Over the weekend, Mairead got an email from a listener who is homeschooling their kids and is looking to go beyond the usual school work and teach their kids some important life skills.
They were looking for suggestions on what they should include, and here's what you said:
- Great idea with the life skills. I've always said there should be a life skills class in school teaching kids how to cook healthily, sew, mend, change a light bulb, use a drill, grow your own veg, budget your money, etc. Maybe they could learn to tie different knots? Meditate? How to use a compass? Identify clouds?
- Hi Mairead, that dad could teach his kids how to cook, use the washing machine and dryer, how to change a light bulb and wire a plug. And with the weather being nice they could do some gardening.
- I do a lot of baking in our house with the kids but a huge part is peeling vegetables. I got them a safety peeler each and a kids knife and they love washing them, then peeling and chopping. 2 girls aged 6 and 3.
- I teach 5th class in primary school and 2 weeks ago I set life skills as school work and the children sent me photos of them learning how to use the dishwasher, washing machine and cooking dinner, making omelettes and baking bread and buns!! They had great fun and the parents were delighted.
- Life skills should include: Bike maintenance, using the washing machine, sewing buttons/tears in material/taking up hems, cutting the grass, setting the fire, sending an email, chopping vegetables (for young kids), making dinner (for older kids), how to clean a wound & basic first aid.
Mairead also spoke to listener Mary in Cork who has been doing this with her two youngest over the past year. Together they have learned off the counties of Ireland and the countries of Europe and their capitals as well as how they say "hello" and "thank you". They also learned to fix a puncture on a bike, identify animals and how to climb trees on their nature walks.
Mary also taught them how to make butter and was able to bring them to a dairy farm last summer to see the whole process from start to finish!
You can hear the chat in full by pressing the play button on screen.
