Disciple Your Children
How do you make discipleship a natural way of life? Whether it’s the younger years, the middle years, or the launching years, discipleship can easily be woven into the natural rhythms of family life. It can start with simple questions about the beauty around you in creation or reading Bible stories at bedtime. You can discuss right choices or natural consequences of bad choices. You can talk about school and life through a biblical lens. You can do a book study with your teens, host a backyard Bible club this summer for your elementary-age neighborhood kids, or read Bible stories to your little ones. It does not have to be hard or complicated, but it does have to be intentional. Talk with your children when you wake, when you walk, and when you wind down to sleep (see Deuteronomy 6). So that pretty much means disciple your kids all throughout your days. Do not leave it up to the church. They are there to partner with parents not replace biblical teaching in the home. In order to disciple your children, you want to open the doors of communication so it is regular and natural and you will want to lead…
Dual Enrollment
How do you choose dual enrollment classes? One option for saving time and money in college is to enroll in a dual enrollment program. Typically this is where high school students can simultaneously complete high school and take some college classes during their junior and senior years. Some students even manage to complete their high school education and earn an associate’s degree at the same time. In some states, students can practically go to college for free while in high school. We highly recommend even a few dual enrollment courses while in high school. Because we did our homework, our youngest daughter was able to start college with enough credits to complete 4 years in 3, saving both time and money. She knew her major, and she knew what college she wanted to attend. First, we looked at a sample degree completion guide and what community college and AP/CLEP test credits the university accepted. With this information, she could choose dual enrollment courses that would benefit her not just earn her college credits. Using the sample course completion guide for her major, we mapped out her dual enrollment schedule for her last 2 years of high school. Like all things,…
March Madness College Spreadsheet
Does March Madness bring thoughts of basketball tournaments or college tours? Brain overload accompanied my first college visit with my daughter, but it got easier after that. What did not get easier was the amount of information we got and how to keep track of it all. We ended up creating a shared spreadsheet of information. This useful college spreadsheet tool helped us track the information, prioritize colleges for application, and organize the application process and products required for each one. We chose to make it a shared document which was also super helpful as we could both add information or check due dates. Having gone through this process several times with my kids and clients, I find myself suggesting a collaborative spreadsheet to others time and time again. While the decision is highly personal, the process is quite standard. Now available for sale, my College Research Spreadsheet tool. This College Research tool will help organize all the information you gather, even suggesting categories you may not have thought about. You can edit the form to fit your needs. This information will be helpful when visiting colleges, narrowing down which ones to apply to, preparing for applications and interviews, and…
Product Review: Youscience Aptitude Discovery
What do you want to be when you grow up? Many high school students dread the question about future careers if they have no idea what they want to do. Many parents fear the task of helping their child hone in on a career path as well because many feel inadequately prepared for the job or want to avoid the conflict. As a teacher and parent, I have certainly had this conversation with many teens and seen the defeat in their eyes when they say they don’t know. Today I want to offer you a solution to the frustration and a tool for career counseling. Go from doubting to curious in just a few hours as you see many possible careers that match abilities and interests. Youscience is an online aptitude and career discovery tool. It helps pinpoint natural abilities and personal interests and suggests in-demand careers that combine those two. I discovered this tool years ago when a client’s mom asked me to watch her teen take the test and discuss the results. The test took about 2 hours but the brain games were fun and the personal interest questions were well written and you could take breaks as…
A Roadmap for the Launching Years
What was your roadmap for your teenage years? I bet every parent wishes there was a roadmap to give their teens in the launching years. God’s Word is a map for us. As a graduation gift for my oldest daughter and her friends, I made the MAP art piece and printed them on magnets as a visual reminder that God did not leave us without an instruction book for life. The verse on the art is Psalm 119:9-10. This is an excellent roadmap for teens in the launching years. How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted. Psalm 119:9-10 The Message Recently I gave a tribute and read some of Psalm 119 at my father-in-law’s funeral. Before I married into the family, I had dad for a couple of my education and geography classes at Liberty University. Dad taught through Psalm 119 one year in the daily devotions he did at the beginning of his classes. With 176 verses, there was plenty to talk about! As his student I appreciate the consistency of this. He was…
Teach Kids to Advocate for Themselves
