Exam Days are Mommy's Hectic Days Too

Three Kids x  Three Reviewers x Nine Subjects

I don't know what happened to this generation of parents but why are most parents forced to also get stressed during exam days of their little kids? My kids expect me to be at home during exam week. They expect me to create reviewers for them and help them study during the exams. Now, that they are three going to school, this has become a tedious task for me especially I still need to work from home while I prepare them for the exams.

How old are my kids?

My eldest daughter is 8 years old, followed by my six years old son, and my youngest boy is five years old. As far as I know, these ages still require the guidance and support of parents when it comes to studying. My eldest can read with little help from me. My middle child is in Grade 1 and he's having difficulty learning to read. My youngest is a quick learner and, thankfully, he can read better than his classmates.

My eldest daughter still demands that I create reviewers for her and tests that she can answer. I guess she believes that she can only study well if I will join her when studying. Just this week, I told my daughter to start looking into her reviewers so that I can work on the reviewers of her brothers. However, she insisted that she needed me else she wouldn't know what to do with her reviewer.

I was sure that she could study on her own because her quizzes were already high. In fact, she would just listen to me most of the time when we review. When we started answering, she would quickly put her answers and I rarely corrected her. That's why I told her to study on her own and I, honestly, was mad when she said she couldn't. I told her my disappointment but she argued that she couldn't study alone.

My middle son needs a lot of attention to learn his lessons at school. He's having a hard time focusing on his lessons. I spent more time with him for this first quarterly exams. He could read a few words but he didn't get the thoughts yet. Also, he quickly forgot what we just memorized (usually spelling words). It is quite tiring but I know that he really needs my help. I am planning to get him a tutor. It is an additional expense but I need to make sure my boy can cope with his studies. I'm not always around since I have to be in the office most of the time.

My youngest seems to be the brightest. He knew his lessons and was really happy answering his reviewers. However, he's the same as his older sister. He wants me to do the exact test that the teacher will give them and he answers quickly.  I spent 30 minutes to finish his practice test and he would finish it in 10-15 minutes. I already thought of not doing a test for him but I did not want to take the risk of him not understanding or following the test instructions.

1st Quarter Exam Reviewers for Grade 1 except for Robotics reviewer which was provided by the instructor. 

1st Quarter Exam Reviewers for Grade 3 except for Robotics reviewer which was provided by the instructor. 

1st Quarter Exam Reviewers for Kinder

Social Media and Parenting

Like me, other parents care a lot about how the children will perform during the exams. I am part of different group chats and my worries are the same as theirs. It's just times three for me. 😅 Knowing I'm not alone, makes me feel that I'm just a normal mom. However, it also made me realize parents today are often focused on helping the children get high grades. Thanks to social media and we can easily reach their teachers, school, and other parents. It's easier to know the updates about our kids, their activities, and their upcoming programs.  

Since parents have that quick access, instead of asking our children first about what they did at school and what they need to do, we immediately approach their teachers. Sometimes, I even read complaints that some kids didn't know their assignments or topics because they failed to copy from the blackboard and/or listen to their teacher. 

If a child didn't write down and didn't listen, why do we need to go after the teachers immediately? Let's teach first the children their responsibility and the consequences of not doing it. We are already forgetting to teach them about independence and good study habits. Thus, a lot of children are not focused on listening and understanding what their teachers teach and say. They are becoming too confident that their parents/guardians can find out what they missed.

Even if I want my children to get good grades, I always remind them how important it is to write down everything and to remember what the teacher told them. Because if they missed anything, it will reflect on their grades. There were times they learned it the hard way. You know suffer the consequences by getting the "0" mark? 😉 After that, they somehow learned their lesson.

Feedbacks From my Kids After the Exam

I asked my kids after every exam day how was their exam. They told me my reviewer is harder than the actual exam. Sometimes, they said we missed some items during our review and they didn't answer correctly. I always tell them that, as long as they did their best, they did a good job already. I also said, if my reviewers are harder, then I'm teaching you the right things. They asked me why. I simply answered, "because the actual exam is already easy for you. It means you're prepared."

On to the Next Quarterly Exams

I still don't have concrete plans on how I will handle reviewing three kids every exam week. Studying for exams earlier is not an option, because the pointers are given on the weekend before the big day. I don't know if I can cut out the habit of making reviewers for each subject.

It also helps that I review them on their quizzes and recitation. That's why my daughter can quickly answer her quarterly exam reviewers. It also helps my second child since we can just focus more on remembering the spelling of words. He already understands the concept and logic (especially in Math). 

I might hire a tutor so I can get an extra hand on helping them study their lessons. I am often away from them on weekdays so there are lessons that I will miss (the struggle of a working mom).  

Today, I will take the rest the whole afternoon and I have politely asked my kids to allow me to take a nap.