Here are my favorite resources for launching young adults into this great big world! They are separated into categories. Make sure you scroll all the way down and check out each category so you don’t miss something.   These have been life savers to me in my parenting and homeschool journey from preschool to high school.  I will be adding to it as I think of more so come back and check it again in the future. Hope you find it helpful.  Some links may be affiliate links. To read my affiliate disclosure policy, click here.

Parenting and Homeschooling Resources
My favorite resources for parenting and homeschooling.

Study Skills Resources for Middle and High School Students

  1. Study Strategies Made Easy, A Practical Plan For School Success by Leslie Davis
  2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey
  3. Learning to Learn by Gloria Frender
  4. Gruber’s Essential Guide to Test Taking: Grades 3-5  or 6-9 (note there are different books for different grades)

Career Guidance Resources

  1. YouScience  (discussed on previous blog post here)
  2. The Strong Interest Inventory Test
    Link 1: Career Assessment Site
    Link 2: Discover Your Personality.com
  3. BJU Press Career Direct:  Tests personality, interests, skills, and value  https://www.bjupress.com/category/testing-career-direct+
  4. Myers Briggs Type Indicator 
  5. Cappex.com Take the free: My Careers and Majors Quiz 
  6. http://studentpatterns.com
  7. My Career Design by Crown Ministries; has several levels including a free personality ID profile
  8. Diagnostic Prescriptive Career Guide  Guide for homeschoolers which includes 4 diagnostic tests.
  9. StrengthsFinder 2.0 book by Tom Rath (buy it new so you can take the online test with the code provided)
  10. What Color is your Parachute? Book by Richard Bolles
  11. A lot of colleges have career wizards on their websites that will link you up with majors that would be a good fit for you. Here’s one to try.

Favorite SAT and ACT Test Prep Resources

  1. ACT Prep Black Book, The most effective ACT Strategies Ever Published
ACT prep
ACT prep
  • SAT Prep Black Book: The most effective SAT strategies ever published. My daughter said that this book alone is helping her achieve score increases that nothing else has done.
    • Black book
    SAT prep
  • The Official ACT Prep Guide 2020-2021, found here:


    • 4.For SAT, we used this book called The Official SAT Study Guide.

    SAT practice tests
    SAT practice tests

    5. We also liked this book, For the love of ACT Science. My daughter thinks it’s very interesting because it explains the specific types of questions used in this section.

    great strategies for ACT science
    ACT science

    6. If you have a student like I do who really struggles with completing the sections of the standardized test on time, then check out this watch (SAT, ACT, and PSAT Digital Timer and Watch for Exam Pacing by Top Score Watch).  One of my girls uses it for taking her standardized tests and it is a huge help!

    digital watch for SAT
    great pacing watch for standardized tests

    7. My third daughter said that this book was the most helpful thing she used for studying and she improved her score on the ACT by 9 points over the course of high school.

    8. Our favorite online (paid) tutoring place is PrepScholar.com. Sign up for their free newsletter. It comes with lots of tips. And the price for 1 year of prepscholar is the same as one month of in-person classes at a place near our home.

    Favorite Supplemental Resources for Homeschooling High School (for moms and students)

    1. Accredited High School Transcript in Georgia
    2. High School Prep Genius by Jean Burk
    3. Transcripts Made Easy by Janice Campbell
    4. Everything You Need to Know About American History Homework, by Zeman
    5. The Conversation, by Leigh Bortins
    6. The Question, by Leigh Bortins – both this and the one prior will help you have great conversations with your teens. So important.
    7. The World and Everything In It Podcast – I’m addicted!  So many daily parallels to Challenge III materials. Listen together!
    8. Librivox.org – listen to every Shakespeare play for free (on app or PC)
    9. SermonAudio. – listen to the R. C. Sproul lectures that go with Consequences of Ideas – for free!  I’ve linked the exact link to the list of sermons. Start at the bottom and work your way up. There are more lectures than there are chapters in the book.
    10. Audible.com – listen to A Patriot’s History of the United States – with the trial, you can download your first book for free.
    11. Cassell’s Latin Dictionary. A must-have for me!
    12. The Breakpoint Podcast – another one that goes hand-in-hand with our Challenge III materials.  Sign up on their website to get their daily email.
    13. A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today’s World, by John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle. Excellent chapters which include discussion questions.
    14. TI Inspire CX II Graphing Calculator – recommended by Shormann Math; have used this with 2 of my kids for upper math
    15. TI-84 plus Graphics Calculator – my oldest two daughters used this one for upper math.
    16. TI-30XIIS Scientific Calculator  – This is the calculator my kids used for lower math until they needed to do graphing.

