When your child gets about 12 years old, it is a good idea to start planning for their future and begin channeling their studies toward their interests (if you haven’t already).

Electives

Remember choosing electives in junior high and high school? Well, you have the opportunity to tailor the “electives” to be uniquely attuned to their interests and future knowledge base needed.

I didn’t do this as intentionally or aggressively with my first two but I learned from my mistakes. With Tiffany, we knew for certain that she wanted to be a wife, mother, and homeschool mom.

Interest Directed

Tiffany and I talked about her interests and desires for the future. Then we planned out some areas of study. We included some study on marriage, child rearing, and homeschooling philosophies.

Being a wife means that she would need to know how to be a homemaker. We of course, had her begin cooking with me, to learn how, since cooking is a big part of the duty of most homemakers.

Tiffany had an interest in gardening, chickens, and goats. So we included those studies in her schedule. She also was interested in writing books, so we included time in her schedule to work on that too.

The point of all of this is to help your child get a knowledge base that will help with their future. If your child desires to do something that will require college, then preparing for that is a top priority.

Liberal Arts and Sports

Be sure to include things like art, music, physical activities/sports, if these areas of of interest to your child. It isn’t good to force them to do one of these activities, but talk with them and see if they have any interest in one of them. It’s a good idea to let them have as much say in their studies as possible.

Advisor

The goal of education is to work yourself out of a job. Train your child to self-educate with you checking in, answering questions, and guiding them in their studies.

Be sure to follow their interests and not dictate to them what they should do. Remember, it is their life. It is your job to help them prepare for it. Be their best cheerleader not their dictator. Help them discover what they  want to do/be and help them prepare for it.

I hope this is helpful to you and your family.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº