Caught Cheating

Maddie let her fingers do the tapping of the phone numbers to call her little red-head friend a couple of days ago. She could hardly stand that I forced her to finish her homework first, mean mommy that I am. "I'm going to put her on speaker phone again," she declares.

Me: "You don't really need to do that."

Maddie: "But, I'm going to."

Someone please help me. If this determined, smart-alecky, independent attitude continues, she may not survive to see the dawning of her 16th birthday. I wonder if she'll be so adamant about her speaker phone conversation when she's a teenager. Somehow, I doubt it!

While Maddie is conversing, my ears perk up. "My mom banished me from doing my homework on the bus."

Little red-head friend: "Why?"

Maddie: "Because Connor was helping me with my homework, and he gave me all the answers."

At least she's not afraid to be honest. Yes, she came home one day from school with her homework already completed. Unusual...not like my Maddie at all. She proudly tells me that she did her homework on the bus, and she doesn't have to worry about doing it now. Red flags waved wildly in my face. "So," I ask, "Did someone help you?" I'm immediately thinking of her 6th grade friend, Hannah. "Yes, Connor helped me." Hmmmm....Connor is a 1st grader too. But, I'm seriously doubting that Maddie could figure these math answers out all by her lonesome. "Did he tell you the answers, Maddie?" Sheepishly, she softly responds, "Yes."

Yep, my daughter was guilty of cheating. Thus, she was most emphatically "banned" from doing any homework on the bus. Her punishment? I erased all the answers and made her re-do the paper. Then, I had to assist her with her homework! I believe she's learned her lesson.