Ray Pigott A big advantage of homeschool is being able to teach life skills alongside academic subjects. These skills give kids the tools to succeed in later life, both in their future careers and as productive members of society.
These skills will be useful to your children for running a household, functioning in the workforce, or pursuing further education when they’re older, such as through Careskills Academy.
Time Management
Knowing how to manage your time to complete goals reduces stress. It’s an important skill for adult life. Time management also teaches the rewards of using time effectively in order to have more time for other interests and activities.
Budgeting
Teaching the skill of budgeting is an important foundation for good financial habits. This is much easier today with apps and free online tools, but on paper is fine too. Children need to understand from a young age that they can’t spend more than they earn without consequences.
Small Repairs
Some basic, small repairs can be useful to prevent bigger, expensive problems. A small problem can be fixed quite quickly by simple things like tightening a bolt or replacing a battery. Some basic DIY skills are very handy to have and can save a lot of stress and money.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness takes patience to teach and will take some children a while to grasp. Mindfulness is about slowing down and being aware of what is really important and not important at any given moment. It’s about being able to stay calm and focus on what is within your control rather than what you can’t.
First Aid
First aid skills can prepare your children to be able to react quickly and calmly in an emergency. It might also inspire a future career path in medicine or emergency response. First aid can also keep your children safe.
Horticulture
These skills will improve your home’s landscape and can provide some home-grown food for the family table. This can help children to understand where food comes from, open up conversations about nutrition, and help them to identity flowers, plants, and trees, as well as how different landscapes support plants’ growth.
Pet Care
This helps your children to learn responsibility from a young age. Even very young kids can understand that pets rely on them for care, and build a bond with the family pet.
Shopping
This might not seem like a skill, but learning appropriate shopping patterns can help children with learning healthy spending habits that will help them as an adult.
Resume Writing
Resume writing is a skill that your children will need a lot in life. When they want to get a job, they will a strong resume, and later on, they may need to be able to recognise a strong resume if they are ever in a position to hire others.
Making Appointments
Scheduling appointments might seem like a simple task, but when children don’t have to do it for themselves, they can develop anxiety around it and struggle with something they will need to handle throughout their lives. A lot of appointments can be made online now, but it’s still useful to learn some telephone skills.