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Abort73 Graphics / Abort73 Shirts
God grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change, the COURAGE to change the things I can, and the WISDOM to know the difference.
The following article appeared in Rhea!'s newsletter, Training Young
People for
Success, which you can subscribe to at her site,
www.EducatingforSuccess.com.
Rhea! is a veteran home educator who raises her seven children using
Entrepreneurial Education at their farm on the Backside of Nowhere in
Southern
Tennessee.
How to Motivate Your Kids
By Rhea Perry
Making school relevant to real life is the secret I've discovered to
getting
students of all ages to become more responsibile for their studies. And
if they
see how what they are learning can help them make money, then they will
pay
attention much better.
Dabbling with home businesses gives young people of all ages many
wonderful
opportunities to experience Entrepreneurial Education. Plus it gives
them the
experience they need in case they ever decide to work for someone else
but need a
work history to land a job.
Ever wonder how you're supposed to get a job if you're just out of
school and the
company requires �work experience�?
Not only does having your own small business incorporate reading,
writing,
spelling, practical math, and relevant skills into your day but it also
helps you
think creatively and independently while learning to follow the rules.
It seems that so many adults don't always make wise decisions because
of their
fear of failure. Our society is so perfectionist-oriented that making a
mistake
is considered by some as failure. That is not always true.
And anyone who is anybody has made more mistakes than their peers.
They just
learned from their mistakes and continued on when others let one mishap
steal
their success.
In the book Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki shares the wisdom his
Rich Dad
taught him:
"The main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance,
not the
economy or the government or the rich. It's self-inflicted fear and
ignorance
that keeps people trapped."
Kiyosaki adds, "We all have tremendous potential, and we all are
blessed with
gifts. Yet, the one thing that holds all of us back is some degree of
self-doubt�. Often in the real world, it's not the smart that get ahead
but the
bold."
One of the concepts he explains that just about knocked me out of my
chair when I
grasped it was the idea of Passive Income. When most of us feel a
financial
pinch, we immediately try to figure out what we can do or sell to make
more
money.
He suggests buying another source of passive income - a business entity
that
provides a stream of income with a minimal amount of intervention from
you.
If you are interested in experimenting with something simple that you
and your
children can enjoy together and that is motivating because it is real,
let me
tell you about one of my boys' businesses.
They have gumball machines.
About two years ago, we placed six gumball machines in area businesses
to
generate passive income. Once every month or two, we service the
machines which
means the boys take the quarters out, pay the owner 10% or 20%,
depending on the
agreement, and refill the machines.
We bought our first machines on the Internet and paid shipping. Then we
discovered that we could order them from Sam's and pick them up there.
On the
table by the Service Desk, there should be three brochures containing
information
on larger items that Sam's doesn't keep in stock. One of those is for
vending
machines.
Depending on your area, one machine should pay for itself in four to
six months.
We live in the absolute sticks where the nearest town 10 miles away is
a four-way
stop. In that town, we have one machine in an insurance office and one
in the
chiropractor's office across the street. Believe it or not, both do
very well.
The gumballs you buy to fill the machine cost about $.02 each. Each
one sells
for 25 cents so they give you a profit of 23 cents each. Not a bad
return on
your investment!
My oldest son started his own route but sold it to his younger brother
when he
became interested in real estate. Since this second son can't drive
yet because
he is only 14, he must hire a driver to take him out to service the
machine.
Hey, every business has its overhead!
He records how well each machine produces in a record book. When he
discovered
his machine at a putt-putt golf / video store / kids' hangout wasn't
doing
ANYTHING after many months, he moved it.
Lesson: You can never tell which businesses will be the most productive
so don't
judge by appearance or location.
Hey, I think there's a Bible verse about that somewhere. ;)
The hardest part about having a gumball route is getting business
owners to let
you place your machines in their stores. Many large chains have their
own
machines or a policy that prohibits them from selling anything from a
local
source.
We've found that just about any type of business with a steady stream
of traffic
can be successful and you can never guess which ones will be the
winners. You
just have to watch your numbers to know.
