Checking Student's Work

[Janice in NJ]

Do you check your High Schoolers' Work? Do you monitor their work in each subject? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?

 

Even if they are taking an outside class, do you stay aware of their assignments? I realize that this "outside class" issue might botch the poll. You might want to ignore those classes as you respond. I stay aware of their assignments, but I don't provide oversight with those classes like I do with the classes that I'm responsible for.

 

------------------------------------------

Long-Winded Poll Choices:

For those who monitor all subjects:

Choice # 1: Yes. I check/grade/monitor every subject every day.

Choice #2: Yes. I c/g/m every subject at least once every week.

Choice #3: Yes. But I only c/g/m every subject once a month or per semester.

 

For those who monitor some subjects:

Choice #4: Yes. But I don't check every subject. My student works independently in some subjects.

 

For those who don't monitor:

Choice#5: No. My student doesn't need me to check their work. They work independently.

------------------------------------------

 

And then... please.... for a very curious momma! :001_smile:

For those of you who checked #4 and #5, how long have you been doing this and does it really work with your kids?

Would you be willing to go and check their last two weeks of independent work and report back. Have they completed everything without oversight that you planned for them to do at a level that is acceptable? Is it complete? Well done? In other words, are they truly working independently? Or are they just working without accountability?

 

AND if it's well done, please share your wisdom. Where's my ticket to that plateau? Cause I'm looking to go there! Big Time!

 

I would really appreciate it! I'm spending a lot of face-time with moms who are telling me that their kids work completely independently in either some or all (Yikes! HOW?) of their subjects. Seriously. They have independent 7th/8th/9th graders - and up. All is well. Huh?

I'm growing weary here wearing my checking-police hat. Three kids. Good kids - really. But a TON of subjects that need to at least be perused in order to spot shoddy work. (Really! As I posted here a couple of weeks ago: if I slack off and fail to check their work at LEAST once a week in nearly every subject, well-done work starts to dribble off their radar .......)

And don't get me wrong here - I USED to think that they worked well independently. Then I started to take a serious look at the work that they were REALLY getting done every day/week vs. what I THOUGHT they were getting done. I had to perform a major overhaul of our homeschool. Major reality check for me.

 

My kids eventually cut corners if no one is looking. And they progress to shaving off MORE and MORE of the corner if the oversight continues to wane. The track gets very, very round. It felt good to go that fast.... until I realized that we were going in circles. :glare:

 

Hence the checking-police hat. I wear it, but I don't LIKE it.

Am I raising lazy kids?

Are my kids really that solidly in the minority?

Because if they are, I need to know how to grow out of this?

If not, I've got to just DEAL with the fact that I need to periodically check their work. I'm OK with that, but I would really like to know if I'm nuts here.

 

Talk to me. please. :)

 

THANKS!

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

Edited October 1, 2008 by Janice in NJ

[Melissa in Australia]

My oldest is only 14 so things might change in the future( I HOPE).

he has dyslexia and has great difficulty writing, so he does a lot of subjects mostly orally, so he does them with me. other subjects like math , I check and grade every 2 days.

[Nan in Mass]

I know that anything they do completely independently won't produce written work that is very acceptable. They may learn an acceptable amount, but the output won't look nice. Usually, they learn the material ok except for a few sticky spots but don't get as far as they would if I were doing it with them. Sometimes, they hit a wall and then hover in front of it for months without telling me. Because it sort of works and we're pretty busy and I think it is a valuable experience even if they don't learn as much, we continue to do it for some subjects. I pick a subject or two each year that aren't high priority and they do it for that. If it is something that is going on their transcript as a year of work and has to be completed in a year, then I make sure the next year it is a subject they do with me. If it is something like vocab that won't ever appear on their transcript and is sort of extra, then I just ignore it other than asking every once in a while how it is going. With my older one, I let him go along in some things independently, but check that he's memorizing what he needs to every once in awhile. Or I spend an hour at the beginning of the chapter doing an over view so he has some idea what he's supposed to be getting out of the chapter, since he needs the big picture spelled out for him sometimes. If I want the children to really know a difficult academic (they are fine with other things) subject and do a good academic-looking job in it, I'm pretty resigned to doing it with them. Mine just aren't inclined to put that sort of thing high on their list of things to put energy into. That is mostly what I mean when I say I don't have academic-minded children. I suspect in the end, years from now, they probably will remember the same amount from the subjects they did alone rather sketchily and the subjects they did with me. I always try to make sure they have a few things, non-academic things (in other words more applied), that they are teaching themselves completely with no oversight from me, just whenever they feel like it. It might be jewelry-making or computer programming or whatever. I try really hard not to turn every passing interest into a course.

