{"id":62574,"date":"2021-06-01T07:37:25","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T11:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/?p=62574"},"modified":"2026-02-11T11:23:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T16:23:53","slug":"connect-with-your-middle-schoolers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/connect-with-your-middle-schoolers\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Connect with Your Middle Schoolers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/connect-with-your-middle-schoolers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-62584\" src=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/family-3817041_1280-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/family-3817041_1280-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/family-3817041_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/family-3817041_1280-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/family-3817041_1280-1248x832.jpg 1248w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/family-3817041_1280.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>3 Ways to Connect with Your Middle Schoolers ~<br \/>\nWritten by Purva Brown of <a href=\"http:\/\/purvabrown.com\/category\/the-classical-unschooler\/\">The Classical Unschooler<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"drop_cap\">S<\/span>omething has changed around here lately, and I&#8217;m not sure how I feel about it. Overnight it seems my older two children have grown up. And the trajectory of my mom life has changed completely. Where, in 2019, I was mostly concerned with having time to myself, now most of my worry revolves around what my middle schoolers are doing.<\/p>\n<p><em>Prefer to listen instead?<\/em><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none;\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/20632868\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/backward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/3ebdc0\/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"90\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Are they making good decisions?&#8221; I wonder, realizing the old ways of talking to them no longer work.<\/strong> They tend to talk to each other a lot more than they talk to their father and me and when they do, the conversation is short and to the point.<\/p>\n<p>I spend so much time with them around, but still feel like we don&#8217;t share the same world. Of course, I anticipated this change; I even welcome it. But part of me is a little miffed that I have lost my position as Head Queen in their minds and that they don&#8217;t hang on my every word as the youngest still does. (Less so, lately but hey, I&#8217;ll take what I can get.)<\/p>\n<p>What is a mom to do? Maybe you&#8217;re in a similar place? <strong>Follow along then as I share three ways to connect with your middle schoolers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>3 Ways to Connect with Your Middle Schoolers<\/h2>\n<h3>1. Music<\/h3>\n<p>I will be the first to admit I am not musical in the least. I couldn&#8217;t even tell you what genre is my favorite; it all depends on my mood. But my oldest daughter seems to have inherited her musical talent from my husband, a bit of an autodidact.<\/p>\n<p>He taught himself to play the guitar by watching YouTube videos and he shows my daughter a few things here and there. We haven&#8217;t enrolled the children in formal lessons.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design96.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-62576 \" src=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design96.png\" alt=\"3 Ways to Connect with Your Middle Schoolers\" width=\"525\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design96.png 575w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design96-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design96-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design96-80x80.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>However, one of the ways I have learned to connect with them is just to listen to some of the music they enjoy.<\/strong> This is not about &#8220;being the cool mom,&#8221; but a way of being involved and connecting with them. I remember shunning all popular music when the kids were little.<\/p>\n<p>I worried about it being a bad influence on them. I have since loosened up and prefer to discuss and talk about it with the children and, yes, listen to it with them in the car. <strong>Open lines of communication with the kids mean more to me these days than the lyrics.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>2. Games<\/h3>\n<p>We have recently added this into our weekly routine and I absolutely love it. When we were living in California, my husband had a game group he met with twice a month to play Pathfinder, which is a role playing game. It all looked fascinating, but I was never involved.<\/p>\n<p>When we moved to Washington and COVID hit, all chances of playing with anyone outside the family vanished. So we started our own adventure!\u00a0I didn&#8217;t think I would enjoy it as much as I did, but I now look forward to our Wednesday evening games.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design95.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-62575 \" src=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design95.png\" alt=\"3 Ways to Connect with Your Middle Schoolers\" width=\"525\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design95.png 575w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design95-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design95-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design95-80x80.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>I don&#8217;t read aloud as much as I used to, now that the children are older, but this gives me the same feeling that reading aloud did.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We all get to inhabit a world together that&#8217;s just us and I love it as a bonding experience. Plus, it&#8217;s fascinating to watch the decisions my children make. It&#8217;s a lot of fun.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Money<\/h3>\n<p>I know. This seems like an odd way to reach your children, but I tell you&#8230; it works every single time!<\/p>\n<p><strong>We have always encouraged work for money, but involving them in small financial decisions goes beyond the basics.<\/strong> It&#8217;s a great way to engage and build trust and also show them the ropes.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design97.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-62577 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design97.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design97.png 575w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design97-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design97-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Untitled-design97-80x80.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>One thing I have learned with my kids is that they have to be shown something multiple times for it to stick. <strong>With that in mind, just reminding them to turn off the lights and fans isn&#8217;t enough. I have to also show them the electric bill and the mortgage bill.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a gentle way to introduce them to the skills they will need in adulthood without being didactic. Conversations about career choice flow a lot more easily if they are already involved in everyday talk about money.<\/p>\n<p>The elementary years were the tough ones when it came to homeschooling, but I am learning to appreciate these middle school years.\u00a0Our hard work has begun to pay off and we can enjoy our time with the children.<\/p>\n<p>They definitely still need the guidance and &#8211; much to my surprise &#8211; I need the interaction with them. I love watching the people they are becoming&#8211;right in front of my eyes!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/4-Ways-to-Dip-Your-Feet-Into-Unschooling-This-Summer20.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-62579 \" src=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/4-Ways-to-Dip-Your-Feet-Into-Unschooling-This-Summer20.png\" alt=\"3 Ways to Connect with Your Middle Schoolers\" width=\"500\" height=\"479\" srcset=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/4-Ways-to-Dip-Your-Feet-Into-Unschooling-This-Summer20.png 600w, https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/4-Ways-to-Dip-Your-Feet-Into-Unschooling-This-Summer20-300x288.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>How do you connect with your middle schoolers? I&#8217;d love to learn even more ways!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/quiz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What&#8217;s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie&#8217;s quiz now<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>3 Ways to Connect with Your Middle Schoolers ~ Written by Purva Brown of The Classical Unschooler Something has changed around here lately, and I&#8217;m not sure how I feel about it. Overnight it seems my older two children have grown up. And the trajectory of my mom life has changed completely. Where, in 2019,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":62584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[330,329,354],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-getting-started","category-learning-curriculum","category-middles"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>3 Ways to Connect with Your Middle Schoolers - Simple Homeschool<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Looking for ways to connect with your middle schoolers? 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