Looking Ahead to the Future

I'm getting old.

An inevitable part that goes along with that is that my children are getting older as well. Along with growing up comes the part of thinking and preparing for the future.

Rachel, Emma and I went to a workshop at BYU last weekend. Foundations is a day-long activity that is hosted by the Multicultural Student Services. It is for 8th through 10th graders and their parents who are interested in learning about ways to prepare for college. Both the girls were slightly wary about giving up a whole Saturday to learn about preparing for college, but when I told them that lunch was provided and that it would be on BYU's campus, they agreed.

One thing the girls didn't realize was that there would be so many different ethnicities there (even though I showed them the flyer that had "Multicultural Student Services" printed on the front). They thought that was a nice surprise.

It is a great program! The kids were separated into the different grades and then broken up into small groups of 8-10. The parents went into an auditorium where a panel of high school counselors and academic advisors answered questions and showed the many different ways to get financial aid and scholarships.

The kids had workshops on how to make goals and prepare for college interspersed with service activities and lots of games.

When we came home that afternoon, Rachel and Emma had a list of goals they wanted to accomplish, and a bunch of new friends. I had a notebook of useful information that will put me in the right direction of finding a way to pay for my girls' education.

This was on the back of Emma's worksheet.

This is the front of the worksheet. I liked how the worksheets were different for each age group.
Some of the things on Em's worksheet that make me smile are:

1. How she wants to always be in good shape but she doesn't like to excercise.
2. How she tells herself to get over it.
3.Her doodle
She has a good head on her shoulders.

Rachel's goal sheet was a little more specific. I'm pretty impressed with it. Rach has always like to plan and map out her life so this excercise was right up her alley.

Pretty good girls, if you ask me. Maybe when they graduate from college, they'll be able to spring for a trip for their beloved parents to an exotic locale.