What are some reasons you should teach your child to advocate for themselves? No matter your parenting style, teach your kids to advocate for themselves. It will nurture their independence and give them ownership of their problems. In the younger years, you can give children language for asking. Teach them to politely ask for something they need or want and encourage them to tell why they need it. In the middle years, role play difficult situations and how to self advocate. This gives kids empowering strategies and the language to express themselves. With my tutoring clients, we often talk through how and when to ask a teacher for help or a parent for project supplies. This is a good age to allow real world experiences like ordering in a restaurant or paying for something at the store. Provide support for critical thinking and problem solving. Successful self advocacy boosts self esteem, especially during the launching years. I remember my daughters disliked having to go into restaurants for a take out menu or call the doctor’s office to schedule an appointment, but they felt pretty proud of themselves once they had done it. It would have been easy for me to…
Product Review: CLEP Exams
What are some ways you can save money on college? Testing out of required college courses is one way to save money on college and earn credit toward a college degree. AP (Advanced Placement) exams are sometimes offered to high school students upon completion of an advanced level high school course and award college credits for passing. However, CLEP exams (College Level Examination Program) are available to just about everyone anytime with 34 tests in 5 subject areas. These 1- 2 hour computer based multiple choice exams cost $89 per test and can award 3-6 college credits. There are even testing sites in countries other than the US. Anyone who excels at a particular topic and is planning to go to college should consider taking a CLEP exam as many colleges and universities accept passing scores as college credit. College Board, creator of the SAT test, offers AP and CLEP exams and a wide variety of test and college prep materials. By taking AP and/or CLEP exams, students may be able to save significant time and money on college or free up their schedule to take other courses. With some careful planning and research, some students have even shaved a…
10 Life Skills for the Launching Years
What life skill did you fail to learn before moving away from home? The launching years are a perfect time to teach your teens the life skills they need to cope with the challenges in the world around them so that they can feel confident and prepared. So many of these skills can be learned alongside parents and adults as they go about their everyday life. Do not wait until your kids are grown to start this! We started earlier than most, but the rewards have been great. Here’s 10 basic life skill categories you use to think about what your teens already know and what you can teach them during the launching years. 1. Meal Prep Teach your kids what makes a nutritious balanced meal and how to cook 5 or 6 simple ones. Show them cooking basics. As their confidence grows, expand their recipes and teach them meal planning and grocery shopping. Assign them a night to cook each week. Teach them to grill and how to brew good coffee. 2. Home Management Teaching cleaning chores and laundry should not wait until the launching years! Now teach kids how to use household appliances, unclog a drain, sew on…
Chore Charts
What was your least favorite chore as a child? Who does that chore at your house now? Chores are a fact of daily life. “Mom, it was so smart of you to try to get us to do one chore a day and not leave them all for Saturday! I’m so sorry I didn’t listen! Now I understand!” That’s what my married daughter said to me after my wise words and chore charts finally sunk in after all those years. The chore chart first appeared when my girls were in preschool. The weekly chores in the younger years involved bringing me the little trash cans on trash day and helping to dust or deliver piles of clean laundry to the bedroom. I remember once buying a new feather duster and toilet brush and bringing them home like prizes! Being young, my girls were excited about the new tools! The weekly chores grew into a daily chart that listed each person’s name and a chore that could be done in less than 5 minutes that day. (Saving them until Saturday was NOT an option then!) Dad and Mom chores were sometimes listed so everyone could see the shared workload. As the…
Setting up School Year Expectations
How does setting a homework schedule build life skills that impact the workplace? Just as a classroom teacher sets expectations, parents can also use the start of a new school year to set expectations for homework and chores. As children grow, so should their responsibilities as these life skills may impact their future workplace performance. During the younger years, they can be expected to put their backpack in the designated location and put any “parent homework” in a certain spot everyday. Homeschoolers can be expected to return their daily supplies to a designated location. As they get to the middle years, these school year expectations can grow. To avoid the morning rush or get a few more minutes of sleep, bookbags can be packed the night before, lunches can be made, and clothes laid out. All of this can be done by the children, with some initial supervision by the parents or caretakers. By the launching years, these school year expectations should be firm and there should be little need for reminders or follow ups. The start of a new school year is a great opportunity to revisit the expectations. “Each night after you clean up the dinner dishes, I’d…
