Let's start a list of (often neglected) skills to teach our logic stage dc...

[creekmom]

I've been reading the thread about requiring WTM skills (narration, outlining, etc.) for our logic kids. -It evolved into a thread about all the things we often neglect to teach our homeschooled kids (tying shoes, names on papers, etc.). :001_huh: I started wondering just how many skills I've forgotten to teach.... Anyone want to start a list?

__________________

Mary

DS 11, DD 9, DS 7, DD 5

 

 

 

[Nan in Mass]

Some college skills:

 

To look at one's work clearly and assess how one is doing and ask for help if one is struggling. This involves being able to read a syllabus, figure out percentages (so you know how much a particular assignment is going to affect a final grade), and keeping track of one's grades. One should also be able to analyze a test and figure out which bits one understands and which bits need more work. One should know about office hours.

 

Tieing stuff on the roof of a car.

 

Snow skills if you go from an unsnowy place to a snowy place. The driving is totally different (judging by how upsetting it feels as a snowy-place-driver to be driven by someone around an non-snowy-place driver). You have to leave more room between cars and slow down and speed up and take corners MUCH more slowly. Stomping on the brake when one wishes to stop does not work. One needs to know to leave time to scrape off the car, too. Not leaving one's guitar, calculator, laptop, ipod, or phone in the car to freeze is also a good idea. Or if they do get frozen, let them warm up slowly before turning them on.

 

How to take a tray through a cafeteria line and how to use the "cows".

 

How to put your name and phone number on the inside of all your books and notebooks and anything else you want returned to you if you leave it lieing around.

 

How to get home, if need be (train, bus, plane).

 

How to take a taxi if the designated driver didn't stay designated.

 

How to say no without losing friends.

 

How to limit your electronic social life and game playing so it doesn't interfere with your ability to open your laptop and do your work.

 

How to mail packages.

 

How to renew a passport.

 

How to play foozeball or pingpong or hackysack or some of the other games that tend to lurk in the bottom of dorms.

 

How to ski or rockclimb or snowboard or skate or whatever other passtime one's friends in college are likely to want to go do that might possibly lead to a broken leg when first tried in the presence of new friends.

 

How not to be quite so devastatingly honest.

 

-Nan

[swimmermom3]

This thread may help, but better yet, in the first post I have linked to one of Nan's posts on organizational skills.

 

My skill obsession for this week is teaching one's child to use a resource book. It would drive me nuts when one of the older kids (ps) would have to fill out a study guide and it took them forever to find the information.

 

I am cruel with the youngest. I pick five arbitrary pieces of information that I want him to find in a text or book that he has never seen before. He can now find the info and find it much faster. Stopwatches and Skittles work well. Of course, he now knows that you could fill out a study guide without actually having read the book.:tongue_smilie:We will probably practice this skill until he leaves home. Finding information in an expedient manner is a basic survival skill for college or even high school with heavy AP loads.

[swimmermom3]

Nan, I love your lists. You always think of the weird stuff that truly would puzzle a child of mine. My 3 kids and a friend are taking the train line to the zoo today. They are all old enough that I am not concerned, but I am sure I will get a call about something I forgot to tell them how to do. Oh well. Swimmer Dude is with them. It's just awkward making the youngest responsible for the older two who tend to either over-analyze and make everything too complicated or to be completely unobservant. Sigh.

 

Oh. The oldest is learning how to call the distance-learning school and request her transcript as she is now of legal age and they won't talk to me.

[elegantlion]

Which side of the paper to write on. :glare: Covered that again last week.

 

When I say put Your Name and The Date on your paper, I don't mean literally write "your name" and "the date". :glare: covered that last week.

 

When I say to hand in an assignment that you've done independently it doesn't mean hand mom the flash drive and ask her to print it off. :glare:

 

Just because you're cute doesn't mean everyone is going to let you use that to your advantage.

 

At some point in your life your distractions will be bigger than the whatever the dog is doing right now. Please learn to work with the distractions now.

 

Lunch is to be eaten during lunch time. I do not appreciate doing Latin chants while your mouth is full.