-Nan

[periwinkle]

I have not found any of my boys to be responsible enough to work independently in grades 7 through 9. In fact, I could make the case that these were the years I really needed to be diligent and check work every day.

 

However, there was a big difference for my oldest in grades 11 and 12. I marked choice 2 on the poll, but for upper grades it became choice 4. In fact, I handed oldest ds the syllabus and tools for AP Statistics and he completed the course independently (I was only a cheerleader:D)

 

I'm all for kids working independently when they are able, BUT I think most kids most of the time they need teachers and accountability. I agree with Nan; my kids teach themselves stuff all the time-like computer programming and skim boarding (WOW, I would be NO help with things like this:001_huh:)The important academic skills I monitor and check, at least while I am able to provide help. Quite honestly, there is a ginormous difference between a 12yo and an 18yo student! We work toward independence with lots of accountability along the way.:001_smile:

[Nan in Mass]

Right! Ginormous, ginormous!

[Miss Marple]

Same here. Each son works differently. And, when I say independently, I mean that they don't need me sitting right there actually teaching them. Rather, they read their text (or whatever) and do the work that has been assigned.

 

I recently discovered that one younger son was working quickly through a spelling book. But when I started going over his daily work, he was simply filliing in blanks and not checking definitions, etc! That young man can spell anything, but the problem was the vocabulary portion. He simply didn't want to take the time to look the words up in the back of the book. So, said son, had to re-do all of those pages. If I had only looked at his spelling test results, he would appear to be working well independently...but he really wasn't.

 

I try to check my younger sons' work esp. in math on a daily basis. However, they take a couple of classes in co-op that just necessitate me to schedule the work and make sure they did it. I check my 10th grader's work weekly.

[ereks mom]

I have not found any of my [kids] to be responsible enough to work independently in grades 7 through 9. In fact, I could make the case that these were the years I really needed to be diligent and check work every day.

 

However, there was a big difference for my oldest in grades 11 and 12.

 

...I'm all for kids working independently when they are able, BUT I think most kids most of the time they need teachers and accountability. ...The important academic skills I monitor and check, at least while I am able to provide help. Quite honestly, there is a ginormous difference between a 12yo and an 18yo student! We work toward independence with lots of accountability along the way.:001_smile:

 

I check daily to be sure all assignments are completed, and I try not to get too far behind in grading/checking. I think it's important to grade math every day.

 

It's easier to keep up this year with only one child at home, but in previous years, I would get behind sometimes.

[HollyinNNV]

I check math every day. I check that everything is (or is not) getting done everyday. I check content a minimum of once a week. Some subjects require more monitoring than others: grammar, writing and biology.

Holly

 

(PS-I always listen to hours of music practice. I intrude occasionally.)

[FloridaLisa]

It's a complete mix for us here. We don't fit in any one of the poll boxes. Some of my kids need more checking than others. My dd is such a conscientious student, that she really doesn't need everyday monitoring. She follows through, gets everything done on her chart, asks when she needs clarification, calls the teacher for help . . . she's the dream student so far.

 

My son needed d-a-i-l-y monitoring or he'd be days behind. I think he viewed his weekly chart as a suggestion. Other good books kept getting in the way! Last year, as a sophomore, I saw vast improvement and gave little to no monitoring (other than "got it done, honey?") in several outsourced classes. Other classes still required that I monitor to make sure he was on pace, but not necessarily instruction.

 

My youngers, of course, continue to need pretty daily monitoring. They have charts, but I still have to follow-through not only to make sure it's done, but done correctly. Shoot -- one of mine didn't earn allowance for 3 months because he couldn't do his daily chore on time and/or the right way! Ack! This is just part of mothering.

 

Grading, monitoring, and towing the line is one of the grittier parts of homeschooling high school. However, it's so necessary to continue instilling good work and study habits in our children! Soldier on, Janice. You're not alone in sometimes tiring of the checking-police hat!

 

HTH,

Lisa

Edited October 2, 2008 by FloridaLisa
spelling! That's what happens when ds is talking to me at the same time!

[Janice in NJ]

So far this post has received 215 hits and only 28 people have voted.

It doesn't look like I'm getting a representative response, does it? :001_smile:

 

How come folks don't want to vote? I'm confused.

