Prepare students outside of academics - From Homeschool to Harvard

Preparing students outside of academics

Personal finances

First credit card

Personal finance is a high school elective, which we covered in middle school. My sons learned about checking and savings accounts, the importance of saving for retirement (401K and pension), insurance (house, car, medical and life), credit score, and house and car loans. They applied for their first credit card when they were 15 years old as authorized users on our account. Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, Capital One, and Chase do not have a minimum age requirement. Having a credit card at a young age can teach children responsibility and helps establish credit. Some banks do not report the authorized user to the credit bureau, helping their credit history. A credit card is necessary when students go away to college to cover incidentals.

Books can foster communication

By having discussions on hypothetical situations, parents can prepare children to say no when confronted by their peers in college.

Speed Reading

I didn’t realize this was something parents had to worry about when children were in elementary school, but my son’s teacher mentioned that my son was finishing tests much later than his peers and she felt that he needed to improve his speed. She was working with him, but did not have a program to help. Instead, she was giving him the same sentences to read every day. He would obviously read those sentences faster after a few days. Since he was a straight-A student, my first question was whether she was comparing him with students who were also A students. She was unable to answer my question because teachers are not supposed to “compare” students. Wait? So, how did she determine that he was slower? Wasn’t that a comparison?

Well, I decided to purchase a speed-reading program and chose Reader’s Edge.

The software recommends exercises, based on test results. Students set reading goals and by learning to decrease eye fixation and read a group of letters, speed can be increased.

My son used this program for six months and quadrupled his reading speed.

Schedule

One of the benefits of homeschooling is that you do not have to stick to a schedule. However, there are many benefits to being consistent. Don’t try to imitate the public school. Customizing teaching to account for each student’s learning style is one of the main benefits of homeschooling. Listen to your children’s and make adjustments to your curriculum or schedule based on their input. When children have a given starting time to start school, they stay on track. In addition, to guarantee short- and long-term goals they should adhere to a schedule.

We started our day at eight in the morning and wrapped up around three in the afternoon, four times a week. We reserved Thursdays for physical education, and my sons got together with more than fifty other homeschoolers to play sports. If your children struggle to wake up in the morning, allow them to start the day a little later. Children in this stage of development need a good night’s sleep. Lack of sleep affects the ability to learn and may cause depression. The National Sleep Foundation suggests that teens are more likely to get depressed if they don’t get adequate sleep.