 

While I personally don't care if you wear your pjs to school, you might want to apply some concern to your personal appearance. You might someday want to ask out that cute girl in college. She's more likely to say yes if you are dressed in clean clothes, have attempted to comb your hair, and have brushed your teeth. And she might appreciate Shakespeare, so yes, you're going to memorize that sonnet this week.

 

Mondays are in every week. I know, son, I'm exhausted and didn't sleep last night either. But since Mondays will always be here, we should learn to work through it, or at least attempt to one.more.time.

[swimmermom3]

Which side of the paper to write on. :glare: Covered that again last week.

 

When I say put Your Name and The Date on your paper, I don't mean literally write "your name" and "the date". :glare: covered that last week.

 

When I say to hand in an assignment that you've done independently it doesn't mean hand mom the flash drive and ask her to print it off. :glare:

 

Just because you're cute doesn't mean everyone is going to let you use that to your advantage.

 

At some point in your life your distractions will be bigger than the whatever the dog is doing right now. Please learn to work with the distractions now.

 

Lunch is to be eaten during lunch time. I do not appreciate doing Latin chants while your mouth is full.

 

While I personally don't care if you wear your pjs to school, you might want to apply some concern to your personal appearance. You might someday want to ask out that cute girl in college. She's more likely to say yes if you are dressed in clean clothes, have attempted to comb your hair, and have brushed your teeth. And she might appreciate Shakespeare, so yes, you're going to memorize that sonnet this week.

 

Mondays are in every week. I know, son, I'm exhausted and didn't sleep last night either. But since Mondays will always be here, we should learn to work through it, or at least attempt to one.more.time.

 

I don't know whether to:smilielol5:or :crying:. This could be my child even down to the flash drive and my printing the paper. Just substitute "cat" for "dog."

 

Please tell me your boy moves faster than a snail on Valium.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

Which side of the paper to write on. :glare: Covered that again last week.

 

When I say put Your Name and The Date on your paper, I don't mean literally write "your name" and "the date". :glare: covered that last week.

 

When I say to hand in an assignment that you've done independently it doesn't mean hand mom the flash drive and ask her to print it off. :glare:

 

 

 

:lol:

[elegantlion]

I don't know whether to:smilielol5:or :crying:. This could be my child even down to the flash drive and my printing the paper. Just substitute "cat" for "dog."

 

Please tell me your boy moves faster than a snail on Valium.

 

Today, no. :glare:

[coffeefreak]

Which side of the paper to write on. :glare: Covered that again last week.

 

When I say put Your Name and The Date on your paper, I don't mean literally write "your name" and "the date". :glare: covered that last week.

 

When I say to hand in an assignment that you've done independently it doesn't mean hand mom the flash drive and ask her to print it off. :glare:

 

Just because you're cute doesn't mean everyone is going to let you use that to your advantage.

 

At some point in your life your distractions will be bigger than the whatever the dog is doing right now. Please learn to work with the distractions now.

 

Lunch is to be eaten during lunch time. I do not appreciate doing Latin chants while your mouth is full.

 

While I personally don't care if you wear your pjs to school, you might want to apply some concern to your personal appearance. You might someday want to ask out that cute girl in college. She's more likely to say yes if you are dressed in clean clothes, have attempted to comb your hair, and have brushed your teeth. And she might appreciate Shakespeare, so yes, you're going to memorize that sonnet this week.

 

Mondays are in every week. I know, son, I'm exhausted and didn't sleep last night either. But since Mondays will always be here, we should learn to work through it, or at least attempt to one.more.time.

 

:smilielol5:

and

:crying:

 

Because this is my house too. :D

 

My big one right now is ORAL PRESENTATIONS! I don't know why I can't convince more moms in my HS group that this is EXTREMELY important! Memorizing things for church is not enough. It is not the same as having to get up in a room FULL of people and discuss a topic knowledgeably.

[Nan in Mass]

What a good idea! I will add this to the list of things we are doing for study skills! I agree with you about its expediency. Unfortunately.

[swimmermom3]

Ugh! I always forget about oral presentations even though I was on speech team in high school. How do you accomplish oral presentations in home school? Do the students just make their presentation in front of the family?

[elegantlion]

 

My big one right now is ORAL PRESENTATIONS! I don't know why I can't convince more moms in my HS group that this is EXTREMELY important! Memorizing things for church is not enough. It is not the same as having to get up in a room FULL of people and discuss a topic knowledgeably.

