What would the world be like if every kid spent their free time innovating and creating? This is an inspiring story, and we hope it will challenge our readers to plan this summer carefully, finding new ways to inspire kids to think, build, and innovate!
Click here for more information about Caine’s Aracade. And let us know what your exciting plans are for this summer!
Part of raising leaders and world changers is teaching them to be good stewards of our planet. The leaders of tomorrow will understand the value of making sustainable choices.
Jody and I are busy people (that might even be an understatement), but our families are making new sustainable choices every month. So for those who say they don’t have time, we challenge you to give it a try.
Last week, my mother-in-law was in town, and one evening we all stayed home to watch a movie. While everyone was settling into a comfy spot on the couch, the kids took turns grating soap at the coffee table in preparation for our first batch of homemade laundry detergent.
When the detergent was done, we funneled it into an empty container of store bought detergent. The whole process took less than a half hour, all while we watched August Rush.
Homemade products save money, and perhaps even more importantly, they are another way to make socially responsible choices.
For a list of recipes, check out this site.
If you have any great homemade laundry detergent tips or recipes, leave a comment below.
–Jenni
The SAT is that scary test that students generally take to get into college and hopefully get some scholarship money. The good news is that this test is “standardized” which means that the test-makers follow the same patterns, profiles and standards by writing similar questions each time; this tests the same skills in exactly the same way without being literally the same questions. Students can then obviously learn these hidden recurring patterns found on the test and become very test savvy since they tend to not be straightforward but based more on logic and reasoning.
Preparation is the key to doing well on the SAT. Students should start at least in 9th grade or earlier if they are participating in a 7th grade talent search such as The Duke TIP Letter. The PSAT/NMSQT is also written by the same SAT test-makers and can count for huge scholarships in a student’s junior year but can be taken for practice in the ninth and tenth grade year. When students start preparing early, time is on their side. Waiting results in more test anxiety and certainly less time to practice.
There are three sections on the SAT: Critical Reading, Math and Writing. The test is three hours and forty five minutes long and is offered seven times a year. There are no penalties for taking it as many times as students want since colleges usually just take the highest scores and often will combine high scores from different tests. Consequently this gives a student a higher score which can result in more college money.
The Critical Reading section contain the Passage-Based Reading section Students usually have to read four passages, work twenty-four questions and do it all this in twenty-five minutes which is about a minute a question, not counting the four passages which is daunting because of the great time constraints to finish. Besides that, the test-makers have built in tricks to make the students pick the wrong answers. It is practically impossible for students to finish this section on time if it is approached in a normal way.
Half of all students usually hate math. Consequently these same students feel the same way about the SAT math. But students don’t have to be math geniuses to ace the math section on the SAT. These tests have very little to do with the math they are used to. This section is really a logic test using math as the medium they are not necessarily testing how smart a student is in math but rather testing their critical thinking skills on a math problem. Each math questions can be answered in 30 seconds or less.
Most students are not excited about the essay section found on the test. After all, they have twenty-five minutes to write an essay on an unknown topic that will count as 30% of their Writing grade. This is a lot of pressure on students, but there are lots of students who have received perfect essay scores and it is really a matter of knowing what the judges are looking for.
The other three parts of the Writing section are multiple-choice and require students to understand basic grammar. But even though the problems may be grammatical errors, it is still a logic test and the questions are standardized with standardized answers since the test-makers use a limited amount of concepts in this section.
Learning how the test-makers write the questions and answers is pivotal for test success. With knowledge and preparation, students can learn to understand the recurring hidden patterns and fast ways to answer each question type found in each section. This can ultimately give students confidence, lessens test anxiety and students can then ace these dreaded tests.
Jean Burk is the author of College Prep Genius and has written numerous articles about the SAT and PSAT tests, College Prep, and How to Get Free College. She has been featured as an SAT expert on , CBS, NBC, TXA21 and The Homeschool Channel. She homeschooled both her children and they each received incredible scholarships because of their PSAT and SAT scores. Some of the benefits includedfull tuition, room and board, unlimited laundry and lunchroom passes, study abroad stipends, etc.
To download the e-book, “15 Secrets to Free College” for a penny (value $9.95) go towww.collegeprepgenius.com Use code: power
Contact Jean at jean@collegeprepgenius.com or 81-SAT-2-PREP
Date nights with your kids sets high standards for future relationships in your children’s lives, and it cultivates intimacy and opens the door for deeper conversation between parents and kids.
Today’s Video Monday is a how-to that offers ideas to maximize time spent on parent-child dates.
After you watch the video, drop us a line and let us know what neat things you do on date nights.
