My apologies to all reading this. Life has been quite chaotic lately & I have not been up to much extra stuff. I am hoping that in the near future things will settle back down. Until then, keep learning with your children. God is great at showing us life situations that teach us. We just need to be able to recognize them & take advantage of the teaching moments.
God bless you- Bj
Monday, February 18, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Health Lesson- Have a Healthy Heart
Heart disease is the #1 killer of women in America so it stands to reason that we especially need to educate our daughters in how to live a life style that is conduce to a healthy heart. Our sons need to be educated as well so that they can keep their hearts healthy & when they grow up, they can lead their households in a healthy lifestyle.
1.) Draw a picture of a heart in the middle of a paper. Then around it, write all of the various things your hearts can do. Connect them to your heart with lines so you realize how many things are dependent on your heart. Things that might be included are "to pump blood to your body", "to Love others with" or "to feel happy with."
Activity: You can make this drawing as fancy as you want by painting, coloring or doing it on the computer. Try to see how many things you use your heart for.
2.) You will find that the things you can do with your heart will probably fall into 3 categories: physical, emotional & spiritual. Make three lists & put under each one the things that fall in those categories. Then discuss why it is important for us to be able to use our hearts in each of the 3 categories.
For example, if our hearts don't pump the blood throughout our bodies, we will die. If we did not have our hearts to Love people with, we would be sad, lonely people. If we did not feel God's Love within us, we would not be able to care for others & help them.
3.) Discuss various things that harm our hearts. Include physical reasons (cigarettes, not eating good food, alcohol use, etc.), emotional reasons (people treating us badly, low self esteem, etc.) & spiritual reasons (feeling far away from God, not treating others well).
Feel free to use this as a stepping stone to talk about all kinds of topics that may arise. Be open to what your children may bring up. It is more important to make this topic personal for your family than to hold to a specific agenda.
4.) Here are 5 things that everyone can do to improve their heart health. Have your children copy down them down.
A) Eat healthy & stay hydrated.
B) Exercise your body 30 minutes a day. (3-10min. increments are okay)
C) Make sure your body gets the rest it needs.
D) Take time to do things for fun & to relax.
E) Surround yourself with people who Love you.
Activities: This could be made into a poster or a health scrapbook. You could also brainstorm & come up with ideas in each category. For example, what are healthy foods, what fun things help you to relax, how much sleep do you really need & what kinds of exercises can you do. Each topic could be researched individually.
5.) Come up with 1-2 things under each topic to work on for the following month to help improve your heart health.
Examples: What foods can you make that will be healthy choices? What exercises can you do this month? How will you make sure to get enough rest? What fun things will you be doing to help yourself relax? Who do you Love being around & when will you be seeing them this month?
6.) The American Heart Association has declared Friday, Feb 1 as Wear Red Day so that we can make ourselves & others aware of how important it is to protect our hearts. What can you do to help on Go Red Day?
Activities: Wear RED!!! Have a Red Day- eat healthy red food, decorate your house with red, play Red Rover. Have friends over for a health seminar- serve healthy foods, play games & be with those your Love. Exercise with those you Love by going on a walk or a hike, or taking an exercise class together. Set up a game of flag football or softball, go skating or skiing. There are all kinds of ideas you can come up with. Just PLEASE do something with your kids to show them how important it is to you & to them that you all have healthy hearts!
This is the 5th year for Wear Red Day & I am very passionate about it. I am certainly not nearly as healthy as I should be but every little bit I do helps my heart. Please teach your kids now so that they grow up learning to take care of their hearts because so much of it is preventable by following the above 5 steps. Along the way, our hearts will get better taken care of so that we can continue Loving & taking care of our kids. And isn't that why God gave us our children?
Go Red- Have a healthy heart! Bj
1.) Draw a picture of a heart in the middle of a paper. Then around it, write all of the various things your hearts can do. Connect them to your heart with lines so you realize how many things are dependent on your heart. Things that might be included are "to pump blood to your body", "to Love others with" or "to feel happy with."
Activity: You can make this drawing as fancy as you want by painting, coloring or doing it on the computer. Try to see how many things you use your heart for.
