The Power of Having to Pee

I've started having Sparkle do daily timed math drill worksheets. When she is done I point out any problems that need correcting and write the time at the top of the page. She usually doesn't need any corrections because she has the abacus in front of her to help her with any problems that she doesn't know.

She doesn't mind being timed, in part because I don't do anything with the time but write it down. She actually enjoys pushing the buttons on the timer herself. I've noticed that at the beginning of the week, the problems are done quickly, but as the week goes on, she gets slower. Monday's problems might take only two minutes, but Wednesday's problems would be over four minutes.



Today just before starting the worksheet, she announced that she wanted to go potty. Sensing that she was stalling, I told her she needed to do the worksheet first, and that would give her extra incentive to do the worksheet quickly. I also figured that five years old is old enough to exercise bladder control. She got to work and was done in record time. I could hear her mumbling the addition strategies that she had learned from RightStart Math under her breath. When she was done, she pranced off, and not in the direction of the bathroom. I had to remind her that she had wanted to go potty.