    Favorite Latin Helps

    1. Henle Prep workbook for those just starting Henle Latin I or going to be starting it.  This was great for my son the year before he started Challenge A.
    2. Magistra Jones’ blog. I especially love the audio files of the Latin vocabulary.
    3. Memrise.com. Setup your account on your computer. Select Henle Latin I. Download the app to your phone and/or kindle. And play away. I’ve learned 127 words!!!

    Family Games

    1. Slapzi, great game for 2-8, fun and fast-paced
    2. Dutch Blitz, our favorite card game!  Great for trips too because it’s small and packs well. We only have the original pack, but I’m considering getting the expansion pack which will let you play up to 8 players!
    3. The Pit Game – a dear friend introduced us to this and the kids loved it.
    4. Catan – a very fun strategy game; we took this with us on vacation and made a lot of memories.
    5. Rummikub – Classic Edition – The Original Rummy Tile Game by Pressman

    Productivity for Moms and Kids of all ages

    1. Time Timer -There are several sizes to choose from. Here’s another one.
    2. Michael Hyatt: the Full Focus Planner, website, and his great book: Your Best Year Ever
    3. Do More Better, A Practical Guide to Productivity by Tim Challies
    4. More Hours in My Day – book by  Emilie Barnes
    5. Elizabeth George, A Woman After God’s Own Heart (for women)  helped me make wise decisions with my time
    6. Mystie Winckler – blog about goal setting and weekly review:  simplyconvivial.com
    7. The Peaceful Mom blog — www.thepeacefulmom.com
    8. 401 Ways to Get Your Kids to Work at Home by McCullough and Monson
    9. Frixion Erasable Pens – a total game-changer for me! Just don’t leave them in a hot car.
    10. Plan to Eat has been a huge addition to my meal planning. I highly recommend it. Dragging and dropping my meals to a calendar and then hitting the print button for my grocery list is AWESOME.
    11. FlyLady books:The CHAOS Cure: Clean Your House and Calm Your Soul in 15 Minutes – Marla Cilley and Sink Reflections: Overwhelmed? Disorganized? Living in Chaos?  – Marla Cilley
    12. The Forest App – one of my favorite tools to keep me focused. Download on your phone! I use the free version.
    13. Getting Things Done and Getting Things Done For Teens – great program to help you get organized and knock off your to-do items
    14. Quizlet.com – great site for reviewing vocabulary and memorizing facts – works for middle school, high school, and college
    15. Evernote – my 2nd brain! I use the free one – both the app on my phone and log into the website on my computer
    16. Todoist and/or Google Tasks – when I’m overwhelmed and want to jot down a task list quickly that I can check off on my computer, I love using either Todoist or Google Tasks. I especially love their Gmail extensions so I can easily add an email straight to my to-do list. I also love that I can have them both on my phone and on my laptop.
    17. My favorite planner for Students: Classical Conversations Student Planner – one week (undated) on a big two-page spread.

