46 replies to this topic

[Stephanie]

Hey y'all, I would love to hear how you are training your children up to be tomorrow's preppers!

What are you doing to increase their ability to be self sufficient, frugal, wise and enabled?


Yesterday, I taught my two teenage boys (13 and 14) to pressure can pinto beans. I took them through every step. They were studying legumes in science (plant cycles), so it fit in really well. They were very interested and although I supervised, they did it themselves.

I also taught my 9 year old son to boil eggs and peel them properly. This may seem like a small thing, but he was very proud of himself. He worked very diligently to peel a dozen eggs and then we stuffed them and had them with dinner.

I taught my 9 year old daughter to make peanut butter cookies from the Powdered Peanut Butter in our storage. They were surprisingly easy and tasted good too! She was so happy to pass them out and see them gobbled up.

Last weekend we had all seven kiddos in the garden, digging, planting, etc... Each child has a container or small bed for their own flowers and herbs, etc...

Today we will be reviewing gun safety and hopefully be able to do some target practice. The older boys will help with the cleaning afterwards as well.

Wel, that's a few things, and I hope you'll add more. I'd like this to be an on going thread where we keep sharing how we are training up our children. BTW, this does not have to only apply to homeschoolers.

[Homemaker]

I'm having my son help me build my chicken coop.
While I don't really have any building expertise, at least he's learning that when you put your mind and back to it, you can figure things out.
Alot of the time, people dismiss the idea of doing things themself because they haven't been taught. My son is learning that you can often figure it out as you go. This will be an important skill to have... confidence.

[Cecilia]

This is a cool thread. It should be stickied. While I have no kids of my own, I love reading about yours.

[Jingles]

The kids are learning to make due with what we have. We are doing a pioneer / western expansion unit this summer. We plan to make a play house for the kids using "junk" wood from the firewood to make a log cabin. We are also planning to make a covered wagon using an old radio flyer wagon, some bartered welding, and some canvas fabric. To me the pioneer times are the total of survival. Plus the pioneer times are cool to learn about. We also plan to do a lot more projects for this unit (like making bread and butter etc.), but these are the big ones. We also plan to have a pioneer picnic in August with family and friends where we will make pioneer foods, play pioneer games, and have the kids preform a play and other projects from the summer.

[Stephanie]

Building a chicken coop together is a great hands on learning project. It's a great way to study fractions, measurements, angles, etc... Good job!

(((Cecilia))) , glad you're enjoying our tales....believe me, I could go on and on and on and on...

Pioneer studies are some of my favorites! Did you know you can make a balloon out of a butchered pig's bladder?

We're going to making a project this summer out of converting a wagon for our two wethers (goats) to pull....have to find them a job to make them earn their keep. Later we're going to convert a red ryder style wagon into one that Aslan can pull! If you have a dog the size of a horse...

Last weekend my dh replaced a ceiling fan, any type of repair work like that, car, electrical, fencing, etc... he has my two oldest right at his elbows teaching and letting them participate. He's such a good daddy!

[Granny]

Great thread Stephanie! Made me think. We've been remiss in teaching ds much about operating big tractor and the plow. His brothers were baling hay on their own when not much older. So far all he's learned is about gun parts and repairs. Dh has been teaching how to operate lathes, mills, and that kind of stuff.

Homemaker, I'm going to have son help build portable chicken house this summer too. There are several free plans on line. And I'm thinking he can learn with me how to put down laminate flooring. He can figure the dimensions. measure and mark. Help tap in the boards and maybe run the saw after instruction and close supervision. Might take me awhile to get totally comfortable with that.

[Cecilia]

(((Stephanie))) I was on my way to the library to return some books and if this thread was stickied, everyone can help others with ideas. Especially thiose new to homeschooling.

Edited by Cecilia, 02 June 2009 - 10:30 AM.

[HSmom]

I taught my child how an internet forum works. lol

Said child wandered by while I was perusing Mrs S and asked. So I explained about forums and threads, and siggies and avatars. It was cool!

