[Kimberly]

We all know that colleges look for a lot more than test scores and grades in their applicants. What are some of those activities that have allowed your students to find their passion, exercise their creativity, and develop life long skills? Do your students know how to communicate well about the benefits of those to others? I’ll get us started in the comments!

[Kimberly]

Our children did a variety of activities but the two that stuck for all of them were music (2 played piano; 1 violin) and speech and debate. The skill set they developed in each pursuit is obvious enough, but there were many other soft skills learned that have served them well and became topics in interviews or essays: perseverance, breaking a large task into smaller ones; goal setting; research; managing performance anxiety; listening well; learning to evaluate oneself; willingness to accept critiques; resiliency after disappointment; good sportsmanship; humility; etc. The list goes on.

[Rebekah]

Hi Kimberly. Our kids have participated in many church activities, singing groups, debate, football, baseball, basketball, soccer, and golf—with varying degrees of proficiency lol. Full disclosure, three of our eight have attended high school and discovered a glaring deficiency was their need for kudos. It got on the other kids’ nerves FAST. It manifested in varying degrees and mannerisms but I want to guard against it in my younger kids, especially if they end up homeschooling all the way through. Hope this helps! God is so good to give grace for the gaps.