Life Skills for the Homeschooler: Dependence to Independence

Andre Olivan, Amber Olivan, and Daniel Willis

Introduction by Steve Clark

www.homeschoollifeskills.com

Pacific Dolphin Enterprises, LLC

(925) 689-2922

1210 Brookview Dr.

Concord, CA 94520

When entering a discussion among homeschooling parents, one usually hears them talking about what they are teaching their students … history, math, science, etc. are key topics that need to be covered. But what about the skills the children will need to live on their own after they have finished homeschooling? Will they be able to balance a checkbook or make a financially sound decision when purchasing a car or house? Will they know how to file their taxes or set up a basic budget? Life Skills for the Homeschooler covers these topics and more! Here is a listing of what is covered:

• The Decision-making process
• Writing a resume and looking for a job
• What kind of car should you buy?
• Getting your own place
• Creating a budget
• Bank accounts
• Establishing credit
• Creating a medical information profile
• Voting, jury duty
• Balancing responsibilities
• Owning a home
• Serving your country
• Income taxes
• Basic recordkeeping

Each of the sections noted above gives the information to the student in a straightforward and easy-to-understand format. There are sample blank forms to fill out and lots of questions asked of the student in order to help him understand how to make the right decision. At the end of the sections, there is a summary page which highlights the lessons begin taught. A section test and a blank page for taking notes follow the summary. Let’s look at one section so that you can see how the book is laid out.

Section IV is "Getting Your Own Place." It discusses choosing roommates, the various types of rental housing to look for, and highlights the importance of considering the location of the intended housing. The section continues with the process of completing an application and rental agreement (blank samples of both forms included), setting up utilities, and filling out a Move In/Move Out form so that any previous damage is noted and accounted for. Various blank forms for roommates to fill out are also included - sharing the cost and responsibilities of paying for the deposits and monthly fees as well as guarantor forms in case the roommate cannot pay their rent portion. There was so much more "food for thought" in here than I would have covered with my children on my own.

There are 15 total sections, which means this material could be covered in either one or two semesters depending upon how much time the family wants to spend on each topic. Since a high school student is usually required to take a semester of Economics, Life Skills for the Homeschooler could be added in as part of that class or taught during the other semester of that year. At the time of this review, Life Skills for the Homeschooler retails for $59.95. The curriculum comes in a large comb-bound edition with laminated covers and a heavier weight of paper inside. I do wish that a Recommended Reading List had been included as I am sure that the authors, while writing this book, came across a lot of books that would make good supplemental material for this course. A lot of the topics covered are common sense, but there were a few that I wouldn’t have thought to cover, like jury duty or creating a medical profile. For the parent who doesn’t have the time to create a curriculum like this on their own or who wants to be sure that they do not leave any stone unturned, Life Skills for the Homeschooler just might turn out to be a "life saver!"

- Product Review by Kris Price, Assistant to the Publishers, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC

... Kris ...