Home Economics...a class I never took in high school because I was in band...was part and parcel for young ladies in high school once upon a time.  Girls were taught how to cook meals, sew clothing, do laundry, etc.  Nowadays, few girls in the public school system receive such training.  If they do take what we might call "Home Ec" classes, they're more likely to be referred to by different names, such as "Applied Science: Foods," or "Consumer Education." 

A quick glance at the course catalog of my own local public high school shows such courses as, "Interior Design," "Fashion Merchandising," "Culinary Arts and Nutrition," "Food Science," "Child Development," "Parenting," "Adult Living/Personal Relationships."  ALL course descriptions provide the way that these courses will relate to a future college-major/course of study. 

A few years ago, my niece and her then-boyfriend (now husband) joined our family for Thanksgiving dinner.  I invited her to join me in the kitchen to help with some of the last minute tasks...I figured I would let her "show off" a little to this young man by showcasing her skill in the kitchen!  I realize that this is a VERY old-fashioned way of thinking...and this side of the family does not know Christ, does not value home-education, nor the "training up" of children for any purpose other than attending college so as to get the best possible job and make money so they can have a "good life."  Even so, I knew that men enjoy a good meal, and I was determined to set up a scenario where this potential husband-to-be would be impressed! 

 "Sweetie, come help your old aunt with dinner...can you make the mashed potatoes tonight?"  "Sure, I guess.  I've never made them before...what do I do?"  "Well, the potatoes are all in that big bowl...they're all washed, so just peel them, quarter them, and put them in that big pot of boiling water to cook."  "OK, how do I peel them?"  "The vegetable peeler is right there, see?"  "OK, I see it, but how do I peel them?"  "How do you peel them?  I'm sorry, do you prefer a paring knife to peel your potatoes?"  "A what-knife?"  "Sweetie, what do you like to use to peel a potato?"  "I don't know...I've never peeled a potato.  I don't know how." 

I showed her how to use a vegetable peeler and a knife on a potato; she chose the vegetable peeler, and began to work, slowly.  Her mother joined in to help speed things along, as did I, with my paring knife.  Once the potatoes were boiled, the two continued the impromptu cooking lesson, mother teaching daughter the art of adding milk, butter, salt, and pepper to get the perfect consistency.  Together, they hunted down and removed all the lumps left in the creamy masterpiece...a tragedy, in my opinion. My daddy always told us, "if there aren't any lumps in it you don't know they're real potatoes...the best made-from-scratch mashed potatoes ALWAYS have lumps, they're no good without the lumps!"

I pulled my niece aside and quietly told her, "you know, the lumps are OK...you don't always have to remove all the lumps!"  She surprised me by immediately going back over to her mom, and saying, "I'll take out the lumps...I am her daughter!"  "Good for you," I thought!  "And good for you, Mom...you taught her how to peel a potato and make edible food from it!"  Better late than never.  This was a 21 year old who considered putting a box of icy stuff in the microwave to be "cooking." 

The point of this isn't really to debate the best way to prepare mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving (that'll be next week's article).  Nor is it to criticize anyone who puts a frozen box of pasta in the microwave and calls it "cooking dinner," for I have done it myself on more than one occasion!  

What I desire to share is something most homeschool parents already realize, and that is the alarming inability, due to the simple lack of any training, of the average young adult in this country to manage a home in a healthy, financially responsible, and balanced manner.  Our young men and women are largely being "trained" for college entrance and career.  Within the homeschool community, I realize that there are widely varying opinions on the issue of career-women vs. home-keepers.  Therefore, I will not be going there!  Whichever side of that fence you fall on, I believe we can all agree that if our young people are blessed to enter into marriage and family, they will save themselves boatloads of emotional angst if both of them know how to: prepare food at home from scratch; buy just what they can afford and truly need rather than be attracted and drawn to excessive home decor that can only be purchased with credit and debt; sew simple articles of clothing rather than having to purchase everything at the store; repair fixable broken items rather than replacing them; give regularly to the work of the church and save some of their income on a regular basis rather than spending every penny that comes in on "wants" -- as opposed to needs.  

This is the "art" and "science" of home economics.  Parents of homeschooling high school students...I would beg you, do not ignore this most important area of "study," even if one or more of your students is a college-bound guy, as is one of mine.  Curricula abound out there, if you desire this, or you can simply bring them alongside you when you cook dinner, make a sandwich, do the laundry, scrub down a bathtub, or clean a toilet.  