2.) You will find that the things you can do with your heart will probably fall into 3 categories: physical, emotional & spiritual. Make three lists & put under each one the things that fall in those categories. Then discuss why it is important for us to be able to use our hearts in each of the 3 categories.
For example, if our hearts don't pump the blood throughout our bodies, we will die. If we did not have our hearts to Love people with, we would be sad, lonely people. If we did not feel God's Love within us, we would not be able to care for others & help them.
3.) Discuss various things that harm our hearts. Include physical reasons (cigarettes, not eating good food, alcohol use, etc.), emotional reasons (people treating us badly, low self esteem, etc.) & spiritual reasons (feeling far away from God, not treating others well).
Feel free to use this as a stepping stone to talk about all kinds of topics that may arise. Be open to what your children may bring up. It is more important to make this topic personal for your family than to hold to a specific agenda.
4.) Here are 5 things that everyone can do to improve their heart health. Have your children copy down them down.
A) Eat healthy & stay hydrated.
B) Exercise your body 30 minutes a day. (3-10min. increments are okay)
C) Make sure your body gets the rest it needs.
D) Take time to do things for fun & to relax.
E) Surround yourself with people who Love you.
Activities: This could be made into a poster or a health scrapbook. You could also brainstorm & come up with ideas in each category. For example, what are healthy foods, what fun things help you to relax, how much sleep do you really need & what kinds of exercises can you do. Each topic could be researched individually.
5.) Come up with 1-2 things under each topic to work on for the following month to help improve your heart health.
Examples: What foods can you make that will be healthy choices? What exercises can you do this month? How will you make sure to get enough rest? What fun things will you be doing to help yourself relax? Who do you Love being around & when will you be seeing them this month?
6.) The American Heart Association has declared Friday, Feb 1 as Wear Red Day so that we can make ourselves & others aware of how important it is to protect our hearts. What can you do to help on Go Red Day?
Activities: Wear RED!!! Have a Red Day- eat healthy red food, decorate your house with red, play Red Rover. Have friends over for a health seminar- serve healthy foods, play games & be with those your Love. Exercise with those you Love by going on a walk or a hike, or taking an exercise class together. Set up a game of flag football or softball, go skating or skiing. There are all kinds of ideas you can come up with. Just PLEASE do something with your kids to show them how important it is to you & to them that you all have healthy hearts!
This is the 5th year for Wear Red Day & I am very passionate about it. I am certainly not nearly as healthy as I should be but every little bit I do helps my heart. Please teach your kids now so that they grow up learning to take care of their hearts because so much of it is preventable by following the above 5 steps. Along the way, our hearts will get better taken care of so that we can continue Loving & taking care of our kids. And isn't that why God gave us our children?
Go Red- Have a healthy heart! Bj
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Life Skills- Creating a Haven of Peace
So, if you're like me, the beginning of the year is when you are rearranging your house to redo all the stuff you did to rearrange for the holidays. It's also the time of year when you realize how much STUFF you have & you long for an oasis of calm! That's our topic for today- what it is we need, why we need it & how to get there. (Kids have lots of clutter too; less than us adults but that's because we've had longer to acquire it. Look at how much your parents have hoarded over the years. Now that's a scary thought!) I've already done a Clutter Control lesson with my daughter; later in the year I will share it with you. For now, we'll concentrate on WHY we need a calm, serene place to call our own & how we can try to create one.
1.) What comes to mind when you think of the following words? HAVEN, PEACE, CALM
Now look up the words & see what the definitions of the words actually are.
Activity: In my household, we felt that a Haven was a safe. calm place where you could go to relax & rejuvenate yourself. It was a place of safety where you felt free to be yourself. You may wish to share some places that you all feel are Havens to you where you feel safe, calm & peaceful.
2.) Why do we all need Havens, whether they be little corners in our houses, a bedroom, a garden nook or an entire house? Discuss how the world is a chaotic place full of stress, then talk about how nice it is to have a safe place to go to away from all of the pressure of the world. A Haven is a place where you can have your creativity inspired, a place where you can de-stress, a place where you have control in a life when lots of things are not in your control.
