Silly things you didn't realize your kid didn't know...

[radiobrain]

I won a really cool prize package from our phone company yesterday, and it came in a backpack.

 

My 13 yo ds decided he wanted to carry it, so he attempted to put it on. That is when I watched in horror as I saw he did not know how to put on a back pack!!!! :confused:

 

OK, that was weird.

 

Any other stories of things you didn't realize you had to teach, or that your kids didn't know how to do, since they aren't in a brick and mortar school? I need to feel some comraderie here. ;)

[elegantlion]

How to queue properly. ;)

 

How to raise his hand to ask a question.

 

How not to talk during a test.

 

 

He was in private school for prek and K, he still got in trouble for talking.

 

Funny story: We went on vacation when ds was about 7 and he stayed at my parents. My mom decided to do school. She and ds are best buddies and my mom decided to act like a real teacher. She made him raise his hand to ask a question, raise his hand to go to the bathroom, and she made him sit up in a chair correctly. I talked to him on the phone and he pleaded with me not to have his Mama be his teacher anymore. :lol:

[Julie Smith]

Once a couple of years ago we were not home for breakfast. My kids were asked if they wanted cereal. They didn't know what it was, since they nev had it before.

 

We also only ever had spiral noddles, so it was discovered my kids didn't know what spaghetti was.

[Tarreymere]

Rotary pencil sharpeners. DD encountered one at Sunday School and stood there baffled.

[Alice]

When ds was about 6 we stayed in a hotel with an iron and he had no idea what it was.

 

I was torn between being embarrassed and proud. :)

[myfatherslily]

When ds was about 6 we stayed in a hotel with an iron and he had no idea what it was.

 

I was torn between being embarrassed and proud. :)

 

:lol: Last week 7 year old DD came into the kitchen and asked what I was making. I told her I was making bread. She said, incredulously, "You can't MAKE bread!!?!"

[Julie Smith]

When ds was about 6 we stayed in a hotel with an iron and he had no idea what it was.

 

I was torn between being embarrassed and proud. :)

 

We don't own a iron, and never have. I'm sure that mr kids would be baffled by one.

[Crimson Wife]

DD didn't know what a "principal" was but when I explained that it was like a "headmaster" she understood. I guess she reads too many British books :lol:

[Cosmos]

Any other stories of things you didn't realize you had to teach, or that your kids didn't know how to do, since they aren't in a brick and mortar school? I need to feel some comraderie here. ;)

 

I don't know that this has to do with homeschooling versus building school, but it's definitely an embarrassing gap. When my ds went on a trip with his Cub Scout pack a couple of years ago, they stopped at McDonald's for lunch. When they asked ds what he wanted to eat, he said, "What kind of food do they have?" :lol:

 

We aren't food freaks or anything. We eat junk food, we eat out. But I have no interest in fast food burgers, so we have never gone to McDonald's, Burger King, etc. If we need fast food, we go to Subway or get a slice of pizza.

 

Dh quickly introduced him to Filet o' Fish, which I expect drew even more stares. But at least he knows what McDonald's has now!

[dirty ethel rackham]

When my oldest went to Philmont, they had limited opportunity for showering. When ds refused a shower, everyone was confused and complaining (he is usually pretty good about grooming.) Then it dawned on the Scoutmaster - ds had never done a communal shower before. They were accommodating and let him have a 3 minute private shower. He was grateful, but a little embarrassed.

[Stacia]

Neither of my dc seem to notice or care which side of notebook paper to start on! So, it seems like they start on the back more often. Argh! :tongue_smilie:

 

Also, when ds was quite a bit younger, he was participating in a half-day art camp. His friend was in the class too. Friend's mom & I were hanging out in the lobby of the place (her ds has physical disabilities & she had to stay around in case he needed additional help). About an hour & a half later, I was stunned to see my ds walking across the far side of the lobby by himself, heading into the auditorium (where we dropped off the dc that morning). By the time I was hurrying over to investigate, 2 teachers were also closing in. Turns out that ds had worked on a project & finished it to his satisfaction. Since he was 'done', he just got up & left. He apparently was seated by the door & just got up & walked out. (He went to the auditorium looking for me since that was the last place he had seen me.) It was a minute or so before the teacher realized that one kid was missing. Anyway, that was a good lesson in teaching him that he had to stay in the room, even if he was 'finished'. :tongue_smilie: (And, we emphasized to his friend to tell the teacher if my ds got up & left again!)

