Latest / 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids. / A Powerful Tool to Help Kids Navigate High School with special guest Kris Cox

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A Powerful Tool to Help Kids Navigate High School with special guest Kris Cox · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of the Five Minute Parenting Podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Karen Ferguson, wife, mom, grandmom, and children's book author with a background in K-8 education and a passion for equipping parents to raise confident and God-confident kids.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: In this podcast, we'll cover parenting practices for both a practical view and a biblical view.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Our goal is to help you raise kids with a positive, godly self-image so they can become all they were created to be.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: I know you're busy, so we'll keep it short.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: Let's take just five minutes and dive in.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to Five Minute Parenting.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Today I'm talking with Chris Cox about her newly updated Navigating High School book that is a helpful tool for teens.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Chris is a retired homeschooler with a Bachelor of Science and Social Work, 17 plus years of experience in home educating her four children, and 10 years of experience as a homeschool consultant, blogger, writer, and speaker.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: Chris believes that seeking God for guidance and depending on Him is the key to successful homeschooling.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: She's the author of the Homeschool Life All-in-One Planner, Homeschooling with Confidence, and co-author of Growing the Fruit of the Spirit, a Bible-based unit study.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to Five Minute Parenting, Chris.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's a pleasure to be with you, Karen.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I'm so glad you're here.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: I know you've been on the show before with Sandra Chambers, who's the founder of the podcast.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so now I get to welcome you.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited to have you here and to hear about this newly updated high school guidebook.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm just going to start off with, you know, why did you choose to write this book?
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's a fun story.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I was getting ready to speak at a convention.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I, well, I obviously I launched our four kids and learned a lot about what was important.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then I, in my consulting and um the different things that I've done and speaking with parents that are getting ready to launch their kids are planning the high school years.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: I just came up, I just felt like there were certain topics that were really important or certain things that were key for kids to learn and know before they graduated from high school.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so I've wanted to write this book for a long time, wanting to have something that teens could actually use themselves to prepare themselves, to be ready to be independent and live on their own after they graduate from high school.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so I had this opportunity to speak about high school at a convention, and I thought, I need to write that book before I go.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: So um, it was a bit of a scramble, but with God's help, I put it together.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then um, as time went on in the next year or two, I thought, you know, there's other things I think they need to I need to add.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the updated version has added some things as well.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: But the book covers knowing God and knowing yourself and knowing others.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: So there's chapters on all of those where you're helping your kids grow in their faith and really make it their own.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's key for all kids.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: And this book is for students that are homeschooled and in the public school or private school sector as well.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: I was feeling about that.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not geared towards towards homeschool families, but it's kind of like that spiritual, mental, emotional preparation in a way for high school in general.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Is that what correct?
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think that it's important for kids to know God well and have a strong foundation in their faith before they leave home because there's so many um negative influences that come at us as we get to college and into the working world.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so just having that foundation is so important.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then really knowing themselves well and their strengths and their weaknesses can be very helpful also.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: So there's assessments in this book on that and um their learning style preferences and assessment on that, and then helping them understand how to relate to others well, I think, especially in this day and age with so much uh social media and technology, kids are needing more of that kind of influence as well.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's helping them learn how to relate to others besides on their phone.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, very true.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: So then how would you describe the format of this book for those who haven't uh seen the first version?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, okay.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: So there's there's actually four different sections.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: That that one I just described, knowing God, knowing yourself, and knowing others.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's a section on teaching kids to learn to plan, setting goals, making decisions that are God-led and honoring God, and then how to plan their high school years, like the high school timeline, how to keep good records for those who homeschool, that sort of thing.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's the second section.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then the third section is on life skills, helping them to learn how to manage their time, which I think we all can work on that really.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: But as a student in high school, that's this is a key time to develop that skill.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: And we actually have an accompanying book that goes with the Navigating High School book.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's the I mean the Navigating High School um student guidebook.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's called the Navigating High School Student Priority Planner.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: And Trisha Pohl and I wrote that together.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: And that helps with managing time as well and helping kids set their priorities well.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then managing your money is another life skill that I think really is important as parents that we teach our kids that skill before they leave home.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's big.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I knew when my girls were in school anyway, they didn't go through that a lot in high school, unfortunately.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: They really don't.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's something I sure struggled with when I left home.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm guessing if you don't have training, how do you know this stuff without trial and error?
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: So and then just the life skills, other life skills, you know, the things that we need to know to take care of a home and to be able to travel, um, writing a resume, all those things.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then the last section is actually a career exploration course that they can do um and get a credit, a fourth of a credit for.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, the whole book, if you're a homeschool student, you could get a half a credit for this whole book if you did it all.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So um, I would say uh though you can do this in any order you want, you don't have to start at the beginning and go through to the end.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: It could take four years to go through if you wanted to, and just do it as you want to, because each section is a skill, really, that you're or um a way you can grow to improve yourself and be ready to live on your own.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: It sounds very comprehensive.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: And it's being a guidebook.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: I know you have a um a planner that goes along with it.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Are there areas in the book where you can take notes or you know anything like that, or is it more of just a read-through uh type of book?
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a great question, Karen.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it is more of a workbook kind of a thing.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: So they read something, they and there's some resources even to read further on that topic and good suggestions for studying in the different areas.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's templates in the back of the book for like uh all the different things like setting goals.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's a template for that sheet and um decision making tools that I have, you know, the pros and the cons kind of a sheet, and then a um SWOT.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Have you heard of that?
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: The SWOT analysis, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I have.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that kind of a sheet.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's a time block schedule template, project planning template for assignments in school, and a budgeting template.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a lot of resources in the back to help them, you know, just really learn those skills well.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And and again, throughout the book, there's places to write and and think through what I'm talking about in here.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this sounds like an amazing, really truly comprehensive resource.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: And and it sounds like you've taken your what is it, 17 years experience with your four children of homeschooling, not to mention the homeschooling resource that you've been to so many families over the last 10 years.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: So I think this sounds like a fantastic resource.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I hope our many of our listeners grab one of these for your families.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, where is the best place to find find it online?
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, currently, if uh you can go to um the homeschooling with confidence website, which is H-S W I T H C O N F I D E N C E H S with Confidence.com.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I also plan to put it on Amazon shortly after the update.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: I I need to get it on there and I didn't share what was new on the update.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: I added um the relationship section and the uh decision-making principles, and then just I had an editor help me make it more student friendly.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: So there's just a little bit more um, I don't know, I'm 63 and I wanted it to be relevant to teens.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: So uh he helped me make that so that's good.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, well, that's awesome.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we will have links um to the website, and it sounds like eventually it will be on Amazon, but we will have links to that in the show notes.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I just encourage you listeners, check out Chris, check out this newly updated high school guidebook, and um check out the website, Homeschool with Confidence, too.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many amazing resources on there for homeschoolers.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: So, Chris, thank you so much for being on the show.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything else you want to share before we close out today?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I just want to encourage parents to really um work with their student and like this book is meant to, and I believe this as a parent in general, we need to sit down with our kids and help them set goals, help them learn all these skills that are so important as they move out into the adult world.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so praying with your kids regularly and encouraging them that that they can they can do this, building their confidence, being their best cheerleader, I think is really so important.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much for having me on the show.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: I really am grateful.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's great to have you on here.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's great to have you back.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you for joining us, Chris.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: And listeners, thank you for joining us.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Be sure to come back next week for another episode.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: And until then, have a blessed week.