When I asked my 8-year-old son what he wanted for his birthday this
year, he
said, "You know, I don't have a source of income. Do you think I could
get a
gumball machine?"
So we gave him one of his dad's machines - the one in the
chiropractor's office
at the four-way stop.
The first time his 14-year-old brother took him inside to service it,
they did a
great job with the money part. But I sat in the van and watched
through the
window as they tried to add more gumballs and spilled half of them on
the floor!
I held my breath to see if they were going to sweep them up and put
them into the
machine anyway. They didn't.
I breathed a big sigh of relief!
I mean, with boys, you just never know!
When they came back to the car, I didn't have to say one word. And I
know you
don't believe this but I didn't.
They learned that lesson all by themselves. And it's one they will
never forget.
There are many different kinds of gumball machines. We have two-headed
machines
and Little Wizards where the gumball spirals down inside a clear
plastic
cylinder. They are cute and cost a little more but two-headed candy
machines
actually yield a higher profit.
You can check online to find machines at comparable prices. And don't
forget eBay.
We LOVE eBay!
We sell Drew's houses there.
If you're ever out of work, eBay is the fastest way to make money while
helping
you declutter your house at the same time.
And selling on eBay can even expand your education because you
implement so many
skills while you are making money. Call it Home Ec.
Anyway, if you buy a used gumball machine on eBay, make sure it works
and the key
is included. Each one also needs a stand.
No, people don't generally steal these machines, but then we live in
the country
where folks leave their pickup running when they go inside the country
store to
pay for gas, rent a movie and buy a chicken sandwich.
There are tons of ways for the industrious entrepreneur to create
passive income;
gumball machines is just one. My oldest son buys houses. He bought one
once for
$880 that he sold to a rehabber for $15,000.
But that's another story.
The main thing is this, there are four steps to being successful with a
business.
1. Help your students get a vision for what they want to do.
God has placed many desires in their hearts and it takes a while until
their
hands find the things they love to do the most. Let your children
experiment,
explore, and research until they find something they would love to
pursue.
2. Encourage your students to write that vision down on a 3X5 card so
they can
see it every day.
Reading it every day will intrinsically motivate them to act.
3. Together, create a plan to accomplish this dream.
Some may happen quickly, others may take a lifetime. Without a plan,
their dreams
will not come to life. Include short-term and long-term deadlines with
small
built-in rewards so each student will have goals to aim for.
4. Decide to act.
Once you have your action plan before you, have the student read it
every day and
take at least one action step in that direction. Encourage your
students to make
up their minds to pursue their steps of action with all their heart.
Then stand
back and watch them go, always being supportive when necessary.
Finance what needs financing or help them figure out how they can. But
let them
take responsibility for their project and expect them to make mistakes.
It's all
part of the learning process. You won't even have to say a word when
they occur.
They'll know it and most of all, they will learn from each one.
Don't let fear of failure or fear of what your friends think keep you
from trying
A New Thing. You might discover something profitable that you never
knew could be
so much fun!
And in the process, you might just discover something that changes the
world!
At least one thing will be changed: your children's view of their
future� and
possibly their relationship with you.
So many books, so little time�
Rhea!
who wants you to tell yourself the next time you start to put that
quarter in a
gumball machine, "Some guy is about to make a 23 cent profit on me. I
could be
doing this!"
A Christian
Connection Connecting Christians in Finance, Business, Home School,
and other areas of interest.
So What About
Prepared Curriculum?
By Barb Shelton
And now we come to "The Million Dollar Question," meaning, if I had a dollar for every time I've been asked this, I'd be a millionaire. OK, maybe not quite, but close. Here's the whole question as I generally hear it:
So what do you think about
prepared curriculum?
I mean, like going with a whole program
of textbooks and workbooks
for all the subjects?
Can't it be "one option" for people who
aren't as creative as others?