While you're talking about this, remember that YOUR home is the Haven that you create for your entire family to escape from the world. Have you filled it with Love, calm & peace? While doing the rest of these exercises with your kids, not only do you want to be thinking about creating a Haven for you in your home but also making sure that your home environment is a Haven for your entire family.
3.) If you had unlimited funds available & could do whatever you wanted, what would your ideal Haven be? Think BIG thoughts!
Activities: There are all kinds of cool ways you could do this. You can do drawings of your Haven, write about it or build a miniature/ doll house or room. You can draw house outlines in the backyard or you can draft an entire house or community. You can use a computer program to set up your own home however you want it to be. You could make a scrapbook with drawings & magazine cutouts depicting your ideal Haven. You could write a story or essay that centered on you ideal Haven & what makes it so perfect for you.
4.) Now think about the area you call your own in life. Maybe it's only a bedroom, or half a bedroom if you share with a sibling. Perhaps it's a playhouse or an area of the porch or a corner of the family room. (Some Mom's I know only have a closet to call their own but they deck it out to be their own space & that is THEIR place.) Whatever your space is, talk about what you can do to take part of your dream Haven & put part of it into your real life to help create a Haven. Maybe a favorite color on the walls or some special posters would help in your conversion. Maybe having a special area set up where they can relax & read or do homework at is what is needed. Perhaps your favorite toys nearby or pictures of your family & friends would help create your own space.
I'm not saying to give kids total free reign on how they set up & keep their space but remember that every human being needs some space to call their own, even if it's only a bed & a dresser in a room shared with other children. They need a space to collect their treasures in & a place to go to that is all their own when they need some down time. They need to have some control over their environment, or how else will they learn how to as they grow older?
Now is the time to start teaching children the importance of having a safe place that they can call their own where they can go to relax in. Of course we like them to enjoy being with the entire family in the living room. However, kids need to learn how to be by themselves sometimes, to entertain themselves, to have time alone with God. Having their own Haven to go to now will help them to relax, to create & to de-stress, & in the future it will enable them to have the tools for setting up their own homes & creating Haven for their families.
5.) Try to implement some of the ideas your kids come up with for their own personal Haven. You don't have to do lots of big things or spend lots of money. It is, however, very important that you take into account their ideas & wishes. By trying to help create at least some of their ideas, you are encouraging them & validating their opinions.
While you're at it, make sure that you have a Haven for yourself, whether it be big or small. All of us have stress & chaos in our lives; it's nice to know that there is a place where we can go & be ourselves without fear of reprimands, a place devoid of stress where our frazzled nerves can relax, rewind & rejuvenate.
God Bless You this day as you contemplate your own Haven & those of your children.-Bj
1.) What comes to mind when you think of the following words? HAVEN, PEACE, CALM
Now look up the words & see what the definitions of the words actually are.
Activity: In my household, we felt that a Haven was a safe. calm place where you could go to relax & rejuvenate yourself. It was a place of safety where you felt free to be yourself. You may wish to share some places that you all feel are Havens to you where you feel safe, calm & peaceful.
2.) Why do we all need Havens, whether they be little corners in our houses, a bedroom, a garden nook or an entire house? Discuss how the world is a chaotic place full of stress, then talk about how nice it is to have a safe place to go to away from all of the pressure of the world. A Haven is a place where you can have your creativity inspired, a place where you can de-stress, a place where you have control in a life when lots of things are not in your control.
While you're talking about this, remember that YOUR home is the Haven that you create for your entire family to escape from the world. Have you filled it with Love, calm & peace? While doing the rest of these exercises with your kids, not only do you want to be thinking about creating a Haven for you in your home but also making sure that your home environment is a Haven for your entire family.
3.) If you had unlimited funds available & could do whatever you wanted, what would your ideal Haven be? Think BIG thoughts!
Activities: There are all kinds of cool ways you could do this. You can do drawings of your Haven, write about it or build a miniature/ doll house or room. You can draw house outlines in the backyard or you can draft an entire house or community. You can use a computer program to set up your own home however you want it to be. You could make a scrapbook with drawings & magazine cutouts depicting your ideal Haven. You could write a story or essay that centered on you ideal Haven & what makes it so perfect for you.
