Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Honest. Quirky. Real. Practical tips, candid reviews, and stereotype-smashing humor for homeschooling families.

Honest. Quirky. Real. Practical tips, candid reviews, and stereotype-smashing humor for homeschooling families.

How to Be Your Teen’s High School Guidance Counselor

By Kris Bales

Homeschooling parents wear many hats. Primarily, we are our students’ teacher and facilitator. We may also play roles such as cafeteria lady, school janitor, or bus driver. One position we may not think of is a guidance counselor.

It is particularly important that we understand how to fill the role of guidance counselor once our teens reach high school.

How to Be Your Teen's High School Guidance Counselor

Understanding Your Role as High School Guidance Counselor

A high school guidance counselor has many jobs, but the four primary ones are guiding and helping students:

  • choose their high school courses and electives
  • develop strong study and time management skills
  • plan for college or a career after graduation
  • prepare for a smooth transition into college or the workforce

As a homeschooling parent, you’ll perform many of the duties of a guidance counselor naturally and without much extra planning or research. Others – particularly the college application process – can seem more daunting.

Choosing Courses

In the early years of high school, a guidance counselor may help teens choose a vocational or college prep track and select the courses needed for graduation or determine if AP courses are a good option.

As students reach their junior and senior years, a guidance counselor can offer more focused assistance depending on the student’s interests and aptitudes.

Helping teens choose their high school courses is one job of a guidance counselor that most homeschooling parents fill with ease. Because we know our kids so well, it’s easy to help them capitalize on their interests and talents.

Developing Study and Time Management Skills

Guidance counselors may also work with teens to help them develop strong study skills – or allow them to learn and develop the skills on their own through trial and error and natural consequences.

As homeschooling parents, we can help our teens prepare for college and the workforce by allowing them the freedom to set their own schedules with accountability guides in place and by enforcing deadlines.

Planning for College and Career

A guidance counselor also helps students prepare for life after graduation. For students who are on a college prep track, a guidance counselor assists with making sure teens know which tests they need to take and when to take them. She can offer guidance on test prep options and help a student with the college application process.

A guidance counselor can advise students and their parents on financial aid and scholarship options and guide them through the application process.

For students on a vocational track, guidance counselors can help with career planning options. They can direct students to career aptitude and personality assessments, offer guidance on military possibilities or suggest volunteer or internship opportunities.

College and career planning is an area where things can get dicey for homeschooling parents.

How to Be Your Teen's High School Guidance Counselor

Preparing for Life After High School

Finally, a high school guidance counselor’s role is to help students successfully navigate high school and develop the skills needed to transition successfully to college and the workforce.

As homeschooling parents, this can involve teaching our teens the life skills they will need no matter what they do after high school, choosing the right college, or looking at alternatives to college.

Outsourcing the Role of Guidance Counselor

As I said, homeschooling parents will fill some of the guidance counselor roles naturally and without much further planning. However, sometimes all of the things we need to do to help our students prepare for college or career can be overwhelming.

That’s when you might consider outsourcing.

Earlier this summer, Matthew Bullington, President, and CEO of UniversityReady contacted me. Matthew and I worked on a project together a few years ago, and I’m so happy he thought of me when he wanted help getting the word out about UniversityReady because it’s perfect for where we are as a homeschooling family.

What Is UniversityReady?

UniversityReady is basically like having your own high school guidance counselor online. Matthew is a professional college consultant who has worked in the homeschooling community for the last decade or so.

He offers private guidance counseling services, but that can be cost-prohibitive for many single-income homeschooling families. So, Matthew culled the information that he shares with his private clients down to what can be applied to most students and created UniversityReady.

UniversityReady offers:

  • Live, weekly, online classes which teach students how to study for exams, how to choose a college or career, how to prepare for college or trade school, and how to finance college
  • Access to class recordings if you miss a live event
  • Downloadable resources
  • Weekly Q&A sessions
  • Monthly planning meetings with checklists of what students should be doing when

There are also additional offerings such as:

  • Online ACT and SAT prep courses
  • Private planning session

Private Planning Session

Megan and I did the private planning session. It’s a one-hour, live, online meeting with Matthew to help with college or career planning. UniversityReady isn’t just for teens who plan to attend college.

