When you began your homeschooling journey as a parent, what were your goals for your children’s education? Many home educators begin with the expectation that their children will grow up to attend college in order to enter a successful career path followed by marriage and children. The focus while homeschooling is usually on those core subjects like math, science, language arts, history, etc. I propose that most homeschoolers are just like me busy checking off the “must-have” boxes to satisfy state laws, rather than considering the “should-have” boxes to satisfy future, necessary life skills.
What do I mean by “life skills”? I am suggesting that there are specific skills that many homeschooling parents, like myself, often neglect instructing their students in due to either lack of time or even lack of experience in these areas themselves. However, I believe that the tide is shifting where many families are seeking out a more sustainable lifestyle. Frugality is an essential skill in the midst of an inflationary period. Becoming a jack-of-all-trades kind of man or woman can be a life-saver when a family is trying to make it in a downturned economy such as ours currently. Also, having a multiplicity of valuable competencies can provide both outlets for continuing creativity, as well as potential income streams as interests develop.
Jack-Of-All-Trades, Master-Of-None
I have been blessed to have a husband who is a proficient carpenter. He has built us everything from a kitchen table to a doll house for the kids. He is adequate enough in plumbing and automotive upkeep that he can often jerry-rig a leaky pipe as well as change the oil, battery, or alternator on our cars. He often says, “I’m a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none.” He might be the self-deprecating type, but he plays the role of handy-man regularly in our home often and his abilities have saved us a ton of money over the years. In fact, he has even made us money over the years by selling some of his creations from the woodshop.
I bring up our experience of a husband and father who knows how to wield various tools for a myriad of uses, because I believe it is worthwhile for parents to prioritize this kind of life-skill building alongside core subjects and extra-curriculars like sports. Sports can teach a child many worthy skills, but it won’t help your child when he is a grown man and needs to figure out why the dryer broke for his wife who has three loads of laundry to process and can’t wait for the local handy-man who doesn’t have an opening until next week available.
Tips for Teaching Your Homeschooler Important Life Skills
As a home educator, you may be asking yourself, if you personally don’t have experience in these areas or know someone who does, then how do you teach it? Most homeschool publishers do not offer life skill building curricula as an option for home educators to purchase. Here are a few personal tips to get you started teaching your children important life skills.
- Decide which life skills are important for your children to learn to fulfill their God-given duties in adulthood.
- Consider those skills you do have experience with and make a plan to teach your child those skills.
- Consider who you know with experience in skills that you do not have and ask them if they would be willing to teach your child those skills.
- If you do not have particular skills or do not know how to outsource the training in that skill, consider learning new skills alongside your child. YouTube is very valuable for this use!
SHOULD YOU TEACH SKILLS BASED ON GENDER ROLES?
Yes, some skills should be taught to expertise level based on gender roles, but giving both genders a broad-brush-stroke style training in many life skills is probably good for both boys and girls. I would also like you to consider those life skills that we often attribute to one gender over another and consider how training both genders in particular skills can be good. For instance, training a son how to cook, clean, do laundry, etc. can be a blessing to his future wife if she is ill or recovering from childbirth. Training a daughter to change a flat tire on a car, how to mow the lawn, or how to refinish a piece of furniture can give her confidence in her ability to serve her family in particular ways if she is called to it.
Allow Me to Introduce You to a Homeschool Curriculum Publisher that Does Teach Life Skills to Homeschoolers
I mentioned above that most homeschool publishing companies do not offer practical, life-skill building curriculum. My first introduction to structured curricula selections for this was through Christian Light Education’s (CLE) high school elective options. I was like a kid in a candy store when I saw the myriad of fun topics they offer. Here are just a few of CLE’s Electives unique electives:
- Accounting
- Recordkeeping
- Auto Fundamentals
- Auto Upkeep
- Small Engine and Equipment Maintenance
- Small Gas Engines
- Carpentry
- Exploring Woodworking
- Print Reading for Construction
- Modern Residential Wiring
- Computer Service and Repair
- Exploring Agriscience
- Horticulture Today
Some may shy away from the prices on these curriculum sets, but I promise they are worth their weight in gold! The textbooks are hefty, as many of them are college level adapted for a high school credit. We chose Horticulture Today. I tried to find the textbook elsewhere for cheaper, but it was the same price everywhere I looked. College textbooks are just on the more expensive side. This being said, our experience with Christian Light Education’s electives has been so good, that we plan to have our son in particular, who is in eighth grade right now, pick out one new elective to go through each year of his high school career. His first choice is Automotive Upkeep. He and his father are going to rebuild a dirt bike together that has been sitting unused for years at my husband’s family’s farm. I am sure it will be a fantastic project and experience of which they will both cherish the memories.
Our Personal Review of Christian Light Education’s Horticulture Today Curriculum Set
My sixteen year old daughter selected Horticulture Today this year because it fed her love of gardening. We were shocked when we discovered just how rich the curriculum is. Horticulture Today utilizes a college textbook that Christian Light Education has adapted into a full high school credit. We are using this as her third science credit for her high school transcript. To give you a sort of summary of what the Horticulture Today curriculum set teaches, here is what their description is from the website:
“Is your high school student interested in landscaping, gardening, fruit farming, or crop farming? This one-credit course is based on the textbook Horticulture Today. It covers all aspects of horticulture, including plant taxonomy and biology, soils and media, and plant growth and reproduction. Students learn about greenhouse management, container planting, alternative growing methods, fruit and nut production, as well as landscaping and pest control.
The student material provides a student guide, Horticulture Today workbook, and ten LightUnit tests. The answer key provides answers for the student exercises and tests. (Grade 9 and up.)”
A NOTE FROM OUR DAUGHTER ABOUT HORTICULTURE TODAY
Here are some specifics that my daughter wrote down for me to share with you that has stuck out to her while using the program:
- The Horticulture Today curriculum allows students to redo missed questions on worksheets after studying answers.
- It is easy for students to grade their own worksheets.
- There is secular material within the textbook such as discussing evolution, but Christian Light Education makes it clear that this does not align with their worldview.
- The curriculum does have a section describing fields that one could work in if they enjoy the material covered in the chapter. It expands the imagination of what career paths one might take if they chose to continue with horticulture.
For a daughter who has always loved gardening (a very practical life skill), I knew this curriculum would really satisfy her interests in a very positive way. She has enjoyed the material, and it has not felt like a sludge to get through. She describes it as not rigorous, but there are options to adjust the material depending on your needs. There are more projects included in the textbook than are required by CLE’s assignments to complete the credit, so this is just one way that families could creatively customize the program to meet their needs.
Where Horticulture Today was a great choice for my gardening loving child. She also desires to check out CLE’s Accounting and Recordkeeping curricula to help prepare her for managing a home budget and potential entrepreneurial endeavors in the future. She and I both really like the practical applications these options provide.
Teach More Life Skills!
Whether you choose to teach your children practical life skills yourself, through a family member or a friend, or opt to wing it using YouTube or a more structured program like what Christian Light Education has to offer, I highly suggest prioritizing the teaching of life skills to your students before they launch from your home. These skill sets will serve them and their families well for years to come whether it is a way to save money, fuel a hobby, or even create a home business.
Click here to browse all the High School Electives options in the Christian Light Education Store Today!
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