 

Thanks for the comments though! I'm saving the responses. I suspect that this won't be the last time that I need encouragement to keep on keepin' on!

 

PEACE to all this evening!

Janice

[gardenschooler]

 

Even if they are taking an outside class, do you stay aware of their assignments?

 

We're not doing any outside classes this year, but in years past, I would only know about their assignments if they shared them with me. (This does not apply to dd9! :)) Although her sisters were doing their work for co-op pretty independently not long after that. It seems each of my children is progressively less independent.

 

For the older two, I don't monitor assignments at all, and I don't think I ever did. If one of mine takes a class, I assume the teacher will tell them what the expectations are. If they ever needed my help, sure, I'd help. So far the only 'help' that's ever been requested of me is supplies.

 

If they fail a class, then either a) I'm sure not paying for that again! or b) they can figure something out (like go beg the teacher for make up work, I guess). If they can't hack taking classes, they can do it at home with me, under my thumb :). I believe pretty strongly in the responsibility falling on their shoulders.

 

But, that's not to say I expect a child to do their work if it's not even checked. Did you do homework for a teacher that you knew never checked? I sure didn't! That was instant free-time for me. I don't think it's a good idea to go weeks (or even a lot of days) without checking. Sloppy work, indeed! Then what happens? Go back and redo that two weeks?

 

In homeschooling, I check the work, expect in to be turned in when it's due, and go over it with the child/discuss it as necessary. I use HST+, so it's pretty clear what's expected of them that day. You have a checklist with boxes - after using this system for a few years, they know the drill. Do what's on your list. It's that simple.

 

Of course, I know what my two that are at home are doing. I'm right there, and most subjects we either do together or have to discuss in some way afterwards. If not, we still check it.

 

For those who monitor some subjects:

Choice #4: Yes. But I don't check every subject. My student works independently in some subjects.

 

 

If it is simply an assignment that day that she doesn't need me for in any way, shape, or form, it would still have to be checked off her assignment sheet. She would then tell me she's finished with her science or whatever it is, and check it off. I don't check that her work was done correctly every single day, more like a few times a week. If it was ever skipped, she'd be the one to suffer, because she'd then have to go make it up, right? I do ask her how she's doing, if she had any questions, and sometimes I just throw a question or two at her to make sure she really 'got it'. I just try to keep my teaching time for certain subjects down to a few days a week.

 

If I ever discovered that she didn't actually do the work on its assigned day, I'd probably have a cow, and it wouldn't happen again. :lol:

 

But a TON of subjects that need to at least be perused in order to spot shoddy work. (Really! As I posted here a couple of weeks ago: if I slack off and fail to check their work at LEAST once a week in nearly every subject, well-done work starts to dribble off their radar .......)

 

I detest checking work, on my own, with the kids nowhere around. What's the point? So I have to write a million notes on the page? It's easier to do it while they're standing right there, and I can point things out. For a lot of subjects, I have dd call out her written answers to me, and we stop if something's wrong. Instead of having to go to her the next day with, "Well, we need to go back over this," it's already done. Saves a lot of time.

 

I had my oldest working more independently in more subjects in 8th-9th grades, did a lot of checking/grading at night, wrote a lot of notes all over her papers, and it was a headache! A couple of hours every night for me, at least, and it wasn't even every subject. My time is better spent going over things during school with them.

 

And don't get me wrong here - I USED to think that they worked well independently. Then I started to take a serious look at the work that they were REALLY getting done every day/week vs. what I THOUGHT they were getting done. I had to perform a major overhaul of our homeschool. Major reality check for me.

 

This is why I'm doing things differently w/dd14. :D I am a laaazy checker. Blech. I'd rather lesson plan than check completed work any day. Besides, I feel like face-to-face feedback is better, anyway. Works for me. I think I didn't really have time to do this w/dd16 in those grades, because I still had a little one and didn't really have time to stop and go over things (also dd16 liked to keep face-time with me to a minimum :tongue_smilie:).

 

I guess different situations and kids call for different ways of handling things. I find myself spending more time studying and preparing before, rather than checking after.

 

In other words, I still have homework! :lol: Really, it's good. Self ed and all that jazz.

 

What was the question again?

[gardenschooler]

However, there was a big difference for my oldest in grades 11 and 12. I marked choice 2 on the poll, but for upper grades it became choice 4. In fact, I handed oldest ds the syllabus and tools for AP Statistics and he completed the course independently (I was only a cheerleader:D)

 

Wow. I wonder if we'll ever get there. That sounds like the day I've dreamed about!