As of now, college isn’t part of Megan’s plans, so Matthew sent her three personality assessments to take. I love stuff like that! The assessments identified her strengths and weaknesses, and she and Matthew discussed those in light of her interests. He told her that our strengths aren’t always our passions, so we need to look at both.

Matthew then gave Megan some actionable steps to help guide her in investigating possible career paths. It was really cool because one of the things Matthew suggested was talking to people who work in the areas Megan is interested in pursuing. She would love to run an animal rescue. (And, Matthew and I both advised her that a business degree would be a tremendous asset.)

We don’t know anyone who does that kind of work, but just a day or two later talked to someone who has a friend who runs a pit bull rescue! He gladly gave Megan the lady’s contact information. I don’t think that would have even been on our radar at that time if we hadn’t just had a private planning session.

UniversityReady is your homeschool high school guidance counselor, available to help teens navigate all the big decisions about college prep and career planning, test prep, financial aid, and more.

What guidance counselor roles make you feel stressed?

Is the stress of homeschooling high school getting to you? Join us for a free, live, online webinar, Monday, September 24, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. (ET)! It’s free, but you need to register to attend.

University Ready

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The Litter-Robot: A Game-Changer for Crazy Cat Ladies (and other cat owners)

By Kris Bales

A couple of months ago, I joked about a life-changing event – the fact that I finally gave in and tried Walmart’s pick-up service. You know, the deal where you order your groceries online and pick them up at the store (delivered to your car and everything!).

I was joking, but it has changed my life pretty dramatically – and one of the most significant ways was one that I would never have dreamed.

You see, one week while she was loading my 30+ pounds of cat litter (not an exaggeration), one of the ladies who brings the groceries out was telling me about her Litter-Robot, a self-cleaning cat litter box.

Oh. My. Word. Y’all. Life changing.

The Litter-Robot: A Game-Changer for Crazy Cat Ladies (and other cat owners)

Litter-Robot Automatic Litter Box

Although I had thought about getting a self-cleaning cat litter box and had researched them before, I had never heard of the Litter-Robot. Penny – because we’re BFFs on a first-name basis now (exaggeration) – described the Litter-Robot and exactly how it works, stating that it’s kind of expensive, but totally worth it.

Automatic Cat Litter Box

I think I heard the Hallelujah Chorus when the Litter-Robot arrived.

Penny’s enthusiasm got me curious. So, I came home and immediately started researching. I read lots of Litter-Robot reviews. Two of my biggest concerns about automatic litter boxes were addressed right off the bat (and confirmed what my new BFF had already told me).

The Litter-Robot uses basically any kind of clumping cat litter, and it doesn’t require special liners.

The drawback to most of the automatic litter boxes I’d looked at is that they are expensive initially then you have to keep buying special (expensive) litter and liners.

Litter-Robot Reviews

The cats were pretty excited, too.

With the Litter-Robot, I use the same litter I was using and I line it with inexpensive 8-gallon trash bags. You can even use plastic grocery bags if you choose. They’re a little snug, and I prefer the trash bags because they have a drawstring, but I like knowing I could use the shopping bags in a pinch or to save more money.

The folks at Litter-Robot do sell a biodegradable waste drawer liners if you’re concerned about using plastic.

Benefits of Using the Litter-Robot

Although the initial investment in a Litter-Robot may be a bit of a sticker shock, you won’t believe how much time, headache, and hassle it saves! I know some of you are thinking, “Yeah, right. You got yours free to review.”

Yes, I did, but I was already planning on buying one when my husband’s bonus time rolled around if I couldn’t review it.

And, if the company showed up at my door today and demanded I return the Litter-Robot, I’d go out and buy a new one tomorrow. You know, after I dressed the wounds from the savage battled that ensued when they wrestled the first one away from me.

I love the Litter-Robot because it:

  • Saves me time
  • Reduces litter waste
  • Controls litter box odors
  • Keeps my whole house cleaner

Time-saving

I used to have a reminder on my phone to scoop the litter boxes. Every three days, the reminder popped up, and I would do the thing I hate most about being the crazy cat lady – scoop the litter boxes.

I scooped three litter boxes every three days. I hated it.

With the Litter-Robot, I change the waste drawer liner about every other day. And, that’s with four cats using it.

