Learning Life Lessons

Part of teaching a child involves teaching them life lessons. Life lessons include: how to take turns, how to cook, cleaning skills, laundry, how to take care of a garden….any skill you need to live is a life lesson. It’s important to teach these skills or else you end up with an unbalanced child – book smart but not life smart.

Most people learn these lessons as they go through life. It is never too young to start learning these lessons and they can make some really interesting lessons too.

Cleaning can become a lesson in chemistry. How does soap help remove grease? Why are some bubbles bigger than others? Why don’t we mix Clorox with other cleaning projects? What does bleach do? Why does scrubbing work to remove things? All of these are lessons about chemistry, but are also life skills that a child needs. Instead of simply having them help clean the dishes, ask some questions: Why does warm water work better than cold? Why does soap make things easier to clean? As your child puzzles out the answers – with some guidance from you – they will learn new things.

When you cook, use only 1 cup measuring cups and smaller. This forces children to learn addition. No longer do they fill the measuring cup up to 2 when they need 2 cups – they have to add 1 +1 to get to 2 cups. It also helps with learning fractions, since so many fractions as involved in cooking. In addition to developing a great skill – cooking – your child will learn more about math.

Most children know that plants need water to survive. But do they know the reason you weed? What about why we use fertilizer? Or when things are ripe? Do your children actually know that food comes from the ground and plants, not the supermarket? You can help children learn about growth in plants by having them help tend a garden. If you are short on space, use an old shoe holder (the over the door kind) and plant herbs in it. If you have lots of space, have your children help plan the garden. Then learn about plant growth (seed –plant), harvesting (when things are ripe), and all the other aspects of plant growth.

One of the most important things about learning life lessons is that they are done with someone. Kids who interact during lessons and who talk about the lessons, are more likely to retain the information.  In addition, they will have a host of new memories, skills, and activities to do with you. It’s a great thing to do with any child.

 Natasha Wunderlich

I’m a homeschooling mom who made the choice to homeschool because I saw how rigid schools were and noticed how fluid my son’s learning style was and how hands-on his learning style was. We have been at it for over 2 years now (we started when he was 2) and are enjoying our time together. Learning and teaching has brought us closer together as a family. I do believe in structure and lessons, not simply free form schooling, but those lessons are child-centered and directed by his interested. We are moving on through Kindergarten and 1st Grade material now, and watching him learn and grow is awesome. You can find me on: www.wunderfulhomeschool.wordpress.com
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