In the previous post I talked, perhaps more accurately, got on my soapbox about how crucial it is to teach our kids to handle money. Learning real life money skills can and ideally should start at an early age, but if it hasn’t, it’s never too late to start, even at the high school (or adult) level.

Let me share with you some practical things we have been doing to learn about and improve our real life money skills that might give you some ideas for your family. (As a side note, this has become a learning process for our entire family )

Responsibility for purchases

The first thing we did was give each of our teens their clothing budget money – the amount we would have spent on them – and let them manage it.

Lessons learned:

• How fast it could go – looked like a lot of bucks at first, but went very quickly
• How to shop smarter and stretch the money
  • Now they check out sale racks first
  • Don’t buy anything if it’s not on sale
  • When they have time, they shop at thrift stores.
• Brand names aren’t worth the price tag
• Shock at the amount of money some of their friends spend on clothes & how important brand names are to them

Checking Account

One of the next things we did was open up a checking account.

Read the rest of this entry »

Several months ago, a friend sent me this quote from the late President Reagan:

“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.“

I really liked it and yet, it really bothered me. A lot. I couldn’t get it out of my head – it just kept nagging me. But why? I can be a little slow sometimes, but eventually, I realized, God was trying to teach me something.

My grandkids and I began our home education adventure late in the game, so to speak. First, my granddaughter asked to be homeschooled in March of her 7th grade year of public schooling. I knew it was the right thing to do and a week later, we began. She needed to be home where she could excel, but, as I wrote in an earlier post, she also desperately needed time – a full year to be exact – to decompress from the stresses she brought home with her. Once she was ready, she went from a struggling student who was barely pulling a ”C” in most of her classes, to one who will graduate this year with a 4.0 (so far) GPA.

The next year, in October, my grandson also in 7th grade at the time, asked to come home and try homeschooling. He is now a high school junior and doing great! His interests and style of learning are as different as night and day from his sister, but being home educated has afforded him to learn his way and pursue his interests. I know in my heart of hearts, had he stayed in public school, he would have sunk.

Before we began home educating, I prayerfully asked God to show me His priorities. His answer was very clear: “Teach them about Me and My Word, be a Godly example and trust Me to lead you as you continue.”

I confess I get side-tracked sometimes, putting my agenda before His. But, Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations to all homeschooled graduating highschoolers!!! And, to the parents who stayed the course, hats off to you!!! I have not yet had the privilege of graduating one from high school – that will come next year, but I have already been giving thought as to how to make this milestone in their lives special.

Homeschooled highschoolers don’t typically have the “gala events” that their public schooled counter parts do (not necessarily a bad thing in my opinion) but recognizing their accomplishment and ushering them into this new chapter of life can and should be a special time and memory in their life. Here are a few of my thoughts…. Read the rest of this entry »

OK, this one is a treat for the whole family. Your kids will have so much fun that they won’t even realize it’s educational! What am I talking about? It’s a thing called “Letterboxing.” It’s been popular in Europe for hundreds of years, but has only caught on in the US in recent years. Our family has done it several times and we’ve had a blast!

So what is letterboxing? Simply put, it’s a treasure hunt. Letterboxes are placed, by different individuals (and, yes, once you get the hang of it, you & your family can hide a letterbox too!) all over the place. Some are located inside buildings, most are hidden outside. You have a list of clues, that when properly followed & with sharp eyes, will lead you to the letterbox.

Supplies you need to bring:

• A rubber stamp – you can use a purchased stamp or make your own. The more unique and reflective of you, the better. The whole family can use one stamp, but usually the kids each like to have their own.
  • Stamps aren’t hard to make and making them together can be lots of fun. Here’s a few sites with directions for making stamps How to Make a Rubber Stamp, Eraser Carving, Letterboxing Kids, and Make a Rubber Stamp with Foam
• Ink pad
• Small sketch book
• A pen
• A compass
• The set of clues
• A packed lunch or snack

The process:

• Follow the set of clues, using your compass when necessary, to find the letterbox. (The letterbox is simply a plastic leftover-type container with a lid, to keep the contents dry.)
• Once you find it, open it and inside the box you’ll find a rubber stamp, a notepad and usually an ink pad (sometimes the ink pad is missing or dried up which is why it’s a good idea to bring your own.)
• Using the stamp found in the letterbox, stamp it into your sketchbook. Make a note of where you found it and any other notes as well.
• Using your stamp, stamp the letterbox notebook and make a note of where you’re from and anything else you want to add.
• Take some time to look at other entries and where other people came from – you might be surprised!
• Remember to put everything back, just as you found it.

This really is so much fun and such a great educational experience for the whole family! With one fell swoop, you can cover art, geography, critical thinking, using a compass, all while you’re having a great time together as a family.

If you’re headed somewhere on vacation, be sure to check for letterboxes in the area of your destination and bring your supplies! It’s addicting

To get the whole scoop, visit Letterboxing.org. To access the information you will need to sign up, but registration is free. Have fun & let us know about your family fun educational experiences!

Sue

Have you ever dreamed about leaving the rat-race, selling everything and traveling to wherever, meeting new people, seeing first-hand God’s wonderful creation? My husband & I have dreamed about it many times. Many times.

Years ago, after their children were grown, one of my husband’s cousins and his wife did just that. They sold everything and bought a boat. Everyone thought they were absolutely nuts (’cept us ) and figured it was just a matter of time before they came to their senses. But they have never looked back and wouldn’t trade what they’re doing for anything. They have traveled all over, making money using their boat.

At this stage in our life, it’s hard to imagine that doing something that “gutsy” will ever become reality for us, but who knows?! At any rate, we still like to dream.

This morning I read a wonderful inspiring story about the Vogel family who “took the plunge.” Read the rest of this entry »

I have to be honest and say that I hate politics. I really do. It’s hard to know what or who to believe and discussion, especially about issues I am passionate about, like abortion, really upset me. But, I do believe strongly that every American citizen of voting age has the responsibility to participate in the process.

So with things heating up for November’s presidential election and all the media spin and the commercials – oi! it’s enough to drive me nuts!!! I digress – sorry. Like it or not, there is an important election around the corner.

My reason for writing this post is because of a thought-provoking article written by Mary Pride, publisher of Practical Homeschooling. In her article she discusses the issue of homeschooling and candidates’ positions on the subject. The title of her article, which may surprise you, is Huckabee Not the Best for Homeschoolers. Hmmm, Read the rest of this entry »

I hope you all had a wonderful New Years and are filled with wonderful expectations for 2008. We had a great time New Year’s Eve, spent with a few close friends – great food (& lots of it!!), great fellowship, games and discussion and a special time of Communion as the old year passed quietly into the new.

Just for fun, to start the new year, I thought I’d give you a link to a “homeschool humor” video by comedian Tim Hawkins, that’s really fun to watch. To watch the video, A Homeschool Family, click here and then click on the “Homeschool Family” link on Tim’s site. Enjoy!

Wishing you a 2008 filled with the richest of blessings and full of wonderful family memories.

Sue