 

 

Quite honestly, there is a ginormous difference between a 12yo and an 18yo student! We work toward independence with lots of accountability along the way.:001_smile:

 

Good! That's hopeful news!

[gardenschooler]

How come folks don't want to vote? I'm confused.

 

 

Your questions are kinda swirly. :D

[Moira in MA]

I marked that I check once a month. But... I have my dds check their own work daily and ask them about that daily. So I actually look at their work myself intermittently but I am asking them what problems their own checking showed on a daily basis.

 

I used to check everything myself but have found that they learn *much* more from checking their own work than they did from just seeing a 90% when I checked it.

 

~Moira

[Beth in SW WA]

So far this post has received 215 hits and only 28 people have voted.

 

 

Hi Janice,

I'll play, even though ds is only 8th grade.

 

I check the majors daily: Algebra, Latin.

I check the minors weekly: Bio, Grammar, Geography, Logic, History.

[Beth in SW WA]

Right! Ginormous, ginormous!

 

Sidebar: I just love the fact that Ginormous made it into the dictionary.

But my computer spell-check still says I'm spelling it wrong. :) Go figure.

 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ginormous

[Laura K (NC)]

I heard Laura Berquist speak a few years ago. She said if we weren't checking our kids' work regularly, we really were making a big mistake. She said communication is huge, and kids don't want to feel like they're working for nothing. They need feedback, negative, and ESPECIALLY positive. A few times a semester, she recommended, we should take our high school age students out for coffee to discuss how school is going, just one-on-one, with no little siblings competing for their attention.

 

At the time I heard this, I was checking at the end of each textbook unit, or maybe once a month if I felt on top of things. Each year I've gradually gotten better, so this year I'm checking everybody's work every day. Make that Every Stinking Day. I will throw a little party when my last child has finished Rod & Staff English, because of all the subjects I have to correct, I hate that one the most. I don't like corrections, but it saves so much time. If my kids do a little correcting each day with their new lesson they learn better. They don't keep reinforcing misperceptions. So I'm saying, even though I check work Every Stinking Day, and it's not my favorite thing, I feel that Laura Berquist was right (for the way WE do things), and I recommend it.

 

Did I mention that I was a member of the Draconian Homeschoolers group? :) Maybe I should have said that up front....

[anissarobert]

Your kids sound just like mine! I would love to know the secret to what you describe, but from the looks of the poll there probably isn't one.

 

It could also depend on the curriculum. If they are doing online only or workbook only classes that could make checking less intensive.

[lwilliams1922]

 

My son needed d-a-i-l-y monitoring or he'd be days behind. I think he viewed his weekly chart as a suggestion. Other good books kept getting in the way!

 

 

This is my DD!

 

i need to check daily but it ends up weekly often times because I have so much going on with the little ones.

 

I wish I could have checked box 1 and 2.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Janice,

 

I don't think your kids are truly in the minority. I also don't think it's your raising of them that is making them the way they are. Different kids are DIFFERENT and that is okay.

 

My daughter is very independent, probably where you are hoping your kids would be. What I would guess is the big difference is that my daughter has taken responsibility for her own work. She does well because it benefits her to do well. She's not just trying to get it over with. She'll do extra if she needs a little additional work.

 

But my son? That child wouldn't do anything if left to his own devices. I stay on him like glue. I have tried to loosen up and each time, it goes downhill. How I only wish he'd realize an education is for his benefit and do whatever it took to get a good one.

 

They are different kids.

 

My guess is that the people you are talking to have various levels of expectations. Their kids may or may not be meeting their family's expectations, but are they really reaching for a high level of education on their own?

 

Does this make sense?

[MicheleinMN]

Janice,

I need to be able to vote twice, once for each high school age child. Ds, 16, has to be monitored weekly. He really needs to be monitored DAILY, but I just don't get that done.

 

Dd, 14, is a highly motivated student. I monitor some of her subjects weekly, but others she is almost completely independent. She has 2 online classes that I really don't need to monitor, so I only check in on those periodically.

 

...that's why I couldn't vote.

 

The younger 4 are monitored daily because their school work has daily tasks.

