This came from my inbox:
“I have really enjoyed the last few years of homeschooling but feel like I have focused too much on academics, and too little on practical “living” skills. There is so much pressure from family and friends about testing, and “what college will they attend”, etc., but never questions about what kind of skills they are acquiring that will be most beneficial to their everyday lives. Am I naive to worry about such things?”
This struck a heart-chord with me because I see SO many parents go to the ends of the earth to provide what they hope will be a superior academic education, and give little thought to all those practical, living skills that will make the rest of life so much easier (and cheaper).
Hear me at the start…I’m not saying we have to sacrifice one for the other. I’m not saying academics is NOT important where living skills are. I AM saying that living skills are FAR more important than we make them, and we do our children a disservice by not investing at least equal effort and time into teaching those (or finding someone who can.)
I’ve heard a lot of well-educated men, specifically, lament how little they are able to do for their families because so much time was poured into their academics.
I have to bring up my friend, whose passion and ministry lie in this area. Her blog is devoted to the very concept of teaching life skills–to be used in their homes, to bless others, and even perhaps to make money. Kathy at Teaching Good Things has “a good thing” going on.
Her daughter, Olivia, just came this week and helped my daughter start a beautiful herb and vegetable garden (pictures to come!) They are a remarkably capable family who constantly blesses those around them and are now using their gifts to teach others about practical life skills.
So what if you and your husband missed out on these skills but you want your children to learn them? I have several recommendations:
- Find someone who knows things, whom you trust, and ask if your children might hang out a day or two now and then. (Several of the young people around us make themselves available to work with my husband or Dad either building or landscaping…invaluable skills.)
- Organize a local class and find someone or several people to teach their particular skill. We do this in our neighborhood a lot–one family teaches a sewing class, one a bread-making class, one a calligraphy class, etc…
- Self learn through books or videos.
- Don’t look over your own relatives or local neighbors for help in this area. Many older men and women have a wealth of knowledge and know-how who would be honored to teach you or your children.
What are some things important to know?
Wow…the sky’s the limit really. But you’d be surprised how many basic things kids grow up not knowing how to do. Here’s a short list to get you thinking…
- Basic home repairs–changing a door knob, minor appliance repairs, assessing problems to see if it’s repairable or not, etc.
- Upholstery. Years ago, people didn’t buy new furniture when theirs wore out–they re-upholstered it themselves for a few dollars! (We are having a class here at my house Saturday taught by my friend, Jennie–she’s thrilled to share her expertise…you have them in your area too!)
- Cooking. Sounds like a no-brainer, but many a gal gets married and hasn’t a clue where to start in the kitchen. Meals are important! Let’s teach our children that.
- Lawn maintenance
- Car Repair–Wouldn’t this save families tons of money? I am so thankful my husband has a knack for mechanics. He has saved us so much money.
As I said, there are lots of different areas, and delving into some specialties like cake decorating, photography, etc., can prove financially beneficial.
“Also, make it your goal to live quietly, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you…” I Thess. 4:11
Let your children experiment with all sorts of things to see where they have particular gifts. I think it’s a good idea to even set aside a day of school for basic skills training, if you’re not already doing it every day!
(On a sad side note…a friend who works in a large public school system recently told me that many schools had replaced Home-Ec (who needs it?)with “Early Child Development”. And guess what? They are not training to be Mommies. She said they were specifically training them to run Day Care Centers.)
Math, English, science, history–YES. But let’s give our children a more well-rounded education than stopping there. Let’s emphasize the importance of working with our hands and make it just as much a priority!
