Dual Enrollment
How do you choose dual enrollment classes? One option for saving time and money in college is to enroll in a dual enrollment program. Typically this is where high school students can simultaneously complete high school and take some college classes during their junior and senior years. Some students even manage to complete their high school education and earn an associate’s degree at the same time. In some states, students can practically go to college for free while in high school. We highly recommend even a few dual enrollment courses while in high school. Because we did our homework, our youngest daughter was able to start college with enough credits to complete 4 years in 3, saving both time and money. She knew her major, and she knew what college she wanted to attend. First, we looked at a sample degree completion guide and what community college and AP/CLEP test credits the university accepted. With this information, she could choose dual enrollment courses that would benefit her not just earn her college credits. Using the sample course completion guide for her major, we mapped out her dual enrollment schedule for her last 2 years of high school. Like all things,…
Product Review: Bankroll Coffee
Can drinking coffee make you a millionaire? I self identify as a coffee snob. No doubt about that. For Christmas my kids got me a coffee bundle from Bankroll Coffee, and it was the perfect gift! Good coffee, catchy packaging, and amazing prices per cup. Names like Double Down, Morning Drip, and Diamond Hands grace the bags. I can’t even pick a favorite, but maybe Hodl, the espresso roast. Eventually, I’d like to try the decaf, Buy the Drip. If you read my earlier post, you’ll know that I make cold brew coffee at home. I always have some regular and some decaf in my fridge. Check out my cold brew coffee review here. Graham Stephan, with his interest in personal finance, real estate, and investing, has an interesting recipe for brewing coffee at home and saving money to invest so you can be a millionaire when you retire. According to Stephan, millennials spend more on coffee than they do on retirement! He says in his video that he wants to create a business that will continue to grow on its own without him having to be constantly involved as the influencer. I resonate with that business goal. That’s what…
March Madness College Spreadsheet
Does March Madness bring thoughts of basketball tournaments or college tours? Without a college spreadsheet, brain overload accompanied my first college visit with my daughter, but it got easier after that. What did not get easier was the amount of information we got and how to keep track of it all. We ended up creating a shared spreadsheet of information. This useful college spreadsheet planner tool helped us track the information, prioritize colleges for application, and organize the application process and products required for each one. We chose to make it a shared document which was also super helpful as we could both add information or check due dates. Having gone through this process several times with my kids and clients, I find myself suggesting a collaborative spreadsheet to others time and time again. While the decision is highly personal, the process is quite standard. Now available for sale, is my College Planner Spreadsheet tool. This College Spreadsheet Planner tool will help organize all the information you gather, even suggesting categories you may not have thought about. You can edit the form to fit your needs. This information will be helpful when visiting colleges, narrowing down which ones to apply…
Book Review – Relationships: A Mess Worth Making
What relationships are a mess worth making? There’s no denying that relationships are messy, but there is hope for improving them. After the added stress of distance or close confinement during Covid, most of our relationships could use some strengthening. This book, Relationships: A Mess Worth Making, by Paul David Tripp and Tim Lane is a guide for deepening our relationship with God and improving our relationships and reactions with our fellow man. I first came across this book when our small group chose to do it as a book discussion. There was plenty to discuss and reflect upon with each of the chapters. When a friend came to me with some relationship questions, I immediately thought about several of the chapters of this book. I tried to summarize and quote large chunks of it. Then I gave up and bought her the book! It’s that kind of book. You will benefit greatly from the personal reflection, but you will also find yourself using this as a resource for others. Go ahead and add it to your shopping list. It’s available in paperback, audio book, or ebook. In fact, add a couple to your list and stock up. It’s a…
Agendas
How can you have more time in your day? Using an agenda (paper or digital) to schedule your week will help you have more time for the things that matter. It really is a magic trick and an insomnia cure! It just takes a few steps, and you’ll be on your way to increased productivity and less mental stress. I’m a big fan of Google Calendar and Asana for my scheduling. (Read this blog post for details.) Write a list of weekly routines, fixed appointments, and regular errands Write a list of weekly and monthly home projects Write a list of habits or hobbies you wish you had time for Write a long-term goal or two, and break it down into small tasks Prioritize the events and lists Add them to the weekly and monthly calendar Regularly go over your agenda and make adjustments Rediscover and reclaim pockets of time First, write out a list of your weekly routines, fixed appointments, home projects, and regular errands. Continue the list with a few habits or hobbies you wish you had time for (book reading, exercise class, coffee with a friend, photography class, etc.). Then add a long-term goal or two, broken…
