Category Archives: parenting

empty nest, organization, orientation, parenting, textbooks

Summer To-Do List for New College Parents

summer to-do list

Graduation is upon us and that means the future (college future) for many, lies ahead. While it’s tempting to take the summer off, and you want to spend as much time with your future college student as possible,

Get organized and set up a calendar

Preparing for a semester is a key part to ensure academic success!

College students find themselves juggling classes, homework, work, parties, clubs, organizations, dates, volunteering, and everything in between. With only 24 hours in the day, and only one mind to juggle it all, this can be a lot to manage.

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college guidance, college prep, empty nest, graduation, parenting

The Joy and Angst of Decision Day

decision day

May Decision Day has come and gone. Students have made those final decisions and committed to college in the fall. After all the stress of senior year and some of the conflict that arose within families, you can rest easy the hard work is done and it’s smooth sailing ahead.

But is it? Your student and you have worked hard for this day and you should certainly enjoy the accomplishment. Your student did the work and was accepted to college. You did the work and prepared your student for that next phase in their life: adulthood. You have been planning for this day ever since they entered high school. You looked forward to the day when they would finally leave your nest and go out on their own. But you probably weren’t expecting so many mixed feelings.

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extracurricular activities, high school, parenting

Finding the Parenting Balance

parenting

The term “helicopter parenting” can feel disparaging at first, after all, is it really a flaw to be active in your child’s education, to take an interest in their wellbeing at school, and to be involved in their development? Of course not. However, of course, constant hovering over your children, stifling independence and decision-making, and perhaps becoming too involved in the autonomy of your teacher’s guidance can be a problem.

Now, we’re not accusing you of this at all. Most parents strike a healthy balance, and being a little too interested is certainly miles better than being too uninvolved or uncaring. 

However, if you’re concerned, then it’s nice to know where the parameters are. In this post, we’re not going to tell you how much you can be involved in your own child’s education, or where to step away, or how to relate to your child’s school experience. That would be much too presumptuous. 

Instead, we’ll discuss some awesome measures new parents can take when supporting their children’s schooling and development:

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graduation, parenting

High School Graduation: Letting Go Without Holding On

high school graduation

High school graduation is approaching for seniors; and some tearful goodbyes may be approaching for their parents. Your emotions will transition from pride for their accomplishments to dread and sadness as they move on to the next phase of their lives.

Letting go is never easy. But if you’ve done your job, your student is ready to move to the next phase of their life, which means living independently.

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admissions, college planning, college prep, college visits, financial planning, parenting

10 Ways Parents Can Help With College Prep

college prep

As a parent, you most certainly think about your child’s future and so often college prep is a part of that future. You may see them as an engineer, a teacher, or a doctor. You may picture them at your alma mater, or being the first in your family to attend college. Maybe you just hope they find a passion and pursue it. Whatever you hope, you want what is best for your child and to support them in achieving their goals.

College prep is a team effort. While the student leads the team and is ultimately the one who makes the final decision, parents can participate. This is an overwhelming process to handle alone and parents can ease some of the tremendous stress and burden.

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college prep, parenting

Battle Lines During College Prep

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battle lines

As any parent will tell you, stress, teens and college prep go hand in hand. Add that to anxiousness, frustration and over-commitment and you have a recipe for disaster at home. Tempers rise and everyone’s emotions are volatile. If you’ve learned anything over the course of their childhood, it’s how to pick your battles—letting the unimportant matters slide to focus on the more important ones. During college prep, especially, the battle lines may be drawn.

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admissions, college guidance, college planning, college prep, parenting

5 Steps to Prepare for the College Admissions Process

college admissions process

College preparation does NOT begin during your student’s senior year. It starts in middle school with a discussion about college and decisions related to high school course selection and gets off to a running start their first day of high school. While you might be astonished and astounded by this statement, the truth is if you take it to heart, your student will enter senior year prepared and at the top of the college applicant pool.

Following are five steps to take once your student enters high school to prepare for their senior year and the college admissions process. These steps will help you and your student have less stress and be less likely to panic due to lack of preparation when that all-important college application time comes along.

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homeschooling, parenting, tech gadgets, technology

Homeschooling Help from Technology

homeschooling

If you’re homeschooling your child, then one of the advantages already at your disposal is the fact that you are able to use as wide a range of teaching styles and methods that suit your needs. Given how children can take to different methods of learning with different levels of effectiveness, finding the tools that work best for your child can be very important, indeed. Whether you’re looking to switch tracks to methods that might work for your child a little better, or you just want to supplement your existing homeschooling methods, here are some of the advantages of relying a little more on tech.

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admissions, careers, college books, college guidance, college planning, college prep, college visits, community service, essays, FAFSA, financial aid, financial planning, high school, mom approved tips, parenting, podcasts, Resources, scholarships, social networks, standardized tests, student loans, study abroad, test prep, websites

100+ College Prep Resources

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college prep resources

It’s exhausting searching and scouring the internet for the right information when it comes to helping your student prepare for college. But what if you could use ONLY ONE RESOURCE and find everything you ever wanted to know about college prep? Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Here it is. I’ve done the research, examined the links and their resources, and compiled a list of 100+ college prep resources for you. (If you know of others, please leave them in the comments and I will add them to the list!)

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college guidance, college planning, college prep, parenting

Positive Parenting During College Prep

parenting

Positive parenting is about guiding, not doing. The old adage that implies “teaching is more profitable than doing” holds true with your teenagers as well. It’s important to impress upon your children the importance of an education.

It’s not beneficial to ram a specific college down their throats and tell them if they want to attend college it will be your choice. That’s not parenting, that’s dictating. And while parenting requires a certain amount of rules, it does not benefit your child to force them into a decision that does not match up with their passion.

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