At times there may be weakness in the structure, and here you will find the tools to solidify learning.
Enjoy the bi-weekly articles below.
These sections  are organized by age level, but the information is not confined to just this age. Consider looking at other age ranges as well. Also, make sure to check out the Archives.

Teach Bored Kids to Budget 
     Money is a fascinating topic for all ages. Maybe one of the best ways to waken your bored kids is to give them money. Not only give them money but teach them how to manage it. One of the best ways to work with money is to learn to budget. 
     Children need to learn to spend their money correctly. "Never spend more than you earn" is a tried and true maxim to teach children. Teach children to save today for a brighter future.  Help them make good decisions about spending for what they want—a video game now or a trip or vacation they want to enjoy with their family. Children as young as 7 years of age can learn to set goals for using their money. You can help them learn to prioritize their spending. 
     Budgeting is taking care of your money. Learning to control your money rather than letting it control you. First, you save and give, then when it is time to spend, your children need to consider several points. The SMART system helps your children make good decisions. Set a specific goal, one that is Measurable and Attainable.  Make it Realistic and Timely (www.cashvillekids.com). For example, your son wants a new pair of Jordan Aerospace shoes that cost $200.00.  He gets a small allowance of $7.00 a week. It would be unrealistic for him to have those. Maybe getting Jordan Mars 270 that cost $73.00 and come in six colors would be more realistic and he could have them in time for the reopening of school in August.  If he saves $4.00 each week, he would have $40.00 in ten weeks. Your son needs to see his money growing toward his goal of having those shoes by August, and he needs to learn to stick to his goal of getting the shoes he wants. Talk with him about what else he can do to earn the rest of the money he needs. Could he wash the car and earn $10 by doing it every two weeks? His work would need to be timely and consistent in order to have the money he needs.  By having him work for the money, he would also learn good work ethics. He would also learn to be patient and wait for something he wants badly.  
     YouTube has fun videos for teaching children to budget. Your example is also invaluable for teaching your older children to budget. You can teach your children to watch for bargains and discounts, even to negotiate with you or neighbors to earn money. Even consider, making something instead of buying it. If your son makes his own snacks rather than buying them, he might be able to save even more for the Jordan shoes he wants.   
          We believe if you teach kids for a decade, they can develop a habit. Kids will be able to make much better decisions                        about money. Gregg Murset 


Help Children Know Their Emotions 
     We all have feelings that affect what we do in life.  They provide useful information if we pay attention to them. Feelings can make us smarter, direct our attention and focus our thinking often in helpful ways. They direct our decision making and impact our health. We need to help our children recognize their feelings and use them properly. 
     The ability to use and express feelings and to understand and regulate emotions to enable good living is called emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and understand feelings, to put them into words and to use them at the right time in the right way. How do parents and caregivers help children develop their emotional intelligence? 
     By age four, children start to use strategies to eliminate things that upset them, like covering their eyes if something scares them or covering their ears if a sound bothers them. Children consistently use more complex strategies to regulate their emotions by age 10. They either learn to solve their problems and tolerate emotion or use their feelings improperly, upsetting themselves and their parents and caretakers.  
     In adolescents, higher emotional intelligence means less depression and anxiety, even preventing suicidal behavior. Higher emotional intelligence might even relate to higher SAT scores, greater creativity and better grades. As teens grow older, they might experience better relationships with friends and parents and express less anxiety, depression, stress and burnout. They will have more success in their lives and become better leaders in their chosen professionn.  
      Some parents may see their children’s emotions as unimportant and try to distract them. The American Association of Pediatrics sees more parents using tech to calm or pacify their children’s negative emotions using media as a strategy to do so. This prevents parents from using limits in their children’s future use of technology and promotes the children’s inability to learn and develop their own emotion regulation. Some parents see children’s emotions as undesirable and punish them for showing their emotions. Parents may accept their children’s emotions but fail to help children solve such problems or learn appropriate ways to handle their emotions. 
     Dr. John Gottman suggests five ways to help your children: 1)Be aware of your children’s emotions. 2) See the emotions as an opportunity for connection and teaching. 3) Listen to your children and validate their feelings.  “I can see you are upset when your brother takes the legos you need to make a garage for your cars.” 4) Help your children label their emotions; your son may be more than upset; he might be angry or furious—labels you help him understand.            5) You may suggest ways for your children to solve their problems but allow them choice.  
Their emotions might be acceptable, but the negative behavior resulting from their emotional outbursts is not. Helping children control their emotions in the right way will benefit them throughout their lives.  It may take a great deal of patience now to teach your children these ways, but a happier future for all will result. 

​Beware of tech!
​      Right now, your children are learning from home under your watchful eye, hopefully.  Your children need your positive advice about their use of technology.  They need your help to set up technology appropriately and your interest in their online transactions. Have a conversation about how they must never contact strangers online.  Children are naturally curious, but they should never go behind your back or watch videos of sensationalism.
     There are health risks in viral challenges, such as "outlet challenge" where they put pennies into an electrical wall socket.  They might try the "tripping jump" where three people line up and the middle person jumps while the others try to trip them causing them to fall. There is life-long damage if your children try the "fire challenge" where they spray themselves or another with nail polish remover and set on fire. There is the "shell on challenge" where your young people eat food items without removing the packaging.  There is a "cinnamon challenge" and a "nutmeg challenge" where they ingest so much spice they either choke or are poisoned.  
     The real issue is to teach kids to safely thrive online if they chase viral shock-fads like MOMO which increasingly encourages evil, even to committing suicide. 
    Children of this age are so anxious to impress their peers that they choose danger without considering the consequences.  They want to best their peers and siblings. They need your attention and will do anything to get it.
​     Give them your guidance and love.