Inge Cannon of Education Plus has a wonderful recommendation in her "Transcript Bootcamp" program...she says to give your teenage children a copy of their "Emancipation Proclamation."  This is a list of life-skills which you create that are required of your young people before you will issue them their high school diploma...no matter how many course credits they've earned! Whether or not you create a home-economics course out of the accomplishment of this list is up to you.  Either way, what a wonderful gift of learning and life we impart if we put this idea into practice!  

A couple of weeks ago, I introduced one of my favorite books by Edith Schaeffer to you.  This week I'd like to introduce another one: The Hidden Art of Homemaking.   As with the other book, Mrs. Schaeffer's writing can be a bit dificult to "get into" at first because of stylistic choices she makes, but the content is so wonderful, it's worth the time and little bit of effort! 

In closing, let's share a few verses from God's word which can focus our children's studies and practices in the area of home economics:

Proverbs 31:27  "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

I Timothy 6:6-10  "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

I Timothy 6:17-19  "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

I Peter 3:7  "Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."

I Thessalonians 4:11-12  "And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing."

May God bless you and your homeschool this week!

Lori

Lori Havens has been married to Kevin for 24 years.  They live in Illinois with their two sons, Bryan (17) and Nathan (16), and dog Sunny (9).  Lori enjoys writing, gardening, reading, and the outdoors.  She is the author of "Should I Be A Nurse? A Journey of Self-Exploration for Those Considering a Career in Nursing" and  "7 Essential Questions Every Future Nurse Must Ask."     You can find her blogging at both Homeschool Blogger and Homestead Blogger  .

Attention, Super Sleuth Homeschool Moms!

Join our Holiday Hunt!

We're holding several holiday scavenger hunts here on HSB. Once a week for the next three weeks, you'll have a chance to join in the fun each week! (One entry per family per week, please.)

All of the entry details and clues for the first week are below, so please read them carefully.

The Prize!

The prize is this wonderful Christmas devotional--The 12 Days of Christmas: A Guide to an Old Tradition with a New Purpose by Linda Coates and Leslie S. Kelly

The 12 Days of Christmas helps families discover that Christmas Day is the kickoff for the celebration, not the final affair. The twelve-day adventure begins on December 26. In it, you will learn more about the tenets of the Christian faith through wonderful stories and meaningful activities, and create new traditions to last you and your family a lifetime. By uncovering hidden meanings in the old classic Christmas song, Linda and Leslie bring you a new and exciting way to finish one year and begin the next.

How to Join in the Holiday Hunt

Put on your detective hat and find the answers to the following clues. You can find every answer by going through the links on our free TOS 2009 Digital Holiday Supplement found here: http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Digital-Supplement/Thanksgiving&Christmas.html

• Read the clues carefully and find the answers by clicking on the advertisements in the TOS 2009 Holiday Digital Supplement, found here.
  
• Once you have an answer for all six questions, email them to Tan Hogate at thogate@thehomeschoolmagazine.com.
  
• You have until midnight EST Friday, November 13, 2009,  to send Tan your answers.
• At that point, we will conduct a random drawing to determine a winner from this week’s submissions to receive The 12 Days of Christmas by Linda Coates and Leslie Kelly - a Christmas devotional.

Again . . .Each week one winner of our random drawing will win a copy of the beautiful Christmas devotional from Linda Coates and Leslie Kelly, entitled The 12 Days of Christmas: A Guide to an Old Tradition with a New Purpose.

Each day of this devotional has scripture, discussion questions, activities, a prayer, a devotional story, and points to ponder. Your family will delve into the true meaning of Christmas, starting with Day 1-December 26. This is truly a beautiful and meaningful way to celebrate the birth of Christ.

"Whose birthday is it anyway? Have you ever wanted more from the Christmas Season? The Twelve Days of Christmas is more than just another Christmas book. It is a way to recapture what has been lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas so that this year it can be different. This inspiring book will help you discover that Christmas Day is the jumping point for the real celebration, not the final affair . . .  The Twelve Days of Christmas is a beautiful way to finish one year and begin the next and to celebrate Christ's birth by giving our gifts to the One who has given us the greatest gift of all." Tate Publishing, http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60696-260-2

This Week's Clues!

Okay, ready for your clues? Here you go!

Remember, click through the advertisers in the TOS 2009 Holiday Digital Supplement to find the answers.

1.     This company is known for their quality films. Find two that films or one film collection on their site that your family would enjoy. List their url/Web address.