[Stephanie]

Today we tackled something new for all of us. While everyone watched, only dh and I along with the two oldest boys participated.

A while back I bought this....

http://www.bizrate.c...pareprices.html


But, as I've mentioned elsewhere, I've yet to try out many of my treasures that I've been gathering....do today was the day.

We had this humongous Bonelss Pork Loin that I had intentions of canning. We discussed the need for uniform sizes of meat and why the density was an issue. Then we each took a turn, after much instruction about safety. We examined the grain of the meat, removed excess fat (wasn't much) and the boys had a hands on lesson in meat processing. Ofcourse we worked in what it means to be an one inch cube, a little measurement/geometry/math skills review as well.

Later today, dh and they will hone their knife sharpening skills (pun intended)

I am so thrilled to be able to introduce my children to things I'm just now learning in my 40's. I know that they will choose their own path in life, but these experiences and skills will always be with them no matter where they go!

BTW, now the pressure canner is filled with 7 quarts of lean cubed pork loin, waiting for the pressure to build now.... and I'm a bit tired, been a busy morning. Homeschool is cool!

Edited by Stephanie, 17 May 2009 - 12:50 PM.
added thought

[SlingMama]

Over the last year I've:
Taught my 6 year old to use a paring knife and she helps chop herbs and easy things like celery.
Both she and my 4 year old graze on wild edibles from the backyard. They can also identify the herbs like oregano, chives, basil, etc.
Fire starting with a flint and steel. We had a discussion on appropriate tinder and they watched while I used the flint. They have also helped lay and start a fire in the wood stove - using a match and with supervision.
Planting a garden.
Making bread. They each get dough to roll out and shape their own little loaves. The kids also grease the bread pans for me.
DD and DS help me mix ingredients and they even crack eggs. Measuring ingredients is a great way to introduce fractions and following a recipe is good reading practice.

[Jingles]

Today I taught my son how to help with putting laundry on the line. He handed me the clothes and the clothes pins and helped watch his sister. When we were done putting up the clothes he asked when he gets bigger if he could put the laundry on the line all by himself. I smiled and said you bet! Oh yea get him hooked on laundry line fun and I'll never have to do it again. Yeah Right! HA!

We are technically off school for the next two weeks since we will be starting up a new unit when my nephew if off public school. So we're working on home skills for the time being. I plan to teach him to sort clothes for each load, and he is learning how to cook and make his own sandwiches. He's 5 year old bye-the-way.

[Homemaker]

Stephanie,

Your kids certainly wouldn't learn canning in public school.

In fact, when I was in home ec. I learned how to make monkey bread with pillsbury dough from a can, and peanut brittle. Boy, that'll keep you going strong!

Now your kids will share in the pride when you pop open a can of pork for a meal.

[Jingles]

Today I taught my son what happens when you push rules and being rude to your elders. He is writing "I will listen and obey" 60 times. We have other forms of discipline, but this one is used to re-enforce things we want him to really learn. Hopefully reading and writing "I will listen and obey" will get it into his head. Does anyone else use this method?

[Stephanie]

Jingles, Writing lines is one of many tools we use to reinforce proper behavior.

It's according to the child and their age, personality etc... Once I tried to use this method with my 2 girls. They were thrilled. They happily collected their papers and pencils and wrote the assigned lines cheerfully.

Sufficeth to say, it didn't teach them much ... as they enjoyed it tremendously.

Surprisingly, I will often use a similar method with my oldest son, 14 years old. Sounds odd, but it works well because... I let him choose a passage from the Bible that he would like to write (gives him a bit of control) and then I say, I think you need a little handwriting practice (he does) and then I remind him that choosing a great scripture and writing neatly will bring the whole thing to an end quickly (once again, in his control) or he can drag it out for a while by presenting me with a sloppy paper.

What happens is, he calms down while he writes (maybe 10 minutes) and gives us a time out from each other ( a good thing) and he has accomplished hand writing for the day (part of homeschooling). Plus, he's been exposed to a scripture of his choice.

In other words, I don't really do it as a punishment, but more as a distraction for him and it really works well for the two of us.

So, I guess what I'm saying is...does it accomplish what you're setting out to accomplish? Does it make them stop and think and consider their actions? If so, then that's a good thing. Does it only cause them to feel more angry and frustrated without giving any thought to what they did wrong? Probably, not serving a good purpose.

[Stephanie]

We've payed for (for the first time ever) Puppy Training Classes, I am taking Aslan every week. I'm learning so much! So is he!

I'm taking my 9 yr old ds with me each week, he is crazy about animals of all kinds and I imagine he'll work with them in some way one day when he chooses a career.

Soooooo....naturally I'm sharing the wealth of info with ALL of the family *including dh. We might as well get our money's worth!

This could be invaluable info later as I believe that animals will be a much more viable part of our future than we can imagine.

::::maybe I should stock up on those training clickers::::

Seriously, I do think this could be a very viable skill to have in days to come.

[Stephanie]

Today we learned how to properly plant a Magnolia Tree and a fig tree.(that I got for my birthday)

This led to several discussions/lessons/learning opportunities....

Math was part of it, as we had to measure the holes, discuss diameter, doubling that and etc.

Tools were chosen, Square shovel vs Angled Shovel? or post hole digger?

We recycled!!! As we found worms the little ones ran and fed them to the delighted baby chicks!

Science was a big part as we studied the parts of the tree from roots to blossoms to fruits...did you read about how a fig is fertilized?? amazing!!

We also identified different soil types, fertilizers, and soil conditioners. Very good day, in every way!

[Jingles]

My kids learned a lot about planting gardens, when to plant, how deep to plant, how to water without washing out the seeds. How to carry a watering can without losing all the water, how to hoe, how to dig holes for tomatoes, how to drag and put away the hose, how to pull weeds, and best of all how to get dirty and have a blast doing it. The best part is we have all but one plot of land planted. We do beans tomorrow and we are done! I learned that giving kids seeds to plant in a "row" will get you a lovely zig zag pattern. he he We had a great weekend so far.

[-6]

Last week it was garden planting. This week he will be swapping an engine for his car. He is going to do the wrench turning. Afterwards we will put in a stereo and plush up the interior a bit. wc

[Stephanie]

This week we were so busy doing and learning that I didn't have time to stop and think about it!

My dh taught my two oldest (13 & 15) how to properly run the tiller when breaking up brand new ground. When the belt slipped on the tiller, they learned how to fix that.

As a family we plotted the new garden, we're trying some new things and want to make sure how to go about it. Found out that corn should be on the North side of the garden and that okra can get as tall as five feet. Plotting including all kinds of research, collecting of data, measurements (math), and good hard physical math.

I started teaching my girls to make Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, an art that every Southern girl should have!

Today, I will be continuing to train my oldest boy to do clipper cuts (his younger brothers will be his guinea pigs). We worked on that last summer when we were buzzing heads for summer cuts. He's actually got a good knack for it. I'll be right there watching and assisting, but it will save my shoulder a bit of pain (in Physical Therapy for Bone Spur).

I'm continuing to share what I learn at the Puppy Training classes, hoping they will have a good solid start with that. My ds who is 9 has attended every week with me and actually has decided he wants to do this as an adult (could change his mind a million times, but he's very interested and learning).

[nmchick]

This is simple, but my kids are smaller.

We've been playing "How do we get home from here?" when we're in the car and "How do we get out of this store?" when we're shopping. I became concerned that if they had to get home from town without me, they wouldn't be able to. They wouldn't even be able to give directions to a trusted adult, though they do know their address. It's so easy to ride in a car (or follow mom around the grocery) without really paying attention to where you are.

We pick a different child to lead us out for each store we visit. They love it!