Our first few weeks of homeschooling rolled by splendidly, with happy children eagerly completing all their work. Okay, not completely happy. Okay, not completely eagerly. But generally happy kids completing all their work with some enthusiasm and minimal griping. All was peaceful in our little kingdom.
But the peace started eroding as the schedule grew more hectic. I realized my kids were “forgetting” to do more of their assignments. Today I got a needed reminder as to why. I had stopped checking their work daily, checking each subject only each 3-4 days. I thought they were enough into their routines to carry on. This morning a friend reminded me of the importance of checking every day to show the kids you care about the work being done on time. Consequences coming several days later aren’t as meaningful because they’ve already played and visited friends or watched tv for days since the work wasn’t done.
Sure, we expect that when they’re adults, they’ll be responsible to finish all their work without constant checking. But they aren’t adults yet. I am. So it’s my job to be the responsible one.
Making This Up as I Go 