The homeschooling Plan A didn’t work out too well for Erin and I. Plan B was an utter failure. So today I am implementing Plan C. I think I have figured out all of her tricks, excuses, and games, and I got two steps ahead of her.

I have to say, she is an extremely smart 7th grader, who spent the last 3 years of public school being bullied and fighting with me daily about going to school. I have talked to more teachers, counselors, mediators, police officers, and truancy officers, only to be threatened with jail, fines, and paying $50.00 every day my daughter didn’t go to school.

Hence, she said this summer “Mom, if I go to school I am going to be harassed, and bored.” So here we are. Homeschooling. She is also doing very, very well considering she is getting going everyday on her own (my work schedule currently offers me no other options). At night we do her math and science together, and anything she didn’t understand.

The problem became she was not doing simple assignments that I knew she was more than capable of doing, telling me she didn’t understand it, but also didn’t remember what it was she didn’t understand. Clever, huh?

So her new rules are if she has any questions, she has to write them down for me so I can read and understand what she is asking. For every assignment she completes, she will get 15 minutes of supervised computer time. For every assignment she doesn’t complete when I know she could, she will lose 15 minutes, even if she is currently at zero. (This girl loves to play plants vs. zombies).

I told her I will help her 6 hours a night if necessary, as long as I know she tried her best.

I also told her I love her, that she is smart, funny, clever, beautiful, talented, and important and she and I together can do this.

So here’s to crossing my fingers and hoping this is the motivation she needed.