It is has been a busy few months for Jenni and Jody, and we have struggled to stay on top of our blog schedule. Here’s a peek at what we are up to…
A publisher wants to see three more chapters for our book proposal. So we are writing those.
We just finished a 5 week parenting seminar on raising world changers. Each week was a two-hour class with a supplemental workbook. We were writing as we went, so we’re happy to have that material ready now to take into other churches and groups.
The Housing Authority in our county has asked us to come in and teach one of their Section 8 communities. We are pulling material from our workshop to create a program for them.
We have two weeks left in our school year with Generation Harvest. After that, Jody and Jenni will be heading to Orlando for a few days to attend the Florida Parent Educators Association annual homeschool convention.
And…we are working with a core team of people from our home church to establish a house of prayer ministry. We are in the middle of a 4-week intense Sozo training program, and we are exciting to bring this p0werful prayer and deliverance tool to our community.
So, we desperately covet your prayers! And bear with us as we get through the intensity of these next few weeks.
Blessings!
Posted in About Us
Tagged homeschool, homeschooling, parenting coaches, parenting seminars, Sozo
Have you ever felt like you just don’t have enough time in the day to accomplish everything you’d like? No? Then please do the rest of us a favor and share your secret.
It’s been such a common thought that a movie has even been made about it. Do you remember the movie Multiplicity? It came out in 1996, so I know it’s been an issue for quite a while.
The other day, hubby mentioned that he has so many projects he’s working on or would like to do that he wishes he could duplicate himself. Then he looked at me and said, “You know what? I’d want to duplicate you first, because you do everything.” As sweet as that comment is, it got me thinking. What are the things I would hand off to my “duplicate”?
I love to cook, so not that. Dishes perhaps. I HATE cleaning bathrooms, so definitely that. I always seem to have trouble finding the desire to sweep and mop (I mean, why bother when the kids will get it dirty 5 minutes later), so perhaps cleaning the floors. And laundry; folding and putting it away in particular.
Then I got to thinking about what I would do with all the “extra” time I would have because my duplicate was doing all the boring and mundane stuff. I would definitely spend more time with my kids. I would read with them more, play more games, go on picnics, and more field trips. Essentially, I would do more of the fun things they beg me to do, but I have to push off because I have to get X done now. I would spend more time truly delving into the Word of God rather than just reading through a few chapters each day, and I would make sure my kids were doing the same.
You know what else I realized? I need to make the time now. I can’t wait for things to settle down or till we can afford a maid. I need to spend my time on the things that matter most now and every day, and that’s my relationship with my heavenly Father and my family. If that means our floors are dirty or there are a stack of dishes for me to deal with after the kids are in bed, so be it. If it means getting clean clothes straight from the dryer, so be it. If it means less time on the computer checking email, Facebook, and blogs, then so be it. The important thing is to make the time to do the important things in life.
Do you have something you’ve been meaning to make more time for? Do you have examples of how you’ve been able to fit it all in? If so, I’d love to hear about it.
Hi, my name is Karrie Beckmann. I have been happily married for almost 14 years. We have an 8 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. A few years ago, my husband was offered a job in Australia, so I decided to start a blog in order to keep in touch with family and friends. The job in Australia fell through, but we have been given many opportunities to travel across the United States, which I’ve been able to share on my blog. We homeschool both of our kids and have found that travel has been a wonderful learning opportunity for our kids, so we hope to continue traveling and eventually hope to visit all 50 states as well as Australia some day.
I recently attended a workshop that Jody & Jenni hosted, titled “5 Steps to the Kids You Always Wanted.” I am still in the process of wading through and implementing the many things they mentioned and hope to share it with you all soon in a future guest post. In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed today’s post on making time to do the really important things in your life.
It is not enough for our kids to subscribe to our faith. An old cliche says, “God has no grandchildren.” Our kids need to have a solid and personal relationship with the Creator.
And they need to know WHY they believe what they believe. Ron Luce, in “Battle Cry for a Generation” estimates that 88% of kids leave their faith when they leave their parent’s homes.
We need to give our children an intelligent, thorough explanation of why we believe the Bible is truth.
Consider watching The Truth Project as a family, and strengthen everyone’s understanding of Christian worldview.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged apologetics, Biblical truth, Christian worldview, The Truth Project
I was so excited to be asked to guest blog on Power Launch! Jenni & Jody have been such an inspiration to me, and I’m honored to share my thoughts on student volunteering with their Power Launch audience!
Service hours are a necessary part of education these days. Called “Service Learning,” most school systems integrate volunteering right into their curriculum, even making it a requirement for graduation.
