Now that Madison is in second grade and reading fairly confidently, she's gotten a lot more independent in all her school work. It's actually really nice for me. She can read the directions, ask for clarification if need be, and then just...go. I can focus on working with Reagan, who is still learning to read, check in with Madison as needed, and then, when she does need me, I have time to give her the attention.
Except....when she skips a step.
I used to think there was nothing worse than when I skipped a step while doing something. Usually it's furniture building, and I realize I need to start over, and that just makes me want to break down and cry.
No. It is much, MUCH worse when your second grader comes to you and starts telling you that something doesn't make sense, and you realize it was because she skipped a line in the directions (usually way back in the beginning) and now will need to start over.
There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth. And that's the best reaction I can hope for. More often it comes with an attempt to give up school forever.
Yeah, skipping steps is NEVER fun once you realize what you've done. It's not that you have to start again, it's that you realize you wasted ALL that time and effort on something that is now a total waste.
Fortunately, unlike her mother, Madison appears to be learning from her mistakes, and now, when she does skip a step, she figures it out before it has disastrous results.
And she's learned that sometimes, it isn't that bad. You don't always have to scrap the whole thing and start over. Sometimes, it's just going back and adding a clip, or another screw, or a new paragraph.
But honestly, the best way to avoid the meltdown, is to just read the directions to begin with.