2.     This company was voted #1 by Homeschool.com in 1994. Provide their url/Web Address

3.       See if you can find who sells the book The Big Book of American Trivia, Over 3,000 Questions and Answers. Please send us their url/Web address.

4.       Go here for some amazing photos of birds, bears, and other critters. Send us the url/Web address.

5.       Find a wide selection of construction or farm machine on this site. Tell us which one is your favorite and send us the link to one of your favorite machines. (Must include the link.)

6.     Find Sketchy Adventures, it’s free! Send us the url/Web address.

7.     The author of this website has traveled to 46 states and several Canadian provinces to encourage home educators over the past twenty years and look forward to lots of fruitful ministry in the future. Please send us their url/Web address.

Okay Fans, you can do this! Be sure to email your answers to me at thogate@thehomeschoolmagazine.com to be entered into this contest.

Here is the link to our general contest rules: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehomeschoolmagazine.com%2FResources%2FContests.php&h=7b30dad7e6f56369b9abadcd65e0a9f4

Enjoy!

~Tandy Sue Hogate

The kitchen is obviously a great place to teach Home Ec.  My teaching style for all subjects is very relaxed and this one is no exception, as a matter of fact, I seldom think about teaching Home Ec.  My girls help out in the kitchen and the home with whatever is needed.  They learn basic cooking, cleaning, menu planning, shopping, etc. by participating in the daily routines of the household.  As of yet, there has been no "Home Ec. curriculum", and though it might not be a bad idea for some families, I doubt it will be the way we go.  I do have plans for all of the girls (Mom included) to create a Home Journal which will contain recipes for cooking as well as cleaning (love those natural cleaning products), and whatever other "home keeping" things that we decide to put into them.  I certainly wish that I had started out with one of those when I first attempted to create a home years ago.  It would have saved lots of time and tears, not to mention money!

My 11 year old daughter probably has more cooking and homekeeping skill than many young ladies twice her age.  She, like her Mom, enjoys cooking and can frequently be found perusing a cookbook for a new treat for snack time or dessert.  I believe that is because she has someone at home with her to first of all model this, cooking is fun in our house.  And since a maid has yet to appear in our home to clean up our frequent messes (though no one would complain if she popped in this morning), someone (and that means everyone) must learn to do the house keeping.  And finally, she has  time to practice and develop these skills during the course of her homeschool day.  

We had a conversation over the weekend with the mother of 2 young men who were in my husband's youth group a few years ago.  She said both of her boys are still unmarried and living at home.  They have no desire to get married and move away from Mom because none of the girls they know can cook!  She told us that one young lady blew up their microwave attempting to make a grilled cheese sandwich!  An extreme example, of course, but so many young people today simply do not have the basic skills for running a household.  I understand this dilemma, because though I could cook, I was sorely lacking in the other areas of home keeping when I moved away from home and started a household of my own.  It took some real effort on my part to learn exactly what all went into running a household, especially when that household included children. 

I find it interesting that Titus chapter 2 equates the aged women teaching the younger women to be keepers at home (sounds like home ec. to me) with sound doctrine. 

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.  Titus 2:1-5

My best advice for teaching Home Ec. is to simply include your children in the day to day tasks of the home.  Let them help with the grocery lists, menu plans, cooking, cleaning and so forth.  Give them lots of opportunities to practice and develop these skills as they grow.  Living and learning together is a blessing, and the skills they learn  will bless their future families as well. 

Catherine Love lives in the heart of Texas with her husband Carl, and their 3 daughters, Sarah, Hannah, and Cana.  They enjoy cooking, gardening, and learning new things as they live a lifestyle of learning together.  You can read Catherine's Kitchen Adventures and more on her blog- Seeds of Love.

As I noted a few weeks ago, teaching with a sense of rest can mean many things.  It can mean a sense of contentment  with how you are teaching your children and  the curriculum you are using.  It can also mean paring down the subjects you are teaching to the bare minimum.  This concept scares many homeschooling moms.   This idea is equivalent to academic suicide to the minds of many.  This flies in the face of modern education.  Today in public schools,  the students' days are filled with numerous classes that are not just academic in nature but vocational as well.  The premise for this is that the schools are trying to prepare the student for the world and a job, hence, computer classes, home ec. classes, welding classes, etc.  In overloading the student in this manner, we are increasing the odds that he or she will not be able to learn anything very well.  The basics will be pushed under the rug, so to speak, to make room for the extras. Therefore, we end up with young adults that do not know much about anything.  We, then, wonder why Johnny can't write or read when he graduates high school.   

