The Homeschooling Lifestyle- The Daily Tasks
Ok, I couldn’t think of a way to relate this topic to the structure of a home, but it’s still a part of the homeschooling lifestyle, so we’re talking about it anyway.
Maybe we could relate it to the blueprints?? Or the family calendar?? You can come up with your own house analogy if you want, sometimes I just spend too much time looking at something to see the glaringly obvious answer, lol!!
But I digress…
Because homeschooling is a lifestyle, it’s the perfect environment to learn life skills along with the book knowledge. I would submit that sometimes life skills are more important anyway, depending on you, your family, and your homeschool goals.
You and your husband set the goals for your home. Take some time before the beginning of every year, and revisit throughout the year, to set expectations. These are not only academic, put character and life skill goals.
Some areas you can teach are:
- Time management
- Personal responsibility (for self and for the group as a whole)
- Independent learning
- Task preparation
- Budgeting
- Earning money
- Flexibility and pivoting when a situation calls for it
- Learning when breaks are needed
- Making a schedule
- Exposure to the world and the people in it
- Hospitality
- Exploring interests and building up strengths
All of the above, and more, can be taught and experienced on a daily basis in your homeschool.
In our home, we have found the best way to teach these skills to our children is to let them experience it for themselves. We instruct, direct, and guide all along the journey. In the beginning it’s more hands-on with the parents, with independence the end goal to achieve.
Some ideas on teaching these skills:
Time management and making a schedule can be taught by creating a schedule yourself, allowing your child to see it and have some input on how the time is set up, and having your child keep track of time spent doing various tasks. As your child gets older, you can give them a schedule of assignments, lessons, activities, etc you expect completed within a specified time frame, and leave the “when” up to them. This has worked well for us, when it comes to school work, once our children hit the junior high level. I give them the assignments I expect to be completed each day or week, and allow them to do these as they see fit. I do give them a few other guidelines, like if they need my help, I am not available during certain times of the day (Moms need their sleep 😉 ), and let them know of any other activities planned for the day. I also make sure I am available to them to teach a new concept if needed, answer questions, etc. As much as possible, at this age we allow them to learn and figure things out through trying, implementing, and adjusting as needed.
Personal responsibility can come in the form of expectations of each family member to do their part in the running of the home. This can look like chores, helping siblings when Mom and Dad are doing other things, caring for their personal hygiene, having needed supplies ready before a task, etc
Budgeting and earning money can be taught by giving your children an allowance, assigning an agreed upon price to tasks that you otherwise wouldn’t pay them for, letting teens babysit or help neighbors with various tasks (yard work, business assistant, dog walking, etc), and doing odd jobs or pursuing an entrepreneurial endeavor. Show your kids how to assign “tasks” to their money – a certain amount for giving, some to save, some to spend, etc).
Flexibility in situations, exposure to the world, and hospitality can be taught by them simply living life alongside you. As many schedules as we like to make, things come up that need our attention and take us off the planned path; time to pivot and shift our day’s expectations. Bring your kids out and about with you, join homeschool community groups and co-ops, join a sports team or church group. Invite people into your home on a consistent basis, and go to others’ homes when invited. Allow your kids to be involved in any gathering or party planning you may be responsible for; this allows them to take ownership and learn some life skills in the process.
You can help your child explore their interests and build up their strong points in a homeschool setting. When your child expresses an interest in something, you can tailor your schooling to that topic, go on field trips, talk to people in that area of expertise, and when they are in high school, you can look into job shadowing or internships. Strengths can also be built up this way, as your focus turns to helping them become productive adults. The school years are a great time to expose your children to their interests and strengths because they can get a sense for what they like, what they need to work on, and what goals to set in order to make their dreams a reality.
Learning when to take a break is an important life skill for children and adults alike. We are not machines. We are not meant to work 24/7, nor operate on a little sleep. Sure, there will be seasons that require more of us than usual, however, it’s important to grab little breaks when possible, and to be intentional about taking a longer break once this more demanding season has passed. Sometimes breaks are spur of the moment, and other times they are planned events to look forward to. Either way, be sure you are teaching your children they do not need to be “on” all the time. The ability to create our own schedules as homeschoolers allows for this flexibility and rest.
What are some life skills that are important to you? What are some tasks and habits that are in your home because they help your home run smoothly? How can you teach these skills, expectations, and habits to your children? What can you expose them to now so they aren’t lost when they leave the home?
