Across the country, the kids are all back in school. While we started in early August, I know many of our friends in VA didn’t start until after Labor Day. And life has returned to a much more predictable schedule.

• Parents wake before the kids and enjoy just a few minutes of solitude before the crazy of the day begins.
• Kids alarms start going off and fights over bathroom time erupt all across the country.
• Breakfast is guzzled down or grabbed as everyone runs out the door.
• Car lines and bus rides.
• Moms everywhere wipe down the kitchen counters or run past it making a note to do it later.
• Work, school, house cleaning, running errands and keeping up with life in general takes all day.
• Car lines and bus rides, after school activities and homework.
• Dinner time, hopefully as a family but maybe on the run nor picked up at a drive thru.
• Night time routines and every one falls into bed to repeat the next day.

I’m exhausted just writing all that. How about you?

Tips for Making the Most of Your Limited Time

I love the regular schedule, but I hate the limitations on my free time. I hate the inflexibility of it all. And frankly, during the craziness of school days, I could really use a couple of extra hours each day. Really!

But I have found a few tips that help make me more productive and seem to give me that extra cushion I need each day so I don’t feel like I’m just flying from obligation to obligation and not enjoying a thing.

1. Whatever time your morning routine starts, get up 1-2 hours earlier. Don’t shower, don’t eat, just knock something off your to do list. Clean the bathroom, tackle a work project, organize a closet, get laundry going or even put dinner in the crockpot. Be productive. Then when your day is supposed to start, you are relaxed and ahead of the game. You might even can take a few extra minutes to enjoy your morning coffee.
2. Plan out your meals. Pull your calendar out once a week or once a month, whichever works for you and plan your meals and your grocery list. Even better assign some of those meals to your kids to prepare and clean up. But having a plan and a stocked pantry makes all the difference in the world when you are crunched for time. You might even consider doing meal prep once a week or month to save additional time and headache.
3. Choose your outfit. Yes, this is for adults and children alike. Set out your clothes the night before. It is crazy how long it can take to get dressed when being indecisive. Do the clothes fashion show the night before, lay everything you need out and you are ready for a quick morning before the busy starts. If you are like me, this might allow you to brush your hair too rather than your standard wash and wear.
4. Prioritize. We all have things we MUST get done, and then we have the NEED to get done, followed by the SHOULD get done and then finally, the WOULD LIKE to get done. Write your lists down, or use a To Do list app on your phone. This will help keep you focused and accomplished as you check things off your list.

With just these few tricks, you will find yourself being able to breathe a little easier. You can take the time to chat with your child without thinking about the list of things you must get done before you can go to bed. And best of all, your kids will notice a difference in your demeanor. The constant rush will soon be replaced by the grin of accomplishment.

Do you have any other tips or tricks you use for making the most of your time?

At the beginning of the summer, I challenged my two youngest children, then ages 12 & 13 to make some money this summer. Then life happened and our lazy, boring summer grew quite busy and my plans flew out the window.

Now before you jump down my throat, there are lots of odd jobs a 12 & 13 year old can do to make some spending money. Cut grass, babysit and help with random chores around the house and so on. That is what I had in mind.

And while my 12 year old son did do odd jobs for his grandparents during his month long visit, it wasn’t quite what I had in mind.

I Can’t Get a Job because…

As we sat down this week to discuss the upcoming school year, I again charged my 13 & 14 year olds to get a job.

My 13 year old son immediately chirps up that he is not old enough to get a job. And he is right. Legally, you cannot work until you are 14 and that’s with a special permit.

Then my 14 year old says, what about my sports? She has practice every school day until 5:30pm and games a couple nights a week. I reminded her that her Saturdays are completely free and the perfect time for a high school student to work.

Why Children should Work Part Time

Now I’m now asking my young teenagers to get a job to pay any bills. Although they have been challenged with paying for their summer camp next year if they choose to attend.

There are numerous studies that indicate a child working part time hours excel in numerous areas:

• Time management.
• Dealing with people and emotions.
• Get better grades.
• Are more self-confident.
• Real work experience is valuable when they enter the workforce, especially if they do not plan to pursue a higher education or trade school.

You can join the debate and cast your vote here.

Even if they Don’t Actually Get a Job

My 13 year old has already locked in some neighbors for mowing their lawn for the rest of the season. And I’m confident that if he does a good job, they will call him when the leaves start falling or they need help with other manual labor.

He’s already excited about the money he knows he can early over the next couple of months with just a couple hours of work each week.

My 14 year old has not begun her job search yet. She’s waiting to get through the first week of school before hitting the streets.

And even if neither of them actually makes any money, they will have both learning some valuable lessons:

• How to apply for a job. Filling out applications can be a beast. And knowing what information you need on those applications is a lesson they will use forever.
• How to handle rejection. We all face it. Learning to hear “No” and not take it personally is an important lesson.
• How to be assertive. Just getting out and asking for work or for an application takes some character. Not everyone is outgoing, it takes some courage.
• How to search for a job. While most professionals do their searching online. There is still some value to getting out and “pouding the pavement.” Going door to door can teach lots of lessons, including knowing you do not want to have to search for jobs all the time. There is value in keeping a job.

There are several things you can do as a parent to prepare your child for the job search.

When They do Earn their Own Money

When they do earn their own money, they will learn several additional lesson.

First and foremost, they will learn the value of money. Every parent wants their child to value the hard work they put in to provide for them. Working for minimum wage, and seeing part of their pay go to taxes and social security is just a small dose of reality.

They will also see just how far their money can go, or not go in many cases. They quickly learn to be grateful for what mom and dad provide when they try to reproduce it on their own.

