Setting up School Year Expectations
How does setting a homework schedule build life skills that impact the workplace? Just as a classroom teacher sets expectations, parents can also use the start of a new school year to set school year expectations for homework and chores. As children grow, so should their responsibilities as these life skills may impact their future workplace performance. During the younger years, they can be expected to put their backpack in the designated location and put any “parent homework” in a certain spot everyday. Homeschoolers can be expected to return their daily supplies to a designated location. As they get to the middle years, these school year expectations can grow. To avoid the morning rush or get a few more minutes of sleep, bookbags can be packed the night before, lunches can be made, and clothes laid out. All of this can be done by the children, with some initial supervision by the parents or caretakers. By the launching years, these school year expectations should be firm and there should be little need for reminders or follow ups. The start of a new school year is a great opportunity to revisit the expectations. “Each night after you clean up the dinner…
Get Up, Get Dressed, and Make Your Bed
Does your morning routine involve getting dressed and making your bed? Get up, get dressed, and make your bed. Starting your day with a little bit of productivity will boost your sense of accomplishment and give you momentum for whatever is next on your to do list. It doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally spend half my day on my computer in my pj’s writing a course or creating a slide deck for my summer tutoring. Or that I judge people who take sick days and binge-watch tv in bed. But in general, getting up and getting dressed is a good way to start your day. While I’m giving advice, let me suggest you also make your bed. It will look nice and you will feel accomplished. That little bit of productivity will carry over to your next task. It’s just about putting a little care and thought into your day. It’s setting the expectations for your day. It’s wanting to look good for your spouse or to set a good example for your kids. A little mascara and a little lip color go a long way. I’ve gotten lazy. It’s time to step up my game again. It’s time to…
Let Your Light Shine
Who do your good works glorify – God or man? “Let your light shine” is a familiar quote that got me thinking. I am always asking my students to give evidence of their answers. In reading, I want them to go back to the text and give me evidence for their thinking. When they are answering a critical thinking question, I want evidence to see from where their thinking stems. I want to be able to follow their line of thinking, whether or not I agree with their answers. This got me thinking more about my own life. Does my life give evidence of my faith in God alone? Can people follow my path of thinking when they look at how I come up with solutions to life’s problems? Do they know that I live for an audience of One and pray to God for wisdom in the big and small things of my life? I’ve had people ask me questions about how I can be so peaceful in the midst of a life storm or detours. Honestly, it’s not about me. I rest in the knowledge that God alone holds the universe together. I can have peace and joy…
Weekly Meal Planning
Is weekly meal planning too complicated or the lazy way out? Recently, a friend told me that she was too lazy to do weekly meal planning. I told her that I did weekly meal planning WHEN I was too busy or too lazy to think up new foods. For me, it’s a quick way to get 5-6 meals planned out with recipes and a grocery list. I have a few favorite go-to sites that I use and even one that’s vegetarian. On the weekend, I print out a weekly meal plan that includes recipe links and a grocery list (such as this one here). I open my calendar and match up meals to our schedule for the week, crossing out or replacing any that don’t fit our week or our taste buds. I then modify the grocery list to eliminate any items for recipes I’m not using. Lastly, I cross-check the grocery list with my fridge and pantry marking off any items I already have on hand. All that should take less than 15 minutes depending on how many rabbit trails I took when skimming the recipe links or reorganizing my pantry. My kitchen wall holds a menu board that…