The following is a post from Linda.

A mom approaches the homeschool director with fear and trepidation. “My son has been cheating,” she says. The director smiles and says, “It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last.”

Yet as moms we somehow think that our kids won’t cheat. We don’t expect them to be perfect people, but homeschoolers are not supposed to cheat! At least, that’s what I thought.

You’ve probably guessed. One of my high school kids did cheat. And it wasn’t the kid who I might have suspected. He had never shown a tendency towards being dishonest.

How You Can Avoid Cheating

1. Never say, “This kid would never cheat.” Assume that any of your children could be tempted in this way.

2. Oversee test taking, and daily work if necessary. If a test is in the same book as the answers, be sure to copy the test. Then have the kid take the test in the same room with you. If daily cheating is a problem, then all work should be done that way.

3. Tell your kid that in high school, you don’t always get A’s or even B’s. My son did not cheat because he was failing. He cheated because in grade school math, I didn’t move on until he learned a new concept. As a result, he always got A’s, and he thought he should always get A’s in high school.

4.  Help your child have realistic expectations.  Similar to point three, kids can expect too much of themselves because they think all homeschool kids should be geniuses.  When they start coming up short, they might be tempted to cheat.  Let them know you want them to do their best, but that won’t necessarily mean straight A’s.

5. Talk to your kids about this temptation. Help them work through it. Little did we know that the guilt he was carrying was the issue behind his challenging teen behavior. Once he confessed, he was a different person! How I wish we had brought up the topic of cheating  and given him opportunities to talk about it sooner.

The 10 Days Series is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutually beneficial projects.

Linda has three boys and has been homeschooling for over 15 years.  Her oldest is now in college, the second graduates this spring, and her youngest is in 10th grade.  She blogs about food at The Gluten-Free Homemaker.

Laura of Inspiration for Moms found a great way to organize glass bakeware that is cheap and super easy!  Before, Laura’s dishes were stacked inside one another, making it difficult to get to the ones on the bottom.  This system eliminates that problem.  Read how she organizes her baking dishes.

For more ideas to help you simplify and organize one day at a time, visit the Organized in 365 Archives.

Have you shared a great organizing tip on your website? I’d love to feature it on TheHappyHousewife.com. Submit your Organized in 365 tip.

Don’t have a blog, but have a great tip? Submit your Organized in 365 guest post here.

The following is a post from contributing writer  Jackie.

Hanging laundry on the line is something I enjoy. Being outdoors seems to make the task of doing laundry more bearable. With 7 people in our family, one of whom is in cloth diapers, there’s definitely plenty of laundry.

A few years ago I was using a plastic bag to hold my clothespins. My mom must have felt sorry for me because she made me a fabric clothespin bag. I later modified her idea and made a simple clothespin bag out of a placemat.

While I love my clothespin bags I thought it might be fun to take a look around my home and see what items I could use to make another clothespin bag for free. I accomplished this task and ended up with 3 “new” clothespin bags.

If you are in need of something to hold your clothespins, then maybe one of these ideas will suit your taste, budget, and sewing skills. You can make any of these bags in 15 minutes or less.

Supplies Needed

• Hanger
• Sewing Machine
• Thread
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Hand Towel, Blue Jeans, or Baby Sleeper

Hand Towel Clothespin Bag Instructions

To make this clothespin bag you will need a hand towel and a hanger with a bar at the bottom. I chose a hand towel that was approximately 15 inches by 25 inches.

1. Unfold the towel and lay the hanger on top of it near one short end. Fold that short end of the towel over the bar of the hanger 2 1/2 inches. Pin it to the portion of the towel that is under the hanger.

2. Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, stitch the folded portion to the rest of the hand towel.

3. Fold the bottom of the hand towel up 9 inches to make a pocket. Pin along the left and right sides of the towel.

4. Again, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, stitch the two sides of the hand towel that you pinned in Step 4.

You can stop at this point and your clothespin bag could be finished.

However, if you think the pocket is gaping too much then you can sew a seam down the center of the pocket.

The pocket might be a good idea if you have two different types of clothespins you wanted to keep separate, or like I said, you thought the pocket was gaping too much without the seam. Here’s a look inside.

Blue Jean Clothespin Bag Instructions

To make this bag you need an old pair of blue jeans and a hanger with clips.

1. Cut the blue jeans below the zipper so you have about 13 inches from top to bottom.

2. Turn the blue jeans inside out and sew the bottom closed. I used my serger but you can use a sewing machine.

3. Turn the jeans right side out and attach the hanger with clips to the back of the jeans.

Baby Clothes Clothespin Bag Instructions

To make this clothespin bag  you will need a baby sleeper and a child-sized hanger. I chose a 6-9 months sleeper that my daughter had outgrown and that had a set-in stain. A baby polo shirt would work as well and wouldn’t require any cutting.

1. Cut the sleeper above the legs just above a snap.

2. Turn the sleeper wrong side out and sew the bottom closed. I used a serger but you can use a regular sewing machine.

3. Turn the sleeper right side out and slip a hanger inside. Keep the top snap open to make it easier to reach your clothespins.

As you can see you don’t have to spend any money or much time to have a functional clothespin bag.

Do you have a clothesline? What do you use to hold your clothespins? Do any of these ideas appeal to you?

More posts from Jackie

Not every child will or should go to college, but my advice to all homeschooling parents would be to plan as if they ARE going to college. It is much easier to not go to college than it is to try to go to college without all the needed requirements.

When a child begins ninth grade, very few of them know exactly what they want to do when they graduate. Choose curriculum that will allow them to pursue any and every available opportunity to them when they graduate.

Here are some tips for choosing the right curriculum for your high schooler.

Check the graduation requirements of your state.

Every state has requirements in order for your child to graduate from high school. Make sure the curriculum you are using fulfills these requirements.

Most homeschool curriculums are designed to meet state standards, but if you are unschooling or using a non-traditional approach make sure you have all your bases covered.

Let your child help choose the curriculum.

As my kids progressed through school, they became more of the decision makers when it came to curriculum. While the final decision was made by myself or my husband, my kids were able to choose most of their high school curriculum.

Don't keep your kids in the dark! Let them help choose their curriculum.

If your child has been homeschooled since they were young, they will probably know what curriculum works for them and what won’t.

U-Turns are allowed.

If you get halfway through the year and the curriculum just isn’t working, it’s okay to switch. It is more important that your child learn something than that they finish the book.

This can be more difficult for the high schooler because of the credits and hours required to graduate, but I’d rather them school over the summer than not learn a thing because we were determined to finish a curriculum that didn’t work.

You can’t teach it all.

I’ve been homeschooling for twelve years and during that time I’ve only met a handful of moms who I thought were capable of teaching every single high school subject to their children.

When I first started homeschooling I was naive enough to think that I could teach everything to my future high schooler. I figured I would just learn it along the way or remember what I learned back in high school.

That might be possible if I wasn’t homeschooling five other children at the same time, or didn’t have to make dinner, drive kids to practices, or volunteer at church.

The truth is, you probably don’t have time to teach every single subject to your child at the high school level and that’s okay.

• Online tutorials
• Co-ops
• Dual Enrollment
• Trade teaching with a friend
• Tutoring
• Self directed curriculum
• Video classes

The list above is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to high school helps. Many are free or low cost and available no matter where you live.

The bottom line- you can homeschool your high schooler with a planning, patience, and prayer. 

The 10 Days Series is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutually beneficial projects.