 

:iagree: I asked a question about oral exams on the high school board recently. I got some great detailed advice on how they can be handled. Obviously at middle school we're going to work towards some of those goals, and won't reach them until high school. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=254584&highlight=oral+exams

 

 

Another skill we're working on is long term projects. We're in the midst of one right now. It's not super exciting, but we're behind. The assignments come weekly and we're working through it together as it involves multiple steps. I really want to quit as it's not adding anything obviously good to our studies. However, I'm striving for the ACT of COMPLETION, as I realized this weekend. I thought ds might be excited enough about it to start working on his own, but he still needs my help. But we're going to finish it, simply to practice long term projects.

 

We're doing a quote of the week and this weeks is: The know one's ignorance is the best part of knowledge (Lao Tse). I picked this as much for myself as him. I'm trying to discover my "ignorances" and learn through them. The project above is one of them. I'm used to quiting when something becomes tedious. I am also the queen of excuses, we're homeschoolers, no one will notice if we quit just this one project right? :001_huh: Not skills I want to pass onto my child. I'm finding middle school is a lot about the teacher becoming the student. *sigh* Elementary workbooks were so much easier, the answers were always in the back of the book.

[freerange]

:smilielol5: I'm biting my lip to avoid laughing out loud, because then they'd come to see why I was laughing & that would be the end of my quiet time.

 

 

 

• to work ahead, so that you can say yes when someone calls at the last minute to ask if you fancy meeting up.
  
• neat handwriting puts the marker in a better mood.
  
• to budget for food
  
• not to be a slave to 'best before' dates
  
• how to wash/iron/mend clothes
  
• which way up to write on the paper
  

 

[Nan in Mass]

We each read a science article (me too) and then told the others about it, trying to hold still, not to have too many umm's, and do it in an organized way. Then they took speech at CC. It is important. My oldest just sent me the power point slide show he did for his big presentation for his humanties class. They write a term paper for the first semester of humanities and the second semester their term paper is presented orally.

-Nan

[Nan in Mass]

It took me literally years to get my children to put the big margin up and the holes to the left. I am still trying to get my 16yo to file things at the back of the section. These things are hard when you are also teaching them to be creative and to improvise and to not waste time. Sigh.

-Nan

[elegantlion]

It took me literally years to get my children to put the big margin up and the holes to the left. I am still trying to get my 16yo to file things at the back of the section. These things are hard when you are also teaching them to be creative and to improvise and to not waste time. Sigh.

-Nan

 

I so appreciate you sharing that too. If I had thought my child was the only one that couldn't figure out which way to put the paper I might have lost my mind.

[Matryoshka]

Ugh! I always forget about oral presentations even though I was on speech team in high school. How do you accomplish oral presentations in home school? Do the students just make their presentation in front of the family?

 

I happily pay $50 per kid for 4H every year, just so they can do Visual Presentations. These are the Bees Knees. There are categories, they get judged (kindly) with thoughtful feedback so they can improve next year, they can also advance to States if they did really well. They have to learn to introduce themselves, address the audience, not constantly look at their note cards of fidget, organize their thoughts, speak clearly, loudly enough to be heard, and not rush, present themselves well in dress and also make neat, organized presentation boards and other materials, answer the judges' questions without being flustered, make sure to conclude the presentation with a summary, practice making it long enough but not so long as to go over time (presentations have to be between 3-10 min.). The kids get so excited thinking about what topic they're going to present every year.

 

I could go on and on. We looooove VPs!

[swimmermom3]

:iagree: I asked a question about oral exams on the high school board recently. I got some great detailed advice on how they can be handled. Obviously at middle school we're going to work towards some of those goals, and won't reach them until high school. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=254584&highlight=oral+exams

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the links for oral exams. In my mind, this is different from oral presentations, although one does need to know how to do both. We had oral and written exams for our fourth year of Spanish in high school. That was nothing compared to the oral exam on Dostoevsky and Conrad my senior year in college. I was asked a question, I stated my personal view, developed it and supported it with evidence from critics that I could cite. That professor was shrewd and I wish I had taken a few more classes of that caliber. There was no room for b.s. or padding of any kind.