Litter-Robot Reviews

I went from scooping three litter boxes every three days to changing one bag in one box every other day. And there is no scooping at all! See? Life-changing.

No more reminders on my phone. Instead, I get a notification from my buddy, Bob. Bob is our Litter-Robot.

See, there’s an app with the Litter-Robot III Open Air with Connect.  You can control the litter box remotely, and it sends you notifications for things like when the waste drawer is full.

Once you connect the Litter-Robot to your Wi-Fi, you’re asked to name it. I imagine that’s for the people have more than one. (One lady on Facebook said she has five! Seriously, they’re fantastic!) So, maybe they have the “Upstairs Litter-Robot” and the “Downstairs Litter-Robot.”

Not us, though. No, we’re a little weird. (Shocker.) I named our Litter-Robot Bob, and he has taken on a personality of his own. Everyone calls him Bob and we kind of refer to him like another family member.

Oh, Bob texted. The waster drawer is full.

Hang on. I’ve got to take care of Bob.

Litter-saving

The Litter-Robot also uses less litter than traditional litter boxes and keeps the litter cleaner. Because it cycles after every use, the clumps are dumped into the waste drawer right away.

If you’re currently scooping cat litter, you know how the yucky litter mixes with the clean litter after a while no matter how often or how thoroughly you scoop. Then, you have to dump it all and start over.

I’ve been using the Litter-Robot for two months now. Although the owner’s manual does state that you may have to completely replace the litter from time to time, I’ve yet to have to do so.

So far, I’ve only had to top off Bob’s litter when I empty the waste drawer. And, I’ve gone from buying 30 pounds of cat litter every other week to buying it maybe once a month.

Odor-controlling

The Litter-Robot works on weight sensors. Cats need to weigh at least 5 pounds for it to auto-cycle. (Kittens can use it with the auto-cycle feature turned off.) It cycles 7 minutes after a cat exits the box. The time can be adjusted, but 7 minutes works fine for us. That allows the litter time to clump. Then, the box cycles, dumping the used litter into the waste receptacle.

The waste drawer has a carbon filter system designed to trap in odors. Plus, it’s designed to prevent mold growth.

I used to have three litter boxes, and each one had its own air freshener (or two!). They still stunk. Because of its size (the Litter-Robot is about the size of an end table), the need to have access to a power outlet, and the need to have it accessible to the cats 24/7, the Litter-Robot is in our living room.

Right next to my beautiful desk.

Litter-Robot Benefits

When Brian first saw it, he was a bit appalled at the thought of having a litter box in the living room. Even I admitted that it wasn’t my first choice of location. However, because it controls odors so well, it’s not been the problem we were afraid it might be.

I mean, if I’m at my desk working and one of the cats uses the box, it can be unpleasant for a couple of minutes. (Especially with Oliver. I don’t know what goes on in that cat’s intestines!) It’s not a magic litter box.

However, other than that, there isn’t a noticeable litter box smell.

House-cleaning

Okay, you may think that my comment that the Litter-Robot keeps my whole house cleaner is an exaggeration, but I assure you that it is not. I used to have cat litter scattered all over my bathroom within a couple of minutes of vacuuming all the time.

Finn and Oliver tracked litter all over the bedroom where we kept them when they were little. And, the landing at the bottom of our stairs to the basement? More litter.

I didn’t realize how much time I spent vacuuming scattered cat litter until I got the Litter-Robot and didn’t have to do it anymore. It feels like I have so much free time on Saturdays now because of how much quicker I can vacuum.

The Litter-Robot has a rubber mat that catches most of the litter as the cats exit. We have a couple of, well, heavier cats, so I got the optional steps for our box. They catch most of the litter that the mat doesn’t collect. That leaves trace amounts that wind up just at the opening of the box.

It’s so much easier to keep the house clean now!

Getting Cats to Use the Litter Robot

One big concern I had when we got the Litter-Robot was transitioning the cats. I didn’t think the kittens would be a problem, but I worried about our skittish older cat. We’ve had cats who flat-out refused to use regular covered litter boxes, so I wasn’t sure what my clowder (that’s a group of cats) would think about climbing into an automatic litter box.

