college prep

What communication skills do students need?

August 10, 2011 by Art of Eloquence

What communication skills do students need these days? Whether your student is in a public school, co op classes or homeschooled, he or she will eventually graduate. Come learn why communication skills are increasingly important for learning, college prep, college classrooms and for life in the ‘real’ world.

This month, my daughter, Kelsey, joins me to share her communication experiences as a homeschool graduate, a college senior and a world traveler!

Seminar Date/Time: Today, Wednesday, Aug. 10 8am PST/11am EST

To Join us Online: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/19736

To Join us Via Phone: Phone Number: (724) 444-7444 Call ID: 19736

The Talk Shoe audio will be available after the live show!

If you liked this post, make sure to subscribe to our RSS Feed so you don’t miss one and SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter: for even MORE communication fun, FREE gifts, Book of the Month Club and exclusive excerpts and offers we don’t share with ANYONE else but our subscribers!

Mailbag Mon: College Prep, SWMConvention, AoE Reviews

November 30, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

I can hardly believe it’s the end of November already! But it is and, as the last Monday in November dictates here at AoE, it’s time for me to share some of your comments and questions in Mailbag Monday!

“Oh Wow JoJo – Ashlynne and I are reading her book “The Homeschooler’s Guide to Preparing for College” and it is really helpful information. Ashlynne loves reading it knowing it was written by a young person. Kelsey is helping me give my DD a good foundation too! God Bless your time together richly :)” -Merit K.

My dd spent two years of her life researching her way into one of the most elite schools in the country. She didn’t want all her hard work to go to waste and for other homeschoolers to struggle, as she had to, in order to find all of this information for themselves when she already had it all in one convenient place. She and I are tickled to know it is helping so many homeschoolers prepare for college and to avoid the pitfalls, struggles and expense we had to go through. Thanks for sharing this and please let us know what Ashlynne goes on to after graduation!

“When will the preschool book come available?” -Marie J.

Oh this has been the eternal question here at Art of Eloquence! I shared a little about this last week on the blog when I announced the changes to Art of Eloquence for 2010. I am afraid that I don’t have an exact date of re release as yet, but that is one of the first studies we will be working on next year.

“Is the ‘Say what you mean’ conference an old ad or is it in 2010? Thanks.” -Carol F.

Some folks have been confused about the Say What You Mean Convention each year. For those new to Art of Eloquence, the convention is a free, annual, online event that features various creative and fun activities for all ages designed to educate Christian families on the importance of effective communication in every day life. Each year has a theme, keynote speakers and various activities. The SWMC stays up for a full year ministering to Christian families until about January when we begin to make changes to the website for the coming new convention.

The SWMC is set for February 3rd, 2010. All the fun is packed into one day this year instead of three so make sure to mark your calendar so you don’t miss the live events! The theme this year is The Three Flavors of Communication: Formal Speech, Writing and Conversation and will feature keynote speakers Cindy Rushton and Christian comedian Michael Jr! Communication fun includes various contests with prizes, live seminars and workshops, pre recorded audio seminars, scavenger hunt and prayer chat!

More details to follow so stay tuned to Communication FUNdamentals blog in December and mark your calendar for December 31st as I podcast my last live show EVER and share a preview of the highlights to come of this amazing free event. On the show will be myself, my two moderators: Kim Kautzer of Write Shop and Joan Rudder Ward of Girl Nurture as well as perhaps our keynote speakers: Cindy Rushton and ….MICHAEL JR!!!

“We’ve started the SWYM for kids but have been moving a bit slow through it. The kids wrote out and did their speeches (1st chapter…I did say slow right?) a week ago and gave them to the family. They actually did very well. Today the two younger (almost 6 and 7 1/2) were having a row over something. We had been talking about how to communicate our “wants” and “feelings” to someone regarding play. I took them to the bathroom, said “work this out and you can come out” and turned and shut the door. About 5 minutes later after about 1 minute of yelling at each other, they came out and resumed play without any more hostility or anger. I was frankly a little amazed. They must have picked up on something as we role played last week how to get across what we think and feel. Thanks for your good work!” -Laura K.