 

That was a very different experience from getting up in front of 30 fellow grad students and talking about the mechanical deboning process and how it could be improved.:tongue_smilie:

 

I happily pay $50 per kid for 4H every year, just so they can do Visual Presentations. These are the Bees Knees. There are categories, they get judged (kindly) with thoughtful feedback so they can improve next year, they can also advance to States if they did really well. They have to learn to introduce themselves, address the audience, not constantly look at their note cards of fidget, organize their thoughts, speak clearly, loudly enough to be heard, and not rush, present themselves well in dress and also make neat, organized presentation boards and other materials, answer the judges' questions without being flustered, make sure to conclude the presentation with a summary, practice making it long enough but not so long as to go over time (presentations have to be between 3-10 min.). The kids get so excited thinking about what topic they're going to present every year.

 

I could go on and on. We looooove VPs!

 

What a great idea! This is exactly the kind of thing I am looking for. Is this specifically for Speech or is it a VP that they make about horse grooming or baking?

[Matryoshka]

What a great idea! This is exactly the kind of thing I am looking for. Is this specifically for Speech or is it a VP that they make about horse grooming or baking?

 

The presentations can be about anything.

 

This year one of my 12 yo dds did hers on the Sinking of the Titanic and how human error contributed to it. She researched it for months. She bought 5 wooden models of the Titanic, assembled and painted them, and then made a model showing the stages of the sinking.

 

Her twin sister did hers on Mummification. She mummified yet another Cornish hen and then she compared the results of our natron recipe with the ones more commonly used (baking soda/salt or just salt).

 

My younger dd did hers on the Recorder - history, construction, different kinds, how to play, and then played a demonstration song.

 

Other topics my kids or others in their group have done in this or years past have been Machu Picchu, Dolphins in Captivity, Hagfish, Fakespeare (Shakespeare forgeries), Zen Tangles, Curries around the World, Hawksbill Turtles, Needle Felting, Ballet Pointe, Video Production, Tea, How to make a Bowdrill, Stradivari's violins, Rocketry, Fencing, Sidewalk Art - it really can be anything.

 

When the kids get older, they also offer a separate section in Extemporaneous Speaking.

[coffeefreak]

We each read a science article (me too) and then told the others about it, trying to hold still, not to have too many umm's, and do it in an organized way. Then they took speech at CC. It is important. My oldest just sent me the power point slide show he did for his big presentation for his humanties class. They write a term paper for the first semester of humanities and the second semester their term paper is presented orally.

-Nan

 

We do this too. We've also been fortunate enough to have opportunities here and there within small groups. However, I've really been brainstorming how to get this done and not be a part of a co-op (I have a love/hate relationship with co-ops and right now I'm in the "hate" part:lol:) Our co-op doesn't do things like science fairs or "report night," so I'm thinking about offering to coordinate it, but I can't decide. NM Seniors are now required to do a Senior project that encompasses the whole year and requires them to meet with advisers periodically. They have to do a paper and an oral presentation, complete with questions at the end. I am all for it! How will you function in the real world if you cannot express yourself clearly? That's something I'll probably look into for my oldest as we get closer. Maybe I'll create a panel for her to answer to?

 

It took me literally years to get my children to put the big margin up and the holes to the left. I am still trying to get my 16yo to file things at the back of the section. These things are hard when you are also teaching them to be creative and to improvise and to not waste time. Sigh.

-Nan

 

I am so relieved! I was beginning to think my dd had some sort of mental block where she couldn't figure out which side the holes were supposed to go on!!! I NEVER had that problem with my oldest. :lol:

[ChemMommy]

Which side of the paper to write on. :glare: Covered that again last week.

 

I'm SO glad to hear that other people's kids can't keep this straight either!

[HootyTooty]

My coop friends say a lot of of the older kids (grade 3 and up) lack scissor skills and nursery tale knowledge.

[Jen the RD]

Oral presentations...this has been on my mind too! I've really been thinking about taking my dd to some Toastmaster meetings in high school. She HATES getting up in front of a group. That includes piano & violin recitals, too. She gets baptized Wed night, and when she found out it was in front of the whole church, she whined, moaned, and carried on the ENTIRE DAY! :eek: Oh, the drama.... I'd say she needs more practice, wouldn't you?? LOL!