 

HTH,

Michele

[Riverfront Headmistress]

I didn't vote because I'm a gawker. I only homeschool my biological children. I have a 16 year old foreign exchange student that attends public school. <insert rant regarding ps teaching in her school here>

[JennW in SoCal]

Janice,

 

I'm just wondering out loud here if the amount of policing you feel you have to do is overwhelming because of the kinds of assignments your kids have. What kinds of corners are they cutting, and is it at all possible that some of their work is "busy work" that isn't essential? Could that be why they are cutting corners -- just to get past the busy work?

 

My view of high school is that math and Latin have to be checked daily, but all the other subjects involve reading and writing. Science is outsourced, and my kids are good about getting work done to please that teacher. My kids don't have work books and I don't give them the busy work assignments that come with some curricula. I give weekly writing assignments which I read and edit with them, then they have to do a rewrite. If there are discussion questions we build an hour into the week to sit together and go through those rather than have them tediously write answers to each question. I don't use vocabulary workbooks, but will occasionally go through vocabulary lists with them orally, we review grammar as we edit, and sometimes will review grammar lessons.

 

I went to a private college prep high school, and that was the way things were run there, and that is how college is as well -- but I was a liberal arts kind of student. Lots of reading, thinking and writing. Math, science and engineering are different, I'm sure. But it is my experience as a student that leads me to run things as I do here at home. I really hate busy work, and unless I see a compelling reason for assigning it, I won't.

 

As I said, I'm just thinking aloud and none of this may apply to your situation. I voted for #2 as I do check math and Latin daily, and check in with the other subjects once a week as I'm looking at writing samples or doing discussion questions with them.

[Moni]

subjects that need to at least be perused in order to spot shoddy work. (Really! As I posted here a couple of weeks ago: if I slack off and fail to check their work at LEAST once a week in nearly every subject, well-done work starts to dribble off their radar .......)

 

Similar here. I need to at least make an appearance that I am checking.:glare:

But I still say my student works "independently."

I don't count my 'checking' as 'teaching'

 

:seeya:

[Kareni]

I went with choice #2; however, if there had been something like choice #1.5, I'd have voted that!

 

My situation is a little odd this year in that all of my teen's classes are outside the home (community college, a homeschooling resource center, and a PA Homeschoolers class). Still, I do tend to ask what is being done and to see assignments, papers, etc., before they are handed in. I also like to see graded work that has been returned. I tend to do more follow up with some subjects.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Cindy in MO]

I know what you mean about having so much to check. I was overwhelmed with that when we switched to HomeSat and all the kids were working seperately. I didn't participate in the poll because there is intention, then there is reality. I check all tests. From 8th gr on up my two older ds checked their own math. It was my intention to check in weekly with other subjects, but I was never able to maintain this because 3 younger children took up so much of my time. Older sons would do the bare minimum, get behind or skip projects. We used HomeSat for some subjects, so that helped them stay on track a little. Online classes also helped them be accountable. These two are my more reliable ones. My next son I have to check on daily many times; he's constantly trying to skip things and cut corners. My 4th son is a struggling reader and is not independent hardly at all so it's not an issue with him. I am only homeschooling 2 right now and I still struggle to keep up with the checking. I would love to get back to having the kids working together and doing less workbook stuff like we used to.

 

Cindy

[djkapp]

I voted for option #4, but so much depends on which child I'm working with. My 17 year old dd needs minimal monitoring, is taking two classes at the local university, and is a perfectionist who needs help relaxing about grades. My 15 year old dd is the opposite; if I don't monitor and grade regularly, she may or may not get the work done. Whether her work is done well is fairly insignificant to her! I have to impose consequences like extra "homework" to get her to apply herself. (This is definitely a discipline issue not an intelligence/capability one). My 14 yearold dd still wants to be monitored and asks me to check her work regularily. My two younger boys--well, they are a whole different picture. I'm convinced you just cant' homeschool successfully without learning to be flexible!

Yvonne

[Peela]

My kids are like yours, Janice. If I don't watch pretty closely, they slacken off.

Dd14 somehow manages to do her maths ok...I think. She marks it herself, too, and then reports to me. If she gets stuck she asks for my help. I keep an eye, sometimes I mark it...I probably should keep a closer eye, but I dont because she seems to do well this way.

Ds 12 needs to be watched VERY closely or will do less of what is requested. If I ask for a half page, he will do a third. If I say do a page of maths, he will leave two problems at the bottom and say he just cant do any more. So I have to be onto him.

Dd is not really like that....but we dont do a lot of workbook type things, so they are not easily right or wrong, except for maths. So they take me reading, discussing, back and forth with her. Thats one of the things I like about homeschooling...but sometimes, sure, I would like her to just do it all alone.

