“I’m glad I learned about Parallelograms in high school instead of how to do my taxes. It comes in so handy during Parallelogram season!” Have you ever laughed about this sentiment? How often have you said, “I wish I learned that in high school?” One of the benefits of homeschooling is the gift of extra time to teach fundamental skills to your children. Because we are present with our children for more hours of the day we can very naturally work on life skills and most certainly count it as part of our homeschool curriculum.
Last spring I launched my firstborn off into the college world. He had earned all his academic credits, covering Math, English, Science and History, and learned many useful things in those areas. However, some of the most impactful things we covered came from the life skills he was taught, preparing him for his job, his freshman year of college, and living on his own. Since sending out my firstborn, I have looked back on some of the skills that were (and some that would have been) the most useful to teach while he was under our roof.
The first semester of college came with some learning curves in managing a schedule. During high school, I (as the teacher) was primarily the one organizing our days while trying to keep up with all the extracurricular activities as well. We keep a family calendar in the hall, mostly for me to reference, my crew relying on me to tell them what is going on in the week. I wish I would have taught the skill of keeping a calendar far earlier on. Whether through a personal planner with pen and ink, or a digital calendar like Google, this skill would have been helpful for my now 18-year-old to be comfortable with by his freshman year. He is now keeping up with not only his homework assignments and deadlines, but his haircuts, teeth cleanings, oil changes, activities, and part-time job schedule. He recently told me that using Google Calendar this spring semester has made all the difference for him. Learning how to look at a daily or weekly schedule and fit everything in is an important life skill that we can begin teaching in our homeschool. It teaches our students time management as well as prioritizing, and these skills will be helpful to them as they enter into post high school responsibilities.
In addition to keeping a personal schedule and learning how to manage time wisely, the skill of making appointments is useful to cover when it is age appropriate for them to do so. I have three older boys who need haircuts pretty regularly. Teaching them how to look ahead to when they think they are needing their next cut, and scheduling an appointment in advance is a great skill to begin covering now. I know my son’s barber appreciates him booking in advance with no last minute “can you fit me in today?” calls. They can get comfortable booking oil changes, dental appointments and other services where an appointment may be necessary. Teaching good phone etiquette when making appointments is a life skill they will carry with them as well.
Recently my son had his first sickness away from home. He had never gone to the doctor without me. Basic skills like understanding what medicines are good for certain ailments, or knowing how to present an insurance card at the doctor are helpful. We talked about the difference between bacterial infections, which may need an antibiotic, and viral illnesses that need lots of rest, fluids and good nutrition. When presenting our insurance card, he learned about copays and deductibles. All these things are not found in a textbook, but rather by experiencing adult situations. Understanding how to handle urgent care visits versus potential emergency room visits will help the situation if they are comfortable knowing this information ahead of time. Going over medical information, family history and emergency contacts is useful when they may need to fill out paperwork at the doctor’s office.
Often our students begin working their first jobs during high school. I remember staring at the paperwork my employer gave me, not knowing how to fill out my W-4. Should I withhold taxes? If so, how much should they take out? When do I have to file a tax return? A basic understanding of taxes is a good life skill to cover during high school and will be useful to them when they are beginning their adult life and taking on those first jobs.
Other life skills such as getting in the habit of regularly checking your oil and doing service maintenance could prevent major engine repairs (ask me how we personally learned this). Learning how to unclog a toilet, as fun as that sounds, is something that we all will likely have to tackle at some point in our adult lives. Knowing how to use a fire extinguisher may prevent a stovetop fire from turning much worse. First aid and CPR are skills that we never know when may be useful, but will be so glad to know if a situation arises.
Life skills are important for all ages and stages. When we have high schoolers we are looking at things that will help prepare them for their next step in life, but teaching life skills to our younger ones is important too – how to communicate well, politely answer a question, write a thank you note and receive a compliment are great life skills. When my children are old enough to reach the washing machine lid, they do their own laundry and are responsible for how they want to fold or hang it in their closets. Learning how to cook simple meals is a life skill that is necessary and can be taught early on. When mine were little we had a saying that I’d announce each morning: “Get fresh, dressed and ready for success,” prompting them to brush their teeth, shower and get ready for the day. This little saying became part of our daily routine and helped set up our school day well.
While our curriculum might certainly cover Parallelograms and Quadratic formulas (and I am sure many jobs find that useful), do not overlook Life Skills as part of your homeschool curriculum. We have the time to teach alongside our daily responsibilities, and can naturally work on useful skills that will help our students be well-prepared. And it certainly “counts” for homeschool credit.
“Homeschooling is not just education, it’s life itself, where learning is woven into every moment and experience.”– unknown
If you have questions regarding how to list Life Skills on your student’s high school transcript please contact an HLA high school counselor. We are happy to help!
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