Weaving Life Skills into Your Homeschool
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This week, the Blog Cruise tackles the question “How do you incorporate life skills into your homeschool routine?”
Well, I would start off by saying that the very nature of homeschooling makes it easier to weave basic life skills into your day.
As I have probably mentioned before, the older boys have learned a LOT about caring for an infant and now toddler. Part of the acquisition of those skills was by choice as they eagerly wanted to participate. But, a part of it was out of necessity as I was healing from the cesarean and needed extra hands at times.
As the boys get older, we are beginning to look at other things people consider life skills and might be included in elective courses in a school setting. These skills include budgeting and balancing a checkbook as you need a good command of your financial resources in life. Some are in the realm of ‘home ec’ classes, including cooking and basic sewing. Other skills might be picked up in a shop class, including learning about tools and how to use them for repair work around the house or on a vehicle.
To date, we have begun learning more about cooking both in home and through some cooperative learning adventures. At times, one of the boys will help with planning and preparing a meal for the family. Soon, I hope to have at least P begin to also do this within the confines of a budget and then shop for ingredients.
The boys are also learning through observation and gradual assistance the basic sewing skills needed to do simple tasks like sew on a button. D really wanted to sew on a button that fell off of his sports coat this weekend. However, I had him just observe as it was a tricky one to do.
Finally, between Scouting and opportunities around the house, they are learning about different tools and how to use them. This past summer had P learning how to use some of the lawn equipment to cut the lawn as well as being instructed on the snow blower in case dad is away when a big snow storm hits.
My goal is that by weaving life skills into our homeschool, the boys will realize that they are just that ~LIFE skills ~ and not just another subject to tackle.