 

:001_huh:

[RegGuheert]

When DS21 was 18 he registered to vote. When election day came around I went to the polls with him. To my utter enjoyment, I learned that he had spelled his middle name incorrectly on the voter registration application! :lol: (And, no, he didn't know how to spell it correctly!)

 

Poor guy! I told the lady there that she probably shouldn't let him vote since his learner's permit did not match her register. She let him vote anyway... :tongue_smilie:

 

It seems that some things do tend to slip through the cracks in homeschool!

[jenniferlee]

My 13 yo dd saw a bin of blow-pops (with the bubble gum in the middle) at goodwill the other day and asked what they were!?

 

I was happy about that one. But shocked too, because I was intimately familiar with every variety of candy by the time I was 7.:tongue_smilie:

[Aurelia]

DD didn't know what a "principal" was but when I explained that it was like a "headmaster" she understood. I guess she reads too many British books :lol:

 

 

I think Ariel might have the same problem. Maybe I need to check.

 

A couple of days ago she was reading a book and didn't understand what "school term" meant. I tried to explain it as a semester and she only got more confused. Finally, I was able to explain it to where she sort of understood.

[Element]

Apparently my ds thought okra was fish. :confused:

 

I can't stand okra, but dh likes it so I buy the frozen breaded kind once or twice a year and fry it for him. The last time we had it, I had written "Breaded okra" (among other things, of course) on the menu board for the day. At dinner time, ds says: "Mom, I just really don't like this fish. I only like tilapia." I looked at him, dumbfounded, and replied, "What fish? That's grilled chicken breast!" He said, "No, THIS. The Breaded Kora fish. I don't like it."

 

I think I will forever think of okra as "Breaded Kora Fish." :lol:

Edited October 11, 2011 by Element
"Tilapia" is not a proper noun! Why do I always want to capitalize it?

[Mommyof4ks]

Hanging coats on hooks. It never occurred to me to teach them.

[missmoe]

When my oldest daughter went to high school after 8 years of mom school, several teachers were quite disgruntled that my dd couldn't get the hang of starting her writing assignments on the correct side of the notebook paper.

 

My oldest son missed lots of stuff, but I refuse to take responablitity for his lapses! I tried, I really did! This is the same kid who still gets in the car and upon arrival at the destination says, "Why are we here?" After graduating, I had to teach him how to use the post office. I guess we missed that in K social studies!

[ondreeuh]

My son just learned how to spell his last name at age 10.

 

It is Smith. :svengo:

 

Truthfully, he has no natural spelling ability and doesn't "pick up" the spelling of a word by reading it, but I'd never taught it to him because it hadn't come up.

 

I also just realized that he had no idea how to write the date using a number for the month. Now that I think about it, the list of things he doesn't have mastered that MOST kids learn by K is really embarrassing, but he has memory issues and most of those things we have drilled over and over.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I didn't realize until ds started AWANAS that we never taught him the Pledge of Allegiance :blushing: Also, he didn't know about raising your hand to ask or answer a question, so when other kids raise their hands, he does too.

 

ETA Stacia: I LOVE your signature quote!

[Kipling]

Neither of my dc seem to notice or care which side of notebook paper to start on! So, it seems like they start on the back more often. Argh! :tongue_smilie:

 

 

When my oldest daughter went to high school after 8 years of mom school, several teachers were quite disgruntled that my dd couldn't get the hang of starting her writing assignments on the correct side of the notebook paper.

 

Yup. As mine are using more notebook book paper (instead of workbooks and large K-ruled paper), I have discovered they don't know the "rules" about notebook paper. They'll start on the wrong side, they pay no attention to the red margins, etc...

 

Another thing I just realized my dd and ds don't know:

My SIL posted this story on FB...

*DD* just came home and told me never to pull my tongue and say apple. Glad she is learning so much at school.

 

I can't say my dc know that information either.