The Litter-Robot owners manual includes suggestions for helping your cats transition to the new box. Because of space limitations, I wasn’t able to put Bob next to any of the old boxes, but my cats are pretty curious.

I was counting on their curiosity, along with the fact that my scooping days were over as soon as the Litter-Robot arrived, so their other boxes weren’t going to be attractive options for very long.

Oliver, the adventurer, was the first to use it within just a day or two of getting it. For a while, I thought it might be his personal litter box. Sassy was the next one to give it a go (see what I did there?), followed by Finn.

I kept the auto-cycle turned off but made sure the cats were around when I ran a cycle so they could see what it did. That really wasn’t a problem. They were very curious about Bob.

Litter-Robot Reviews

Luna, my skittish older cat, was the lone hold-out. I apologized to the family and a couple of friends for our disgusting litter boxes, but I refused to clean them in my effort to force Luna to use the Litter-Robot.

Then, I resorted to catnip. Finally, I threw all the suggestions out the window (figuratively) and did something that no one would recommend. I made Luna go into the Litter-Robot so she could see it was just a litter box.

She didn’t appreciate me. But, it worked. The next day, I put her in the box one more time. She was much less nervous the second time. Then, I took all the other boxes out of the house. I fully expected to find protest poop in the bathroom floor the next day, but I didn’t.

To this day, I have only actually seen Luna use the Litter-Robot once. She uses it, though. Very stealthily.

Why Try the Litter-Robot?

To say that I love the Litter-Robot is putting it mildly. Not scooping three litter boxes every three days makes me one happy crazy cat lady.

You can save $25 on the Litter-Robot by clicking through any of the links on my site. The Litter-Robot comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee and an 18-month warranty.

The Litter-Robot: A Game-Changer for Crazy Cat Ladies (and other cat owners)

If you’ve got cats and you hate scooping litter, I highly recommend the Litter-Robot. Without a doubt, it has exceeded my expectations, and I’d purchase another one in a heartbeat. (And, I probably will if I get a few more cats. We think we’ll name the next one Wall-E.)

The cats would recommend it, too. They all seem to appreciate having a fresh litter box every time they go.

Check out the Litter-Robot website. They have answers to tons of questions about how it works, the advantages of using it, and how to make the switch.

Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition: A Homeschool Health Course for High School

By Kris Bales

I was having such a hard time finding a good homeschool health curriculum that it was actually on my to-do list to either write or piece together my own this year.

I’m so glad Apologia beat me to it! I’m pretty sure my teenager is, too.

Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition: A Health Course for Homeschooling High School

I was ecstatic to discover Apologia’s new health course, Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition. Megan and I agreed that not only did it look like it’d meet our needs for high school health credit, but it also seemed interesting.

Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition is not only teen-approved, but it’s also my teen’s favorite subject. And, not just this year. It’s her all-time favorite in her entire homeschooled existence. It isn’t the lesser of the evils. She enjoys it! That probably tells you all you need to know and I could end my review right there.

But I won’t. Because, you know, I like to gush about the curriculum we love. Let the gushing begin.

Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition is not only teen-approved, but it’s also my teen’s favorite subject. And, not just this year. It’s her all-time favorite in her entire homeschooled existence.Click to Tweet

What Is Apologia’s Homeschool Health Course?

Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition is complete one- to two-semester high school level health course written from a Christian worldview. A beautifully-illustrated (except for the frostbitten toe – that’s kind of gross) hardback book and spiral-bound student notebook guide students through the course.

It’s made up of 15 modules with a suggested schedule of three days each week for a total of 34 weeks.

homeschool high school health curriculum

Topics covered include:

  • Genetics and temperament (This one fascinated both of us!)
  • Physical influences on thoughts and feeling
  • Mental health
  • Interpersonal relationships
  • Nutrition and hydration
  • Diet and exercise
  • How the body fights infection
  • Sexual reproduction

I love the topics covered in this course! It focuses not just on physical health, but also on emotional, mental, and spiritual health.

Due to several mental health issues we face in our family, I am passionate about removing the stigma associated with mental illness so that people treat them with the same dignity and respect afforded physical illnesses. Apologia’s health course tackles mental health issues openly, honestly, and respectfully.

