Parenting Teens

The History Place is a great website for history in all areas. It covers wars, social events, and people (among other things) in depth. Two great features are “Photo of the Week” which has photos of the famous, infamous and everyday in history, and “Speech of the Week” which covers a speech made by a historical figure.

Another great feature is “This Month in History” which covers, month by month and day by day, what happened on each date in history. One of the most entertaining sections is reviews of movies dealing with history, from classics to more recent offerings such as “The Good Shepherd” and “Flags of Our Fathers”. Among all it’s informational offerings, there is also a helpful guide on how to write a better history paper.

For me, personally, history was always one of my favorite subjects in school, and I still love reading history. Have your teen give this site a try for help with history classes, or just read some of the offerings yourself for entertainment!

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Teenreads, a great reading site for teens that I’ve talked about on this site before has listed its choices for best teen books for 2006. Following are brief synopses of three of their choices. For a complete list, visit their website at www.teenreads.com. Find some books you think your teenage might enjoy-or recommend they visit the website themselves. There are great book suggestions and other activities there!

“The Boy In the Striped Pajamas”
by John Boyne

Berlin, 1942. When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move to a new house far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different from his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

:The Book Thief”
by Markus Zusak

Set during World War II in Germany, young Liesel Meminger, who lives outside of Munich, scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist — books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

“Cathy’s Book: If Found Call 650-266-8233″
by Sean Stewart & Jordan Weisman

Things weren’t so peachy in Cathy’s life before Victor broke up with her. Her father died unexpectedly, she’s failing school and her best friend is mad at her. But when Cathy decides to investigate Victor’s reasons for ending their relationship, things suddenly go from bad to worse as her findings produce more questions than answers.

Through Cathy’s unique and irresistible voice — and lots of proof in the form of letters, photographs, date book entries, telephone numbers readers can call, websites they can access, as well as secrets only a careful reader will be able to decipher — readers will enter a strange and fascinating world where things often aren’t how they appear.

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Let’s face it, parents. Going back to school after the holiday break is as much of a drag for teenagers as going back to work is for us! Actually, worse, because most of us don’t get as much time off, so we don’t have time to get really accustomed to a more relaxed schedule!

Help your teen adjust by urging him/her to go to bed a little earlier and get up a little earlier a few days before the holiday ends. On one hand, this almost seems unfair. They only have a few more days to stay up late and sleep in before the rigid schedule begins again. On the other hand, this actually can make the transition back to school easier.

Another hint that can ease the return to the grind is having them do some reading and reviewing for a little while each day. Don’t ruin their last few days of the holiday. Just 30 minutes a day can actually help their return to the daily homework schedule.

Hopefully, both they and you have had a chance to relax, unwind, and enjoy the holidays, and everyone can go back to work and school feeling refreshed!

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Does your teen like to read? Are you trying to get him/her more interested in reading? Check out a site called Teenreads.

This great site has lists of recommended books for teens, along with reviews of the books and interviews with authors. It also offers instructions to teens for starting and running a book club, as well as choosing books for a club to read.

It’s a great place for teens who like to read, and it just might help with getting teens to read more!

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Book of the Month Club

Here’s a great way for a mom to get closer to her teenage daughter. Does your daughter get any of the teen magazines, like “Seventeen” or “Cosmo Girl!”? They have quizzes in them on friendship, boyfriends and other subjects pertinent to teens.

Get the magazine and take turns doing the quizzes with your daughter! You can either do the quizzes from your present point of view, or (more fun) try and answer the questions the way you would have when you were your daughter’s age. Then, you and your daughter compare your answers!

Another interesting variation is for each of you to try and guess what answers the other would give. Whatever way you answer, each of you must agree to give honest answers. It’s a fun way for mother and daughter to get to know each other better! So get out your pencils and get going!

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Ronda over at Tiny Treasury gives some great recommendations for books for children and teens. Her latest recommendation is “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” for middle school girls and their parents as well. I have to agree with her! This is a great read! Check out her website for more great recommendations.

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