For the other things I do mark, like Latin...I only mark when I remember- but its usually once a week or so. Ds's English I mark straight away because he relaly needs the feedback right then and there.

[Teri H.; Oregon]

You are getting much better replies than I did, Janice. I only got two for a similar question on the k-8 board. I would suspect a lot of people struggle with this and that is why there are fewer responses than hits. It also may be that people just don't feel they fit the poll categories.

 

What has been posted has been very helpful. I'm grateful for the input and thanks for posting your poll.

[Deece in MN]

I voted #1, but not because my dc would necessarily slack off. I check in with my ds daily because I want to know if there is a problem and take care of it right away rather than letting it build up for weeks or months and then have to deal with it.

 

I don't do a lot of actual teaching as my ds is fairly independent in that area. I check in with him to see how his assignments are going and that they are reasonable (not too easy, not too hard). I will sometimes remind him of an assignment's due date and see if he is on target for completing it (I won't change the due date, but will encourage him to work on it so he doesn't cram it in the day before like I used to do in school :) ) I like to keep on top of math more than anything else.

 

I didn't see this post when you posted a couple months ago, so I don't know if my post makes any difference at this point. It helped me though to think about this topic a bit.

Thanks! :)

[hsmamainva]

I have two high school students and they're as different as night and day!!

 

My oldest (17yo senior) is a procrastinator and I have to check with her quite often to see that she's doing what needs to be done (and the only subject she's learning at home is math!). But when it comes to her community college classes, she's on the ball. She's about to start her 5th semester and she's made all B's, except for 1 A and 1 C.

 

My other high schooler (14yo freshman) is a very diligent student but easily overwhelmed (he also has special needs). If he doesn't get something, he always comes to me and asks for help or further explanations, etc. I very rarely have to check on him because he does what he's supposed to do.

 

I guess it comes down to their own personalities. My oldest daughter puts things off until the last possible minute, whereas my oldest son would rather work now and get it done so he can relax.

[tammi]

If I don't she slacks off. I have to stay on her. Of course, she is only in the 10th grade. I am hoping she improves with age.

Tammi

[Kris]

For those of you who checked #4 and #5, how long have you been doing this and does it really work with your kids?

Would you be willing to go and check their last two weeks of independent work and report back. Have they completed everything without oversight that you planned for them to do at a level that is acceptable? Is it complete? Well done? In other words, are they truly working independently? Or are they just working without accountability?

 

I don't check my son's work. I quit doing that. I made him responsible for his education last fall. I told him I would help him if he asked for it, but other than that, he was on his own. He picked what he wanted to study, I helped him find the resources -- fortunately he pretty much wanted to use what we already had -- and I cut him loose.

 

He told me after the first month that he was having a problem with time management -- no surprise there -- and said one thing he liked about public school was that they told you what you needed get done. So I help him with that. I give him a list at the beginning of the week.

 

So I went back over his work for the past two weeks. If he's cheating he's doing a pretty good job of it. His work is neat and thorough. I especially checked the math -- and I was a bit curious about that because he seems to be breezing through it now (we switched to Lial's from Saxon) after struggling with Algebra for quite some time. His math papers are neat, he's showing all his work, he's marked the ones he got wrong and had to "do over." He grades his own tests and isn't getting perfect scores on them, but he is doing well. So I got out the solutions manual. He is showing his work, but it is not a copy of the solutions manual. I also checked to see if he had copied his essays from the internet, and couldn't find any evidence of that.

 

He wanted to know what I was doing, so I told him -- and that I was very pleased. He said he does his work as if I *will* check it at any time -- just in case. ;)

[Catherine]

It is my goal at least. In reality, my tenth grader is checked most days, but for some subjects, not daily. He's just NOT ready to take it on himself. He's spent a lot of time in school though and I think he's had more trouble breaking out of the "spoon feed me" habit than longer term homeschoolers would.

[AngieW in Texas]

I would love to check my dd's work every day, but much of the time, I end up getting every subject checked just 1-2x/week. Most of her math is done on the computer with immediate feedback, but she does pencil&paper problems at least 1x/week, so I try to keep on top of checking those when she gets to them.

[Kelli in TN]

It depends on the kid. My oldest son needed lots of monitoring. My current senior is very independent and sometimes even checks her own work with my permission. She is tougher on herself than I am on her!!