Second, hello money management! As they have more “wants” they learn how to save their money. And saving their money means they must do without sometimes.

Finally, the beginning of independence. Making their own money, managing their own money are the first steps to true adult independence.

There are many more reasons a teenager should work, you can find another list here.

Doing it under the watching eye and guiding hand of responsible parents gives them a leg up on the rest of the world. The key is that we as parents must let them fall at times too. If we correct every mistake and save them when they get in a bind, are they really learning?

Related Articles

• Should High School Students have Part Time Jobs?
• Should Children be Expected to Work?
• Should that Child really be Working?

Whether you are facing back to school shopping or the holiday season, we have all heard a child with the “give mes.” I have found that the best way to deal with unwanted behavior is the same way we should deal with other negative behavior.

Not only will these behavior adjustments help save your wallet, but also your sanity.

1. Catch them doing good.
   I don’t know a person alive who doesn’t thrive under positive attention. Rather than focusing on the things your child does that drive you crazy, catch them doing good, and praise them. Give them the attention they seek then.
   It is awfully hard to ignore the trials, but it proven that just that will cause those types of behaviors to lose their value and eventually cease.
2. Expose them to reality – those with limited resources and living in poverty.
   There are many ways you can expose your child in an age appropriate manner to those less fortunate. In addition to seeing the homeless on the street and beggars at the side of the road, you can talk about the differences they see at birthday parties and when visiting friends and family.
   Talk to them about the impoverished holding signs at the side of the intersection. Drive through those “other” neighborhoods.
3. Learn to Say No (and stick with it.)
   Do not start the precedent of backing away from your “No.” When you say it, mean it. Stick to it, even if it is as tough for your as it is for your child.
   Believe me, your child will quickly learn where your soft spots are and how to change your mind. This does not mean there is no room for compromise. But it does mean, your child must learn that “No means No!” And the earlier they learn it, the better.
4. Make giving a tradition.
   In addition to giving your time and volunteering to serve others, you can model giving all year long. Whether it’s writing a check, or buying gifts for an Angel Tree child, teach your child to give.
   I have always encouraged my children to give of themselves. I even built it into our school curriculum when I was homeschooling. My daughter has volunteered at the local animal shelter since she was old enough to go with me.
   My eldest son has voluntarily cut neighbors yards who couldn’t take care of themselves. And my youngest son visits shut ins with his great-grandmother, and then he started visiting and calling them on his own as well.

Before you can teach your child about money, they must know some basic math. And even the most advanced mathematician can be intimidated when it comes to teaching kids math.

We’ve all seen a parent ask a child how old they are, and some random number of fingers show up. Or heard a child count and skip half the numbers. It’s so cute.

As a homeschool and foster/adoptive parent to older kids, I have had to teach math from a variety of stages and in a variety of methods. No one method works for every child.

Starting Young

Math for my two biological children started very young and in two places: the kitchen and the grocery store!

In the Kitchen

Every parent knows that your child wants to be where you are. Instead of banging on pots and pans or pulling everything out of the cabinets, I invited my children to do what I did.

They measured and stirred, chopped (with a butter knife at this age) and poured. It was messy. There were lots of “oops” moments. But my kids understood the concept of fractions before they could count to one hundred.

And they loved decorating and delivering their baked goods to neighbors and family.

In the Grocery Store

We were blessed with a FANTASTIC Kroger near us when my children were small. The staff quickly became accustomed to our weekly “math” lessons/grocery shopping trips.

Because I worked from home and had flexible hours, we went during their least busy times. And the kids quickly became confident and independent in their tasks. (Safety was always considered, but the staff were great and quickly understood what we were doing and supported that.)

We started with shapes and colors. They couldn’t read at this age (think 2 and 3) but on any given aisle I would assign them each to find a certain shape or color. This exercise not only gave me a chance to grab what I needed unencumbered by “can I have” or whines, but kept them active and engaged.

As we got started, I would show them an example and discuss characteristics…

• A square has 4 equal sides while a rectangle has two sides that are equal and then another two sides are equal, but not all four.
• Or a circle is flat while a cylinder has a circle on the top and a circle on the base, like this Pringles container.

Elementary Age Math

Because I knew I would homeschool, I never considered school standards or the order I taught things. We really followed a Montessori method and most learning was child led.

If they expressed an interest we went with it. There were no experiences that I couldn’t and didn’t make a lesson out of.

As they got more advanced, those grocery descriptions became more advanced and their tasks got more complex. By the time they were in early elementary, they would each have a small measuring tape and have to find items with a certain perimeter or tell me the area or volume of a box. Geometry at it’s finest.

Introducing Math Curriculum

Even in elementary children are more apt to learn by play and movement, but I understand the need ingrained in us from our own education to use worksheets and curriculum.

One math curriculum that understands and does a good job of meeting both needs is Math-U-See. They offer a mastery based, student paced curriculum that encourages, even demand the use of manipulatives even through their upper level classes.

And don’t worry if the thought of teaching your child math intimidates you, they offer a full video curriculum as well!

Teaching your young child math can be so much fun! More play than teaching really. And it can take you anywhere and does not require any special skills, tools or forethought most of the time.

Ask your child what the volume is of the drink they are drinking, show them how to read the label. Then turn that into a science lesson by talking about the path it will follow…at elementary age that’s super simple. You can even add a health lesson by talking about the affects of whatever they are drinking on their teeth or general health.

In the end, your child will learn more from you through these short engagements then in any classroom. So put down your phone, turn off the TV and lets do a scavenger hunt for “blue” things! Have fun!