If you’re a little hesitant about covering the topic of sexual reproduction, don’t worry. Apologia saved it for last. That allows you to skip it if you don’t feel that your student is mature enough for it, or work up your personal fortitude to cover the topic.

Health and nutrition high school

I’ll just butt in here and say that they’re learning it somewhere. It might as well be from you with accurate information. They always know more than we think they know. My son may or may not have had to educate a male friend or two on the female menstrual cycle because with two sisters who have no filter he knows way more than he ever wanted to on the subject. {ahem}

Moving along.

What’s So Great About the Homeschool Health and Nutrition Student Notebook?

I’m not sure who loves the student notebook more – Megan or I. Why would I, the parent, care about the student notebook, you ask. Three words: suggested daily schedule.

Yes, the entire schedule for the year is written out for me.

Apologia's Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition is the perfect high school level homeschool health course for Christian families. It's engaging, beautifully-illustrated, and well-written. It's my teen's favorite homeschooling course - ever!

No guessing. No counting pages. Just, “Hey, Megan, it’s Week 4. Pick three days this week to work on the Week 4 activities.” Boom. Lesson planning is complete.

As if the schedule weren’t enough, there is a section for grading that includes:

  • A grading rubric for projects
  • Samples for figuring grades
  • A chart for recording grades (including suggested weights for each grade)
  • A spot to figure and record the student’s final grade

Then, there is the rest of the notebook, which is just for students. The section for each module includes:

  • Space for taking notes
  • The On Your Own questions with room for students to record their answers
  • Student projects
  • Study guide for the module assessment

Apologia includes the module exams in the back of the student workbook. The answer key for the student workbook is available online, along with other course extras, with the details for accessing located in the textbook.

You can visit Homeschooling 101 to download a free health activity book that contains samples from Health and Nutrition if you want to check it out and get a feel for what the course is like.

Would We Recommend Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition?

Without a doubt. Well, unless you’re a secular family. If you are, this course probably isn’t for you, but if you’re a Christian family with students in 8th-12th grades, Megan and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this homeschool health course.

Homeschool health and nutrition

Megan says it’s interesting and fun. She said the questions in the student notebook are great for making sure that you read and comprehended the material without being so rigorous that they make you feel stupid.

The projects are thorough and engaging without being time intensive and mentally exhausting. They encourage students to get to know themselves through activities such as food and sleep logs, learning to set boundaries, and beginning an exercise routine. They even encourage teens to do something they’ve never done before such as minor car maintenance or learning to play an instrument.

Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition: A Health Course for Homeschooling High School

I like Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition because it meets our needs for a high school level health class and I didn’t have to write it myself. I love Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition because Megan loves it. She is engaged and excited. What more could you ask for from homeschool curriculum?

I like Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition because it meets our needs for a high school level health class and I didn’t have to write it myself. I love Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition because Megan loves it. She is engaged and excited. Click to Tweet

If you’ve got high school students, I encourage you to add this high school health course to your curriculum this year. You can purchase it from Apologia’s website or other homeschool curriculum vendors who carry Apologia products.

Win Apologia’s Health and Nutrition Course

You can also enter to be one of two winners who will receive the Exploring Creation with Health and Nutrition basic set. Follow the directions on the RaffleCopter widget below to enter. This giveaway is administered by Apologia and hosted on multiple blogs.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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6 Positive Benefits of Chores for Kids

By Kris Bales

I’ve seen comments floating around the Internet lately about expecting kids to do household chores being a form of child abuse. That just blows my mind. I’ve pretty much skimmed over the comments, but I sincerely hope that people are talking only about extremes because there are so many positive benefits of chores for kids.

6 Positive Benefits of Chores for Kids

Positive Benefits of Chores for Kids

When I was a kid, my jobs included emptying the trashcans around the house, dusting, vacuuming, and setting the table or clearing the dinner dishes. I’ll never forget the time our dishwasher broke.

Apparently, my brother and I had been complaining about loading the dishwasher. So, my step-dad purposely (unbeknownst to us at the time) chose not the replace the dishwasher. For months. My brother and I took turns handwashing and drying the dishes.

He was a lousy helper, just for the record.

