Why Math Homework Frustrates Me

Some afternoons I feel like ripping my hair out. The reason is simple - Isaac is doing his math homework. I would say that 99% of the time Isaac knows the answer. The problem is that he is required to explain how he got that answer and that is where the problems start.

This is todays homework.

As you can probably see, he knew the answer was 24. In his head he worked out that there were 6 blocks of 10 minutes in a hour and therefore over 4 hours, there would be 24, 10 minute blocks. (6x4=24).

So when he writes down the explanation, there is one shell picked up every 10 minutes (1) and this is done 24 times. His explanation is therefore 1x24=24.

So another day passes where I tell him that he needs to write down all the steps, to show his teacher how he worked out the sum. This gets him all frustrated.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Maths is going to be easier the harder it gets.