Wondering Wednesday

Ray and Donna Reish draw on their thirty years of home schooling-and developing a love for learning in their seven children—to help home school parents see how they can have children who love learning and enjoy home schooling. They include information on the importance of beginning early in developing a love for learning (as opposed to a disdain for multiple workbooks at a young age); the influence of free time and frivolities on love for learning; the value of reading aloud; building comprehension to build enjoyment of learning; how hands on learning encourages a love for learning; modeling love for learning; creating learning memories; the fun and value of family learning times; how to develop a home school lifestyle; the effects of peers on love for learning; developing study skills; spiritual training at various times; teaching multiple children and multiple learning styles; and much more.

Ray and Donna Reish, of Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character Parenting Seminar, bring you their Top 30 Tips From 30 Years of Homeschooling. They delve into areas of prioritizing, character training, heart training, housework, little kids, school, and time management. Speaking from their hearts, they love to help parents in general, and homeschoolers specifically, be successful in their parenting.

In this Wondering Wednesday podcast episode, Donna Reish explains the various areas of language arts instruction for each grade level—what to focus on, what to continue with, and how to move through language arts grade-by-grade. She touches on the essentials of language arts in the areas of listening, phonics, reading, spelling, comprehension, writing, grammar, oral communication, literature, and penmanship.

Welcome to another Wondering Wednesday podcast episode! In this audio presentation, Donna Reish (of Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character) answers questions about faith and character training for young children. Donna begins with the Five W’s and One H of Character Training, reminding parents that we must first have it in our hearts before we can give it to our children. She then delves into laying some foundations with toddlers. Finally, she talks about the four places and times that Deuteronomy tells us to teach our kids God’s Word and ways: when you rise up; when you sit in your house; when you walk by the way; and when you lie down. She gives examples and activities for each time period—focusing on getting to our children’s hearts with unconditional love, intentionality, prioritizing, and selflessness.

In this Wondering Wednesday podcast episode, Donna Reish (author of sixty curriculum books, Raising Kids With Character parenting seminar, and the Book-Movie-Book line up of readers) answers a reader’s question about helping our children navigate relationships with the opposite sex. Specifically, Donna describes the importance of laying a foundation for your family’s beliefs and approach to relationships at various ages early on; of spending quality (and quantity!) time with your children to find out what is going on in their hearts; of protecting your children from groups in which they will find it too difficult to stand alone; of encouraging outstanding friendships; having a game plan that you refer to often; and much more!

Donna Reish, author at Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character, brings you answers to your Independent Work Lists questions, or Daily Duties, as Donna likes to call them. In this episode, Donna talks in general about charts for kids’ daily independent work, including what kinds of charts, what order to put tasks, how to teach children to use them, and more. Then she delves into two age groups of chart users: elementary and junior high/high school. In those parts, Donna talks about how much help/oversight/structure a younger child might need in order to get his independent list done each day and then she branches out into helping our older kids become more independent and stronger in time management. Donna briefly introduces her ebook/download, “Daily Duties: Independent Check Sheets for Students,” which can be found at the Character Ink store.

Donna Reish, co-author and co-presenter of Raising Kids With Character parenting seminar and blog and fifty curriculum books (including February 2016 releases of five levels of Write On, Peter Pan books and March 2016 releases of five levels of Write On, Mowgli book) from Character Ink Press, brings you this Wondering Wednesday podcast episode in which her guest, son Joshua Reish, answers even more questions about planning an amazing (and affordable!) family vacation to Walt Disney World. In this episode, Joshua delves even more deeply into saving money while dining at Disney, including the peak times for the free dining plan as well as purchasing a dining plan (to still save meal money over buying each meal separately). His thorough explanation of the snacks, quick service meals (counter meals), and sit-down meals will help you put all of the Disney dining pieces together in order to enjoy the amazing food and service that Disney offers. Joshua also goes further into the fast passes and making the most of ea

Donna Reish, co-author and co-presenter of Raising Kids With Character parenting seminar and blog and fifty curriculum books (including February 2016 releases of five levels of Write On, Peter Pan and March 2016 releases of five levels of Write On, Mowgli) from Character Ink Press, brings you this Wondering Wednesday podcast episode in which her guest, son Joshua Reish, answers the myriad of questions that the Reish family is often asked about taking a Walt Disney World family vacation. In this first part, Joshua tells listeners how to minimize the price of a WDW vacation, how to minimize wait times in lines, how far ahead to plan your trip (including Disney Dining), how to slow down and experience Disney, and much more.

Donna Reish, author of fifty language arts and writing books and the Raising Kids With Character seminar and blog, brings you this “chore” episode of Wondering Wednesday. This week Donna answers readers’ questions about age-appropriate chores. Donna introduces some keys to teaching children chores at all ages, including the importance of a set chore time, thorough training, and the difference between working with the child vs. the child working independently. Then she delves into various age groups and what are appropriate expectations for each one—with thorough, consistent training and follow up.

Donna Reish, Character Ink Press author of fifty language arts/writing curriculum books and co-author/presenter of Raising Kids With Character parenting seminar (and blog), presents suggestions on how to spend more time with your kids in the upcoming year. On this Wondering Wednesday podcast episode, Donna answers parents questions about how to squeeze in more “kid time” in the midst of busy-ness, how to make each child feel special in large families, and more. Drawing on thirty-three years of parenting experience of seven children (ages seventeen to thirty-three) in a family in which both Mom and Dad have spent countless hours building strong relationships with their kids, Donna brings insights on this topic from very young to young adults.