[Mabeline]

Neither of my dc seem to notice or care which side of notebook paper to start on! So, it seems like they start on the back more often. Argh! :tongue_smilie:

 

Also, when ds was quite a bit younger, he was participating in a half-day art camp. His friend was in the class too. Friend's mom & I were hanging out in the lobby of the place (her ds has physical disabilities & she had to stay around in case he needed additional help). About an hour & a half later, I was stunned to see my ds walking across the far side of the lobby by himself, heading into the auditorium (where we dropped off the dc that morning). By the time I was hurrying over to investigate, 2 teachers were also closing in. Turns out that ds had worked on a project & finished it to his satisfaction. Since he was 'done', he just got up & left. He apparently was seated by the door & just got up & walked out. (He went to the auditorium looking for me since that was the last place he had seen me.) It was a minute or so before the teacher realized that one kid was missing. Anyway, that was a good lesson in teaching him that he had to stay in the room, even if he was 'finished'. :tongue_smilie: (And, we emphasized to his friend to tell the teacher if my ds got up & left again!)

 

:001_huh:

 

:lol::lol: My son did the same thing at a homeschool co-op a few years ago. He was in kinder and had just finished an art project. He was so proud of his work he just got up and came looking for me. His teacher was horrified that he had left the classroom by himself. :001_huh::lol: The next day I made it very clear to him that he should stay with his teacher until everyone was done.

[sixpence1978]

Also not school vs. homeschool related...

 

The other day I was gathering up library books and asked my DS if he was going to finish one of his books. He said he was but couldn't because his bookmark had fallen out. He didn't know how to find the page he was on without it. :001_huh:

[Meriwether]

When DS21 was 18 he registered to vote. When election day came around I went to the polls with him. To my utter enjoyment, I learned that he had spelled his middle name incorrectly on the voter registration application! :lol: (And, no, he didn't know how to spell it correctly!)

 

Poor guy! I told the lady there that she probably shouldn't let him vote since his learner's permit did not match her register. She let him vote anyway... :tongue_smilie:

 

It seems that some things do tend to slip through the cracks in homeschool!

 

I embarrassed myself one day. My sister called to ask how the boys names were spelled. She asked if Ds7's middle name had one t or two. I had to think a minute. I was pretty sure I would have automatically spelled it with two, but I never made a concious decision on it. Then she asked how Ds5's name is spelled. I had to look it up.:001_huh: I hated his name. It is a family name and we call him by an abbreviation of it. I was only 1 for 3 on how to spell my own kids' names.:lol:

[beaners]

Apparently my ds thought okra was fish. :confused:

 

I can't stand okra, but dh likes it so I buy the frozen breaded kind once or twice a year and fry it for him. The last time we had it, I had written "Breaded okra" (among other things, of course) on the menu board for the day. At dinner time, ds says: "Mom, I just really don't like this fish. I only like tilapia." I looked at him, dumbfounded, and replied, "What fish? That's grilled chicken breast!" He said, "No, THIS. The Breaded Kora fish. I don't like it."

 

I think I will forever think of okra as "Breaded Kora Fish." :lol:

 

 

Don't worry, the servers at the restaurant my husband ran in Mississippi were convinced that Mahi Mahi was some kind of snake. If someone asked about it on the menu, they said it was grilled snake. I'm pretty sure there was some retraining on the menu after that.

[Murphy101]

Honestly I made it to adulthood without doing some of this stuff!

 

No communal shower for me, tyvm. Ever.

 

I had never been to a post office until after I was married.

 

I have vague memories of doing the pledge of allegiance in early elementary, but never after that. Never been to an occasion that called for it.

 

We own an iron. Somewhere. I think. It was my mother in laws old one. I'm not sure many of my kids know what it is.

 

As for my own tale of educational woe...;)

 

When I was teaching our third born to read, I cut straight to the chase. We learned the consonants then the vowels and got right to sounding out words.

 

Fast forward a bit later and my mil askes ds to tell her his ABCs.

And he just has a blank stare to offer.

Not a clue.

 

Yes. I had completely skipped the entire ABC song and that there is an order to those letters I had been teaching him. So yes, he could read, he just didn't know his ABC song.

[Ellie]

Yes. I had completely skipped the entire ABC song and that there is an order to those letters I had been teaching him. So yes, he could read, he just didn't know his ABC song.

