Latest / 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids. / Tips for Planning the High School Years

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Tips for Planning the High School Years · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Today I have a very special guest and special friend, Chris Cox.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: She's a retired homeschooler with 17 plus years of experience in home educating their four children and 10 years of experience as a homeschool consultant, blogger, writer, and speaker.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Chris is inspiring and knowledgeable and has a passion for helping parents succeed in this incredible journey called homeschooling.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Chris is also the author of some amazing homeschool materials.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: And her newest two resources are Navigating High School Student Guidebook, which helps high school or students plan their years in high school, going through all the things they need to do before setting out on their own after graduation.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: And she also has written Navigating High School Priority Planner, and it helps high schoolers think through their priorities, keep them first in their schedules each week, and helps them plan and organize school assignments, home responsibilities, extra activities as well.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And Chris is offering a free download for goal setting document.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: And you can find that on her website under Getting Started, which I will put in the show notes.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: So make sure you visit her website because she has some amazing things to share.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And today she's going to be talking about tips for planning the high school years.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So welcome, Chris.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Sandra.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's a pleasure to be here.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for having me.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: You are welcome.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: We'd love to hear from you.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm excited to be able to talk about the high school years because I just was I was scared to homeschool through those years.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's uh it's even a little scary for those who have teens in the in the public school because it it's uh they're they're very transitional years, they're years where they're preparing for their future.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so um I I was excited to also make this book available to high school students because it it is for them to do uh this guidebook, it works through the things that they need to learn and know before they graduate from high school.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so um I'm excited that it's available and I'm grateful for the opportunity to talk about it today a little bit, but also I want to share some tips about what you can do to help your teen plan their high school years so they're well prepared for graduation and life after graduation, I should say.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: One of the biggest things I recommend is taking some time to sit down with your teen and talk through the goals that they might have for their future and even for their character development and spiritual growth, academic growth goals, and that sort of thing as well.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: And just making time to pray with them, ask them what they're hoping for in their future, what what things they'd like to see happen in their lives.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: So that's the first thing I recommend.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: And uh really pray with them and for them about that because it's you know, early on in the in the uh ninth grade year, they're pretty young and they're gonna change their ideas and their dreams as they grow and mature.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: So that's something you start with, but you also keep doing it every year, talking through any changes that they might have or new thoughts, and then provide them with the resources to learn about the things they want to know more about.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: One of the things in my navigating high school book that I have it uh listed what chapter on is life skills.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's so many life skills that you need as you go out on your own, and that's something they can work on in the high school years.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: One of those would be financial, you know, planning and understanding how to manage your finances.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: I remember leaving high school and out getting out on my own and thinking the credit card was the best deal ever, but then I had to pay it back.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: It was like, wow, I wish I had understood that a little better.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, anyway, I knew I had to pay it back, but boy, it they had a lot of interest.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Those kind of things.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: So we can teach our kids those things in high school, also time management and help them in figuring out who they are.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, this is really important in the teen years that giving them the opportunity, God has gifted everyone with different talents and skills and uh, you know, their personality is a gift from the Lord as well.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: And some people are really people, they love people, other people are more introverted and love, you know, tasks and and might be more um stri strategic and they might like computers, you know, those kinds of things.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: So helping them find the career that fits them well, I think that's really part of our job as parents.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I highly encourage parents to find a career assessment for their kids or a career course that they can take when they're about age 16.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's when they're mature enough to really figure out a little bit more about themselves.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, certainly along the way, you could do strength finder tests and personality tests before that, but then take time to do a career assessment.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I love the career direct assessment that's available online.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: You can find it at careerdirect.org, I believe it is.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Double check that website.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: I can send that to you too to to uh put on the underneath the um podcast information.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: But it's a great test because it tests their skills, their interests, their personality, and their values, and then it gives them a list of careers that that would fit them well, and it's a big list, and then they can uh taper that down and find some that they want to really focus on.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, in my navigating high school guidebook, I have a little career assessment or not an assessment, but a course that gives them a quarter of a credit that they can take, and they it includes the career direct assessment as part of that.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: They they do have to buy that separately, but it it goes through that assessment and helps them really work through it and write some some good research papers on the careers that might interest them.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: So that that is uh I just think those things are very important.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: And then really, I think the students that are most successful after high school are those who are strong in their faith.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Wouldn't you agree?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, having that foundation of faith is just so important as they go out into the world.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I I also encourage parents to try to help their kids focus on that.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: And my guidebook also has a chapter on how to grow spiritually and gives them a lot of ideas and resources.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: So it's yeah, go ahead.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna say those are such great tips.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I've I I homeschooled my daughter when she was younger, but I never thought about the high school.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: You can give them so much more.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when when I was in high school, they had like a career counselor.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know if they do that anymore.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Kids are kind of left on their own just to, I mean, they don't even know once they leave high school.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: So all these resources and you know what you can do homeschooling, high school is just is an eye-opener to me.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's just wonderful.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's just so important that we help our kids be well prepared for when they get out in the world and uh because it's not an easy world to be out in anymore, is it?
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, absolutely.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: So the other thing that I I did this priority planner because I don't know about you, but it's hard not to let life kind of control your schedule, you know, the tyranny of the urgent, I think is is a phrase that people use a lot, and and you can so easily lose sight of your priorities in the busyness of life.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so the priority planner, I just thought if a team could get um that skill down in high school where they live by their priorities instead of by the tyranny of the urgent, it would help them so much as they go into adulthood.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's what that planner does is really helps them every week to think, okay, my priority is the Lord, um, living, you know, living for him and seeking to know him better.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: And then also my family, my home and life skills, learning life skills, doing school well, and taking care of myself, and then the commitments that you have, you know, as a teen, and then helping in the community, those kinds of priorities, and how can I live by those as I go through my days and my weeks?
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: So that's anyway, just a little side note.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: I I started using Trisha's priority planner for moms, and I was like, this is what teens need too, because it just helps you live by your priorities so much more effectively.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds like something I could even use as a writer.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Me too.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's thank you for sharing that information.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's uh so helpful.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that priority planner can be used for homeschoolers or even students in private schools or public schools that will give them a great head start for definitely, yeah.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, both.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't just it's not just for homeschoolers.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for being with us and for sharing um from your vast experience as a homeschooler and just um thank you again so much.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me, Sandra.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: Have a great day.