While knowing the Four Rs (reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmatic, and religion) is essential for your child to succeed in life, it is also important to learn certain life skills to function well in the world.

Today, Mary Ellen and Ginny discuss ordinary things your children need to know, like how to manage money, how to really clean a room, and how to plan and cook healthy meals. 

Show Notes:

Did you know that an entire Instagram account is dedicated to the hapless texts teens send their parents while trying to navigate life?  Questions such as: 

• What aisle is the pasta water in? 


• What’s my middle name? 


• Can I put the big silver pot in the microwave?  

While knowing the Four Rs (reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmatic, and religion) is essential for your child to succeed in life, it is also important to learn certain life skills to function well in the world.

So often, we hear of young people who cannot:

• Shop for groceries


• Do a load of laundry 


• Iron a shirt


• Sew on a button

The result is that they cannot cope efficiently in life. 

You can’t send your children into the world without teaching them how to care for themselves, their homes, and the people around them. Part of the problem is that an entire generation of people out there whose mommies did everything for them, and it shows.

Let’s run through a few basic life skills your children need to know how to do.

1. Managing money. 

·       Children should be taught the value of money.

·       How to keep track of it from a fairly young age. 

·       They must learn to save, give to charity, and spend wisely. 

·       Grasp the long view of money. Every stop at Chik-Fil-A is that much less in savings. 

·       Teach them to write a budget and stick to it.

2.     How to make small talk. 

·       Conversation is a life skill. 

·       You will be called upon to get to know strangers in business and social situations. 

·       You must make eye contact and speak in sentences.

·       Learn to ask polite questions, smile, and be courteous.

3.     How to really clean a room.

·       Start at the top and work your way down, dusting, vacuuming, and polishing.

·       Putting things away, fluffing pillows, and vacuuming curtains.

·       Washing windows, baseboards, and moldings.

4.     How to iron a shirt.

·       This skill will save money.

·       Your clothes will last longer.

·       And it’s a dying art and will impress friends, family, and prospective spouse.

5.     Taking care of a car.

·       Pumping gas, checking the oil, and changing a tire.

·       Jumping the battery, cooling an overheating radiator, and general maintenance.

·       Preparing for an emergency. 

6.     How to read a map.

1. How to plan and cook some healthy meals as well as how to grocery shop.

Homeschooling Resources

Seton Home Study School

Seton Testing Services

Notes from Social Media

Anastasia wants to know, "How do you challenge a high ability/gifted child? What’s the best way to do that without stifling their natural wonder and love of learning?"

Ginny offered, "Anastasia, they still have to learn to apply themselves to academic tasks to build future study skills. But what keeps them engaged, challenged, and stimulates their wonder and love of learning is enrichment, which includes class trips and special programs of particular interest to them."