The first thing I need to tell you before I give you my opinion is that I am biased. In fact, very biased! Having homeschooled for 16 years now [I wrote this in 1998], and having had contact with hundreds of homeschoolers via my writing, speaking around the country, the Home-Based Education Course I offer, and the support groups I've been involved in, I have just seen too much to have anything but a biased view of any workbook-oriented approach to homeschooling.
We have somehow gotten this view that "education" is filling our kids' minds with facts and information. While that certainly enters into the picture, it is NOT what true education is. Education is teaching them to think, cooperating with God in preparing them "for the works He prepared for them to walk in," allowing time for the stuff God breathed in them to come to life, and character building. This is why we are hearing so much about employers who are frustrated with what the traditional school system is giving them. The schools are not producing "educated people" but rather "schooled" kids whose minds are only "puffed up with knowledge." Even knowledge from a Christian perspective "puffeth up" when the character has not been trained. And that is NOT best done by a workbook on "Character Training"! It is best done within the context of a lifestyle where learning is a common, everyday occurrence.
You wouldn't believe the stack of letters I have received from home school moms who have been homeschooling for ten, even twelve years, and have written to us, some even in tears, frustrated over having tried the work-textbook approach for many years, only to now have nothing but burnt-out kids who hate learning and have retained very little of it anyway. They are overjoyed to have found the lifestyle of learning approach, but say "I can't tell you how much I wish I could go back and do it this way right from the start!" Letter after letter say the very same thing! And almost every one of them also says, "You have put into words what I felt God was saying, but could never figure it out!"
There is still a place, I believe, for using a some prepared curriculum when first starting out, and then maybe later on for selected subjects, like math and English, especially at the high school level. But I have seen so many homeschoolers use it for their entire curriculum, and I have never seen one bit of "good fruit" come from it � especially not the fruit the parents themselves were striving and hoping for. There's so much to be gained from "real life" experiences" and "real books." (Just reading them to your kids is good; I still read to my high schoolers up through graduation!) But we're too scared that they won't learn! Or that they won't learn "enough." I am now convinced that the very same thing will happen � they won't learn "enough" � if we are relying on prepared curriculum for our education! We do use a bit of "canned curriculum," but it's not the fabric out of which the majority of our "educational program" is woven.
Rather than looking to curriculum to give you a false sense of security that education is taking place, I encourage you to look to the Lord for a renewing of your mind. Everyone in America needs it! Not just you or me! The traditional-school mindset is just woven into � and is the pseudo-solid foundation of � the society we live in!) Ask God what His idea of education is. There is much joy and freedom in His ways � no matter what area of our lives. But "His ways" must first be sought out and understood. Today's idea of education is very far from "God's way" - Wisdom's Way � of education.
How do we know whether any given form of education is God's way? By looking at the fruit it produces. Look at the current methods of education. They are producing the fruit of burn-out, frustration, people who have a pile of knowledge poured into their heads, but little if any character and values. God's ways produce the fruit of peace, delight, and freedom. And I'm not talking about the flesh-pleasing, selfish, "I-gotta-be-me" kind of "freedom" the world offers; I'm talking about the freedom Jesus died for us to have: in Him! "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty"!
This was probably more than you bargained for, and I sure didn't mean to blow you away! I used to think: "Different strokes for different folks!" But I've just "seen too much" to be quiet about it anymore. As you seek the Lord on this, He will show you the best way for your family! And it will be what is good and best for you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And here are a few related Q's and A's:
Q: Do you recommend using the school district for supplemental educating (I looked into what the kindergarten programs had available, such as "library", etc.)
A: No, I don't. I don't say "Don't do it!", but neither do I recommend it. I think it's best to just not be connected.
Q: Should I register him with the state?
A: That is totally up to you. Read my article called "Obeying the Law, Testing, and Qualifying to Homeschool" for my thoughts on this. :-) It's very long, and I don't mean to overwhelm you, but there is MUCH to say and consider on this matter; it is not a simple thing.
Q: But I don't feel like I'm creative enough to do my own curriculum! This question is also worded as "I have several children, I don't have time to make my own curriculum! I just need something fast and easy!"
