I thought I was pregnant for seven years. I was a young kid and didn’t understand things very well and I practically lived on egg shells trying not to string even one more bead of guilt and shame around my neck. Therefore I was blackly surprised to find myself ordered to stay after school almost every Wednesday and Friday throughout fourth and fifth grades.
Friday’s formula: write the first word fifty times the second one hundred times etc for all six to ten words I misspelled. The same formula was applied to my numerous multiplication errors on Wednesday afternoons. I started these project after school for a couple of hours then finished at home.
Most people don’t understand some numbers are friendly and some are not. Multiplication is such a good opportunity to combine trouble making numbers with nice ones and my opportunities were practically endless.
You can probably imagine my confusion when my favorite teacher Mrs. Green kept me after school on Tuesday for no reason. I clapped erasers together then sat looking at the wall until dismissed. It was Girl Scout Day I shuffled home then opened my door to a surprise birthday party for me.

My black lead beads built stamina and persistence, each a bigger prize than correct spelling. 6×7 still baffles me but I DO remember my most of the multiplication table as long as both numbers are friendly.  nancymauerman.com