When we focus on the basics and a few extras, we have time to teach in a thorough and effective way.  When your child is doing the basics of math and language arts (grammar, spelling, writing, lit. study, vocab) plus the extras of foreign language (some are doing 2 or 3 different language studies) and content subjects (history, science, geography, etc,) there is no wonder that it is taking them much longer than 6 hours to get their school work done.  Also, what are they truly learning?  

Climbing Parnassus by Tracy Lee Simmons  and  The Latin-Centered Curriculum  by Andrew Campbell speaks to simplifying our academic expectations of our children.  In doing this, we can teach more deeply and effectively. There is a sense of rest in teaching this way.  Also, teaching this way  requires trust.  We need to trust  that God will fill in the gaps in the way that only He can.  Trust is key in rest.

The first few years of our homeschooling was chock full of various subjects like  geography, science,  vocab, Latin and Spanish plus all of the CM variables of picture study and composer study and we haven't even gotten to the basics yet.   Our days were full and I taught with a cloud of pressure hovering over me the entire time.  When we didn't finish all of our plans (which happened regularly) I felt like a total failure.  Another consequence to this kind of schedule was children who were burnt out come the end of the first term.  They were beginning to hate learning.   This is not how I had envisioned our homeschooling to be.  Again, failure.

It has taken me a few years to clue in, but  I am seeing now that less is better.  I am able to give more time to my kids  to teach them.   We do not have time pressures  anymore. Our frantic, crazy days have been replaced with a relaxed, calm  atmosphere.  It is a soothing balm to my soul.

Our days are now focused on math, reading, writing and grammar.  We do one  content subject which is history.  We do science but in a very relaxed manner.  We will not do science as a formal subject until my children hit Grade 7.  I do teach Latin to my children but it, too, is done in a relaxed manner as my children are dyslexic and foreign langauages are tricky for them.  We also do Plutarch, Greek Mythology, Poetry,  Recitation,  and Shakespeare but they are done one a day.  Even this  sounds like a lot  but it is do-able for us.   We do not feel  the familiar pressures of days gone by.  There is that sense of calm and peace that I have  been trying to attain for the last 5  years.  I am sure  that I will always have to strive  for this rest every year that we homeschool but I think I am up to the challenge. 

Julia lives on the Canadian Prairies with her husband,  homeschooling their 3 children (10,8,6) and is attempting to give them a Classical Education.  You can read more  at her blog.

It is so sad that events occurred yesterday at Fort Hood, north of state capital Austin, near Killeen, Texas, during the same week that we had chosen to honor our Veterans and write about honoring them. I'm assuming by now everyone has heard that a shooter, a psychiatrist major, opened fire upon his fellow soldiers, killing 12 and wounding 31. Thankfully, he was stopped before the statistics became higher, and in this case, he survived and is in stable condition (as of Thursday night). It is sad that for whatever reason he snapped. Sadder still that he happens to have an ethnic name, helping others to automatically put blame towards domestic terrorism. (Although things are coming out that his religion, Islam, might have contributed to his thoughts and actions.)

Last night, I was at my dog class, which is held at an National Guard Armory in Fort Worth. In fact, due to the Fort Hood event, they were asking us to lock the front door behind us as we came and went. We voiced our support to them. Being there and having to be in a "lock-down" situation helped to put a face on those who serve us by being willing to protect us and our country.

You never know when your path will cross with those who have served (or who are serving). I want to encourage you to voice your support and appreciation for and to them. It can be a simple "thank you for your service;" it doesn't have to be anything elaborate or overly formal. (I usually include our police officers and fire-fighters also, since they serve and protect us "closer to home.")

Reach out to those who come across your path and show them your appreciation for their service. They deserve our respect and gratitude.

Donna Conner lives in Fort Worth, TX with her husband, Glenn, their son, Mike, Donna's mother, Charlotte, and their dog, Lucia. Donna and Glenn have been homeschooling their son since the beginning of his education. Mike completed his homeschooling in the fall of 2008. Donna is an artist and has always enjoyed writing. She wrote Homeschooling Only One in 2003, after discovering that there were many other families homeschooling only one child. Her website is devoted to those with only one student in their homeschool, with listings of online resources. You can find these free resources, including a message board for those who HOO, on her website at  http://donnac.com and read her blog at: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/DonnaC

copyright © 2009 Donna Conner ~~ All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of author, except in the case of brief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles where the title and author are listed.

"A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good."