A: This isn't about "doing your own curriculum"; it's about SEEING and understanding what education really IS! I HIGHLY recommend that you put yourself through a "season of re-education and renewing of your mind, even (if not especially) starting now. The more you get your thinking in line with where God would have it be, the freer you will be to follow His ways, and the less you will depend on any plan of "man's" to guide you or give you ideas, because you'll be watching for and following God's leading. Not that using a curriculum is "not following God"! But I do not personally feel you really need a set curriculum. You might think you do, but my approach is to train parents and to help them better understand what "true education" is so that they are equipped and free to follow the leading of the Lord for their child. You still use all sorts of resources for various subjects (mostly "real books" but also "workbookish" things for grammar and math), but I believe that God wants to have you lean on Him for what you do on a day-to-day basis rather than on what a curriculum would tell you, no matter how wonderful and real-life it is. If you have already bought one, you can still use lots of ideas from it, but I hope you will get to the place where you will walk in greater understanding and freedom, and thus be able to utilize the "real-life curriculum" that God will bring your way daily. And THAT is what my course is about. Getting you to that place! If you need something in the "interim," that is exactly why I wrote two of my books:
~ The Homeschool Jumpstart Navigator, for moms with children age 12 and under, which you can read about on this page.
~Senior High: A Home-Designed Form+U+la ~ for junior high age and above. (mostly high school) You can read about it on that same page.
What I can do, you cannot do. What you can do, I cannot do.
- Mother Teresa
But is an acronym for Behold the Underlying Truth.
- John Roger & Peter McWilliams
Don't complain that you are not getting what you want,
Just be glad you are not getting what you deserve!
Joy is not in things, it is in us.
- Benjamin Franklin
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
- Theodore Roosevelt
I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.
- Abraham Lincoln
The price of greatness is responsibility
- Winston Churchill
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It got so cold it froze up and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some manure on it. As it lay there in the pile of manure, it began to realize how warm it was. The manure was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the little bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of manure and promptly dug him out - and then ate him!
The morals of the story are:
1. Not everyone who drops manure on you is your enemy.
2. Not everyone who digs you out of a pile of manure is your friend
3. When you are in manure, keep your mouth shut!
Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don't say.
My father always used to say that when you die, if you've got five real friends, then you've had a great life.
- Lee Iacocca
ONE MAN'S ROAD THROUGH LIFE
Failed in business at age 22
Defeated for Legislature at 23
Failed again in business at 24
Suffered nervous breakdown at 27
Defeated for Speaker at 28
Defeated for Elector at 31
Defeated for Congress at 34
Defeated again for Congress at 39
Defeated for Senate at 46
Defeated for Vice President at 47
Defeated for Senate at 49
Elected President at 51
Guess Who? Abraham Lincoln
If all this happened to you what paradigm might you develop? How might that paradigm affect you in terms of your life from that point on? What does this tell you about Abe?
Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
- Edison, who tried 10,000 different materials for the light bulb
A mistake at least proves that somebody stopped talking long enough to DO something.
The greatest mistake a person can make is to be afraid of making one.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
- Winston Churchill
We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.
- Helen Keller
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistance.
Talent will not; nothing is more common that unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistance and dedication alone are omnipotent.
It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
The game of life is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well.
Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
- Albert Einstein , Out of My Later Years
- H.T. Leslie
God gave us two ears but only one mouth. Some people say that's because he wanted us to spend twice as much time listening as talking. Others claim it's because he knew listening was twice as hard as talking.
ACTIVE LISTENING:
1. Seek to understand first and to be understood second
2. Match tempo and tone
3. Listen TO, not against. Evaluate, not value judge.
4. Watch for: What is NOT said
5. Read facial and body language
6. Restate in your own words
(It is NOT required that the listener AGREE with the other person)
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
Success
is discovering what you were put on this earth to do...and doing it.
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*COPYRIGHT / TRADEMARK NOTICE:
All text contained within this website is copyrighted by the authors and may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission.
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