4.) Now think about the area you call your own in life. Maybe it's only a bedroom, or half a bedroom if you share with a sibling. Perhaps it's a playhouse or an area of the porch or a corner of the family room. (Some Mom's I know only have a closet to call their own but they deck it out to be their own space & that is THEIR place.) Whatever your space is, talk about what you can do to take part of your dream Haven & put part of it into your real life to help create a Haven. Maybe a favorite color on the walls or some special posters would help in your conversion. Maybe having a special area set up where they can relax & read or do homework at is what is needed. Perhaps your favorite toys nearby or pictures of your family & friends would help create your own space.
I'm not saying to give kids total free reign on how they set up & keep their space but remember that every human being needs some space to call their own, even if it's only a bed & a dresser in a room shared with other children. They need a space to collect their treasures in & a place to go to that is all their own when they need some down time. They need to have some control over their environment, or how else will they learn how to as they grow older?
Now is the time to start teaching children the importance of having a safe place that they can call their own where they can go to relax in. Of course we like them to enjoy being with the entire family in the living room. However, kids need to learn how to be by themselves sometimes, to entertain themselves, to have time alone with God. Having their own Haven to go to now will help them to relax, to create & to de-stress, & in the future it will enable them to have the tools for setting up their own homes & creating Haven for their families.
5.) Try to implement some of the ideas your kids come up with for their own personal Haven. You don't have to do lots of big things or spend lots of money. It is, however, very important that you take into account their ideas & wishes. By trying to help create at least some of their ideas, you are encouraging them & validating their opinions.
While you're at it, make sure that you have a Haven for yourself, whether it be big or small. All of us have stress & chaos in our lives; it's nice to know that there is a place where we can go & be ourselves without fear of reprimands, a place devoid of stress where our frazzled nerves can relax, rewind & rejuvenate.
God Bless You this day as you contemplate your own Haven & those of your children.-Bj
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Health Lessons- Starting the New Year Healthy
This lesson goes along with the Life Skill I just posted. We're staring a New Year & looking at our goals for the year ahead so it makes sense to take the time for including a plan to have a HEALTHY New Year!
1.) Ask the kids WHY we need to be healthy? What are the benefits for ourselves & for those who love us? Remember that they are going to either type, write or draw about this to go in their health notebook so they need some ideas.
Share your thoughts on the matter. Mine include that our bodies work better when they are healthy, we don't get sick as much if we take care of our bodies & so we don't miss out on fun things because we are sick & that it's important to take care of ourselves so that we can be around for a long time enjoying the world that God has given to us & for all those who love us to have time with us.
2.) What kinds of things did you do last year to make yourselves healthy? This could include exercising that you did, family physical activities or sports played. It could be things you did to relax or enjoy yourselves. It could be how you ate healthy food together.
Activities: This could also be done as a scrapbook, collage or drawing. Perhaps your kids could make a scrapbook of their year in sports. Another idea would be to start up a cookbook with healthy recipes that your family makes & enjoys.
3.) Work together to come up with some goals & ideas for ways to be healthy in the coming year. Don't forget that being healthy encompasses a lot of things. (Look back to the master list if you need any ideas.) You can include goals for exercising & eating right. You can also include goals on friendships to work on & learning how to de-stress & control anger. Make sure & include some goals that you can try to achieve as a family. Perhaps you want to do a marathon together or go hiking every month.
Activities: Make a list of what you want to do & put stars in front of family activities. (Kids will realize that this is important if you all do some things together! In the same vein, share with them YOUR health goals for the year.) Perhaps you want to try different cuisines every month so set us a list of different countries to make healthy food from.
4.) Set specific health goals for this month. Do you want to go hiking together or get the kids signed up for winter sports. Do you want to have a Junk Food Free day? Do you want to try yoga to see if it helps your family learn to relax?
Whatever the goals are, write, type or draw them & put them somewhere important. Then make sure that you mark on your calendars & do some of them! Review at the end of the month & make a new health goals list for the next month!
