This Is Why We’re Following a More Relaxed Homeschool Schedule
My children are learning more basic home ec skills—and we're all happier for it.
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Even in a crisis, we have a choice: to live in fear and anger, or to live in hope and positivity. Staying hopeful and positive is the best way I know to find light during times of dark uncertainty. So let’s choose to connect with our children and our partners; let’s play games together, get creative in the kitchen, do crossword puzzles, and spend quality time with the family pet.
So maybe that means the kids aren’t learning that chapter they would’ve studied at school—but last week my son learned how to load the dishwasher (he crushed it, lining up those utensils like a boss) and my daughter asked if she could have a sewing machine.
Other skills parents should teach children to master, according to The Washington Post
- Make sure your elementary school-age child knows their full name, address, and phone number(s)
- Give elementary school-age children the responsibility of caring for pets: have younger children fill your pet's food and water dishes every day, while older siblings clean the litter box or take the dog for a walk
- Have your tweens select a recipe and make it for dinner once a week
- Teach middle-schoolers how to read and understand labels (laundry instructions, medication doses, etc.)
- Help teens understand money management and financial literacy
- Set your tween and teen up for success in college by helping with time management skills
In the old days, these skills were part of home economics—now, we’re all getting a crash course in home ec.
So let’s not feel limited by our kids’ curriculum. Let’s stay open to all the different types of learning that exist. Let’s put doing homework on pause, and focus on making home, work.