You can bet that we never complained about loading the dishwasher again once we got a new one! Also, I may or may not have told my husband before we got married that a dishwasher was a requirement. {ahem}

Far from being abuse, expecting kids to do chores has many benefits. Being expected to complete household chores allows kids to:

1. Contribute to the running of the household

A long-term study by Dr. Marty Rossman, author and researcher, revealed that expecting children to contribute to the family by completing chores instilled in them a life-long sense of responsibility, competence, self-reliance, and self-worth.

Helping with chores gives kids a sense of belonging and allows them to feel like a necessary piece of the family unit.

2. Develop self-confidence

Successfully completing household chores helps kids develop confidence. Instead of telling kids they’re too little to help, show them how to do age-appropriate tasks.

My four-year-old niece loves to load my mom’s dishwasher. Does it take longer to let her help than it would for my mom to just do it herself? Of course. But you should see the sense of pride on my niece’s face when she’s finished.

I sometimes watch those junior chef shows. The kids can seriously cook better than I can. They are so confident in the kitchen. They didn’t get that way from someone telling them they were too little or thinking it was child abuse to let (or expect) them to help in the kitchen.

3. Avoid a sense of entitlement

I can’t even tell you how many times I have uttered the words, “I’m not the maid” in my lifetime. I am not about the kids sitting around watching TV or playing video games while I do the housework. I’m also not about handing out money just because I’m a nice person.

My kids learned early on that there are things expected of them because they live and breathe and share space and make messes in the house just like everyone else. They also know that there are jobs they can do to earn spending money.

Kids need to understand that there are things expected of them because they live and breathe and share space and make messes in the house just like everyone else.Click to Tweet

I’m not going to lie. It kind of sucks when they become teenagers, get jobs, and no longer need to earn money for those jobs. I have to clean my own bathroom again. {sigh} (I still make them clean theirs.) I hate cleaning bathrooms.

They know that if they want to wear clean clothes, they need to wash them. I’m not the maid.

6 Positive Benefits of Chores for Kids

4. Develop a strong work ethic

Expecting kids to pitch in around the house helps them develop a strong work ethic. They learn that when given a job, they need to do it, do it well and complete it on time.

It has been so cool to watch my kids go out into the workforce and hear them talk about their jobs. They take such pride in their work, and it makes me so proud of them. Megan sometimes takes before and after pictures of the sections of clothes she works on at her job. Wow! (And, yes, she does keep her room neat.)

Josh got promoted to manager within six months of starting his job because of his pride in and sense of responsibility for doing his work. I firmly believe that expecting them to complete chores as kids – and complete them well – helped my kids develop the strong work ethic they display as adults.

5. Learn the life skills needed to manage their own homes

Household chores help kids them learn the skills they’ll need as adults managing their homes. My mom must not have made me clean toilets when I was a kid because I’m still not very good at it, and I can’t sew. But, I’ve pretty much got a handle on most other household chores.

My mom used to work nights so she’d usually get dinner started – like putting the meatloaf or casserole together – and I’d put it in the oven and make the side dishes. I didn’t have any problems cooking (or loading the dishwasher!) once I married and moved away from home.

Kids need to learn the life skills associated with household chores not only so they can help out in our homes, but so that they can one day successfully manage their homes.

Kids need to learn the life skills associated with household chores not only so they can help out in our homes, but so that they can one day successfully manage their homes.Click to Tweet

Fun New Tool for Managing Household Chores

Probably one of the biggest complaints from parents when it comes to chores for kids is having to nag the kids to complete them. Nagging doesn’t help anyone. Bosses don’t nag employees. They write them up or fire them for not doing their jobs.

We used to have a nifty little chore chart when the kids were little. It was perfect for making sure that everyone knew what their chores were without me constantly reminding them.

Chore charts are so last decade, y’all. Today’s kids and parents are so much more tech-minded and guess what. There’s an app for that!

What the Homey App Is

The Homey app is perfect for assigning chores, making sure they get done (without nagging) and even paying your kids an allowance.

Homey App Chore App

The app lets you set household chores for the whole family. If you pay your kids an allowance, you can track it in the Homey app, along with any extra paid jobs that they complete. Homey provides a fun, hands-on, and real-life opportunity for kids to learn about money management, budgeting, and responsibility.

