Miss Peregrine Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Dd 18 is cracking up after I about lost it after DS dropped his pencil. Again. She doesn't understand that this is a " thing." Is pencil dropping an epidemic in your school? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Yes...yes it is. Drives me BONKERS.... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Not just dropping, but the "getting a new pencil instead of picking up the darned thing from the carpet". I swear that if I had 10 boxes of 144 pencils each, DD would pull each one out, sharpen it, drop it, get a new one...and so on, until she was sitting in a drift of 1440 pencils, and then state "I need a pencil". Smart kid...sometimes! 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I remember yelling at my kid more than once for dropping her freakin pencil repeatedly when she was supposed to be concentrating. I swear it is some sort of stress relief or "get mom off my back for 5 seconds" trick. After I yelled, her ability to hold onto the pencil improved dramatically. Amazing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Not so much the dropping. Just the disappearing. Where did they all go? Are pencils the new socks? 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I keep a box of fully sharpened pencils on the table at all times. I refuse to let my son pick them up until we are done with a lesson. He hasn't dropped one in awhile but he used to drop several a day. PS Sparkly my 5 year old loves your dancing bacon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwin Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 It's why we went from a counter-height table to a shorter table. It was necessary to decrease the time it takes for the kid to get from chair>floor>chair. Because there is a LOT of chair>floor>chair going on. :glare: 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Openhearted Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Dd 18 is cracking up after I about lost it after DS dropped his pencil. Again. She doesn't understand that this is a " thing." Is pencil dropping an epidemic in your school? I thought it was just me. The sound of a pencil clattering as it hits the floor really irritates me, and with twins....... :cursing: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Oh my word. I don't even have to say anything anymore. When oldest DD (my habitual offender) drops a pencil now, she immediately cringes and says "Sorry! Sorry!" I may or may not have spazzed out on her a few weeks ago, apparently scarring her for life... ETA: But do note -- scarred for life or not -- SHE STILL DROPS THAT DARN PENCIL! OFTEN! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 I've threatened to duct tape it to his hand...on numerous occasions. Sometimes it's just the lead that falls out of his mechanical pencil, or the eraser, or the eraser top... Drives me insane. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 My older has a favorite pencil. He will pick it up if he drop that one. If it is any other pencil, the pencils would be under the table until end of day when I ask my boys to pick them up. I see 3 to 4 pencils per kid under the table so it isn't too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderchica Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 When I was in high school we used to drop our pencil so our male gym teacher with the nice butt would pick it up for us 😂 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 When I was in high school we used to drop our pencil so our male gym teacher with the nice butt would pick it up for us 😂 Yeah... I don't think most homeschooled kids drop their pencils for that reason. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthyfamily Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Not so much the dropping. Just the disappearing. Where did they all go? Are pencils the new socks? Yes!! And pens and red pens in our house too! There must be some sort of writing utensil eating monster in our school room. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 It's not even dropping. They somehow propel themselves up into the air out of her hand WHILE SHE IS WRITING. And then land on the floor, roll under the table, and require several minutes to recapture. Only during math, I've noticed. :001_rolleyes: 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthyfamily Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Only during math, I've noticed. :001_rolleyes: I'm sure that's not a coincidence at all... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Haha what memories. When oldest son first was doing table time - short lessons but the newness had worn off - those pencils kept dropping. Finally I sharpened about 30 pencils and put them in a little container right next to him, and instructed him that if he dropped his pencil, he was to take another, and that all dropped pencils would be collected when the lesson was complete. He smiled pretty big and rarely lost a pencil after that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I keep a box of fully sharpened pencils on the table at all times. I refuse to let my son pick them up until we are done with a lesson. He hasn't dropped one in awhile but he used to drop several a day. PS Sparkly my 5 year old loves your dancing bacon. Haha, I posted before reading this. For ds it was an escape tactic. I think he thought maybe if he just crawled around down there long enough, I might forget to make him finish the lesson. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I have to laugh at this - one of our kittens gets up on ds' desk and knocks the pens & pencils onto the floor. According to the feline, they simply don't belong on the top of the desk. He will do this throughout the day when ds' moves away from the desk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I've threatened to find a surgeon with low ethical standards to take of it for once and for all. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I've threatened to find a surgeon with low ethical standards to take of it for once and for all. I don't see the problem. Education trumps vanity, doesn't it? Plastic surgery for education's sake - totally acceptable in my book. :D 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I'm sure we have the pencil dropping alternating with falling off the chair group of kids also? When my ds was 5, we had super short lessons because he could not sit still. He would fall off the chair twice and drop a pencil at least 2-3 times in a half hour desk time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 i voted that this wasn't a problem in my school. That's because my kids usually do their work rolling around on the ground so if they drop a pencil it's lying there right next to their heads. :/ 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Pencil dropping is a real problem, along with its cousin issue, violin bow dropping. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpleowl Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Pencils. Crayons. Tiny pieces of paper. Big pieces of paper. EVERYTHING FALLS DOWN. And yes, falling out of chairs, too. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Yeah... I don't think most homeschooled kids drop their pencils for that reason. I CERTAINLY HOPE NOT. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasperstone Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Yeah... I don't think most homeschooled kids drop their pencils for that reason. You saying my butt is too big? ;-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 My oldest does this. Incessantly. Oddly she is a very compliant child about 95% of the time. I usually start her with five on the table. That lasts for the first ten minutes of the school day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 That's not a thing here. We do have other things, however. :001_rolleyes: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 My oldest would rock his chair and fall down. He still forgets and rocks his chair on occasion. Maybe I should make him do his work while sitting on the rocking chair at one of the libraries we frequent. My youngest would fidget sometimes on his chair and if it is too much fidgeting, he gets to stand and do his work instead of sitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 We have a pencil breaking epidemic here. I wish mine would just drop them. Yesterday, she was able to stop herself when the urge came on. A small victory to celebrate. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Our pencils don't drop. They disappear into thin air right out of our hands, never to be seen again. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 What irks me the most is when someone then tries to pick it up with their toes, or with their hands, but with no pay of their bodies touching the floor. JUST PICK UP THE PENCIL! Urgh. "No, mom, I got this!" "WHAT? I'm waiting here and 'You got this'? Oh, you'll get something, alright..." :-) 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GinaPagnato Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 True story: During the height of ds' pencil-dropping epidemic, I drilled a tiny hole into the pencil, just below the eraser. I threaded string through it, tied a loop, and made him wear it around his neck. Kind of like the granny chain that bifocals hang on. It worked beautifully. The key is to make the string long enough so it doesn't cut off the child's airway while he's writing. Yeah...that took awhile to figure out. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenvneck Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 True story: During the height of ds' pencil-dropping epidemic, I drilled a tiny hole into the pencil, just below the eraser. I threaded string through it, tied a loop, and made him wear it around his neck. Kind of like the granny chain that bifocals hang on. It worked beautifully. The key is to make the string long enough so it doesn't cut off the child's airway while he's writing. Yeah...that took awhile to figure out. That is BRILLIANT! I truly thought it was just my kids who constantly drop pencils and just me who feels stabby every time I hear it. I have thought about putting towels under their chairs so that at least the pencil hits something soft instead of the wood floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 It's not even dropping. They somehow propel themselves up into the air out of her hand WHILE SHE IS WRITING. And then land on the floor, roll under the table, and require several minutes to recapture. Only during math, I've noticed. :001_rolleyes: This, only with whiteboard markers, the skinny type :rolleyes: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Pencil dropping, falling out of the chair, and managing to hurt one's self WHILE SITTING are all talents in our homeschool. :nopity: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clear Creek Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Pencil dropping is an issue with the 2nd grader. At least our floor is carpeted so it is a silent landing. It still requires some amazing gymnastics to pick it up every time, though. My 7th grader has perfected the art of the disappearing pencil. My kids all use different types of pencils so I can identify the perpetrator whenever I come across a pencil lying unattended, but when her pencils disappear they are well and truly gone. On that note, I am offering a reward for the return of two dozen Mirado Black Warrior pencils (her count so far this school year). I will double the reward if you can tell me where they all went and how they got there. ETA: I totally forgot to mention my 5th grader, who now does her schoolwork lying on the floor (why did I buy her a desk???) since she is the queen of falling out of chairs. It got to the point where even she was tired of falling out of the chair and having to climb back up, so she just gave up. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 CRACKING ME UP. My 1st grader drops his pencil about every 5 minutes during school. And he LIKES school, begs to do "my books". But the pencil is always falling--dadgum gravity!!! And the trick is to pick up his pencil without getting out of his chair--how can he twist, lay on his stomach across the chair, hang his head and hand over the edge, and find it-- I tied a string to it and taped it to the table yesterday but he complained that it kept "getting tangled up". I usually just quickly hand him another one before the drama of trying to pick it up can start. I have LOTS of pencils on the table, ready--- b 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Lol, my dd kept dropping her favorite mechanical pencil about a million times per day, on the far side of the table! With the wheelchair it was very difficult for me to get it and she took forever. One day I was at the bank and used one of those pens connected by a chain so people won't steal them, and I thought 'hey!!!!' I tied a string around her pencil and used a bit of duct tape to tape the other end of the string under the table. So when she dropped it she could retrieve it easily. Funnily enough, after that she stopped dropping it at all:) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 Latin and Math inspire pencil dropping. Paper dropping is totally random. ETA: My son is singing: "Dancing bacon is delicious, because it's hopping in the frying pan..." Everybody loves dancing bacon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 It drives me batty, ds drops his pencil probably twenty times a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I only had one pencil dropper, my oldest. She was of the hang upside down for 15 minutes while retrieving it variety. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyontheFarm Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 If I had a nickle for every pencil dropped...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenvneck Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I only had one pencil dropper, my oldest. She was of the hang upside down for 15 minutes while retrieving it variety. But she had to retrieve it with her toes, right? I have one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I keep a box of fully sharpened pencils on the table at all times. I refuse to let my son pick them up until we are done with a lesson. This is our solution. Our little spinning organizer is jammed full of sharpened pencils, just for my dropper. Yes!! And pens and red pens in our house too! There must be some sort of writing utensil eating monster in our school room. Er, well...my red pens are gone too, but I suspect that's my fault. They come and go in waves--sometimes I'll manage to aggregate 6 or 7 of them, and then a week later, I'm down to one. Then I clean out the car or the kitchen junk drawer and suddenly, there they all are again. Lather rinse repeat. We have a pencil breaking epidemic here. I wish mine would just drop them. Yesterday, she was able to stop herself when the urge came on. A small victory to celebrate. Ugh! Here too! And paper ripping, and workbook squashing (that was only once though). She hasn't done it in awhile, thankfully (knock on wood!). True story: During the height of ds' pencil-dropping epidemic, I drilled a tiny hole into the pencil, just below the eraser. I threaded string through it, tied a loop, and made him wear it around his neck. Kind of like the granny chain that bifocals hang on. It worked beautifully. The key is to make the string long enough so it doesn't cut off the child's airway while he's writing. Yeah...that took awhile to figure out. Brilliant!!! Threatening me with the granny chain was how my parents got me to stop losing my eyeglasses as a kid :lol: Worked really well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 I am loving all these stories. Dd 18 thinks it's hilarious. DS7 dropped his pencil today just as we sat down. GAH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegs Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Pencil dropping is a real problem, along with its cousin issue, violin bow dropping. Legend has it that 'cellist Pablo Casals flung his bow several rows into the audience at his debut in Vienna. Your little maestros might be on to something. ;) Besides - better loose than tight, for a bow hold. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hwin Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Btw they do have a device that is basically a rubber band - a little loop around the pencil, a little loop around the wrist. I would buy it if I thought it wouldn't get lost within the first five minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professormom Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Until this post, I thought I was the only one who was dealing with this. I got to the point the other day where I (in mock rage) told him I was going to take it away. He grinned like an idiot and said, "ok, Mom." And then reminded me that he couldn't possibly do his schoolwork then:-) He is "of a certain age" where he gets a kick out of being able to make me laugh when I am angry, lol. goofball:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.