It's especially important to teach our children to be healthy. We have so many children in this country who are couch potatoes & it's going to affect their health in the long run. However, if we teach them how to take care of their bodies & why it is important, if we make it FUN & we join in with them then they will learn & have an easier time putting into practice their own health plans. They will grow up knowing how to keep themselves healthy, & isn't that what we want?
Good health!- Bj
1.) Ask the kids WHY we need to be healthy? What are the benefits for ourselves & for those who love us? Remember that they are going to either type, write or draw about this to go in their health notebook so they need some ideas.
Share your thoughts on the matter. Mine include that our bodies work better when they are healthy, we don't get sick as much if we take care of our bodies & so we don't miss out on fun things because we are sick & that it's important to take care of ourselves so that we can be around for a long time enjoying the world that God has given to us & for all those who love us to have time with us.
2.) What kinds of things did you do last year to make yourselves healthy? This could include exercising that you did, family physical activities or sports played. It could be things you did to relax or enjoy yourselves. It could be how you ate healthy food together.
Activities: This could also be done as a scrapbook, collage or drawing. Perhaps your kids could make a scrapbook of their year in sports. Another idea would be to start up a cookbook with healthy recipes that your family makes & enjoys.
3.) Work together to come up with some goals & ideas for ways to be healthy in the coming year. Don't forget that being healthy encompasses a lot of things. (Look back to the master list if you need any ideas.) You can include goals for exercising & eating right. You can also include goals on friendships to work on & learning how to de-stress & control anger. Make sure & include some goals that you can try to achieve as a family. Perhaps you want to do a marathon together or go hiking every month.
Activities: Make a list of what you want to do & put stars in front of family activities. (Kids will realize that this is important if you all do some things together! In the same vein, share with them YOUR health goals for the year.) Perhaps you want to try different cuisines every month so set us a list of different countries to make healthy food from.
4.) Set specific health goals for this month. Do you want to go hiking together or get the kids signed up for winter sports. Do you want to have a Junk Food Free day? Do you want to try yoga to see if it helps your family learn to relax?
Whatever the goals are, write, type or draw them & put them somewhere important. Then make sure that you mark on your calendars & do some of them! Review at the end of the month & make a new health goals list for the next month!
It's especially important to teach our children to be healthy. We have so many children in this country who are couch potatoes & it's going to affect their health in the long run. However, if we teach them how to take care of their bodies & why it is important, if we make it FUN & we join in with them then they will learn & have an easier time putting into practice their own health plans. They will grow up knowing how to keep themselves healthy, & isn't that what we want?
Good health!- Bj
Life Skills- Beginning the New Year
Okay, so I'm 3 weeks late on this topic but really only 2 weeks late since we had a week off for the holidays! However, to begin our Life Skills for the New Year I thought it was important to reflect on the year past before making goals & plans for the year to come. So here are my ideas for teaching the topic. Remember that I always start each topic with a brainstorming session with my kids before having them do activities by themselves or with me.
1.) I always start my New Year by reflecting on all of the good things that happened to me in the past year. Ask the kids why they think this is important. My reasons are that it helps me to have a thankful heart no matter how rough my year has been, it helps me to see what our family has done in the past year & it helps set the tone for the New Year to be a good one as well.
Activities: This task could end up as a list with or without drawings attached to it. It could be a collage or a drawing or a calendar. (Perhaps you could take one picture from each month in the past year of good things that happened & make a calendar for this year.) It could be a scrapbook or a story or a newsletter that you can send out to everyone you didn't get around to sending Christmas cards to.
2.) If you made a goal list last year, go back & see what all you accomplished off of it. Some things you may have done, some you only did part of & some you may not have gotten to but everything you can mark off of your list is an accomplishment.
This is also a good opportunity to talk about how unexpected things may have come up last year but how, even though they weren't in your original plans, your family was able to get good out of them.
3.) Make a list of things you would like to do or have happen this year. If you have a list from last year, you can look at it for ideas. Perhaps there are places you want to go to, movies you want to see, people you want to do things with. This can be projects you want to do, ideas for school topics. The possibilities are endless. However, if you never give kids a chance to think about what they'd like to do, it's hard for them to learn to set goals & work to accomplish their goals. The New Year is a great time for setting goals.