 

Jennifer

[swimmermom3]

The presentations can be about anything.

 

This year one of my 12 yo dds did hers on the Sinking of the Titanic and how human error contributed to it. She researched it for months. She bought 5 wooden models of the Titanic, assembled and painted them, and then made a model showing the stages of the sinking.

 

Her twin sister did hers on Mummification. She mummified yet another Cornish hen and then she compared the results of our natron recipe with the ones more commonly used (baking soda/salt or just salt).

 

My younger dd did hers on the Recorder - history, construction, different kinds, how to play, and then played a demonstration song.

 

Other topics my kids or others in their group have done in this or years past have been Machu Picchu, Dolphins in Captivity, Hagfish, Fakespeare (Shakespeare forgeries), Zen Tangles, Curries around the World, Hawksbill Turtles, Needle Felting, Ballet Pointe, Video Production, Tea, How to make a Bowdrill, Stradivari's violins, Rocketry, Fencing, Sidewalk Art - it really can be anything.

 

When the kids get older, they also offer a separate section in Extemporaneous Speaking.

 

I was looking under the Oregon 4-H program and was completely stumped. What should I be looking for?

[swimmermom3]

Puzzler:

 

How much does it cost for 4 people to take a round trip on mass transit?:001_huh:

 

Nan, I love your lists. You always think of the weird stuff that truly would puzzle a child of mine. My 3 kids and a friend are taking the train line to the zoo today. They are all old enough that I am not concerned, but I am sure I will get a call about something I forgot to tell them how to do. Oh well. Swimmer Dude is with them. It's just awkward making the youngest responsible for the older two who tend to either over-analyze and make everything too complicated or to be completely unobservant. Sigh.

 

 

 

:svengo:$20! Yes, they over-analyzed when they purchased their tickets. You could chose a 2-hour ticket or an all-day pass. Well, they knew they were going to be at the zoo longer than 2 hours, so they chose the all-day pass. A two-hour ticket is $1.15. An all-day pass is $4.75. It never occurred to them that they could buy a two-hour ticket on the way out and one on the way back.

 

This is exactly why when Nan says to teach them how to take a taxi (or a train or a bus), you need to do it.:tongue_smilie:

[Matryoshka]

I was looking under the Oregon 4-H program and was completely stumped. What should I be looking for?

 

Hmmm... here's the link to the MA program to give you an idea...

 

Aha! I poked about the Oregon site and found this information under Youth Development Programs. But I can't find any info on when the contests are actually held. Here, County level was last weekend, and States is weekend after next. Before that, you call 4H and they have a judge come to your group to watch run-throughs and give feedback for County.

 

I'd call your Oregon's 4h office and ask.

 

Meanwhile, your state seems to have lots of info on cool international exchange programs through 4h - I can't find anything about that on the MA site! :glare:

[HootyTooty]

Hmmm... here's the link to the MA program to give you an idea...

 

Aha! I poked about the Oregon site and found this information under Youth Development Programs. But I can't find any info on when the contests are actually held. Here, County level was last weekend, and States is weekend after next. Before that, you call 4H and they have a judge come to your group to watch run-throughs and give feedback for County.

 

I'd call your Oregon's 4h office and ask.

 

Meanwhile, your state seems to have lots of info on cool international exchange programs through 4h - I can't find anything about that on the MA site! :glare:

I'm really jealous:glare:, my state's 4H doesn't have anything like this.

[GESTEP]

"take one and pass it along"- means there is a stack of papers in which you take one of them and pass the rest on to the next person who does the same. We had a group meeting in which a mother said this and none of the 9-11 yo girls had a clue what it meant.

 

"trade-and-grade" -how to trade papers and grade it when the teacher gives the answers

[Nan in Mass]

Every single one of the things on this list hit home hard. Sigh.

[Nan in Mass]

I hate to tell you but mine is 16 and we had the same sort of day yesterday, except that I got an email instead of a thumb drive and it was the cat AND the dog.

[Nan in Mass]

I will mention these today. Thanks!

 

People might want to run over the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem, if they haven't done it in scouts or something.

 

I reminded mine to raise his hand in college class GRIN and to say in his seat and not do anything distracting.

 

Turn off your cell phone (if you have one).

