Category Archives: Education and learning

Let’s face it; most kids would rather do anything else rather than go to school every day. Most of the time they’d rather spend the day vegging out in front of the TV or on their phones. Of course, as their parent, it’s your job to crowbar them out of bed and make sure that they actually get up and go every day. As an adult, you know how important school is for their future, but you often can’t really expect a kid to have much of an idea about their future beyond what they want for their next meal. So what can you do to make them feel a little more enthused about going to school every day? Well, there are a lot of different ways, but one of the most effective is to get them involved in some kind of extracurricular activity. Activities of this kind are a fantastic way to help them engage with their creative energies in a way that school often doesn’t really allow for since it has to be so rigidly structured. Not only that but they can help kids discover new passions that can have a big impact on their lives. Many people end up working careers that they would never have discovered it not for a club that they joined while they were at school. Many extracurricular activities are incredibly valuable for college applications so there really is no reason why your kids shouldn’t at least give them a shot. To help you and your kids figure out what kind of things that they might be interested in, here are some examples of extracurricular activities that can help your child feel more engaged in their school life.

Dancing

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If your child has huge amounts of energy all the time that never seems to run out, then it might be a good idea for them to start doing an activity that allows them to use up their energy in a fun and productive way. Dance is one of the very best ways to do this. It offers a fantastic balance of structure and freedom that active kids really benefit from. Not only that but it’s the kind of thing that many kids often discover a real passion for to the point where it can become something that practically takes over their lives, in a positive way!

Art class

Of course, not every child is going to that interested in exercising their physical muscles. Instead, they might want to give their creative muscles a workout. If that’s the case, then art classes are a fantastic option. Kids often struggle to be able to express themselves through words and it can be the cause of a lot of frustration. Art classes help them to learn how to channel their emotions into something positive. Whether they’re feeling angry, sad, excited, afraid, or any of the thousands of emotions that kids feel throughout the course of a day. The other wonderful thing about art classes is that there often isn’t any kind of limit to the sort of things that kids can do in them. If you child is a big fan of painting, then they can do that, but if not then they have options for plenty of other things like sculpting, drawing, and any number of other options. The freedom offered by art is perfect for kids who have a lot of ideas but aren’t sure how to put them into practice.

Drama

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Kids can be complete show-offs sometimes. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it can get a little grating if they’re constantly trying to get your attention when you’re trying to get some work done or do the cooking or cleaning. For those kinds of kids then drama might well be the perfect option. There’s nothing better for kids who like to be in the spotlight than by letting them strut their stuff on the stage. Not only will it be something that they will enjoy but will also help to build their confidence, improve public speaking, and teach them how to communicate more effectively with people. Plus there are few moments where you’ll feel more proud than when your child takes a bow up on the stage to a huge round of applause.

Music

Kids love music. There isn’t a child out there who doesn’t love listening to music, just look a the number of posters on most kid’s rooms. So why not find out if they would be interested in actually learning to play it as well? Ask them what kind of instrument they’re interested in, and there’s a pretty good chance that their school offers music lessons for them. One of the best things about music is that it allows kids to learn a skill and be creative but they don’t necessarily have to be part of a group. Of course, that’s always an option, and many kids love setting up bands with each other, but if your kids are a little more introverted, then they may well feel happy sitting and getting deep into a piece of music. Of course, be prepared to be asked for music stuff for every single birthday and Christmas for years to come if they find themselves really enjoying it.

Sports teams

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There’s nothing wrong with kids having a bit of competitive spirit, as long as it’s something that they’re able to channel and use in a productive way. If your kid loves to be active and also feels a desire to win at everything they do, then there’s a good chance that they’d do incredibly well on one of their school’s sports teams. Schools often have teams for just about every sport out there no whatever kind of thing your child is a fan of, there’s a solid chance that the school can accommodate them. Not only does playing for a sports team allow them to exercise their competitive spirit but it also teaches them a huge amount of valuable skills. There’s no room on a sports team for someone who wants all of the glory all of the time. If you want to be a great team player then you’ve got to be able to communicate with your teammates, work with other people, follow directions and know when it’s best to step back and let other people take charge of a situation.