You might take special note of the things on your kids' lists & add some of them to your list so you can help them achieve their goals. We don't always know what is important to our children but this can give you some ideas.
4.) Now look at the goals set out for the year & decide on a few that you want to do this month. Explain to the kids that even big tasks can be accomplished if we break them down into smaller goals. Look at the lists & try to come up with ideas on how to accomplish them. Is there a project that you need supplies for? Are their friends they want to see that needs arranging into the schedule? Work together with them & see what you can help them do during the month to achieve their goals.
Activity: Have the kids post this list (or drawing if they are little) in a prominent place where they (& you) can see it during the month & remind you all to work on your goals. I find that it is nice at the end of each month to review & see how much we have accomplished. Then the following month, we make a new goal list.
So there you have Life Skills lesson #1. Not too hard, is it? Think, though, of the benefits that come from learning to set goals & work towards them. Feel free to take any ideas you come up with & use them to expand upon.
That's all for now but I will try to post another Life Skill by Wed. so we have a few of them going in January! Ha, ha! (Plus, I am seeing that as I write this out, it solidifies the idea in my head for my own lessons. Perhaps I should try writing these BEFORE I try teaching them at home!)
God bless you all & Happy New Year!- Bj
1.) I always start my New Year by reflecting on all of the good things that happened to me in the past year. Ask the kids why they think this is important. My reasons are that it helps me to have a thankful heart no matter how rough my year has been, it helps me to see what our family has done in the past year & it helps set the tone for the New Year to be a good one as well.
Activities: This task could end up as a list with or without drawings attached to it. It could be a collage or a drawing or a calendar. (Perhaps you could take one picture from each month in the past year of good things that happened & make a calendar for this year.) It could be a scrapbook or a story or a newsletter that you can send out to everyone you didn't get around to sending Christmas cards to.
2.) If you made a goal list last year, go back & see what all you accomplished off of it. Some things you may have done, some you only did part of & some you may not have gotten to but everything you can mark off of your list is an accomplishment.
This is also a good opportunity to talk about how unexpected things may have come up last year but how, even though they weren't in your original plans, your family was able to get good out of them.
3.) Make a list of things you would like to do or have happen this year. If you have a list from last year, you can look at it for ideas. Perhaps there are places you want to go to, movies you want to see, people you want to do things with. This can be projects you want to do, ideas for school topics. The possibilities are endless. However, if you never give kids a chance to think about what they'd like to do, it's hard for them to learn to set goals & work to accomplish their goals. The New Year is a great time for setting goals.
You might take special note of the things on your kids' lists & add some of them to your list so you can help them achieve their goals. We don't always know what is important to our children but this can give you some ideas.
4.) Now look at the goals set out for the year & decide on a few that you want to do this month. Explain to the kids that even big tasks can be accomplished if we break them down into smaller goals. Look at the lists & try to come up with ideas on how to accomplish them. Is there a project that you need supplies for? Are their friends they want to see that needs arranging into the schedule? Work together with them & see what you can help them do during the month to achieve their goals.
Activity: Have the kids post this list (or drawing if they are little) in a prominent place where they (& you) can see it during the month & remind you all to work on your goals. I find that it is nice at the end of each month to review & see how much we have accomplished. Then the following month, we make a new goal list.
So there you have Life Skills lesson #1. Not too hard, is it? Think, though, of the benefits that come from learning to set goals & work towards them. Feel free to take any ideas you come up with & use them to expand upon.
That's all for now but I will try to post another Life Skill by Wed. so we have a few of them going in January! Ha, ha! (Plus, I am seeing that as I write this out, it solidifies the idea in my head for my own lessons. Perhaps I should try writing these BEFORE I try teaching them at home!)
God bless you all & Happy New Year!- Bj
Friday, January 18, 2008
Good Health Lessons
First, let me thank all of the Homeschool Moms who came up to me today & told me how much they liked this blog. It was very encouraging to me & I really appreciated it! Now for the Health list I have come up with!
