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).