I never taught that to my dc, either.:)

[mo2]

*DD* just came home and told me never to pull my tongue and say apple. Glad she is learning so much at school.

 

 

:confused: Why? I even tried it and can't figure it out.

[Hunter's Moon]

:confused: Why? I even tried it and can't figure it out.

 

It is supposed to sound like a swear but you really have to try to get it to sound like that. Yeah, I learned this in elementary PS. :lol:

[Homemama2]

I'm teaching a hs co-op class and asked the kids to hand in their papers. Rather than passing their papers down the row like I'd expected, almost every kid got up and brought it to me, and not one had a name on it. These were 3rd-5th graders. :D Of course, the good news is, these kind of silly things only take about 30 seconds to teach.

[NicAnn]

These are hilarious to me! It's funny because my little brother is a genius but he didn't know how to spell his middle name until he was at least 10. I guess that's common!

[KLynnTX]

Nevermind!

[QueenieReighn]

Something my kids missed from not doing PS K was all the types of weather...I found out today that they thought fog was smoke and that we shouldn't go outside because there had been a fire somewhere and we didn't want to breathe the smoke. :-P

[Puma Mom]

A few years ago, I brought home a box of frozen pizzas and gave it to ds#2 to put in the basement freezer. He was probably 12. Days later, I went downstairs to discover the box on TOP of the refrigerator/freezer. It had puffed up from the crust expanding. His explanation was that it didn't fit. And apparently it didn't occur to him to ask for help or let me know that it didn't fit. (It actually didn't take much shifting of stuff to make room.)

 

I didn't know what to say at the time but for weeks after that I'd look at him, shaking my head, and say, "I have no clue what else you don't know."

[nono]

Whoa. I've never done a communal shower (and would not).

 

Be thankful you don't live in this house. ;)

[K&Rs Mom]

My 13 yo dd saw a bin of blow-pops (with the bubble gum in the middle) at goodwill the other day and asked what they were!?

 

We were out for lunch with my mom this summer, and she said something about Twinkies. My 9yo said, "What's a Twinkie?" :001_huh: Grandma did quickly remedy that - walked her over to the gas station after lunch (dd saw the Twinkies and chose a brownie instead:lol:).

 

My kids raise their hands to talk at the dinner table, and sometimes in the car (then they're mad that I didn't see them because they're behind me :confused:). I have no idea where they learned this, but sometimes it's kind of nice!

[MtnTeaching]

My kids raise their hands to talk at the dinner table, and sometimes in the car (then they're mad that I didn't see them because they're behind me :confused:). I have no idea where they learned this, but sometimes it's kind of nice!

 

What is it with hs kids and raising their hands to talk?

 

Dh, dd13, ds14, and I were sitting at our dinner table the other night and I asked a question. Both kids (middle-schooler and high-schooler) raised their hands to answer the question and my dh just about lost it. I don't get this. I've never required them to raise their hands.

 

Is it some sort of inate kid thing?

[Laura Corin]

When ds was about 6 we stayed in a hotel with an iron and he had no idea what it was.

 

I was torn between being embarrassed and proud. :)

 

More recently, Hobbes has seen me iron Hama beads. I did finally teach Calvin to iron...

 

Laura

[KristinaBreece]

What is it with hs kids and raising their hands to talk?

 

Dh, dd13, ds14, and I were sitting at our dinner table the other night and I asked a question. Both kids (middle-schooler and high-schooler) raised their hands to answer the question and my dh just about lost it. I don't get this. I've never required them to raise their hands.

 

Is it some sort of inate kid thing?

 

Mine learned it in Sunday School with my MIL.

[Laura Corin]

Hanging coats on hooks. It never occurred to me to teach them.

 

Just curious.

 

Laura

[LadyR]

When my dd was maybe around 5 or 6 years old my MIL gave her a bag of Smartfood. She opened it up and incredulously looked at the popcorn inside, looked back up at me and exclaimed, "It comes already popped???"

[Miss Peregrine]

You know the picture on the back of Little Golden books? DD 9 has no idea who most of the character are. She knew 3 .:lol:

[kitten18]

 

My oldest, then 9yo, blurted out in her very first multiple choice group test, "Can you believe how stupid these questions are? Everyone knows these!" The 4-H leader was not amused and I had to go over how to take a test...