Good Health Lessons
1. Personal cleanliness: body, hair, skin, nails & teeth.
2. Exercising & keeping your body in good shape.
3. Eating right.
4. Drinking right & keeping your body hydrated.
5. Sleep- giving your body the rest that it needs to function properly.
6. Sun protection.
7. Sex education & changes in your body as you mature.
8. Peer pressure.
9. Friendships.
10. Make-up application & appropriateness (for girls)
11. Pampering yourself.
12. Clothing.
13. Safe environment.
14. Creating a personal haven.
15. Personal relationship with God.
16. Bible study & prayer time.
17. Good family relationships.
18. Dealing with stress.
19. Freedom & the responsibilities that come with it.
20. Meditation.
21. Time spent with nature.
22. Imagination & creative outlets.
23. Clutter control.
24. Personal protection, physically & emotionally.
25. Cultivating an attitude of thankfulness.
26. Family medical history.
27. De-stress days- time to take off, relax & rejuvenate your spirit.
28. "Be still & know that I am God."
So, there you have my ideas to being healthy. Some overlap with Life Skills but that's okay. That just means that they are really important & we should really focus in on them.
Next stop (hopefully tomorrow): our first lessons & ideas on how to use them!
Good night, God bless you. Bj
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Life Skills List
TAH-DAH!!!! Here I am actually posting the list of skills I feel are important for kids to learn so that they can be functioning adults in society. (Of course, they need language arts skills, math skills, etc as well but these are all those other skills that usually fall into the cracks.
Feel free to add whatever you feel are important as well.
Feel free to add whatever you feel are important as well.
Life Skills 101
1. Plan meals, maintain budget, shop for groceries & plan meals.
2. Know your way around town, where important locations are in your town & how to use public transportation.
3. Know your name, your parents name, emergency phone numbers & address.
4. Emergency plans.
5. CPR, First Aid
6. Basic car maintenance including gassing up the car.
7. Computer stuff: navigation, safety issues, writing, backing up files & printing.
8. Entertaining.
9. Hospitality.
10. Charity & caring for others.
11. Conservation & care of our planet.
12. Home care: cleaning, maintenance, protection of, safety & budgeting.
13. Job Skills: job applications, interview skills, professionalism, integrity, perseverance & a good work ethic.
14. Time management skills.
15. Life goals & plans.
16. Walking with God & listening to His plans for your life.
17. Scrapbooking, journaling or other means of keeping memories.
18. Crafting or hobbies.
19. Knowing how to relax & have fun.
20. Creating a Hope Chest, either literally or figuratively as you prepare items for the kids to have when they are grown up & move out on their own.
21. Personal safety, physically & emotionally.
22. Friendships: what makes a good friend & how to strengthen friendships.
23. Decorating & making a space your own.
24. Creating a haven, a place of peace & rejuvenation where you can relax.
25. Yard maintenance.
26. Gardening.
27. Pet care.
28. Shopping skills: budgeting, economics, advertisement discernment.
29. Money skills: banking, saving, tithing, checking & credit card skills.
30. Communication skills: speaking, writing, voice tone, word choices.
31. Common etiquette skills: RSVPs, thank you notes, please & thank you, holding doors open & & offering seats to women & the elderly, respect of elders.
32. Life geography skills: map reading, tallying distances.
33. Trip planning: research, budgeting, planning.
34. Family traditions & their importance.
35. Maintaining a balanced life.
36. Clothing knowledge: care of, appropriateness of, making, buying.
37. Child care & interaction skills.
38. Conflict skills & anger management.
39. Driving skills.
40. Appreciation & creation of beauty through the arts & music.
41. Appreciation & respect of yourself & others.
42. Caring for the sick.
43. Sewing & mending skills.
44. Family care.
45. Family history.
46. Personal space training, including ATM etiquette, interaction in crowds & when dealing 1 on 1 with others.
Okay, so there you have my list. There are also a lot on my Health list that could be put on this list but I have chosen to break them up this way. If I think of anything else, I shall post it. For now, take this list & see what you can use off of it!
Until next time- Bj
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