 

Introduce yourself to the professor at the start of a class and then sit in the front. That way, the prof will be more likely to answer your question and it is easier to stay focused because you don't have to deal with all the distractions behind you.

 

-Nan

[Jane in NC]

Ugh! I always forget about oral presentations even though I was on speech team in high school. How do you accomplish oral presentations in home school? Do the students just make their presentation in front of the family?

 

4-H presentations (sometimes called demonstrations)! My son began giving these formal presentations/demonstrations in 6th grade. Part of the deal was making posters with a title, bullet points, a summary. He demonstrated the steps involved with tying a simple fly (for fly fishing), how to solder, how to program a Lego robot...

 

After attending a Parliamentarian procedure workshop at a state 4-H conference, he gave a presentation on the material at the county level.

 

He has addressed the county commissioners as a 4-H ambassador.

 

4-H provides wonderful public speaking opportunities!

 

ETA: I should read the entire thread before posting but my enthusiasm for 4-H got the best of me! I see now that 4-H was already discussed.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Jane in NC
Silly Jane

[angela in ohio]

"take one and pass it along"- means there is a stack of papers in which you take one of them and pass the rest on to the next person who does the same. We had a group meeting in which a mother said this and none of the 9-11 yo girls had a clue what it meant.

 

 

My class of homeschoolers last year could never seem to get this right. I made it a game and started to time them, because it was such an issue to get things passed out. :D To be fair, though, I've been in college classes with mostly public schooled students, and someone always kept the pile of papers somewhere mid-way through the room.

[swimmermom3]

I will mention these today. Thanks!

 

People might want to run over the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem, if they haven't done it in scouts or something.

 

I reminded mine to raise his hand in college class GRIN and to say in his seat and not do anything distracting.

 

Turn off your cell phone (if you have one).

 

Introduce yourself to the professor at the start of a class and then sit in the front. That way, the prof will be more likely to answer your question and it is easier to stay focused because you don't have to deal with all the distractions behind you.

 

-Nan

 

Oh, oh, oh! Take that darn hat off during the National Anthem and zip your lips. I get to hear it played or sang nearly every other weekend during swim season and the level of disrespect is a bit appalling. Kids should know what to do when the flag goes by.

 

Flag Code in case anyone is interested. I sound thoroughly conservative on this issue, don't I?

Edited March 22, 2011 by swimmermom3

[Nan in Mass]

Lisa, can you elaborate this? Do you pick things that show up in the index? I am definately going to work on this with my son.

-Nan

[angela in ohio]

Ugh! I always forget about oral presentations even though I was on speech team in high school. How do you accomplish oral presentations in home school? Do the students just make their presentation in front of the family?

 

We have done many things over the years. A few examples:

 

We were part of a "zoo club" for years; we met at the zoo monthly, and each month we had a different group of animals (African, apes, snakes house, etc.) Each child would give an age-appropriate talk. For a 3 yo, it would be their name and their favoite animal. For the older kiddos, it would be a planned speech with visual aids.

 

We did a Toastmasters class one year. That was pretty good, except that we were not all like-minded families and some of the presentations were inappropriat, imho. I think it is better to have guidelines for topics. :001_smile:

[swimmermom3]

Lisa, can you elaborate this? Do you pick things that show up in the index? I am definately going to work on this with my son.

-Nan

 

:001_huh: I would be happy to elaborate, but I am not sure what on? Index?:D

[Michele B]

:bigear:

[swimmermom3]

I really appreciate the suggestion to do oral presentations and the suggestions to check 4-H for opportunities. I had no idea to even look there. Swimmer Dude is a plum candidate for debate, so that is another possibility. I would like him to practice his argument skills on someone besides his mother.:tongue_smilie:

[Michele B]

Which side of the paper to write on. :glare: Covered that again last week.

 

When I say put Your Name and The Date on your paper, I don't mean literally write "your name" and "the date". :glare: covered that last week.

 

When I say to hand in an assignment that you've done independently it doesn't mean hand mom the flash drive and ask her to print it off. :glare:

 

Just because you're cute doesn't mean everyone is going to let you use that to your advantage.

 

At some point in your life your distractions will be bigger than the whatever the dog is doing right now. Please learn to work with the distractions now.

