Here are 15 old-fashioned useful skills homeschoolers love to teach. Also, look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter.
Whether you didn’t learn these skills in school or you’re determined to give your children the best education you’ll love these useful skills to teach.
Besides, teaching only academics and not life skills is a huge flaw in the educational world. We don’t want to repeat that same nonsense thinking.
So we choose to intentionally teach what other educators view as vintage or old-fashioned because we know some obsolete skills prepare today’s kids for adulthood.
Look at these 15 skills, academic or otherwise which homeschoolers still love to teach.
Old-Fashioned Skills for Today’s Kids
1. Cursive writing.
Unless a child has a special need, most homeschooling parents know that learning to write and cursive writing are valuable skills.
Beyond the fact that most early documents were hand-written, cursive writing supports hand-eye coordination and can reduce letter reversals.
Look at some of my tips below about how I teach writing.
- How to Teach Cursive and Composition With A Fresh Perspective
- Cursive Matters; Handwriting Style Doesn’t + Free Resources
- 5 Creative Ways to Boost Handwriting in Older Kids
2 Finance
3 Accounting
4 Budgeting
5 Money Management
6 Writing a Check
Yes they are all very different skill sets.
Although they are connected learning to budget and run a household is different than money management.
Money management is not only a skill used in personal life but can be applied to a business.
You want your children to have as many as they can get while living with you.
Today’s kids learn early how to use a debit or credit card without knowing what is a budget or knowing ways to rein in their spending.
Subjects Not Taught in Public School
Distinguishing between a need versus a want is an extremely valuable skill to teach kids.
Not teaching a kid about finances while in middle or high school or even earlier may set him up for much debt later in life.
Too, many places of business still use paper checks.
Teaching our kids both how to write out a check and how to make a bank deposit in person are necessary skills for adulting.
Next, look at these books about money and look at Whatever Happened To Penny Candy?: A Fast, Clear, and Fun Explanation of the Economics You Need for Success in Your Career, Business, and Investments.
8 Rad Money Resources to Teach Money For All Ages
Grab some of these money resources to teach your children about how to save and budget money.
For the first time, financial guru and TODAY Show regular Jean Chatzky brings her expertise to a young audience. Chatzky provides her unique, savvy perspective on money with advice and insight on managing finances, even on a small scale. This book will reach kids before bad spending habits can get out of control. With answers and ideas from real kids, this grounded approach to spending and saving will be a welcome change for kids who are inundated by a consumer driven culture. This book talks about money through the ages, how money is actually made and spent, and the best ways for tweens to earn and save money.
Sixth-grader Rufus Mayflower is betting that he can make a whole gallon of toothpaste for the same price as one tube from the store.
There’s just one problem, he has to solve real-life mathematical
equations first! With help from his good friend Kate Mackinstrey, can
these two entrepreneurs keep up with the high demand for their popular product? Beloved children’s author Jean Merrill introduces readers to the ins and outs of a budding business, from costs to profits, in this exciting tale about perseverance, ingenuity, and underdogs.
- MONEY GAME FOR KIDS: Players collect, count, and exchange money all the way to the finish line
- MONEY SKILLS: Learn valuable money skills through fun game play
- PLAY MONEY: Includes game board with spinner, 100 plastic coins, play bills, markers, and dice
In Smart Money Smart Kids, financial expert and best-selling author Dave Ramsey and his daughter Rachel Cruze equip parents to teach their children how to win with money. Starting with the basics like working, spending, saving, and giving, and moving into more challenging issues like avoiding debt for life, paying cash for college, and battling discontentment, Dave and Rachel present a no-nonsense, common-sense approach for changing your family tree.
The perfect gift! Give the gift of financial literacy to your teen - they will thank you for a lifetime. You are not alone; it is often difficult to reach young adults on the topic of money management, but look no further. I Want More Pizza finally has teenagers excited about personal finance and is giving them the confidence that they can succeed. This resource is being used in classrooms around the nation as young adults enjoy the pizza model for learning about money management. Now available for the first time for you to bring into your home, give your young adult the gift of financial literacy and they will thank you for a lifetime. Primary topics discussed include saving, spending, prioritization, goal setting, compound growth, investing, debt, credit cards, student loans, mental blocks, and taking real world action.I am sure you have heard a few of these: "I don't need it", "I'm too young", "I need to spend my money on _____ ", and the list goes on. The pizza model for learning personal finance breaks down those barriers because, well, everyone loves pizza! Just because money management is extremely important doesn't mean that it has to be extremely complex. I Want More Pizza leaves them in complete control to find the plan that works for your young adult - it's their choice. If they don't enjoy math or don't like to plan, no problem, we've got them covered as well. And it's only ~100 pages, which young adults love given their busy social calendars. Money doesn't have to be stressful. Finally reach your young adult and help them become financially literate for a lifetime. After all, there is a lot of pizza in life to enjoy!
This down-to-earth guide is filled with practical advice on everything from how to budget and be a smart shopper to student loans, mortgages and insurance. An essential book for equipping young people with the skills they need to manage their money now and in the future. Includes links to websites with more tips and advice.