Thanks so much Laura for sharing this. It’s so important that we teach our kids to communicate respectfully with each other, especially at a young age. So many these days feel justified (even adults) in communicating in a disrespectful way that it is even more important in today’s society. So much misunderstanding in life can be avoided by teaching our youngsters this skill! Kuddos to you!!

Some fabulous reviews of late:

Say What You Mean The Language of Leadership

The Play Book

If you have a question or a comment about Art of Eloquence events or products, please feel free to post a comment here or email me jojo @ artofeloquence. com

My College Girl is Home!

April 29, 2009 by Art of Eloquence

Last year we graduated our first born from our homeschool. I was so proud of her for all the late nights studying for SAT’s and AP Exams while her friends were out having a good time. She did most of the research on college prep the two years prior to her graduation and learned so much that she wrote a book to help other college-bound homeschoolers reach their collegiate goals!

It was also a sad day when we dropped her at the airport to fly the 1800 miles to move in to her dorm-her home away from home. At first, there were days I couldn’t walk by her room without crying. She was with me every day for 18 years and now she was gone. Just when she was fun to be around, fun to sing harmony with, fun to talk to about life, she was 1800 miles away and living a new life with new friends and I couldn’t see her sweet face.

After a while, the sadness left and a new relationship began to blossom, one in which I was not the main character in her life. She started off calling a few times a day, but our daily phone conversations became once every few days peppered with emails and Facebook comments occasionally.

My biggest fear, as a mom, was that she wouldn’t need me anymore and yet that is also my greatest wish! Isn’t that odd? Our job is work ourselves out of a job! LOL We are charged with bringing them up in the way they should go and, when they go, we wish they’d stay.

But she called when she was sick, when she was lonely, when she was excited, when she aced a test, when her professor came over to congratulate her on a paper well done. She called to talk to her 9 y/o brother when she missed him and to tell us all about the funny things she and her friends would do. She called when she was upset because a friend’s sister was in a car accident and she asked for prayer. She called when she was unsure about what to tell a friend and to tell us that she was struggling with a class assignment.

And now, here she is, having just finished her freshman year at Vanderbilt University. She’s a Sophomore now! The year went so fast! After the first few months, the rest is sort of a blur. It seemed to whiz by without warning. Only three years left and the next three years may not see her home in the summers.

So we picked her up from the airport last night. There she was sporting her new Christian sorority T Shirt and shocked at the sight of her father who finally got his glasses after years of eye doctors and various diagnoses. She hugged her brother who is now much taller than he was when she left. She didn’t know where the dishes were in the new house because we had only lived here two weeks before she moved out.

We took her upstairs to her room behind the closed door for her big surprise. While she was taking finals and packing, we were busy painting her bright, hot pink room her favorite color: green! We set up some new things in her room to make her more comfortable while she is with us and gave her a green bag of green stuff to go in her new green room. She loved it!

We sat up talking for a while until yours truly got sleepy and had to turn in. She and her dad are night owls. They stayed up. I can’t wait til she wakes up this morning to spoil her some more. I can’t wait to hear all about her adventure this year. I can’t wait to spend time with her this summer! She’s still my baby girl.

I’m so glad we built such a special relationship while she was young. I thank God for her willingness to keep in touch and for the fact that she still feels like she wants our opinion. I am so blessed that she has become the lovely, young, faith-filled young woman she has!

Now life seems complete as both my children are here. My college girl is home!

What communication skills do students need?

Mailbag Mon: College Prep, SWMConvention, AoE Reviews

My College Girl is Home!

NEWEST From Art of Eloquence!

Subscribe to JoJo’s NEW Blog

Customer Comments

Recommended by HSLDA & TOS

Join us on Facebook

We take Visa, MasterCard & PayPal