High School Life Skills Course

The following is a sponsored post in collaboration with Thrive Academics and MommyMaestra. All opinions are my own.

Like most parents, I like to think that I'm doing everything I can to prepare my kids for adulthood. That's my intention anyway. But with my oldest starting her senior year and my middle kid going into 10th grade, I feel a certain amount of panic and wonder if I'm covering everything. I had a chance to view a demo of Voyage and it is everything I could want in an online course teaching really important life skills.

Quick Overview

Program: Thrive Academics
Class: Voyage
Religious Perspective: Secular
Format: Online
Grades: 9th - 12th
Price: $60

Teaching Teens Life Skills

Over and over, I have written about how important it is for us to take time to teach those life skills that are usually overlooked in schools. In fact, you may remember me sharing a free download last year that is a check list of life skills. I felt being stuck at home was a great time to work on them! 

Seriously, so many teens are graduating and heading into the world without knowing really important skills such as: 

• how to create and manage a budget, 
• how to plan for a career,
• how to compare insurance companies, 
• how to book appointments, 
• how to file taxes,
• how to read a map (without technology!)
• how to establish good credit,
• what to look for in health insurance,
• how to apply for a job, 
• what to do if their car breaks down,
• how to manage their time,
• how to TRAVEL through an airport, train station, etc.,
• and SO MUCH MORE!
  
  

A Focus on Life Prep

I love that Voyage is a course that carefully focuses on guiding young adults through important skills. The program has forced my 15yo son to stop and think carefully about what HE enjoys doing and how he might translate that into a career. 

Here's how it works...

There are five modules in total: 

1. Who Am I
2. Career Planning
3. College Planning
4. Financial Responsibility
5. Everyday Living

Each module has a series of lessons covering different concepts. Some of the modules have a lot more lessons than others. For example, Financial Responsibility is pretty large, but totally appropriate in length and topics.

Students log in and begin the course by setting up their own profile in the Who Am I module. They are first shown a "map" of their area. It includes their "house" and several other buildings that they enter to learn more about certain skills or to complete specific activities.

Next, they are asked to put together their virtual "room" (which looks like a teen bedroom) with items that represent the things they enjoy most. For example, if they like playing music, they can add a guitar; or if they are budding photographers, they can add a camera. If they love reading, they can add books. Or if they love sports, maybe they have a pair of running shoes on the floor or trophies on display. You get the idea.

Teens have to think carefully about who they are and what make them them by identifying their strengths, skills, and interests. 

In Career Planning, the students are directed to an interest profiler. After taking a short quiz, it makes recommendations of possible careers based on their responses. Students can click on each one to learn more about it.

College Planning teaches students how to think about and prepare for college. They'll learn how to research colleges, apply to schools, learn about financial aid, what to do after they're accepted and what to expect from campus life. This is an especially valuable module for homeschooled students, in my opinion!

Financial Responsibility is a big module. I love it. Kids learn about the different types of bank accounts and how to open one. They also learn how to balance their account, why it's important to have a savings account and how much to save, and learn about interest and retirement. They'll learn about credit cards and credit scores and how to maintain good credit. They'll learn about taxes, paying bills, and finally about student loans. 

These are SUCH IMPORTANT skills to teach and pass on to our children! It baffles me that all high school students aren't taught these in school. They are so important for success in adulthood.

The final module is Everyday Living and it touches on big things such as personal health, housing, drivers license, and good communication skills. 

Even if I had sat down and made a checklist myself of all the life skills I thought my kids needed to learn, I would have forgotten a good chunk of this. 

When I asked my son if and what he liked about it, he said he liked the idea and concept of how it was presented. He also enjoyed that the program gives him lots of resources that he can print out and keep. 

A High School Elective

My son in only through Module 3, but I'm planning to have him finish it when we start back to school in a couple of weeks. I'll then add it to his high school transcript as an elective, which is what I think all teens should do! Personally, I think colleges would really appreciate seeing this on their transcripts.

Your Free Download

Remember my comment about a checklist? Well, Thrive Academy is offering a free Adulting Checklist that helps high school students prepare for life after they graduate. This is available in an eBook format and I HIGHLY recommend downloading it. It's a valuable resource for parents (like me!!) who are trying to get it all done, but need something in front of them with everything laid out.

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