Real Life Homeschooling

I was thinking how cool it would be to post every week a life lesson that I have incorporated into our homeschool. I think life lessons are important for every child and easy to teach with minimal effort. These lessons will stay with a little one for the rest of their lives, and will make living away from home easier. Can you imagine how hard it would be to move away for the first time without knowing how to cook, or wash your own clothes? I definitely don't want any of my children feeling lost, or calling me on the phone to ask for directions!

The first life lesson I am blogging about is cooking. My eldest daughter(10 yrs.) loves to cook, and bake. After watching her become bored after her lessons I thought of a great idea that would take up some of her extra time. Once a week she would have to find a healthy meal, make a grocery list, budget under $10, and prepare her meal with minimal help. To assist her recipe hunt, I unearthed an old Christmas cookbook that was never touched, but is now loved! It is Molly's American Girl cookbook, and has a lot of fun recipes that are perfect for beginners. This was just the ticket to get my girl going!

For her first meal she chose meatloaf (from scratch!), and lava potatoes. I never doubted in my mind that she would fail, but she did outdo my expectations! Her meal was superb, especially the lava potatoes that were filled with cheese! You should have seen her beaming smile, while her family told her what a fine job she did! We not only taught her a valuable skill, she also felt very good about herself and knows now that she is capable. Knowing that she can cook a meal a week, and allow me to rest a little, makes her feel important and needed. Something everyone needs!!