Last Friday, all three of my kids brought home their report cards and to be honest, my husband and I were a little disappointed with their grades. With second quarter falling between the holidays, we always expect their grades to slip a bit. However, dropping two letter grades in subjects that they usually excel in is unacceptable.

The disappointment my husband and I felt led to a conversation about working hard and how important grades are when it comes to applying to college. My ninth grader wants to be an artist and yet her second quarter grade in art grade reflected something less than satisfactory. I explained to my oldest that if art is her calling and passion, then her art grade should reflect that.

We had a similar conversation with my sixth grader. For someone who wants to be a chef when she grows up, then she needs to demonstrate a stronger competency in math since it is the basis for all recipes.

Through our family meeting, we learned that both girls failed to turn in assignments. So obviously, their poor grades has nothing to do with ability but rather a lack of organization and laziness, which just infuriated me.

That’s when I realized perhaps we are not making school a priority. Perhaps socializing and after school activities are interfering with assignments.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to reflect and set new goals. Since we are beginning third quarter in the school year, January is also an excellent opportunity to redirect our focus and prioritize what is important. Good grades and our kids’ education are important.

While I love that my kids are involved in extra-curricular activities which tap into their creativeness such as Art Honor Society and Odyssey of the Mind, they still need to understand that school assignments come first…ALWAYS! NO BUTS! To make homework a pritorty, we took away all their electronics including their laptops, tablets, phones and my oldest’s drawing tablet. Once they show improvement in their grades, they can have their devices again.

After our little poor grades pow wow, both girls will abstain from after school activities to make up missing assignments and my husband and I will once again evaluate which Florida Pre-Paid Plan is right for our three kids.

• Did you know that you don’t have to use your Florida PrePaid right after school? You have up to ten years to use it?
• Did you know that Florida PrePaid Plans are not restricted to Florida schools?
• Did you know that if your child earns a scholarship, you can receive a refund for up to the full “payout” value of your Florida PrePaid Plan or you can use the prepaid plan to cover the fees not covered by the scholarship?

There are so many benefits to starting a Florida PrePaid Plan. Make a commitment to putting education first this year by prioritizing education as your New Year resolution.

Florida Pre-Paid Open Enrollment ends February 28.  Use Promo Code BLOG1617 and save 50% off your application when you enroll. For more information, visit www.myfloridaprepaid.com.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions and college planning choices are my own.