Went fairly well, or at least better than I was expecting. After a long summer, I was concerned about my girls getting back into the swing of things. Having my 8th grader doing homeschooling this year through an online school allows her to have more control over what she does, as well as holding her to a higher level of responsibility.

Other than a couple software issues, things are going smoothly. I check in everyday to look at her assignments she submitted to verify she completed them. She will have a bi-weekly phone call starting this week with her homeroom teacher.

With that being said, I had a more hectic weekend than I expected, and did not get to verify her Friday work until this morning. Said 8th grader may not be happy when I wake her up to let her know she has 3 assignments she did not submit. I definitely learned my lesson, and will not miss my check in again.

She is good about getting things done that I ask of her, so I know she will be back on task this afternoon. And it looks like a sunshine filled Sunday in West Michigan, so I think she will still have time to enjoy what is likely one of our last warm, sunny days for the year 🙂

Do you have motivating techniques when your homeschooler gets off task?

There are some days when I come home, and I literally question my girls if someone broke into the house; it is that destroyed 😦 There is a pile of dirty clothes upstairs trying to make its way through my bedroom door (I am not sure where the hamper went, probably sitting in front of the washer in the basement full of dirty clothes). There is a Wii controller upstairs on the bathroom sink. What??? (I have a basement, main floor, and upstairs where our bathroom and bedrooms are). There is no Wii system upstairs, anywhere 🙂  )

How does this happen? Probably the same way I found the television remote in the refrigerator, the milk in the pantry, and food that I could not even tell you what it once was underneath the furniture. I have come home to my frozen vegetables in the living room (my leg/arm/face hurt, I needed ice), the refrigerator door left open all night, and something burned in the microwave that lasted longer than someone could stay awake.

It has gotten to the point that nothing even shocks or surprises me anymore. The entire bathtub is purple? Ehh, someone dyed their hair. Your very expensive pan is on the stove full of hardened candle wax? Someone wanted to remake the candles.

Do not assume that I am never home minding my children 🙂 I have been at the kitchen table doing my college homework only to discover 3 very quiet girls in the living room who had a nail polish disaster.

With that being said; I would not trade it for anything. Because we laugh, we play games, we watch movies, we read stories, and we spend time together.

And I cannot think of one thing yet that they have done that is worse than anything I ever did to my parents!