'Lost' Skills: Teaching the next generation important life skills that many have forgotten...
Do you see this girl?
She made those pillows herself. On her own sewing machine.
In this day and age of technology and lightning fast communication, it is easy to let skills such as these fall to the wayside...
I would suggest to you readers that skills such as these are important and worth knowing!
Yes, she could go to the dollar store and buy a pillow like this for a couple bucks, but it would mean MUCH less and probably wouldn't be as well made.
Now she has three pillows that she made as personal gifts to family members, which mean SO much more than something purchased. She made them with love and patience.
And it has inspired her and given her confidence to try other things!
She has a list of things to make now, a tote bag for her doll clothes... some doll clothes!
The other night she spent an hour in her room working away and came out with a phone case and a purse for me!
Yes, my heart melted a little...
Some other life skills worth teaching:
- Fishing
- Planting vegetables
- Cooking a meal!
- Hand sewing
- Raising livestock
- Baking a cake
- Changing a tire
- Changing your car's oil
- How to write a personal and business letter
- How to shoot safely and clean a firearm
Of course there are many, many more!
What life skills do you find important and/or make it a point to teach your children?
Thanks for reading, fellow steemians!
Have a blessed day! ♥
This is really really great @squishysquid! What a wonderful job your daughter did on those pillows. I too am a stay at home mom that homeschools. We currently have four children ages 1, 4, 6 and 7 and we are expecting another next June!! 😃 I have taught each of them at home since the beginning and I am just amazed at the skill set and comprehension that each of them have. Everyone always thinks my kids are older because we teach them proper language and how to speak to others.
I have a passion for crocheting and am currently teaching my 7 year old daughter how to crochet. She has helped me sew before but not on her own yet. She told me she wasn’t quite ready to sit at the machine and she’d rather just assist me. To me that is better than her not wanting to learn at all. My mother is a seamstress and she tried to teach my sister and I how to sew when we were younger. We were too ignorant to appreciate that blessing and now I am an adult struggling to learn. Lol.
My 6 year old son has a passion for cooking. He watches cooking shows with me and helps me in the kitchen as much as my daughter does. He also loves to build and figure out electronics. I really believe it’s important to encourage and hone the skills that we see our children developing. That’s one thing I love about home education is that I know their strengths and weaknesses and it’s amazing to see them grow.
I also love that you all are homesteaders! That is one of our goals to own land one day and have our animals and teach our children about farming and survival. Right now we just try to eat smart and we do a lot of home remedies and use essential oils as much as possible. Well sorry I talked your ears off but it was really nice reading your post. I’ll be following you to stay in touch :) Resteemed!
Thanks for your lovely comment! Ill follow you as well; it sounds as though we have a lot in common!
5 kids! What a blessing! I have three kids, ages 7, 10, and 14. Sounds like you are doing a fantastic job!
I love that homeschooling allows us to focus on important things and make sure our kids learn the real skills they need as an independent adult.
We also use a lot of home remedies and essential oils! I am one of those people who gets confused about people who take their kids to the hospital every time they get the flu or a cough. You know what, that is another important life skill: How to take care of a sick person and treat various symptoms. You really dont need a doctor's help to deal with the flu except for unusual cases...
You are very welcome! We do have quite a bit in common. I don’t understand how people rush to the doctors for everything either. Most of these things can be treated effectively at home. I think that is an awesome life skill to teach as well. It was so good meeting you :)
Problem solving and independent study! I am by no means an expert at teaching my children to problem solve, but I will surely try. For our company and the many managers at businesses I work with, this has become a huge problem when hiring. You hire someone and they come into a problem and just get stuck. They are worthless when it comes to doing a job that requires any kind of thought or decision. They don't know how to study and independently search out a solution to the problem, but just get stuck. With nearly all information at the tips of our fingers, this seems like the reverse should be the case, but sadly, it isn't!
Absolutely!! Great point!
My husband is a store manager, and it frustrates him to no end when his employees cannot handle the simplest problems and he has to jump in and fix things for him.
Definitely an important life skill!!!
It really comes down to the difference between having been taught what to think, and having been taught how to think.
I think...😋
lol, agreed!
Very true!
I feel like it should go without saying, but living with thier means is something I've stressed to my kids.