 

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[Tap]

Ds17 got marked down from a biology teacher for the first two weeks of school because he was turning in 'sloppy work'. I didn't see his work, but he told me he was getting marked down. He was in a public/homeschool hybrid for 4 years and this was the first time he had got marked down due to it. I know he has bad handwriting, so I assumed that was the issue and advised him to start writing better. It continued and was getting out of control so I called her about it.

 

I found out that he was using torn parts of recycled graph paper for his graphing assignments. We often grab recycled paper at home as we don't save our school work. We do the work and toss it back in the recycling. He had torn one sheet into a few pieces and was using that for his work. His teacher though he was being ambivalent about his quality of work. Once I explained, she understood, but still expected a full sheet of graph paper for each assignment (even if they were only using a small part of it). :glare: I would think that a science teacher would care more about the earth than a full sheet of paper.

 

So, yep I had to teach my kid that not every teacher will appreciate your efforts to be kind to the earth. LOL

[Spy Car]

I wonder if you all are missing this popular means of getting the attention of unruly children that is currently popular in schools?

 

Teacher: 1,2,3, eyes on me!

 

Students: 1,2, eyes on you!

 

Bill

[Caterpiller]

I went to the library with my DD a few times this summer for little story telling/magic/information type shows. All the kids sit on the floor. the parents sit in chairs around the kids, or on the floor. So I sat on the floor with my girl and all around us parents are saying, "Criss Cross Apple Sauce!" to thier kids, who immediatly fold thier legs up and sit indian style.

 

DD and I were both in awe with our legs all over the place. ooops. :D

Edited October 12, 2011 by Caterpiller

[Susann]

When DS21 was 18 he registered to vote. When election day came around I went to the polls with him. To my utter enjoyment, I learned that he had spelled his middle name incorrectly on the voter registration application! :lol: (And, no, he didn't know how to spell it correctly!)

 

Poor guy! I told the lady there that she probably shouldn't let him vote since his learner's permit did not match her register. She let him vote anyway... :tongue_smilie:

 

It seems that some things do tend to slip through the cracks in homeschool!

 

I register patrons for cards at our local library. I'm always surprised at the number of people that have to stop and think about how to spell their middle name even adults. Don't worry it's not a hs thing!

[Murphy101]

But then my ds caught me trying to use his phone the other day (mine was dead) and I couldn't get it to work by pushing on it. I didn't know he had a non-touchscreen phone...

 

I do that all the time. Yesterday I even walked up to the tv and tried to tap the "play DVD" picture on the screen. All the kids made fun of me for the rest of the day. Mom, you have to press a button on the coffee maker. you can't just say, "Xbox. Make coffee.". Mom, the iPad has a touch screen, the printer is remote wifi so you don't even have to be in the room to print something off, the desktop requires this thing called a keyboard and you have to actually press buttons....:tongue_smilie:

[TXMary2]

Until about 2 years ago my 15 yo ds would write on the wrong side of loose leaf lined paper. Drove me crazy. He finally has stopped doing that.

 

My youngest goes to the local public school once a week for speech therapy. Each time we go he loves to run up the handicap ramp and then jump off the high part. Yesterday he got busted for doing that and as we left I had to explain to him that at public school the rules are different than they are at our house! He was so disappointed. He loves that ramp. LOL

 

In a co-op we used to attend I encountered a kid who didn't know how to number 1 - 20 on a piece of paper. I made a mental note at that time to make sure I taught my youngest how to do that!

[mo2]

Just curious.

 

Laura

 

 

I wondered that at first too, but then it occurred to me that they must have a coat closet and use hangers.

 

Or their kids just throw them on the floor like mine do....:glare:

[jillian]

I went to the library with my DD a few times this summer for little story telling/magic/information type shows. All the kids sit on the floor. the parents sit in chairs around the kids, or on the floor. So I sat on the floor with my girl and all around us parents are saying, "Criss Cross Apple Sauce!" to thier kids, who immediatly fold thier legs up and sit indian style.

 

DD and I were both in awe with our legs all over the place. ooops. :D

:lol: We only know Criss Cross Applesauce because of our gymnastics classes lol