Marching band

Of course, not every child is built to be a sports star, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still be a part of a team. Marching band is a fantastic activity for kids who need a little extra discipline. It offers the creative outlet that music provides as well being very active, while also offering a structured activity that can help them to learn an incredibly valuable degree of discipline. Marching bands teach kids a great deal of things about following instructions, working as part of a unit and understanding that sometimes the group is just as important as the individual. It’s the sort of thing that some kids think of as lame or nerdy, but after they get a hold of some color guard practice flags, they’re likely to find themselves totally hooked! You really would be amazed at how much the lessons that marching band can teach help kids to get more out of school as a whole.

Debate team

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If there’s one thing kids really love to do, is argue. Most kids would happily argue with anyone and everyone until the sun comes up. So why not help them channel that productively by signing them up for the debate team. That way they have the chance to flex those muscles without getting themselves in any trouble. Not only that but the ability to research and argument and make a point in a clear and concise way is the kind of skill that they will likely find incredibly useful once they get into adult life. Every person finds themselves needing to argue their case from time to time and the lessons that being on the debate team can teach will help your child get a serious advantage in later years.
Of course, there’s no way that a kid will be able to take on every activity that they’re interested in. Every child is different, so it’s important that you talk to them and help them figure out what kind of thing would be fun and engaging for them. Also, one of the most important things to remember is that your child’s life shouldn’t always be filled up from dawn until dusk every day. There is definitely a lot of value in kids being able to take time just to spend doing nothing. It’s during those times that kids process and understand the kinds of things that they learned during the day, use their imaginations, and unwind from the stress that things like school can often bring. Make sure that your child is allowed a solid balance of structured activities as well as some time where they simply get to be in charge of themselves for a while.

School was a wonderful place for many. The memories of which bring back nostalgia in high quantities. However, there are huge issues that can occur in the school yard. These come in all kinds of ways. It can be hard to sometimes understand what your child is going through, especially if you had a good time yourself. Nowadays, kids video everything. Every tiny thing that happens of any significance is often reviewed in some way on social media. In this way, the humiliation never stops. Technology is great, but in certain situations it can make things worse. You may have considered some of these, but read on as the tips can help your child out.

One of the key issues is bullying. It happens still, just like it did when you were in school. This time, when the day ends, it can continue on social media, through phones, it never stops. This can severely affect your child’s mental health. As well as stop them going to school. If you see attendance issues then you could visit Compass Health Center. You need to get them into school no matter what or they could fall behind. First, take away access to social media because it will depress them. It may be cruel, but you are doing it to be kind. Then you need to get to grips with their teachers and come up with a plan to stop the bullying. It is the only way, direct confrontation can stop it before it gets worse.

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Smoking occurs frequently too, though luckily it is harder for them to buy cigarettes. It is still perceived as cool by many youngsters but it is devastating in terms of health. You can get around this by punishing them of course, but also educating them. Show them some shocking pictures of ill people due to smoking or tar invested lungs. The same goes for drugs, which are also popular in schools. You need to ascertain where they got the substances from and kill it at the source. It can be done with tact, especially if other children are involved. The likelihood is that their parents will want it stopped too.
Video games. Have you noticed that kids spend way more time indoors? That’s why. You can’t do much about it, because their friends do the same. However what you can do is ensure some of the time spent indoors is on homework and study. You can put passcodes on TV’s or the consoles for certain amounts of time, so that they can only play at certain times. You should make it clear they can’t just play at any time they want to. Instead they need to be able to study and as a reward get a go on the game. You can beat this somewhat by signing them up to an outside activity. Team sports are great as they’ll meet like minded people. You can foster a love for certain sports, which promote social activity as well as exercise. Do this when they are young so it sets in.

Being a parent isn’t an easy thing to do. It is extremely rewarding, granted. But it can be a tough slog that literally sucks up every last bit of energy and indeed money you have. Getting your kid into university can either be easy or hard, the trick is completed by planning things out in advance as much as you can. If you plan in advance, you can get it all done. You need to be an active part in the process to ensure they have the best chance of acceptance. You can’t totally guarantee it. Only your children can do that in their exams and such. But you can help stack the deck in their favour to ensure they have the best chance of getting there. Here are some hints and tips that can see you make the difference to their application. Some, you may already do. But consider the others as you best can. You may not have the time to help as much as you like, but some of these are reasonably easy.

