Home Ec - It's Not Just for Girls

The school I attended did not offer home ec, many schools have cut this all important class from their budgets and schedules to focus on testing. These skills are just as important as reading, writing, and arithmetic; maybe even more so! This is an important focus of our home school and our home life.

My son is almost 9. He can make biscuits, pancakes, cookies, brownies, mac and cheese, muffins, Ramen Noodles, a can of soup, chicken nuggets, a PBJ sandwich, and much more. He can sweep, mop, wash dishes and scrub a toilet. Today, he learned to hand and machine sew. 

Why are these skills important? Why does my son need to learn to cook and sew? I know there are families that don't find these skill important for their boys to learn, but there are many wonderful benefits to teaching life skills to boys and girls.

I am encouraging entrepreneurship in my children. They want to earn money. We don't give allowances, but our kids have managed to earn and save enough money to purchase a few things that they really wanted. By teaching my son to sew, he can make new things to sell. He is very careful and meticulous when making things, as he improves, he will be able to create high quality items.

At some point, he may live on his own. If he can sew, he can reattach buttons, fix a hem, or hem a pair of pants to fit properly. Doing these small things can be a money saver for any family.

We eat fairly healthy. When he goes to college or moves into an apartment, I want him to be able to continue eating well. I don't want him to rely on fast food. It drains on financial and physical health.

I think that it is important for a young man to be able to help with the household chores, including cooking when he gets married. Even if he marries a woman who wants to be a stay at home mom, - who wants to raise kids and keep house and maybe even homeschool. There are times when a husband needs to be able to cook. People get sick. If his new wife gets sick, he needs to be able to care for her and any children they may have. After the birth of a child he will need to be able to help. 

Plus, it is just plain fun to cook together! The kids are growing up watching Jonathan and I cook together. We watch cooking shows and try new recipes out all the time. We harvest food from the garden and experiment with it. I love sharing the kitchen with my husband! I am so blessed by my husband's willingness and ability to help in the kitchen and with the house work. I want a future daughter-in-law to have that same blessing.

This goes both ways too. Lilly is learning all the household chores, she also works in the garden, and will learn to mow when she is old enough. I love to mow, I find it relaxing. It is also another great way that my kids can earn money as they get older. I don't want my kids to be reliant on an employer. If they choose to get a job, I want it to be that - a choice. 

Life skills that were traditionally taught in home ec are not passed on to all kids by there parents, with the loss of that class in school there are kids who will have to learn all of these skills the hard way once they are on their own. I want my kids to be prepared for any path they choose - college, self-employment, managing a home, or finding and keeping a job.