 

Lunch is to be eaten during lunch time. I do not appreciate doing Latin chants while your mouth is full.

 

While I personally don't care if you wear your pjs to school, you might want to apply some concern to your personal appearance. You might someday want to ask out that cute girl in college. She's more likely to say yes if you are dressed in clean clothes, have attempted to comb your hair, and have brushed your teeth. And she might appreciate Shakespeare, so yes, you're going to memorize that sonnet this week.

 

Mondays are in every week. I know, son, I'm exhausted and didn't sleep last night either. But since Mondays will always be here, we should learn to work through it, or at least attempt to one.more.time.

 

:smilielol5:

[Tammyla]

Budget your printer ink...:glare:

 

Nutritional needs...Mom will not always be there ensuring you eat well and take in plenty of fluids.

 

How to prevent and deal with illness.

 

Gas and basic car maintenance.

 

Laundry, and not loaning out all your things.

 

Basic sewing etc.

 

Know the weather report and take your coat, umbrella, gloves, boots, sunscreen or what ever.

[Nan in Mass]

Your "game" of picking a piece of information and making your son find it.

[Nan in Mass]

Don't worry. We are thoroughily conservative about this, too, despite being peacewalkers.

I am really glad you mentioned those things and posted the link.

[elegantlion]

After last night I am adding to the list. How to deal with an insect infestation. We awoke to hundreds of ants in our kitchen last night, at 3:30a.m., after already complaining about insomnia. First spring in a new house, lovely. :glare:

 

dh is out of town so ds helped me annihilate the invaders. I'm extremely sensitive to smells so I couldn't use bug spray. 409 and glass cleaner will kill ants, handy information you need to know. We spent an hour dealing with it. Ds was a trooper. We live in a state that requires us to count hours. Guess what he gets an hour for chemistry, biology, and critical thinking skills. I'm adding trash bags, paper towels, and 409 to the college dorm list. :glare:

 

If this had happened in a dorm and he had sprayed bug spray, they would have been sleeping elsewhere.

 

 

Other skills that floated through my head during my bouts of delirium this morning:

 

How to set and use an alarm clock.

How to make sure electronics are charged and ready for use. My ds has a phone and he always needs reminders to charge it.

How a coin operated laundry works

How to read a syllabus and USE it. (I see this one on the high school board often)

How to advocate for themselves

How to deal with conflicts regarding customer service properly

[swimmermom3]

Your "game" of picking a piece of information and making your son find it.

 

I currently have The Brief Bedford Reader on the bed, so I will use that for an example. I don't go to the index; I just flip through and start formulating the questions:

 

1. When do writing challenges occur for author, Dave Berry?

 

2. What nickname did Time give to author, Jessica Mitford?

 

3. What method of writing would you use "to help readers understand your subject through the evidence of their senses - sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste?"

 

4. How do you cite a book with two or more authors using MLA format?

 

5. What six writing methods did Martin Luther King draw on to write his speech, I Have a Dream?

 

He can find the answers by having a basic understanding of what the book contains and then doing the detective work through the index, table of contents, and various charts.

 

I got the idea a few years ago when the boys were doing an assignment locating different items in the Write Source 2000. They had to look up autobiography and were dutifully searching the index to no avail not realizing it would be under "biography." There were a couple of tricky questions where they really had to think.

 

Does this make sense? The goal is to get them to locate information fast, fast, fast.

[Nan in Mass]

Ok. I understand. And I think this is a super important skill to have if you are going to survive college.

If it is any comfort to you, I read Study is Hard Work recently. As far as I can tell, the author is an old-fashioned schoolmaster. At one point, he talks about this and says something to the effect of "don't ever read more of a book than you have to" LOL. Yes, this could be used to "cheat" in school, but it isn't cheating in real life to use a book only to find the one bit of information that you want. I was surprised by the number of people who said yes in the recent thread asking if people always finished a book that they started. I use books much more flexibly than that. I just bought a humungous book at a library sale, bigger than any book I've seen other than the unabridged dictionary, about Leonardo DaVinci and I don't plan on reading a single word - I just want to look at a some of the pictures GRIN.

