<p>I am a father of two, Noah 3 years & Matthew 4 months; I attended NOVA community college in Alexandria, VA for a semester when I was 23. I am 41 years of age and working for a lobbying org. As a parent I want the best for my sons, and I hope that one day they can attend DUKE University.</p>
<p>I am hearing that it’s a very difficult school to get in to. On that note, what should I do to prepare my children academically in order for them to qualify for DUKE? Well that’s if they want to go there in the first place, </p>
<p>Luis - First and foremost, I second Booklady’s comment. Everything else is secondary to that.</p>
<p>Kids Noah’s age are the world’s most enthusiastic learners. To them, everything is new, exciting and wonderful. Do everything that you can to keep them enthralled with the world around them. Eventually, all kids will meet up with a teacher (or other adult) who believes that his or her role with young people is to teach them to sit in rows, shut up, and not interrupt the teacher. As a parent, your job is to balance and minimize the damage of those people for as long as it takes for you to get Noah and Matthew out from under their influence. Your kids will also meet teachers who find joy in continuing to be enthralled with the world by constantly experiencing it through the eyes of enthusiastic children. Your role is to turn those teachers into your kids’ heroes and role models.</p>
<p>And finally, on an appallingly practical financial topic, don’t put your college savings into accounts that have your childrens’ names on them. Colleges will expect students to spend 25% of their own assets per year on tuition before they award financial aid. They’ll only expect 5.6% of your assets annually.</p>
<p>I miss having a three-year-old; it was wonderful. Enjoy!!!</p>
<p>Good advice so far. Duke and other selective schools are looking for kids taht stand out. I say give your kids a variety of experiences so they can find their passion, allow them to pursue that passion, hold them to high standards and teach them from an early age that actions have consequences, and give them ways to make a difference in other peoples’ lives. Hopefully they will see that good grades matter, that community service will be more than a resume filler and they will be interesting people.</p>
<p>Surround them in a culture that values academic achievement. </p>
<p>Have pro-school family rules…no TV before homework/studying (or maybe no TV on school nights)…sensible bedtimes…good breakfast before school…quiet study area for homework…help the child develop organization skills.</p>
<p>show them how to fix things, have them plant things, have them build things, etc.</p>
<p>encourage their development of problem-solving skills, </p>
<p>While they’re young, you’ll have influence as to who their friends are…encourage friendships with good kids…indirectly discourage friendships with bratty/mean kids. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>(BTW…don’t focus on one school, like Duke. Your children can succeed at many colleges)</p>
<p>Delay getting video and computer games as long as possible. Read to your child every day. Have lots of books in the house. Let your kids see you reading. Take your kids to the playground. Have open ended toys like blocks, dress up clothes, and ones that encourage imaginative play, like toy kitchens. Big packing boxes and clothes are great too.</p>
<p>Cook with your kids. They’ll learn math and chemistry without even realizing it. Play games with your kids - again a great way to sneak math in. Work in the garden. Watch things grow. Make things together - models, birdhouses, origami whatever…</p>
<p>Encourage their interests as they develop. I know way more than I would like to about trains, anatomy and electronics thanks to older son and way more about World War 2 and military history thanks to younger son.</p>
<p>Once they are in school, pay attention to their interests, and what does and doesn’t come easy for them. If the teacher says “I’m concerned about how long it is taking X to learn to do Y.” ask for a meeting with the teacher and the counselor, and listen to what they have to say. If you find out that your child has a learning difference that affects his schoolwork, study up on that difference yourself so that you can be a good advocate for your child.</p>
<p>Support your child’s interests. There are jobs out there for chefs, musicians, set designers, plumbers, and airplane mechanics. What your child is best at may well be something that you have never considered as a career for yourself.</p>
<p>I really hope this is a ■■■■■. I can’t imagine trying to stage my toddlers’ lives so they could go to the college of MY dreams.</p>
<p>These are babies for heaven’s sake. Read to them, teach them to be curious and enjoy life. For at least 10 years, forget about getting them ready for college…AT LEAST ten years.</p>
<p>Bottom line…your kids might not WANT to go to Duke…and they will be going to college, not you.</p>
<p>I would also encourage outdoor activities. Let them discover the wonder in nature. Take them hiking or for walks in the park or for bike rides when they get older. Take them to museums. I was surprised at how much my 3 year old enjoyed visiting the Field Museum in Chicago. Travel around the country with them by car. Stop at local historical sites, parks, etc. When my kids were older and offered a choice between a vacation in Disney World or Yellowstone NP, they chose the park. Camping is also a great activity for kids if you feel comfortable doing it as a parent. Let them explore their own interests as much as possible. My four year old loved construction stuff so we would find where they were building things and try and go watch them in action when we could. When he moved on to an interest in planes, we got models, visited airports, and found a local pilot for him to chat with as well as visiting a flight museum. It is OK for their interests to wax and wane as they grow.</p>
<p>^ Seriously, somebody with a 1st post, just created an account and wants to know what to do with a 3 year old and a 4 month old? How to get “qualify” them for Duke? </p>
<p>I’m sure some HS kid with no life is trying to have some laughs.</p>
<p>My kids are the same age and I constantly worry that I’m not doing enough for their future, so this seems to me a realistic post. Might be a ■■■■■, might not.</p>
<p>I agree that it’s hard to say what Duke will be like in 20 years, though. When I was pregnant, and had to leave my job, I spent the time reading and one thing that I’ve found useful is homeschooling books. My children are a couple of years older than yours (4.5 and nearly 2) so little applies at this point, but it’s very useful to know what will be expected of them in terms of cognition, if they are within the range of normal. Also I have the added side benefit, since I now know that homeschooling is unlikely for us (variety of reasons), of knowing whether their schools are teaching the basics.</p>
<p>Library storytime is one free and easy thing to attend with your children weekly. It gets you out of the house with your children, you will see other involved, normal parents, and your children will love getting read do. It’s such a fun start for reading.</p>
<p>You might already do that but at this point aiming for Duke is a little specific.</p>
<p>Get them into the right preschool. This is critical. Find one with genuine Benjamin Moore finger paint and real hardwood blocks, not the cheap stuff. Once they graduate, don’t bother with your local public schools. Only the best private schools will do, and having been a graduate of a premier preschool will go a long way toward getting them in. This is the CC way. If they work hard enough, they won’t even have to settle for Duke. They will be good enough for HYPSM.</p>
<p>Relax. Best advice I can give is to set the bar high. Demand and expect excellence from a young age, and they will grow up knowing that “good enough” is not good enough. Before you know it, they will be the ones driving themselves to achieve. Our oldest (11th grade) got straight A’s with single B+ in 7th grade. He was more disappointed than we were. We haven’t seen another B since. His younger brother is the same. When they get a get a disappointing grade on a test or paper, they work harder to get where they want to be. They don’t want to settle, because they know they are capable of more.</p>
<p>Maybe this is a ■■■■■, but I sensed that this was an immigrant to the US, maybe someone who hadn’t gone to college, who just wanted to get started on the right foot…not necessarily “prepping” for SATs or anything like that. LOL</p>
<p>This OP is looking at CC but is not posting. Perhaps the OP will come back to this thread and explain the urgency of needing to prepare for college for his toddlers. Otherwise, I vote with the ■■■■■ group.</p>