Many homeschoolers are already involved in some kind of volunteering, either through their church or homeschool group. Just about any kind of volunteering will fill those needed hours, but to make it shine on transcripts, it might be better to connect those hours to your student’s desired major or career options, which can possibly win your student scholarships and other awards, as well. More importantly, connecting with the non-profits that need volunteers can be a rewarding experience in itself.
Where to begin? Start with what your child is considering for a career. If veterinary medicine is what they love, see if they can volunteer at your local Humane Society. Perhaps they are thinking about a career in environmental science or education. How about coordinating a collection drive? A group of students at San Gabriel Christian School in San Gabriel, California , collected old shoes donating them to a project that used them to make playground equipment. That’s not just service hours! These students are learning to be entrepreneurs!
If your child is interested in the culinary arts, you might want to have them help at a soup kitchen. I volunteered at a soup kitchen a few years ago, and the cook was actually a chef who volunteered his time! Maybe your child has their heart set on becoming a doctor or nurse. Health fairs are always looking for volunteers. Contact your local Red Cross for more information. A student who wants to be a teacher can read to a preschool or kindergarten class. Many of these children are so hungry for attention. A teen reading to them and just showing they care can be life-changing… for both.
Don’t forget to think out of the box, too. My 15-year-old wants to be an animator. She is a homeschooled sophomore in high school, and dual enrolled at our local community college. She read that a great way for animators to learn more about drawing movement was to watch marine creatures. She now volunteers at a marine aquarium. They track her service hours and offer an internship program which will be another great addition to her high school transcript.
If you are homeschooling, you will still need to keep a form listing service hours for each student. Some organizations provide one and will keep track for you, or your school district may provide one online. You can also find one here. Remember to have a supervisor sign off each time your child volunteers. You never know when a supervisor will be replaced, and the form is invalid without a signature.
Serving just to add volunteer hours to a transcript will end up being a bore and drudgery for your student. With a little creativity, it can be fun and educational.
What service learning projects have your children done? Leave a comment to tell us about it…
Kelly Stilwell is a freelance writer who enjoys living near the beach in Florida with her husband and two teenage daughters. A volunteer coordinator at one of the fastest growing churches in the country, she gets a kick out of helping people find their passion in serving. Kelly writes about homeschooling and virtual learning, traveling with kids, volunteering and a myriad of other subjects. You can visit her website at www.kellystilwell.com.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged homeschooling, service projects, student volunteer hours, volunteering
Do you know today’s teenager? This week’s Video Monday offers a look into the minds and values of teens in this generation. They are in danger, and we need to response thoughtfully and deliberately.
When Jody and I first saw this, we were concerned, to say the least. This is a population that trusts more in themselves than in wise counsel. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust not in your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” And Jeremiah 17:9 warns, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Clearly, trusting in themselves above everything else is not a plan for success.
On the flip side, Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety. ” Similarly, Proverbs 12:15 says, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.” And Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
No matter how you slice it, teens who trust primarily in themselves are setting the stage for disaster in their lives.
When they do seek advice, who are they asking? Their parents? Pastors? Wise adults? Nope. They turn to their social network. Yikes!
First of all, Proverbs 22:15 says that foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. Then, Proverbs 13:20 tells us that he who walks with the wise will become wise. It goes on to say that a companion of fools will…what? Become fools? No. It says they will suffer harm. The King James Version says they’ll be destroyed. Parents, this is serious stuff. We need to help our kids have a radical paradigm shift.
The video also says that this generation equates happiness to success, which could spell major heartache later in life. An adult who measures success by their momentary state of happiness will quit a job when the going gets tough, file for divorce during the difficult seasons of marriage, and escape into selfish pursuits when parenting becomes hard.
Is it any wonder that 1/3 of this population has already contemplated suicide. If happiness is all that matters, and you feel like there’s no hope of finding happiness any time soon, why live?
Clearly the problem has to be addressed from the foundation up. We need to start by helping them build a solid base of truth upon which they can construct every other belief and value.
But it’s an uphill battle because this generation has already been slow-cooked in a pluralistic crock pot. They are steeped in the public mindset of moral and religious relativism, which preaches that every belief is equally valid. Not only is this purely illogical (how can two directly opposing views be equally valid and true?), but it stands starkly against the message of the cross.
Our kids NEED a strong foundation in apologetics. They need to know what it means to call themselves Christians and why they believe the Bible is truth.
Please take some time to watch this excellent video, and share your thoughts and ideas about how parents can help teens navigate some of these issues with true and lasting success.
Posted in Uncategorized
