School. . .

Even though I consider myself a "math person", I still find myself avoiding Zach's Algebra II book. I know I can figure this stuff out with a little bit of review but it takes a lot of effort so I procrastinate as long as I can. Fortunately for me, Zach does really well at math so I've been able to get away with checking his work every couple of weeks rather than everyday. He only missed one problem on his latest test and I had to force myself to figure out the solution to the problem. The solutions manual has the answer but not the steps to get to the answer so I have to try to wrap my brain around it. My tired, tired brain. This was the problem:

• The area of this figure equals the sum of the areas of triangle AXP and the sector formed by the arc ABC. Find the area of this figure:

I really don't like sectors and arcs and triangles that stick out of circles. In fact, Geometry was one of my least favorite parts of math. . . So, I reviewed the lessons in the book and tried to find similar problems that might trigger something in the far reaches of my brain but there was nothing even close to the figure on the test. . . (I have to bite my tongue and not say things like, "you'll never, ever use this in the real world". . . )

Finally, Zach and I put our heads together and remembered all the right formulas and came up with the right answer!!

It's good to know that my aging brain can still wrap itself around a problem like this and even better to know that Zach continues to learn even when I don't keep up on my end of things!

And while I'm on the subject of school, this was a writing assignment that Gloria did this week. (The instructions were to think about a human emotion and assign each of the senses to it):

ANGER

It is the color of Ruby Red.

It is the taste of Sour Milk.

It smells like something is Dead.

It feels like a Bee Sting.

It sounds like Something Screaming!

It looks like a Volcano Erupting.

Days like this make me glad I've chosen to teach my kids. . . Other days, however, make me wonder. . .