Donna Reish, author, speaker, and blogger from Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character, brings you a new year’s podcast episode about using your planner/calendar to get more done. She emphasizes the importance of looking at the day-to-day first (while still keeping your big and lofty goals in place!) by conquering the dailies (with a Daily Duties list). Then she moves into how to make weekly lists that really work (using her ABC prioritizing method and the Terrible Task List). Finally, she describes some helpful ways to set up your monthly calendar to utilize the space better and see things at a glance. She refers to this month’s (January 2016) Friday Freebies’ planner (The Simplified Planner) to help you plan and achieve more each day, each week, and each month. (That is available for free during January for blog or newsletter subscribers, so subscribe and download this month!)

Donna Reish, of Raising Kids With Character and Character Ink Press, brings you answers to questions about celebrating Christmas with college and adult children. From how to include marrieds and college kids to gift ideas and party games, Donna loves sharing about her family's traditions and celebrations.

Donna Reish, of Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character, brings you this episode about CLEP testing for college credit. Donna describes the two primary reasons for taking CLEP (College Level Equivalency Program) tests: (1) To test out of an entire degree (or most of it); (2) To earn college credit towards a degree that the student will be pursuing or is pursuing. She explains the steps her family has gone through to use the CLEP for both approaches (as some classes toward a nursing degree, for 3/4 of a degree, and for all of a degree except for two classes for which there were no tests available). She then details the steps you will want to go through to get the most out of this college testing option, focusing on how to decide if a student would be a good CLEP candidate, how to choose the exams to take, and how to prepare for the exams.

Donna Reish, of Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character seminar and blog, brings you some answers to questions that have been submitted about college kids and young adults living at home. Most of the Reish children have lived at home for at least two years of their college years (or more), so Ray and Donna have some significant insights to help families help their young adults to become independent while still in their parents' home. Donna elaborates on the importance of this time period--and how to be sure it is not ruined by miscommunication, mistreatment (i.e. treating the adult children like little kids), unrealistic expectations, too much freedom that leads to taking improper advantage of the living situation, and much more. She also explains how they have enjoyed these years with their young adults immensely. Lastly, she offers a "rough draft" contract that parents can tweak and use to help their situation work out well for both the young adult and the parents/siblings at home.

In this podcast episode, Donna Reish, co-author/co-presenter of Raising Kids With Character (RKWC) parenting seminar (and blog), author of sixty curriculum books, and co-owner of Character Ink Press, explains the RKCW’s Recipe for Rebellion. She explains all four ingredients, gives Scriptures to remind parents of the importance of not using these harmful “ingredients,” outlines steps detailing the appeal process, and leaves parents with suggestions for avoiding these pitfalls in parenting teens.

Donna Reish, of Raising Kids With Character parenting seminar and blog, and Character Ink, brings you this weeks podcast episode, Overcoming Obstacles in Parenting. In this episode, Donna describes several obstacles that keep us from moving forward in our parenting. She offers some insight into these and how they affect our parenting. Finally, she offers action steps to help us overcome these obstacles.

Donna Reish, of Character Ink Press and Raising Kids With Character Parenting Seminar, bring you this Wondering Wednesday podcast episode in which she discusses ways to keep your family and your children close during intense training times. This episode follows the three previous ones about the 4 D's of Behavior, Dealing With Heart Issues of Tweens, and Character Training of Routine Behaviors. Donna gives 10 tips for affecting your child's heart and staying close in your relationship during times of intense training. She describes some of the things that you must consider that your child is feeling during this time as well as the effect that this could have on your entire family. She gives some practical suggestions for keeping things fun, upbeat, and unified even during difficult times and behavior problems.

Donna Reish, of Raising Kids With Character parenting seminar, Character Ink Press, and Language Lady, brings you another episode of Wondering Wednesday podcast about tweens (though it certainly can apply to elementary kids and teens too!). In the following up to her Four D’s of Behavior and Dealing With Heart Issues of Tweens, Donna explains the difference between Four D’s discipline and Character Training/Routine Behaviors consequences. She then gives a systematic order to be sure that you, as the parent, are doing all that you can to help your child succeed in whatever areas you are having problems (not finishing work, unclean room, dilly dallying, etc.). She explains Kevin Leman’s Reality Discipline and teaches how to apply this to character/routine behaviors. Finally, she gives some solutions to these behaviors, including RKWC Consequence Pies in which the child helps choose the consequences and these consequences are carried out in a black and white (no gray area!) manner that the child knows is coming.

Donna Reish, of Raising Kids With Character, Homeschooling With Character, and Character Ink publishing, answers questions readers have been posing about handling 4 D types of behaviors (heart behaviors) in children ages eight to fourteen or so (primarily tweens). Donna emphasizes the need for parents to take responsibility for their parenting mistakes first. Then focus on taking the behaviors from gray to black & white so that misbehaviors are clear and can be handled. She gives an important order/protocol to make things very black and white with this age group for three typical misbehaviors, disrespect, disobedience, and fighting. Additionally, she gives suggested signaling words and phrases to use when these behaviors come up so that things are crystal clear as to the family expectations and handling of these things. (Listen to the prequel to this podcast episode, “Understanding The Four D’s of Behavior.”)

Donna Reish, from Character Ink (home of Raising Kids With Character, Homeschooling With Character, and Language Lady), answers listeners’ questions about the Four D’s of children’s behavior: (1) Disrespect; (2) Disobedience; (3) Deceit; (4) Destruction (purposeful breaking or harming). This episode lays the ground work for next week’s episode about punishing and disciplining tweens (especially ten to twelve year olds). Donna expounds on the Four D’s as foolishness and heart-motivated (which necessitate punishment and serious handling), contrasting these with childishness/character issues (which require training, rewards, and consequences).