Who knew first grade homework could be such a challenge? John was going to oversee the reading.

I thought I could figure out what to do with a printed sheet. We failed. I wrote the following explanation in Logan’s notebook for the teacher to read:

We’re the neighbors and definitely feeling like subs. Logan read silently, so we don’t know how many pages he covered. He said he did a chapter. It has been 68 and 69 years since we were in first grade, and we didn’t know what to do with the paper. Logan said, *sigh* “I have to do the parent’s homework for you.” *sigh* He cut up the pictures, arranged them perfectly under the three columns by “o” sound, and put them in the plastic bag. Hope we do a better job next time. Teachers have our utmost admiration.

The next day started off early. Logan got up at 6:15 and found John in front of his computer.

“I thought you’d be out walking,” Logan said.

John reassured him, “No, we would never leave you alone in the house.”

“Don’t you always go walking early?” Logan asked.

John replied, “When you aren’t here, we do. We’ll walk later after you’ve gone to school.”

He must have been a bit worried about being here with us. We think it remarkable that this was the first instance of his showing it. He is only six years old!

After school, Logan’s notebook was open on the kitchen table. Guess what! WE GOT A STICKER!!! “Well done,” it said.

The teacher wrote, “A sticker for all your help and support for Logan and his parents. We all appreciate you.”

Grandparent subbing doesn’t get much better than that.