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Personal Finance for Students of All Ages

May4
Money

Image by AMagill via Flickr

Beginning with the graduating class of 2014, personal finance is a required subject for Ohio public school students. Given the state of economic affairs, I think this is a credit that will benefit all students. It’s never too early to begin showing and discussing money affairs with our children. I have some resources that you can incorporate into your math curriculum or teach as a separate topic.

My Family Counts workbook is free and can be downloaded and used to introduce and discuss with your elementary students ideas such as needs versus wants,saving, spending, giving, setting goals, budgeting, and banking transactions. There is also a free online game called Nicklesberg that you can register your student and is designed for students 3rd to 5th grade.

Looking for a homeschool curriculum? Many people recommend Dave Ramsey’s course.

Dave Ramsey Financial Peace The Foundations in Personal Finance for Homeschool Student Text is a comprehensive, 288-page student soft-cover consumable. It provides students an opportunity to learn, practice, and apply important personal finance knowledge and skills. The 12 chapters are aligned with the National Standards for Financial Literacy.

Here are several online courses for your high school student if you’d like to have your scholar do it this way.

Practical Money Skills for Life has a FREE downloadable course for your 9-12 grade student.

This dynamic financial literacy curriculum for 9 – 12 graders features engaging design, student-centered activities, research projects, discussion points, and tools and resources–all designed to engage students in learning the personal finance skills they need to succeed in life after high school.

Time4Learning is affordable if you have a student that can move through the coursework  fairly quickly. It is $30.00 per month and you may quit at any time. I have copied the description from the website

High School Personal Finance

The high school Personal Finance curriculum is organized into thirteen exercises that cover topics such as balancing a checkbook, avoiding debt, saving for home ownership, preparing for retirement, and performing investments using a program designed to simulate real stock market transactions. This course is designed to help students understand economics as a whole, and the importance of financial responsibility, both in college and beyond.

 

 

 

Safety and Manners Books

Apr13

51TsXHfXeaL._AA160_I found these darling books for you to read to your early elementary students. The first one by author Margery Cuyler is called Please Play Safe! The book first gives a scenario of the wrong way to act and then takes the scenario and gives the right way to act. It not only includes safety, but also ways to treat others. This can lead to great discussions to have with your child about the playground and being a good neighbor while there.

51wH13KI7QL._UX160_Another book in the series is called Please say Please! Here Penguin has guests over for dinner  and his friends need some help in using etiquette. Just as the other book has a poor behavior scenario and a proper behavior scenario to follow, so does this book. This is a great book to use before going to Grandma’s for dinner!

Portfolio Review Time!

Mar30

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You are almost finished with school! Yippee! Now what do you need to do to continue homeschooling next year? Here in Ohio you will need to have your child’s academic progress assessed. This can be done through a portfolio review (also known as a written narrative) or taking a standardized test. Since I have a portfolio review business, I am going to concentrate on this.

There are many advantages to portfolio reviews. I have listed what I think are the most common reasons.

  • If you have a child who is not yet reading or fluency and speed are being developed, a portfolio review is an excellent option to testing.
  • Perhaps you have a “Wiggly One” who has not been used to sitting for a long period of time, written narratives are perfect for them!
  • Many homeschool curricula doesn’t follow the typical public school academic courses and of study or Common Core so what your child has studied will not be tested that particular year.
  • The time is much shorter than testing. 30 minutes is all the time we need, while testing takes between 3-9 hours, depending upon the test.
  • You can use this form of assessment throughout all of your scholar’s academic career (senior high too).
  • It is affordable. My fees are $40.00 for each student. I will give you the state required form needed to continue homeschooling and I also send you an electronic feedback form that is for your own personal reference.
  • It is perfect for students who have special needs. I have tutored ASD students and I have also had several families come for reviews.
  • If you are an unschooler or don’t use textbooks, portfolio reviews (written narratives) allow you to showcase your academic year.
  • I only need to see and evaluate work samples, not your student, so there is no stress to your child being interviewed or quizzed.
  • I successfully homeschooled and graduated my own children. 🙂

If you are new to the portfolio review process and would like detailed information concerning this option please read the post, Understanding Portfolio Reviews under my Portfolio Review Tab that I believe will be especially helpful.

Please email me at schoolmarmohio@me.com to set up an appointment if you live in the Cincinnati area. I have some evening appointments if day appointments are not possible. I have a NEW Option for anyone who can’t come to my house or meet me at a nearby coffee shop because of distance or an extenuating circumstance. I am offering Skype appointments. If you are interested in this option please let me know when you email me.

I look forward to meeting with you,

~ Lisa

Travels with Charlie: A book about U.S.Geography

Mar23

books“Who is Charlie?!” Charlie is the name of a cartoon character dog after which this series, written by Miles Backer, is named. I first saw this book on the internet and thought it would be a great resource for teaching younger students geography. Each page has some facts about the state and some questions to research, plus children must look at each page to locate Charlie somewhere on the page. It would be beneficial to have a map or atlas for your student as you discuss each state. Take your time with these books; I would suggest that you only do one state at a time and not rush through. I am going to spotlight some states by giving you activities and a craft to accompany your reading. If you are interested in purchasing the books or seeing more information, click on the individual titles listed below.

Travels with Charlie Way Out West

Our first stop is Alaska! How about printing a map of Alaska so your student(s) can color and label it? Here is a website with a collection of various maps of Alaska to color. CLICK HERE

Alaska is bigger than Texas, California, and Montana combined. And we thought Texas was big! You will find more interesting facts to read by clicking here

Time for Kids has information on the area, the people, and the animals of Alaska.

Travels with Charlie Down South 

Tennessee, the home of Ruby Falls Cavern, is sure to be a springboard for a study on caves and caverns.  Have you ever heard of cave popcorn, soda straws, or cave bacon? Here are pictures and facts for the various formations found in caves. CLICK HERE

How about making a cave in a cup? Sometimes it is hard to explain how water can eat away at rock, but this activity is perfect for showing the effects of acidic water on limestone. CLICK HERE

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Travelin’ the Northeast

The beautiful state of Maryland is one of the states featured in this book. Did you know there is a Miss Crustacean Beauty Pageant held there? In honor of this event, your student can make a crab craft.

As you can see, there are all kinds of activities and lessons you can do with your child when going  on an adventure with Charlie. Have a good time, and don’t get lost! 🙂

Language Arts Games to Play

Jan12

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Sometimes it’s just hard coming up with a way to reinforce grammar and spelling lessons. Instead of workbooks, how about some games? Your student will be engaged longer with the subject and with more than one of the senses involved, will better retain the information. So, pull out the games and have fun!

 

Word Games

  • Scrabble and Scrabble Jr. are not only ways to work on spelling, but these games require some strategy in the placement of words on the board. Mathematics skills can be reinforced as well if scorekeeping is involved. You can purchase it as a board game or you can get the app. for FREE!
  • Scattergories (pick a general category and write 10 letters of the alphabet going vertically) You don’t even have to purchase the game! You can create your own. Set the timer for one minute. Each player reviews their words and whoever has the most wins that round. Determine how many points will win the game ahead of time.
  • Boggle is a great game to play for middle school and older students. This online version has a timer and you can see how many words you can spell within the allotted time. Not only is this an online game, but it can be a board game to play with the whole family. You cab also purchase it as a board game if you like. Click Here
  • Mad Libs are fun, nonsensical stories that you fill in the blanks. A review of parts of speech and even giving a mini lesson helps students to think of adjectives, adverbs, nouns and verbs (plus others) to complete the story. You can download stories or purchase them. You can even download a free app of the game!