Table Talk 2
What goes on the bread first, peanut butter or jelly? Last year I shared Table Talk 1, a set of 30 conversation starter questions, perfect for the dinner table or break room. I love to get people talking. I also love to equip people to start their own conversations. Each week I start my tutoring sessions with a question like this. I hope my students will reuse the questions at their dinner or lunch tables. The launching years are especially tricky when it comes to starting conversations with others. I’ve witnessed painfully quiet car rides and lunch tables because kids didn’t know how to start a conversation and just waited for someone else to do it. Table Talk 2 is now available. Purchase this new card set and get more questions to launch conversations. Print up a copy and let your tweens or table mates select a question to ask the group. Answers don’t have to be long, but they should give a reason to support their answer. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate times of silence on car trips or with my morning coffee. But I also don’t want to miss out on natural opportunities to deepen relationships. This…
Healthy Heart
How’s your heart health? February is heart health month in the US. It’s a time to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease, which is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Now is a great time to take a look at your physical heart health. Do you cook heart healthy recipes on a regular basis? Do you know what your blood pressure is and should be? Can you recognize the signs of a stroke and get help FAST? Is there a heart health walk in your town? Our figurative heart, or soul, is also in need of a check up. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart for it is the wellspring of our life. Our mental wellness plays a role in our physical wellness, including our heart health. Read more in this article from the American Red Cross. Many resources are available to help raise awareness about heart health. The CDC has published a toolkit for healthy heart month. (The toolkit gets updated each year so just Google the CDC Healthy Heart Toolkit for this year.) You can even talk to your kids and teens about heart health habits. It’s never too late to model healthy heart habits…
God is my rock
How does your view of God affect how you live? God is my rock. My fortress. My strong tower. He is my hope and my strength. How you view God affects how you live. What does that mean? If I don’t trust God to be who He says or to keep His promises, then I think too little of God. As a result, I don’t rely on Him. Or maybe I think He’s only sometimes going to answer my prayers or only if I’m really good is He going to listen to me. When I think that, I make prayer and devotions all about me. I should make them all about God. When things get hard I need to remember to trust God to be who He says He is…my rock, my hope, my creator. He is strong, just, loving, and forgiving. And so much more! We can rely on Him. We can anchor to Him in the storms. God is my rock. Oh what comfort and joy that brings me in each season of life. I can have peace in the midst of storms and I can have a place of celebration in the midst of good times. My…
Product Review: Youscience Aptitude Discovery
What do you want to be when you grow up? Many high school students dread the question about future careers if they have no idea what they want to do. Many parents fear the task of helping their child hone in on a career path as well because many feel inadequately prepared for the job or want to avoid the conflict. As a teacher and parent, I have certainly had this conversation with many teens and seen the defeat in their eyes when they say they don’t know. Today I want to offer you a solution to the frustration and a tool for career counseling. Go from doubting to curious in just a few hours as you see many possible careers that match abilities and interests. Youscience is an online aptitude and career discovery tool. It helps pinpoint natural abilities and personal interests and suggests in-demand careers that combine those two. I discovered this tool years ago when a client’s mom asked me to watch her teen take the test and discuss the results. The test took about 2 hours but the brain games were fun and the personal interest questions were well written and you could take breaks as…
The Importance of Learning Vocabulary
Did you know that having a good vocabulary improves your communication skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking? Vocabulary helps you think and learn about the world around you. Expanding your knowledge of words broadens your ability to process new information. Learning the subject vocabulary is of great importance for any school or business course, but also just growing your vocabulary will enrich your communication abilities. Building your knowledge of subject area vocabulary increases testing confidence and reduces your stress no matter what course you are taking. It allows you to focus on the critical thinking aspects of the course or test instead of focusing on your stress. Understanding the test question will help you respond with confidence and that is why it is crucial to learn unit vocabulary for each subject area in school. No one wants to be buffaloed when the teacher asks a question. Understanding WHAT the question is asking will eliminate mistakes as long as you know the content. Memorizing words and definitions can be a very helpful first step in learning vocabulary, but studying vocabulary words in context is the BEST way to learn vocabulary. Sometimes you may start studying vocabulary as the introduction to a…