
this isn’t something we did in the UK, but i quite like the idea of it. It’s nice to make school a celebration.
Lindsay @ Kids Are Teachers says
Your posts always make me giggle out loud. You’re so right, moms should get some sort of party for the milestones our kids reach!
Erin says
Not looking forward to the homework days.
Brandi says
M&M’s and jelly beans would have been preferred here. Savanna decided to take the leftover rose petals from the Eden Fantasy’s box! She sat there and counted 100 of them and then carted them off to school, smelling very rosy!
Caren says
The Son just did this same project but he decided that he wanted to take 100 Hot Wheels cars. Have you ever tried to lift 100 Hot Wheels cars? Needless to say, it was heavy. The poor kid got on the bus weighed down by his swollen back pack and I even had to ask the bus driver to make sure he got off without falling. (He’s unfortunately inherited my “grace.”) All in all though, he was thrilled with his choice and his teacher allowed the children to play with his cars at free time that day so it all worked out well. Happy 100 days!
Sadie at heyMamas says
This post cracked me up and the one thing that rings true more than EVER is who the hell do they think is doing the homework, mostly I mean the projects? Us!! Elaborate projects and group projects are the WORST! When you have to get together on your “free time ” and do experiments with other children in the class.
BLAH, the worst!
Sadie at heyMamas
heatherlyn says
This year for the 100 days of school my 1st grader said: “I want to bring in 100 dollars. And then can I keep them?”
Not so much. Nice try though!
Kathy says
back to slow loading page :( but I love that you sent 100 jelly beans to school for 100 days! you are the cool mom!
Mom Taxi Julie says
LMAO too funny! Now I know I’m not the only mom that forges that reading log.
Bianca says
When my boy was younger they would have to describe what their family did together for whatever the focus was that week. I got so sick of making stuff up for him I gave him permission to lie all he wanted on those homework assignments. “Just make something up” I would say to him with a smile. :)
Jenners says
Oh yeah … well not only did we have to count out 100 things, we had to freaking glue them to a big piece of paper! So there.
Messy Mommy says
My 6-yr-old just celebrated 100 days of school too. He took 100 pieces of spaghetti. When I student taught I must admit the 100th day of school was my fave. I made a crown out of big marshmallows and a necklace out of mini marshmallows, totaling 100 of course. :)
Foursons says
Ugh, I think we counted 100 army men last year. *rolling eyes*
Tracy P. says
Just wait a few years…you’ll be asking for a whole lot more than a certificate! :-) Glad Maile is loving school!
~Mel~ says
Riley usually takes 100 pennies cause I never seem to have enough notice to get to the store and get some fun treats…lol.
Cottage By The Sea says
If I’d have known then what I know now about school, I wouldn’t have had so many kids. The driving, the homework, (what do they do in that classroom all day anyway), the magazine drives, parking lot politics. Man! Things were much easier when I was in school. I think home schoolers have it right. If you have to do all that work anyway, might as well stay at home and do it yourself.