Long before they are of age to start working, kids want their own money. And whether they count bricks at a construction site as a kid like my entrepreneur husband did or just want some spending money, kids are looking for creative ways to earn their own bucks.
Nobody has everything they need, all the time – so how can we make do with what we have? Economics is all about understanding the choices we make to solve this problem. With bright, infographics pictures, this informative book describes why markets are so important, how businesses work out what to sell, and how governments choose how to run a country. Includes Usborne Quicklinks to specially selected websites for more information.
And look at my post 12 Ways for a Homeschooled Teen to Earn Money – A Budding Entrepreneur.
7. How to do taxes.
My kids started working while in high school and although they didn’t make enough to have to prepare a tax return, we still helped them prepare one.
When a child is living on his own he’ll have a basic understanding of tax deadlines and taxes.
He manages adult responsibilities way better than if you had never introduced basic tax how-tos.
8. How to cook from scratch.
The pandemic of 2020 is a perfect example of how life can throw a huge curve.
Because we want our kids self-sufficient, teaching them to cook from scratch like baking basic bread or from what is on hand saves money, teaches independence, and can be healthier.
Look below at a few ways I incorporated this into our learning day:
- How to Help Kids Go Beyond the Basics of Homeschool Cooking & Resources
- How to Incorporate Subjects into a Fun Homeschool Cooking Unit Study.
9. How to fill out a job application and how to do a job interview.
When I helped my first teen fill out a job application, it was hilarious.
School Doesn’t Prepare Us for Life
Although he knew what it was from the exploring career opportunities course in high school, preparing one was quite different.
To this day, he still thanks me and his dad for helping him to look at his set of skills both strengths and weakness realistically.
However, nothing compared to seeing him get ready for his first job interview.
He was pretty comfortable looking to apply for a job that required a dress jacket.
Just a word of advice, be sure your teen knows how employees are expected to dress after you go over your dos and don’ts for a first-time job interview.
10. Learn to read a map.
I love GPS too, but if you’ve ever hiked or walked in a remote area your cell phone is not really a good bet.
Besides learning about scale and distances, a map can teach local geography and can teach us what is around us.
No cell phone service needed.
Things No Longer Taught in School
Maps are engaging and foster a love of learning about places along the way instead of just getting to a point like a gps.
We can use both in our everyday and not let a generation grow up equipped without engaging with a map.
11. Diagramming a sentence.
To understand how words need to be arranged in a sentence to make their thoughts clearer, kids need many ways to learn word arrangement.
When kids have to break down or diagram each part of a sentence it leaves no room for ambiguity. This teaching technique still helps many students.
12. Auto upkeep.
Whether the tires need air or not, when and how to change the oil, and basic upkeep to maintain your safety and the life of a vehicle are important skills to know.
13. Home Economic skills.
I know home economics courses are now called some fancy name like Family And Consumer Sciences.
That is another post for me, but kids need to know how to read recipes, count food portions, food storage, food prep ideas and how to eat healthy.
And while we can teach these skills separately, it’s much easier to teach them while on the job.
Assigning your kids the responsibility to make a grocery list or a meal for the family works.
I started with easy meal ideas for my kids to make for the family and as they grew, so did the cooking skills.
Benefits of Life Skills
In addition, teaching a kid basic sewing can be a lost skill.
Back in the day learning basic sewing skills was a must because all clothes were hand-made. Learning how to sew on a button is still a valuable skill.
14. Latin.
Latin used to be taught at in a lot of public schools.
Today, not all homeschoolers teach Latin, but a lot do.
We see the value of teaching our kids the roots of modern-day language and how to analyze root meanings.
The deductive reasoning used while learning Latin helped my kids to know how to critically think.
15. High School Shop Classes.
Classes like woodworking, metal, and drafting classes seem to be dwindling.
Those types of hand skills are being lost. Electricians, plumbers, and carpenters are valuable skills needed in our community.
Also, these classes were taught in high school so that a teen had time to pursue passions and some of the classes were segues to a higher degree.
These skills are not outdated in our home, but they are skills which propel our kids to the future. A future where our kids are truly prepared for whatever comes their way.
Old Fashioned But Timeless Skills
How can a kid learn about the human body without preparing a meal?
And how can a kid value how fast human history changes unless he can read the thoughts of the founding father in their handwriting – cursive?
How can a child not be saddled with debt and stress the rest of his life unless we teach him now how to save and when to spend?
Look at some of these other reads:
- How to Know What A Homeschooled Child Should Learn Yearly?
- How to Mesh Your Personality With Homeschooling When They Collide
- Homeschooling Kindergarten : What Subjects to Teach and For How Long?
- Teach Your Homeschooled Teen the Art of Studying (without nagging)
- 6 Best Homeschool Hacks Teaching Multi-Aged Children
We don’t have to make a choice between academics or old-fashioned practical skills a child should know. We want them both!
Hugs and love ya,
You are the best and I am SO glad to have learned from you all these many years!! ❤️❤️
Awwwwwww Dori, so WONDERFUL to hear from you♥♥. I’m glad you’re here too and have stuck with me through ups and downs. This year I’m mentoring a preschooler then K this next year. I think it’s for sure the fourth time round……..lol lol ♥♥