This is Nathan. He’s playing By Loch and Mountain, one of my absolute favorite pieces he learned in middle school. That was five years ago. Nathan is now headed off to college soon and will not be taking his saxophone with him. So I’m selling it. Until today, it had been three years since he tooted a note. He quit band his sophomore year in high school. Even so, I’d been holding on to the sax in the off-chance that he might…
“There are three boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats. Are you not eating them, Nathan?” I was washing the breakfast dishes when Ryan opened the pantry door and noticed all the cereal. “I’ll eat them.” replied Nathan. “I just want to finish the Chex first.” I started to chuckle. A few weeks ago, this would have been a weird conversation between the two teens. But since Ryan has been doing all the grocery shopping, he’s beginning to notice things. Things…
All parents want their children to succeed in school. And since Kindergarten is a child’s first exposure to “formal” schooling, preparing them for success is an important first step on the academic ladder. But “preparing” our kids for academic success does not mean completing reams of worksheets and stacks of flashcards. It’s actually a lot easier than that. It simply requires looking for opportunities to seamlessly tie “lessons” into daily life. And the good news is, because these lessons are…
The best way to teach kids financial literacy is in the context of their everyday lives. Here’s this month’s teachable money moment: The next time you’re out shopping with your child and she finds something she wants to buy (with her money, of course), have her think about the number of work hours or jobs that are necessary for her to pay for the purchase. For example, have her come up with the number of hours she would have to…
“Wish me luck,” Nathan said as he exited the room. “For what?” John and I both asked. “I’m about to call my manager and find out why I haven’t been put on the schedule.” Nathan has been working at In and Out Burgers since the beginning of summer. During those non-school months he clocked a lot of hours. And he was happy. Gas money and then some. When school started, his schedule was reduced to two nights a week for…