Homework and the Internet

As I was helping the boys with their homework tonight, I found myself continuously wondering how on EARTH our parents ever helped us. I am being totally serious here. I guess that is why my parents spent countless amounts of money they probably could have used in other areas to buy home encyclopedia sets. We had at least 2 full sets - possibly 3. I guess my Mom knew what she was doing.

Tonight, I 'helped' the A-man with his Science project - "Create a game that will help the player learn the differences between mitosis and meiosis." Sure - a simple project, really. Pffftt... "Mitosis and meiosis - geesh, we did that back in Grade 4 - I can't believe you haven't started to learn about that until Grade 9," I said to him this evening. (yeah, and then three purple pigs flew right by my kitchen window.)

So, basically, my 'help' involved showing him the best way to google stuff. We googled our little hearts out. (I love using 'to google' as a verb. Would have been unheard of 10 years ago, yet now it just makes total sense...) The first thing I suggested was wikepida, but that was FAR too scientific, and I started to develop a rash. After we googled a bit more, we were actually able to find a couple of interactive-type sites that really explained these two forms of cell division at a level a 'real' person would be able to understand. Gee - could you imagine how dry that would have been from a book? Yikes.

So, after we found these interactive sites, I showed him how he should start making some notes - on the computer, of course - and then suddenly the "question" section of his board game started to fall in to place for him. He came up with a total of 11 questions so far - easy ones like "How many stages are there in meiosis? Answer: 12" and "What is the divided cell called in mitosis? Answer: diploid." See what I mean? Easy peasy.

He has decided that he's going to make a total of 25 or 30 question cards, and has asked if he can used the business card templates we have in the one home office to make the questions on. He's starting to get the creative juices flowing now that he actually knows what these things are. (I'm still confused, but at least he is getting excited about it.) I helped, though: I suggested he call the game "Sex Cells" (ha ha - a play on words, get it?) He didn't see the humour in it, and actually was quite serious when he said, "Uh, yeah, Mom, except Mitosis isn't about sex cell division." And then he rolled his eyes like I was totally off the wall for suggesting such a dumb name. !! (Little brat)

Meanwhile, as I am overseeing the googling in the dining room, S is in the kitchen, working on determining the radius of various sized circles. The A-man almost seemed disgusted that the whole "divide the circumference in half and multiply by pi" didn't just come to S, but he quickly shushed when I reminded him that it is only easy when you know how, and then asked him to go back to reading about meiosis. Again - just every day stuff that the average Canadian encounters at least 15 times a day...

I think I am doomed. Pretty soon I WON'T be able to help them with homework, because I won't know what they are doing or what any of it means. At least I will always be able to help them get it organized, and how to best approach applying the newly-learned information. I guess I should just keep that silver lining for myself.

After the homework session, the A-man and I were having a hot tub, watching the stray kittens trying to come to the food dishes without actually getting too close to us, and he told me that he doesn't like going to Air Cadets because his squadron leader has been yelling at him for coughing while doing drill. A dry 'cough' and a knuckle popping/cracking thing have been his newest tics. I explained to him that he could take the leader aside and explain that in private, but he said that he doesn't mind telling people about his tourettes, and he actually would rather inform people than having them think it "all about those stupid swearing jokes you see on TV." I was a little surprised at his view on it, and way more proud than I could ever tell him. What a great young man he is turning in to! I'm feeling a little bit of pride forming here...