Save The Cash
This is something you need to do from an early age. The college fund, started by many parents is a way of saving up money so that a youngster can go to college. The best way for this is saving as you go. Putting money away as it becomes available. However, you need to ensure money is available. So you can either put excess money in the bank, or force a situation where there is excess money to use. Make the most out of everything around you. If you fly often then you can swap points for gift cards.  Use these gift cards instead of paying with cash and put the saved cash into savings. It is just an idea, but these are the kind of things you need to be thinking about. You’ll be surprised by how much you can save over the years before they will be going to college. Just try to put the money in a high interest saving account so that you can make the most of it while it is there. You may just want to merge it with your everyday savings account but doing this can make it hard to track exactly what you have saved towards the fund. It isn’t an easy road, but it is one your kids will thank you for in the future.

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Do Your Research
So whatever your child decides they want to study you need to find the right university for it. Sure, they may already know but it pays to check. Then research the next best thing so that you can apply for those too. Only then will you have the best opportunity for getting into university. You need to know which ones are the better ones to apply for. Then make a short list and go for the top three or four. Don’t just go for a university because it is good. Go for a university that is good for the specific subject you child wants to study. You should also research the towns they are in and whether you child likes them. Take a visit there and look around. Most universities do open days so consider using one of these to inspect it and see what is best for your child. Distance from your home could be a deciding factor if they are going to come home at weekends or maybe they don’t want to leave home yet meaning their only option is the university in your home town. Research means you can nail down which universities to apply for.

Help Them Prep For The Interview
This will be a daunting interview for your child and maybe their first proper interview of their lives. Help them as much as you can. First, impart general interview advice. Guide them to helpful websites where they can learn all about interviewing and pick up some top tips to see them through, just like the one found here. After that, you need to start focusing on the actual specifics of the university interview. They will be assessing their passion for the chosen subject but also them as an individual. So your child will need a decent knowledge of their passion as well as presenting themselves well. Sometimes these interviews don’t even happen, but if you are applying for some of the more prestigious ones then they likely will. Look out for certain interview tactics of various universities. Some will ask different questions to others whereas some will ask stranger questions. All you can do it prepare. Find out what questions are asked by raiding the search engines for forums about said interviews. You can then give your child a heads up about the content. You can never be sure about what will come up so don’t be certain. Finally, your child needs to be comfortable in the interview, so get them a new outfit in which they feel completely comfortable in. It should be professional, which will give just the right first impression.

Get The Grade
You can’t sit the exam for them. But what you can do is help them pass it. Study with them, impart knowledge that you know and give them what they need to succeed. This could be a quiet room to study in, or it could be a firmer hand by making them study when they really don’t want to. Buy the right materials like past papers and practice exams, giving them a feel for what their final exams will be like. If needed you may want to consider hiring out some tutors. They are usually teachers or have teaching experience and can help them in subjects they are struggling with. There should be a priority on the subject they are going to study in university too as this will really show a proficiency. Try to identify their weak areas or better still ask them yourself. They may not feel totally comfortable about it. Some kids are different than others. Some will revise well, others will need to be pushed into it. Whatever you do, they’ll certainly thank you if they get into the university they want to go to.

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As a parent, you need to be thinking about your children’s future. Most importantly, you want to set them up for a bright education that leads to a positive career. Bearing that in mind, here are a few things you can do that will help your child:

Find Their Passion
The biggest problem a lot of kids have is that they don’t know what they’re passionate about. This means they struggle to set goals for themselves and have a clear plan for how they want their life to pan out. If your son/daughter knows what they want to be when they finish their education, then they have more structure to their life. They’re following a passion and will do everything they can to reach it. So, you have to do your best to help your children find their passion. Give them the freedom to try new things and pay attention to their interests. If your child is always going on about how much they want to be a dentist, then you need to take action. Start buying them things related to dentists, give them more resources to get more interested in their passion. Everyone goes through phases in their life where they get really excited about certain things. You must understand that, eventually, a phase will stick and your child will become passionate about it. So, encourage them through their phases, as it will help them find the thing they love the most.

Help Them Find Scholarships
Scholarships are a great way to help your child further their education with some additional financial help. It’s great is you can find a scholarship that appeals to your child, as it gives them access to an education they would otherwise be unable to afford. So, as a parent, you should make it your mission to help them find any scholarship that are relevant to them. What you should look for are ones that can help them in the future. There’s no point getting them to apply for one that doesn’t have any long-term goals or aims. Find something that compliments what they’re studying, or will at least help them develop new skills.