-Nan

[Matryoshka]

I currently have The Brief Bedford Reader on the bed, so I will use that for an example. I don't go to the index; I just flip through and start formulating the questions:

 

1. When do writing challenges occur for author, Dave Berry?

 

2. What nickname did Time give to author, Jessica Mitford?

 

3. What method of writing would you use "to help readers understand your subject through the evidence of their senses - sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste?"

 

4. How do you cite a book with two or more authors using MLA format?

 

5. What six writing methods did Martin Luther King draw on to write his speech, I Have a Dream?

 

He can find the answers by having a basic understanding of what the book contains and then doing the detective work through the index, table of contents, and various charts.

 

I got the idea a few years ago when the boys were doing an assignment locating different items in the Write Source 2000. They had to look up autobiography and were dutifully searching the index to no avail not realizing it would be under "biography." There were a couple of tricky questions where they really had to think.

 

Does this make sense? The goal is to get them to locate information fast, fast, fast.

 

I love this idea.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I've been reading the thread about requiring WTM skills (narration, outlining, etc.) for our logic kids. -It evolved into a thread about all the things we often neglect to teach our homeschooled kids (tying shoes, names on papers, etc.). :001_huh: I started wondering just how many skills I've forgotten to teach.... Anyone want to start a list?

__________________

Mary

DS 11, DD 9, DS 7, DD 5

 

 

 

 

How to keep important papers handy (ie, what to keep and how to keep it in order).

 

How to plan a trip somewhere (things like airline confirmation, hotel reservation confirmation numbers, how to figure out which museums are open which date).

 

How to balance a checkbook or keep track of a bank account.

 

How to file taxes.

 

How to vote. (Including registering to vote and requesting an absentee ballot.)

 

How to comparison shop for something (from reading reviews with a critical eye to comparing prices [including shipping, installation, taxes, etc])

 

How to leave a message on an answering machine. How to take a message. (I think actually delivering said message might be a bridge too far.)

 

How to research a school or summer program in order to be prepared for an application interview (I interview for my alma mater and get many candidates who have no idea what they would be getting into. I can tell who has spent time on the college website and who never has bothered.)

 

How to write a thank you note. (Probably going to practice this one today.)

 

How to RSVP to an invitation. To take a small hostess gift.

 

How to apologize without seeming angry about needing to.

[swimmermom3]

I love this idea.

 

The key is to not pick really obvious things. For example, on the Jessica Mitford question, the student could look up Mitford in the index, but there are several pages for her, so he needs to ask what type of information is being sought. From the way the question is phrased, it is biographical. There is always a short biographical blurb presented prior to the author's essay. The information can be located there quickly once the student figures out where to look.

 

The Dave Barry example was a bit different in that some authors have more than one essay in the book. One essay is Barry's very funny, Battling Clean-Up and Striking Out and the other is Dave Barry on Writing. So it's pretty clear where the student is going to need to go to find out out when writing challenges occur for Barry.

 

We do it once a week and usually it is fun.

[swimmermom3]

Ok. I understand. And I think this is a super important skill to have if you are going to survive college.

If it is any comfort to you, I read Study is Hard Work recently. As far as I can tell, the author is an old-fashioned schoolmaster. At one point, he talks about this and says something to the effect of "don't ever read more of a book than you have to" LOL. Yes, this could be used to "cheat" in school, but it isn't cheating in real life to use a book only to find the one bit of information that you want. I was surprised by the number of people who said yes in the recent thread asking if people always finished a book that they started. I use books much more flexibly than that. I just bought a humungous book at a library sale, bigger than any book I've seen other than the unabridged dictionary, about Leonardo DaVinci and I don't plan on reading a single word - I just want to look at a some of the pictures GRIN.

-Nan

 

Nan, would you recommend Study is Hard Work? I can already tell that I like the way the author thinks. You know though, I don't teach shortcuts to one of my kids. It is already too much a part of that child's nature and I think the ability to discern when to use one and when not to, is lacking.

 

Reading more of book than you need to can be suicide in grad school. Also, I wish I could find the source where Michael Clay Thompson talks about not doing note cards, outlines and rough drafts of academic research papers. He had some good points and I wish I could find the link to it.

Swimmer Dude is often curious to know both the "right" way to do something academically and then he wants to know how I do it in the real world.:tongue_smilie: