14 Mar How to Use a Personality Test to Make Homeschooling a Breeze

I don’t know what rock I’ve had my head buried under, but I’ve just recently discovered the power of personality tests and I wanted to share with you how to use a personality test to make homeschooling a breeze.

We have some strong personalities in our home, starting with my husband and I, so it’s not surprising that my two sweet children can get pretty feisty at times. Knowing how to handle the growing personalities has been a struggle for me. These little humans didn’t come with an instruction manual, yet they often seem to know exactly what to do to get under my skin! It turns out, learning each others’ color personalities can be a great tool in understanding each other.

Today I guest-posted over My Joy-Filled Life. There you will find the color personalities defined for adults. Yes – this works for your marriage, too!

The Four Color Personalities in Children

1. Our little Blues are motivated by fun. These kiddos are silly and playful, lively and active, and very social. They are chatterboxes and full of imagination. In school, you will see them daydreaming, spinning a pencil, lost in thought or bouncing all over. They think outside the box and are easily bored. Because they have difficulty following instructions, they are often categorized as ADD or ADHD. It doesn’t help matters that they process everything verbally. They tend to hate math and are easily distracted. As such they may have difficulty finishing projects.

2. Children with a Yellow personality are incredibly sensitive and emotional. They are beautiful, sweet. kind and caring souls, who may surprise you with their highly developed intuition and capacity to empathize. A Yellow child may be at risk of being trampled when with others because they will avoid confrontation at all costs. These children love the outdoors and nature. They appreciate quiet and if they do not get enough of it become highly stressed. When stressed, they quickly become overwhelmed, very dramatic and needy, physically and emotionally.

3. A child with a Red personality is a natural leader. These children may be accused of being stubborn and bossy, but are more accurately go-getters and adventurous. They are determined, outspoken and competitive and they love to take on a risk or a challenge. Like their adult counterparts, they too thrive on excitement and stress.

4. Finally the Green personality is the child who is orderly, detail-oriented and ethical. They are the ones tattling on the other kids who are not following the rules. They like rules and anything else that is consistent and unchanging. In school, they appreciate a schedule and don’t like surprises. They, too, can be bossy but will also be obedient.

Which Color Personalities are Your Children?

Once you’ve figured out your child’s personality type (and yours), you are much better equipped to handle frustrations and challenges. You can, in fact, honor your children’s special and unique characteristics by addressing them in a way that they feel loved and understood.

Practical Applications

I have two children. My son is primarily a Blue and Yellow, while my daughter is a Red. Take one look at their pictures and you can tell. Being a Red, myself, I strongly identify with Luci. She is motivated by a challenge, so I use that knowledge to spur her on throughout the day. Since she was three years old, she wanted to be doing school work like her brother. To this day the idea of “catching up to Clarkie” drives her. There are times that she will sit down in the evening to do her math assignment for the next day – just so that she can “beat Clarkie.”

However, she can also be incredibly stubborn and hates instructions, which used to be a tough area for me to navigate, since I am the same way. Now, knowing the color personalities, I can give her praise and recognition, then help her come to her own conclusions. This way, she is spurred on by my praise and feels like she is in control as she works on her assignment.

Clark, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about beating anyone or about praise. He wants to curl up in a cozy blanket and daydream the morning away, while he is supposed to be doing his math. This used to be an incredible source of frustration until I understood the color personalities. As a strong Blue, he is motivated by fun. So I began to reward him with fun – a trip to the climbing gym or to the park – if he completed his assignments in a timely manner. Suddenly he was flying through his work, often finishing in record time.

Reading was also a challenge for Clark. He was clearly bored and couldn’t sit still long enough to complete a single page. So again, we went back to the color personalities. What books would he consider fun? He loved the story of Peter Pan and Pinocchio, so we started with some adventures books. Suddenly he was reading effortlessly and enjoying himself!

Learn the Color Personalities and Use Them!

Learning the color personalities is an incredibly powerful way to relate to others – in our marriages, with our children, in our friendships and even in business. Try it for yourself and watch for the results!