Homey labels chores as either responsibilities (unpaid but possibly required for weekly allowance) or jobs (paid tasks beyond a child’s regular duties). You can require photo-proof of each job and set the app, so that completed work needs a parent’s approval. You can also set chores that kids need to finish before another activity (such as screen time).

Once a child marks a chore as complete, you get a notification letting you know so that you can make sure he did it correctly.

What the Homey App Does

All the money that your kids earn goes into their wallet on the Homey app. In their wallets, they can set up jars. These jars can use the popular “save, spend, and donate” three-jar method or each of the saving goals can have their own jar (such as individual jars for a new phone, a new bike, a charity organization, and long-term savings).

Homey App Reviews

When kids reach their saving goals, you can pay them in cash or transfer funds to a connected bank account right from the app. Additionally, you can put extra money in a child’s wallet if you want to reward them or take money out (such as when your kids owe you for a purchase you made for them).

Homey also features a robust permissions system that lets parents pick and choose features that each child sees. For example, you might allow older kids to mark a younger sibling’s chores as completed. Or, you can let them edit chore due dates if they have to skip a day without letting younger kids see that option in the app.

Homey Chores and Allowance App

With all these features, Homey promotes long-term saving. It also teaches kids about budgeting and banking and provides a tool for teaching responsibility. The Homey app is available on the App Store, Google Play, and Amazon.

Visit the Homey App website to learn more or to access the user manual or glossary of terms.

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Generation Genius: Engaging Science Lessons for Grades 3-5

By Kris Bales

If you’re looking for an engaging, fun, hands-on way to supplement your upper elementary science lessons or a fantastic spine for building on, you have got to check out Generation Genius.

These elementary-level science videos featuring Dr. Jeff Vinokur, The Dancing Scientist, will capture your kids’ attention and make learning fun.

Generation Genius: Engaging Science Lessons for Grades 3-5

What Is Generation Genius?

Generation Genius is a subscription video streaming service that focuses on science topics for kids in grades 3-5 and presents them in an engaging, easy-to-understand way. And, the videos aren’t just entertaining for kids. While there is plenty of kid-friendly silliness the may elicit some eye-rolling from parents, the topics and their presentation are interesting for all ages.

I sat and watched three videos in a row with no kids anywhere in sight. (Yes, I learned stuff.)

Generation Genius: Engaging Science Lessons for Grades 3-5

Each video is about 12 minutes long and focuses on a specific topic such as:

  • Chemical and physical changes
  • Variation of traits
  • The moon and its phases
  • Animal and plant life cycles
  • The structure of living things
  • Food webs
  • The sun and other stars

In fact, the Generation Genius videos cover all of the Next Generation Science Standards. I know a lot of homeschooling families won’t necessarily care about that statistic, but I wanted to include it because it tells me that if you’re covering a topic in your science lessons, there’s probably a Generation Genius lesson to go with it.

And, I say “lesson” rather than “video” because Generation Genius is much more than just a collection of videos.

Generation Genius Review

Science Lessons for Grades 3-5

Each Generation Genius video lesson introduces a concept then explains it through related demonstrations. The demonstration is followed by a real-world segment which relates the lesson’s concept to real-world applications and a DIY segment which is a related hands-on activity that kids can do at home.

Generation Genius Review

Each video also includes lesson materials for the video’s topic. Lesson materials include:

  • An overview of learning objectives
  • Discussion questions
  • Vocabulary
  • DIY activity guide
  • Lesson plan
  • Teacher guide
  • Quiz (not available in individual subscription)

Generation Genius is secular so Christian families may wish to preview the videos to identify talking points or determine suitability for your children.

Generation Genius Review

How to Use Generation Genius

The Generation Genius site states that it is intended to be a supplemental resource for teaching science. It would be fantastic for viewing videos (and doing the activities) on topics as they come up in your science lessons.

Generation Genius will also make a useful resource for families who are a bit more eclectic and interest-led because the videos, lesson plans, and activities create a fantastic jumping-off point for further research and discussion.

Generation Genius: Engaging Science Lessons for Grades 3-5

If you’ve got kids in grades 3-5, check out Generation Genius! There is a sample video lesson on the homepage so you can watch the video and view all the lesson materials that go with it. Currently, there are 36 video lessons in total – enough for the whole school year!

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