Save Money For Them
Scholarships can help your child get into educational courses at universities and receive some extra money. However, as a parent, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be thinking about their financial situation from your perspective. Make sure you save money for them during their younger years. By the time they get to college, you should have a substantial fund saved up to help them get through their college education. By no means do you want them to be dependent on your money, that’s not a good idea. Instead, your money should be a safety net ready to catch them if they fall. This gives them one less thing to worry about, meaning they can focus on their education.

If you support your child throughout their life, then they will grow to be a much better and more successful person. They’ll do well during their education, and come out the other side with a great job.

Making The Transition To College Less Stressful For Everyone!
At some point, your children are going to leave the comforts of the family home – that’s not a bad thing! It just means they are going to run off in search of their dreams and try to live life on their own terms.
Sometimes, they might have success as a business owner and see their idea outgrowing the bedroom. In other cases, they might move-in with their partner. They may enjoy a successful job after school, but the most common reason why kids would leave the home is to attend college. Heading off to campus and studying the degree which could define their life is going to be stressful, while your new slightly emptier home could bring stresses of its own.

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It’s never too early to start preparing your child for their future, and the key thing you must do is teach your child how to manage their money. Teaching them how to set a budget should be done as early as possible while educating them on fiscal responsibility should also be important. Credit card debt is a more advanced topic, but it must be discussed and acknowledged before your child heads off to college. It’s likely that they will acquire a credit card in college, so it is very important to teach them the critical nature of credit cards, their benefits and why it is so important to pay off the card while not relying on it as a financial crutch.

It’s important to encourage academic and extracurricular success while your child is still in junior high and high school. Keep college in the back of your minds as you focus to achieve as much ‘right now.’ College-level courses and standardized tests can set a good benchmark for your child, so you can see where they are at. Allowing them to volunteer in the local community will also help them build some skills and will look great on their application. It won’t hurt to encourage good reading habits in your children as well as this can prepare them for the tomes they will need to scour for information in college.

Prepare for college as early as possible so that you and your child can start to set some goals and milestones to meet so they can succeed in the future. Let them focus on their interests and choose the college and courses that appeal to them. Narrow down your choices and gather the information that each college needs. Allow your child to fill out the applications themselves before your review it before the form is sent off with the correct documentation – it is crucial that you allow your child some independence in this process as they will be without you when they are on campus. Also, don’t ever be afraid to seek out college application help when you feel you need it. You can never have too much advice.

The transition to college is stressful and the key to defeating that?

Plan ahead – well ahead.

It’s so easy for the kids to just spend the weekend in front of the TV. In fact, more kids than ever are doing this during weekends. But there are so many reasons why hours in front of the TV set isn’t good for them. For one thing, it can stop them getting active which is vital for their health. And also, they are wasting time which they could be spending learning. Therefore, it’s time to turn the TV off and find something else for your kids to do. Here are some fun and educational things you can do with the kids from the comfort of your home.

Have fun doing crafts

It’s always a good idea to try and enhance your little one’s creative skills. After all, they can put the skills to good use when it comes to arts and crafts at school. And doing crafts can also help widen their imagination and let them make decisions. Therefore, rather than opting for the TV, you should do some crafts with the kids instead. Get some paper and pens out and let the kids get creative. And if you want to make something specific, you should decide at the beginning. For example, you might get the kids to make some Valentine’s Day cards to give to their friends at school. Or you could even get some plain pots which you could let your kids paint. Just don’t interfere too much so your kid can develop their creative skills!

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Do some gardening with your children

Gardening is a great thing to do with the kids. For one thing, they learn about how plant life works which they can put into use when they do science at school. And it’s also teaching them the importance of taking care of something. It can feel a huge achievement to your kids when they see the plant growing over time. Therefore, get outside with the kids and do some gardening in the fresh air. However, if it’s too cold to go outside, you could opt to grow some plants indoors. You can look into getting some great containers and some lights to ensure they develop properly. There are bundles of help online similar to http://www.lumigrowth.com/led-vs-fluorescent/ to ensure you get the right things to grow the plants properly.

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Have a baking day with the kids

Another fun activity you can do with the kids is baking. After all, they love to cook some delicious baked goods which they can consume after. And it teaches them some baking skills that they can use at school and beyond. Decide on a basic recipe that you can get the kids to help you make. Give them a small role and then let them decorate the goods once they have come out of the oven. You can then all treat yourself to one after and celebrate your hard work!

