Education

This weekend was a little bit of a struggle for me. All four of us were sitting around the living room talking when a math problem came up. I thought this would be a great chance to help the 6 year old practice her numbers. I asked her what 9 minus 5 is and the older one interjected with the incorrect answer of 3. The older one is 10 years old, and very mature for her age. Maybe it's the divorce, but she does not act like a 10 year old. However, her knowledge and math skills are extremely below her grade level.

I later asked the older one, what is 26 minus 15. She said a slew of incorrect numbers, and it made me think. How are you working on division yet you can't answer a math problem correctly? I'm very nervous about her. She does not like to read, she does not like to do homework. Not a big deal, I was kind of like that, and I know most girls her age struggle in school and at math.

The problem lies within how my boyfriend and I handle the situation. I feel like she needs to go to a tutor to seek extra help, and I believe both children need to spend at least two hours a weekend working on school work. This school work could be math books, reading, science experiments etc. My boyfriend does not feel this way. When I suggested the tutor, he said I should help her. While that seems ideal, I honestly don't have the patience. It's nothing against the children or me, I just have a lot of trouble explaining material over and over. I know that I will get frustrated and honestly that is not the kind of relationship I want to build with the eldest.

Sure, I'll help with homework questions, but I don't think I am the right person to teach the basics of math.

I'm not old enough to have friends with kids at this age, so I am not quite sure what to do. I want to help, but I don't want the responsibility to fall on me. I'll keep you posted on how I handle this, but how would you handle this?