Today was my daughter's 4th day at public school and she spent half the day trying to get out of it. I'd given her a permission slip to come home but the office wouldn't let her go without phoning me. It was afternoon before I realized the calls were being picked up by my computer and I wasn't getting the message. She came home early, but not long before school ended.

Earlier in the day I phoned the guidance counselor about her placement in freshman classes when she's supposed to be a sophomore. The counselor insisted she wasn't being discriminated against because of being homeschooled last year but I didn't buy it 100%. She counted a lot of my daughter's homeschool classes as electives so they don't count toward graduation requirements. She and I did not see eye to eye on the value of her restrictive regulations. We have an IEP coming up in about a week and my daughter's therapist will be there to back me up. Meanwhile my daughter gives all signs of wanting to quit school already and the therapist and I both would like to see her try a bit longer. Though homeschooling is my favorite kind of education, you have no idea how miserable and lonely my child has been this last year and I don't want her to be stuck at home and totally friendless.

Meanwhile my son didn't come home for his evening of homeschool academics. He's at his friend's house (another homeschooler) and wants to spend the night there. I told him I am willing to be flexible but if he doesn't study tonight he has to make it up later. He offered to do two sessions tomorrow and I don't think that would work out right because it is very intense study this year and I don't want to overdo it. I told him he could make it up this weekend. I told him I want him to do 200 study sessions this year and that he'll be graduated from eighth grade when he's done them.

Summer vacation is over. I think the news shocked him. I told him to phone me again before 11 to let me know if he's staying overnight there or if he needs a ride home. I kind of like seeing him growing up and getting more independent.

  ¶ 8:21 PM