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And don’t forget to encourage some reading with your kids. As it says on

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sable/why-are-children-reading-books-dont-they-know-its-digital-first_b_7313188.html,

children are reading less than ever, preferring to opt for digital instead. But it’s important to spend some time reading books for the sake of their literacy and reading skills!

When you hit your twenties, it seems like such a massive age. No longer a teenager. Then the years keep flying by and before you know it you are in your late twenties. You twenties seems like the decade where you change the most. If you look at a just turned twenty-year-old to someone who is nearly thirty, it is quite a gap. It is amazing just to think about how much one person can change in ten years, isn’t it? You might still have some of the same interests. You might still have some of the same friends or hobbies. But there are certainly things that with hindsight you might now do differently. What are some things that you would go back and tell your twenty-year-old self?

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Take Care of Your Appearance
How you look seems like such a high priority to a twenty-year-old. But what I often didn’t think about is just how much it can set you up for life. Having a good routine in place never seemed like such a priority to me. But it certainly should have been. I would tell my past self to not over pluck my eyebrows to within an inch of their life. I would say to always take your makeup off at night. That morning after the night before look is never a good one. I’d tell me to use a moisturiser every single day. I’d sat brush your teeth and take care of them. I’d have arranged to have my teeth taken care of with some invisible Invisalign braces. It turns out, people in their twenties don’t really care if you have braces anymore.

You Find Out Who Your Real Friends Are
It can seem as soon as you leave school or University, that you just lose friends. But in reality, you are just finding out who the true friends in your life are. It can feel upsetting at the time, but it helps to make you a stronger person. You don’t need to have a large number of people around you. Rather, having a smaller group of closer, reliable, and trustworthy friends means much more.

Just Do It
There are many instances when we are growing up that we might want to do things. But we justify our way out of it and put off some of the dreams that we have. I would have said to just go for it. If you want to travel the world, then just do it. If you want to try a certain job or do something crazy like skydiving, then just do it. Otherwise, life gets in the way and it is harder to just get up and do something.

You’re Certainly Not Old
You can feel so ‘old’ when you’re in your twenties. When you’ve graduated and starting out work, you will actually be one of the youngest people in the workforce. So don’t let anyone walk all over you. You have got years and years ahead of you so make sure that you enjoy them!

Whether you’re about to have children or you’re currently raising a child, there’s no doubt that you’ve thought about what you’ll leave behind for them to own once you retire. Perhaps you’ll leave them with the family home, maybe you need to take a mortgage, or perhaps you’re going to leave them with a family business.

There are many reasons to being a family business. You can build a business and save up money for generations to come. As long as you keep working hard and nurture your children to become great business owners, they can take over the mantle when you retire and it will be passed on from generation to generation. Your products will constantly be refined, your customers will remain loyal and your business will be well-known.

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Don’t Force Your Children Into It

The most important thing is not to force your children into taking over the business. Sometimes our children want to move on and do things that they want to, maybe they aspire to be something greater than a humble family business, or perhaps they don’t want the responsibility of running their own business. Sometimes they feel like they can’t live up to expectations and they’ll ultimately fail and let you down. These are completely valid reasons to not run a business, and you should never be disappointed or annoyed at your children’s decision to not be involved.

Growing Your Business

The first thing you need to focus on is: what type of business do you want? Many family-run restaurants are successful because they use and refine family recipes that have been passed on for generations. People love to eat delicious food and they love to learn about the history of the food they’re eating. A family-run restaurant with a comforting atmosphere is a hundred times more appealing than McDonald’s or Burger King.

Evolving With Each Generation

As your business is passed from generation to generation, its technology and systems need to be updated. Keep in mind services like North American Bancard when equipping your new business, because they can offer you affordable modern technology. Payment methods, online purchases and contactless payment methods are popular now and your business needs to keep up with modern technology if you want it to flourish as it’s passed on.

Teach Family Values

There will be many opportunities down the road to teach your children about family values. You’ll be able to give them first-hand advice on how to make difficult decisions, when to contradict your family values, and how to share the burden of hosting a family business. Business situations can be extremely difficult because you often have to make the decision between providing for your family and upholding morals.
For example, there could be many conflicts within your family business. If a relative becomes an employee but doesn’t put effort into their work, then it’s beneficial for the business to fire them and hire a different employee. However, some people wouldn’t be able to cope with firing their own family member from a business which makes it a difficult decision to handle. This is when your experience and wisdom comes in.