Jump to content

Menu

Recommended Posts

I am hoping to do a "home ec" type thing with the two of my kids to count as an elective, not to mention the fact that there are certain things I just want to make sure they know.

 

I had planned on writing it myself, but am finding myself really short on time, but wanting to get them started. Obviously, they help with things all the time, but I'm really hoping for something a little more structured. Before I go crazy trying to fit writing something all up for them, has anybody written up something for their kids? And would you be willing to share?

 

Thanks so much!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No curriculum here, but I love to make my own cleaners, laundry soap etc. That would be something fun, frugal and useful to include...here's one of the sites I like http://www.frugalfun.com/cleansers.html Also, baking bread, making jam, etc. I love to do these things now, but was never taught, so had to do all the research and learn as an adult, wish I had the opportunity to learn at a young age.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really want to cover alot! Not just how to cook/follow recipes, but also how to plan out a well-balanced meal. I also wan to deal with the nutrition aspect, and budgeting, too. I was thinking that a final project (after getting good at preparing foods) would be to have a budget given, do like 3 days meal planning, shop for the ingredients, and then prepare the meals.

 

Also, I want to make sure they know how to do the cleaning of all the various parts of the house. (They are good, experienced cleaners already, but just want to make sure they "get" it!)

 

Also, I want to cover some basic sewing, culminating in a final couple projects.

 

I just hope someone else has maybe made a whole beautiful schedule of activities, saving me from thinking the whole thing through! :-)

 

The link posted looks pretty good...I just need to read through it a bit more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, this is not exactly what you're looking for, but here are a couple of links you might find helpful. This one, Sewing Lessons for Teens - A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling, has some great beginning sewing instruction and projects.

 

Budget Homeschool Resources [/Economics] - Budget Homeschool has a number of links to resources that teach budgeting, planning, meal-planning, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I looked for a homeschool home ec course a while ago and only found http://www.clp.org/store/by_course/121 . There is a home ec 2 also. I haven't used it, or anything from them, so I realy dont know much about it.

 

I was mainly looking for myself because I never learned from my parents and I'm still less than 5 years into being a wife and caring for a house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just started this but I have to admit I have an ace up my sleeve. My husband's grandmother. :) We go to her house once a week and she teaches us (well, not Harry yet. He's not interested so he hones his math by playing cards with his great-grandfather) knitting, crocheting, pickling, etc. This week my daughter has to knit a square and practice crocheting.

 

Other, more mundane skills, I'll handle myself in daily life.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have no specific "lesson plans", but we're doing a 7th grade level "consumer sciences" class at our house, which is what they seem to be calling home-ec/shop nowadays down at the school. We're just kind of taking it at the speed at which we get through, so I didn't write up a schedule, really. We'll have a sewing unit, cooking unit, leatherworking unit, and computer unit (the same as at the school except they do woodworking instead of leather there).

 

For our sewing unit I chose projects from Haan Crafts. They have the projects rated according to difficulty level, which made it easy for us to pick three projects of increasing difficulty for him to make. They come in kits with everything you need, and for most of them the pattern is pre-printed on the material which makes it easier to cut out.

 

For our cooking unit we're using a cookbook called Anyone Can Cook. It has an "Intro to Cooking" section in the front that goes through things like what various kinds of kitchen tools are, shopping tips, how to choose produce and how to clean and cut it, what it means to "dredge" meat or "cream" sugar and butter--that sort of thing. The recipes all have a difficulty rating on them which makes it easier to choose something appropriate for my student to try out. Each recipe has photographs of any tricky steps, and at the bottom of the page there is an "Ask Mom" section with questions like, "How do I measure butter?" "What is a garlic clove?" and then tells you the page number where each answer can be found in the Intro section in the front. I'm going to go through some of the basic info with ds and then have him select and prepare an appetizer, main dish, side dish, dessert, and breakfast.

 

For leatherworking I will be getting a leather stamping kit that includes materials for several projects, and ds's dad, the computer geek, will be teaching him some programming for computers, which I realize helps nobody that doesn't live at my house. But I hope some of the rest of this is helpful. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It wasn't anything formal, just a list of things I wanted mine to know before they went off on their own. There are probably some major things missing here. I didn't do it for credit or anything. I didn't write it down for my oldest, but with the other two, I have a notebook where I write what they have read and projects they've done, so I wrote it there.

 

Living Skills

 

Cooking

---

How to plan meals (food groups, complimenting proteins, buying locally and in season, etc.)

How to shop (avoid things in boxes, look for sales, etc.)

How to make: Annie's mac+cheese, real mac+cheese, scrambled eggs, pizza, johnny cake, gingerbread, cake, oatmeal cookies, salad, omlette, bread, hamburgers, frozen veggies, baked potatoes, chicken, baked beans, soup, white sauce, spagetti

How to wash dishes and clean the kitchen

 

Baby care

---

Changing diapers

Babyproofing

Playing

Development

Bottles

Feeding

Carrying

Consistency

Bath

 

Cosumer Savy

---

How to buy a car

Planning a trip on the internet

Bank accounts, how to keep track, how to write out a check, different types

How to buy a house

How to rent an apartment

Taxes

Propaganda/advertising

How to register a boat

How to buy appliances

Utility bills

Stocks

 

Laundry

---

Running the washer and drier

Hand laundry

Sorting laundry

Going to the laundromat

Going to the laundry

How to iron

Fabrics

 

Health

---

First aid

How to take care of a cold, flu, stomach bug, headache, bump, bite, stomach ache

How to avoid sports injuries

Sex ed

When to go to the doctor

When to go to the vet

How vaccines work

Vitamins

Addictions

How to keep yourself happy and sane

Excersize

Pets' health

 

Work

---

Manners

Politics

Finding a job

Paychecks

How to do something that makes more than minimum wage

 

Travel

---

How to pack

How to drive

How to take a bus, train, plane, ferry

How to get a hotel room

How to camp

How to use a travel guide

How to read schedules

How to hike

How to backpack

How to read maps and charts

Time zones

How to be safe

Double check to make sure they are strong swimmers

 

As I said, I probably left lots out. Some of what is missing is skipped because my children already knew how to do it (like sewing). I just made the list to make sure I covered at least some of what was left. Mine didn't do much cooking before high school because they were short and I didn't really want them dealing with pots of boiling water at face level.

-Nan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...