Welcome to my regular Friday feature, Worst of the Week. As a white, suburbanite husband and dad of two kids, there’s a lot that can go wrong and this entry is all about how to fix it. I hope you enjoy it!

I mentioned last week that Erin (6) was not motivated while participating in actual soccer games. I want to thank everyone for the advice and I will take it all into consideration when going into the spring season.

What I didn’t tell you was that she also has trouble getting her school work done in a timely manner. She’s very bright and she doesn’t need instruction but she does need a bit of nagging by the teacher and with us at home in order to get finished quickly.

I can tell you that things are going better due to a single step that many people have told us to do, and that is when it comes to homework, be sure to do the hardest part first. You see, Erin gets a homework packet every Monday and it is due on Friday. Monday night we look through it and we have Erin focus on the most difficult and longest page, which has usually turned out to be her writing. We also do not allow TV or Wii or whatever until the homework packet is completed (this goes for Patrick and his work, too).

I have to tell you that, for both kids, it has turned out to be an advantage. Spirits are up and we can then focus on other things like reading, spelling or even keyboarding on the computer.

BTW, the pic you see is from our house. Patty and I bought the old style desks from a school closing some many months ago. The kids love them and are able to keep all their supplies and small toys inside, thus relieving us from any clutter on the kitchen table.