    Great Books for Mom’s Spiritual Walk

    1. Loving God with All Your Mind, by Elizabeth George – will literally help you change your thinking. Excellent!
    2. Goliath Must Fall by Louie Giglio
    3. A Treasury of Praise – I read this every day in my devotional time
    4. The Prayer Map for Women – a great guide for your prayer time
    5. Precepts for Life Bible Study – I download the free study guide and print it and then watch the matching video every time I complete a lesson. Completely free!
    6. Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices For A World Gone Mad by John Eldridge – I really enjoyed this book on getting back to an intimate relationship with God and getting rid of all the noise.
    7. Fighting Words by Ellie Holcomb – is a great devotional that I use at night to help me wind down from the day, but you can use it anytime.
    8. Come Walk With Me by Carole Mayhall – an awesome book where she basically disciples you and teaches you how to walk with God
    9. The Bible Recap – podcast or book for reading through the Bible daily. I’m on my 2nd year and I love it!
    10. Daily in Christ devotional by Neil Anderson
    11. Prayer Portions by Sylvia Gunter
    12. Enduring Word Commentary (app or online)
    13. Jennifer Rothschild Podcast – many of them apply to things we’ve learned
    14. Got Questions  – great site to look up questions
    15. Lies Women Believe by Nancy Wolgemuth
    16. Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow
    17. The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children by Stormie O’Martian and all her books on prayer
    18. The Battle Plan For Prayer by the Kendrick brothers
    19. Stomping Out the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson
    20. Another Gospel by Alisa Childers

    Books for Help with Family Dynamics

    1. The Five Love Languages for Children by Dr. Gary Chapman
    2. How to Develop Your Child’s Temperament by Beverly LaHaye
    3. Transformed Temperaments by Tim LaHaye
    4. Personality Plus for Parents by Florence Littauer  – understanding what makes your child tick
    5. The Birth Order Book by Kevin Leman

    Parenting and Home Management Helps for Mom

    1. My absolute favorite massage chair. Doing this every few days really helps me keep the stress off!  It’s called 10-Motor Vibration Massage Seat Cushion with Heat. Literally, I can’t live without this thing. And if it ever breaks, I’m coming right here to get the link to order another one!
    2. Elizabeth George, A Woman After God’s Own Heart (for women)
    3. Marilyn Blackaby, Experiencing God Around the Kitchen Table (for women mostly)
    4. Ginger Hubbard’s Don’t Make Me Count to Three, and Wise Words for Moms – for discipline issues – my favorite book on child training!  Great for both moms and dads.
    5. David Kupelian, The Marketing of Evil (for men and women)  EYE OPENING!
    6. George Barna, Revolutionary Parenting (for men and women)
    7. My favorite podcasts: James McDonald’s Walk in the Word, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth Revive our Hearts, Focus on the Family, Precepts for Life by Kay Arthur, and The World and Everything In it (news and culture from a Christian worldview)
    8. Family movie:  The Hope – shows the whole story of the Bible; DVD available for $15 at www.thehopeproject.com  or you can also watch online; awesome reenactment of many key Bible stories and shows how they all point to Jesus
    9. I use Metabolic Renewal – workouts, walking, and diet (not supplements) and enjoy how it helps me deal with stress. This is not an affiliate link. I’m just a fan.

    Spiritual and Real World Training for Middle School and High School

    1. Polished Cornerstones & Beauty and the Pig ( both for girls) / Plants Grown Up (for boys) by Doorposts
    2. Reading the actual Bible text with our study Bibles. I like to use the same version that the pastor is using.
    3. Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History by Shearer
    4. Do Hard Things, by Alex and Brett Harris – an excellent book that challenges teens to rise above mediocrity; should be required reading for every teen!!   (has a couple of references to sexual/partying, etc. so the teen should be mature enough to handle that)
    5. The Marketing of Evil, by David Kupelian (for extremely mature high schoolers or college and adults) Parents, read this first and determine whether your teenager is ready for it.  It is an eye-opening look at how America has been shaped today.
    6. Christian Worldview For Students, Brannon Howse; Parent should read through first; Great basics of worldview training;  purchase here.
    7. The Talks: A Parent’s Guide to Critical Conversations About Sex, Dating, and Other Unmentionables. Highly recommend!
    8. Meet Me In The Middle — critical conversations for dads and girls. Highly recommend!
    9. The Young Man’s Guide to Awesomeness — a great book for boys
    10. A Practical Guide to Culture by John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle — great book on the current culture our kids are learning from
    11. Training Hearts, Teaching Minds – a great book for teaching doctrine and theology to your kids. Wish I had started it earlier!

    The Transition from High School to College

    1. College Accreditation: How it Works, Why It Matters great article
    2. SAT and ACT great article on what is the difference and how to prepare

    Books I Bought My Young Adults To Build Their Own Library

    1. Welcome to College by Jonathan Morrow – my new favorite book that answers all the questions our culture asks about Christianity.
    2. Trusting God by Jerry Bridges
    3. Fighting Words by Ellie Holcomb
    4. The Battle Plan for Prayer by The Kendrick Brothers
    5. Search for Significance: Seeing Your True Worth Through God’s Eyes by Robert McGee
    6. Victory Over the Darkness: Realize the Power of Your Identity in Christ by Neil T. Anderson

    Teaching Bible to Older Preschool & Elementary

    1. Maps websites (for all ages elementary and up). Here are two different websites I like: http://www.bible-history.com/maps/ http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/maps/bmap00.htm
    2. Bible story Coloring sheets and Puzzles – Here are two different websites, both have lists of Bible stories and you can print out coloring sheets, puzzles to go with the story:   http://www.higherpraise.com/ShiningLight.htm#old     https://calvarycurriculum.com/curriculum
    3. For Bible, we use an old children’s Bible that has stories and pictures. We keep an eye out for stories that are missing and add those in when needed—and we like to find one with as many details as possible
    4. The Awesome Book of Bible Facts, by Silverthorne – covers details in the Bible in a fun and interesting way—even parents can learn stuff!
    5. Bible Study Guide for all ages (we’ve done the first book – doing one preschool book together with 2 others doing elementary—great for combining different age groups)  (not chronological but does go through the whole Bible if you do all 4 years)
    6. For Instruction in Righteousness by Doorposts has every sin categorized with verses and helps to encourage us not to do them!  An excellent resource for teaching your children about sin and for convicting ourselves!
    7. The Big Picture Bible Timeline, Compiled by Carol Eide, published by Gospel Light Living Word Curriculum
    8. The Victor Journey Through the Bible, V. Gilbert Beers, awesome book with lots of pictures covering each main Bible story and archeological/cultural facts to explain things – great for ALL ages! Out of print, look at used bookstores
    9. What the Bible is All About for Young Explorers, by Dr. Henrietta Mears – awesome overview of each book of the Bible, how they fit together, has maps and charts. Truly a great resource for all ages.
    10. The Student Bible Atlas, by Tim Dowley; 30 full-color maps

    Elementary: Supplemental Reading and fun stuff

    1. Keepers of the Faith (for girls) /Contenders for the faith (for boys) – like girl scouts/boy scouts—has a handbook and badges, BUT they also have great traditional books to read with Biblical values. May be out of print. Search for a used copy.  www.keepersofthefaith.com
    2. Missionary Stories With the Millers, by Martin & Burkholder – great read-aloud stories of courageous missionaries and the miracles of God’s protection. This was one of my favorite read-alouds to my kids. Sniff Sniff.
    3. Hero Tales, by Jackson – 1 intro and 3 stories about strong Christian role models, ministers & missionaries
    4. A Life of Faith series (for girls) – big series of historical fiction like American Girl but Christian
    5. 8 Great Dates for Moms and Daughters, by Gresh – set of 8 dates for mom & daughter to learn modesty & true beauty

    Teaching Bible To Preschoolers

    1. Read-Aloud Bible Stories, by Ella K. Lindvall — definitely one of my favorites. I had all the volumes!
    2. Day by Day, One Year Devotional for Young children,  Betty Free  — we used this a lot for daily devotions.

    Let me know if you try one of these resources and like it!  I would love to hear from you.

    Michelle

    p.s.   Some of these links may be affiliate links. To read my affiliate disclosure policy, click here.

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