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Further
Reading ...
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Beauty and Raw Food
One of the best ways to improve the appearance of your skin is by incorporating raw food into your diet. Beautiful skin starts from the inside out. People who switch to eating mostly raw food often see an improvement in their skin and look younger. ...
A Look At The Years of Celebrities Wearing Jewelry
As far back as one can remember famous celebrities have been wearing the jewelry made by famous jewelry designers. Through out many eras and many styles the celebrities and jewelry designers have held a close bond. Who better to display your...
Traveling With Your Chihuahua
Travel season is finally here again and that means hundreds of cats and dogs will be lost and never again found by their heartbroken owners. Many years ago I lost a dog for three days. They were among the worst days of my life but I learned a...
Ouch! Baby's First Shots
Now that your bundle of joy has arrived, it is your responsibility to keep her safe and healthy.
Immunizations/vaccinations protect your baby from serious and some life-threatening illnesses. They boost your baby's immunity and help her make...
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Starting a Teen Book Study Group
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Written By:
Rachel Paxton
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If you're looking for a way to connect with your teenage daughter this summer, consider starting a girl's book study group with your daughter and her friends. You may think that teens would not respond well to this idea, but think again...you just might be surprised. First bounce the idea off your daughter and see what her thoughts are on the subject. If she shows any sign of interest, then brainstorm some possible book titles and/or topics. When my daughter and I started our group last summer, we had in mind to get some girls together from our church's high school youth group. So we talked about some of the books that people were reading at the time. Next my daughter started calling her friends and acquaintances to see who she could interest in the idea. Almost everyone she talked to was interested in coming and liked the idea, but many were already busy with other summer activities. We narrowed the list to around four or five who committed to reading the book and getting together to talk about it. We all gave input into which book we wanted to read, and ended up with "What's So Amazing About Grace?" a popular non-fiction book by Phillip Yancey. I broke the book down into three- to four-chapter sections, and we decided to meet Wednesday evenings for six weeks. Overall, the study went very well, and it was very rewarding. We all have fond memories of it, and it was great to spend that quality time with my daughter. If you think this is something you might be interested in doing, here are some tips I picked up along the way: - Don't take it personally if everyone doesn't come every week. Everyone has busy schedules and conflicts arise. Probably only one or two girls came every single week, even my daughter missed at least one. You'll find that conversations can greatly differ depending on the mix of girls, which is good!
- Meet in a low-key, relaxed setting so everyone is comfortable and doesn't feel like they're in a classroom. We took blankets to sit on down to a local park and had snacks every week.
- Don't pressure yourself into having to "lead" the group. You're not there to teach them, but only to facilitate the conversation. I found it helpful to choose a - continued below ...
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book that included group study questions. Some books have the questions in the back. This particular book had a companion study guide that had to be purchased separately. Just let the girls talk, and ask questions if there is a big lull in the conversation. Although you might be tempted to challenge "wrong" answers, let the girls challenge each other first and see what conclusions they come to. It is rare that you'll have to intercede. Instead of challenging someone directly, ask them more questions to help them reach a another answer. On the same note as the last point, don't feel you have to give advice or have all the right answers. Most teenagers love having someone, particularly adults, listen to their thoughts and feelings. They don't expect you to know everything, they just want you to listen. You'll find that the teens come from all different family backgrounds and don't always have other people to listen to them when they need to talk. Encourage girls to come to the discussions even if they didn't do their reading for the week. You'll find that most are embarrassed if they didn't do their "homework" and don't want to show up. Encourage them to come even if they didn't read it, to encourage fellowship among the girls. Dads can have book study groups with their teenage sons and their friends too! They may need to goof around some more and maybe burn off some energy before they get down to business (some kind of outdoor activity), but teenage guys like to get together and learn from each other also. A book study group is a great way to get to know some of your teenager's friends. Encourage them to also invite people they don't know very well...people from school or work who they want to get to know better. It's a great way to make that first step towards friendship and teaches them to reach out to others.
Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom who is the author of What's for Dinner?, an e-cookbook containing more than 250 quick easy dinner ideas. For more recipes, organizing tips, home decorating, crafts, holiday hints, and more, visit Creative Homemaking at http://www.creativehomemaking.com.
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Most Parents Are Not Idiots Or Negligent — So Why Do We Need Compulsory-Attendance Laws?
Why do we need compulsory-attendance laws? Why compel parents to send their children to public schools? Wouldn’t parents naturally educate their children without compulsion? Human nature and history prove this to be the case. All over the world,...
Iolite Gem Stone Information
For buyers without an indepth knowledge of gemstones, iolite would seem to be quite similar to tanzanite and many people infact mistake iolite for tanzanite. Iolite stones are a gorgeous bluish violet color and lighter shades of iolite look...
35 And Single
It doesn’t matter how you got to be single in your mid-thirties. What does matter, however, is that you have certain priorities in order so that you can protect yourself and those you date from getting hurt. There are too many reasons to list on why...
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