I also think it's important for kids to understand the "use it up, wear ot out, make do, or do without" way of thinking. Taking care of what they have, repairing what they can, and repurposing what they can't.
Another thing that's probably obvious is knowing how to find answers they're looking for in books, without the internet.
THIS
That is SO true!
I teach my kids this as well. They earn money and we have a no impulse buying rule.
They can buy whatever they want, BUT they have to think about it for at least a day first, (more than a day for huge purchases.)
Sometimes they complain, but they are learning to think about how they spend their money and I've had quite a few occasions where they thank me for now allowing them to buy it that moment, because they would be out of cash and turns out they didnt really want it anyway...
We are big fans of fixing things around here also! Not something I consciously taught, but I guess we lead by example. If my kids things break, the first thing they do is try to fix it or ask us to fix it. Not automatically asking for a new one. Which is a good thing... Haha, I never really thought about it.
Looking up things in books is another good one. I have to admit, I am too reliant on the internet. As a kid, I would have to run to the library and hope they had a book on the topic I wanted to know about... Now I can just punch it into the computer and find the info instantly. Perhaps I shall start working on this, having them research things in books! An important skill indeed, and thanks for your comment!
I've tried to lead by example, and I think I've done a fair job. But t.v., neighborhood kids, family's children and others also have some influence, and sometimes some value reinforcement of the verbal sort is a necessary. Sometimes, in the short term they thought I was unfair or uncool or just didn't understand but I think as they're getting older they're grateful for those lessons, values and skills.
That's very true... the world has a huge influence on the kids and sometimes they need a little more instruction or incentive to do things.
such an amazing kid you have!
the skills that i am trying to pass on to mine is climbing the trees! she loves to do it and it is an ancestral heritage. and i was actually thinking this morning when i use my natural beauty cosmetics which i make my own, that she can see this as an example and gain some knowledge from it... or maybe she will just turn out to be the opposite ME and go into the consumerism :))
I love the pillows! Congratulations for the post, for the pillows and for the amazing child!
Thank you so much!
I agree, climbing trees is a wonderful thing to know how to do! Among other fun outside things, like making a branch fort, starting a campfire, recognizing venomous snakes, identifying plants, the list goes on...
I bet she will follow your lead! I know my kids see me using my homemade deodorant, (and toothpaste, soap, whatever), and they dont think its weird or anything, and they dont ask for those items from the store. I explained why I make them, because its better for you and you avoid toxic chemicals, and they understand this. We shall see what they do when they grow up and move out, but I think we are heading in the right direction!
Thanks for your positive comment!!
i admire anyone who can use a sewing machine - i've tried and tried, and that wretched bobbin has it out for me!
i think it's important for children, especially now with being surrounded by avenues for instant gratification, to accept "boredom" ... it allows for time to daydream & be creative. to find ways to entertain yourself with books, or to come up with adventures out in the yard. aside from useful life skills like you had mentioned, which are imperative. COOKING, YES!!
I totally agree! You have to let them be bored! Dont always come up with activities, let them be bored and let the creative juices start flowing and you will be amazed with what they can come up with. :D
Haha, I know what you mean, that bobbin is a spiteful little thing!
Such important skills, right now I am teaching my son to crochet so good for his hand-eye coordination, and a fun hobby. We actually just had a discussion about buying gifts v.s making them, our goal next Holiday season is to make all our gifts. Both my children admitted although they love toys the gifts I have made them are the one's they cherish the most. Life skills we will be working on is gardening and some wildcrafting, as well as some basic anatomy, nutrition and cooking skills.
Oh yes, anatomy and nutrition! Wildcrafting, that's good!
Crocheting is fun! I have begun to teach my kids this, but they usually lose interest about the time they get the hang of it. They would probably do more of it if they saw me doing it more, though... I just dont have a lot of free time for that at this point.
Thanks for your response!
This is so true. Sewing, knitting, all of it is almost gone.
I've written a few posts about this topic before and it really saddens me how these skills are disappearing.
Yes, it is sad. On the plus side, in this day and age of technology, you can find instruction on about anything you can think of online. I did not know how to use a sewing machine at all. I ended up watching some youtube videos and learning myself. Now I can teach my kids!