I'm thinking about using the book Home Comforts to create a home ec. study... Any thoughts?

[helena]

Here's the book: http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/0743272862

It's fabulous!!

I've been reading through it and separating the chapters to start breaking down the information. I'm thinking of starting in the summer

and continuing into the new school year. I have more than one copy, so I can highlight or take notes in one of the books. I'm thinking of highlighting the usable info ahead of time (along with notes) so that the girls can easily read and complete a task for each skill. It's a big book with lots of info, so I'm not expecting to do everything she writes about. I'll definitely do a schedule to keep us moving along.

 

I'm just at the beginning stages of figuring out how I want to do this. I'd love to hear any of your thoughts. Have you done home ec? How long did you study it? What did you use? Are there any must have books, videos, blogs, anything on the subject? I love vintage books, are there any vintage resources out there?

 

Thanks! :)

[Alte Veste Academy]

I would love to see what you come up with.

 

Me too. I think. Because my first thought was what a wonderful idea! And my very next thought was how much ribbing I would have to take from DH and the kids because I probably do not do or know 3/4 of what is in that book myself... :lol: And I own it!

[tshirtyogapantmama]

Neat idea. I would think you would want to break it down into reading and of course lots of hands-on projects/labs. I would say at least a good 6 months, maybe a year if you want some of it to be more habit forming.

[Mrs. A]

I love this idea! I really enjoyed the book myself but it never would have occurred to me to use it as a study. thanks for the great idea. I will be interested to see what you come up with.

[sparrow]

Me too. I think. Because my first thought was what a wonderful idea! And my very next thought was how much ribbing I would have to take from DH and the kids because I probably do not do or know 3/4 of what is in that book myself... :lol: And I own it!

 

:iagree: with all of this! I get sucked into looking at it when I've gotten it out to look up something specific. I really should just read the darn thing!

[serendipitous journey]

... just that if I did that to my refrigerator each week I'd have no time for a Rich Inner Life. Not that I do now ... at any rate, you might want to temper some of the more time-intensive bits with some short & sweet FlyLady practicality ...

 

I think it could be a very fun study, though.

 

ETA: from How to Wash the Refrigerator, in the Kitchen Culture section

 

(preceded by a note to do this before your marketing, and weekly at least)

1. remove as many drawers as possible

2. set non-highly-perishable foods on countertop

3. crowd highly perishables on remaining one or two shelves

4. wash drawers and shelves you pulled out with hot, susdy water

5. rinse them well

6. let them drain

7. wipe one shelf dry and replace

8. move Highly Perishables to the clean shelf

9. wash the shelf that had been holding the Highly Perishables

10. unplug the refrigerator

11. wash interior walls and all other surfaces. "Work quickly" with warm, sudsy water.

12. there oughta be about 4 tbl. baking soad/quart of your sudsy water

13. bleach any mold

14. wash gaskets

15. plug it back in.

16. replace the food.

[redsquirrel]

I've owned that book for years. I find it intriguing but not that useful in the end. I read it and then remind myself that the author has ONE child, is a lawyer and lives in NYC. If I had one kid, had everyone out of the house all day and had a small NYC apartment to manage I could keep it pretty darn clean.

 

Plus, and I know this sounds totally stupid, in the middle of the chapter on bedrooms she makes this anti co-sleeping comment. Now, I don't expect her to be PRO co-sleeping or anything. She is entitled to her views and that is great. I just don't understand why in the middle of this tome about housekeeping she felt the need to make the comment. I can't remember it off the top of my head (haven't read it in 18 months or so) but it always just seems so odd to see in the book. Whenever I see it, it brings me up short. Then again, she is telling my how to run my house and how often to wash my shelves so I guess that makes her feel entitled to tell me how to live the rest of my life? :laugh:

 

And, aside from maybe the first couple chapters it is a reference book. It tells you how to get out stains or how to clean wood floors. or how to read those symbols on your clothing tags etc. I don't know how you would make a 'class' from it unless you got a bunch of fabric and learned how to clean them. I don't know about you, but I have better things to do with my time. And if I need to know how to clean velvet, I have the book and can look it up. But, like I said, I haven't read it in a while. You might see more in it than I did.

[weederberries]

I love the idea. Having not read the book (it's now in my Amazon cart), how old do you think a girl need be to make use of the book and/or the projects?

How about boys, is it a losing battle for me? Mine generally like to cook and sew, but I can see that some home projects would fizzle quickly.

 

Speaking of, is there a home maintenance, or similar "boy" book? I don't have a particularly handy husband and something like this in the manly realm would be good for he and the boys alike.

 

Before anyone gets too upset, I don't mind breaking down barriers, but I'm fine facing the reality that I have no interest in repairing a toilet and he has not interest in throw pillows. ;)

[AngelBee]

Taking notes....sounds fun! :)

[TechWife]

I have that book & it is really useful as a reference book. I think it would make an excellent course. You could throw in Julia's Kitchen Wisdom and Sew Everything Workshop to round it out. I'm off to add things to my course wish lists on Amazon.

[helena]

I would love to see what you come up with.

 

Me too. I think. Because my first thought was what a wonderful idea! And my very next thought was how much ribbing I would have to take from DH and the kids because I probably do not do or know 3/4 of what is in that book myself... :lol: And I own it!

 

I'll post the final schedule when I finish it. I think it's going to take me a while though...

There's a lot I don't know either!

[helena]

Neat idea. I would think you would want to break it down into reading and of course lots of hands-on projects/labs. I would say at least a good 6 months, maybe a year if you want some of it to be more habit forming.

 

 

I agree. I'm thinking if I can get it organized by summer, we'll start then and go all through the next school year. I'd rather take our time and do this once. :)

[kewb]

Wait, I am supposed to clean my fridge weekly?

[helena]

I love this idea! I really enjoyed the book myself but it never would have occurred to me to use it as a study. thanks for the great idea. I will be interested to see what you come up with.

:iagree: with all of this! I get sucked into looking at it when I've gotten it out to look up something specific. I really should just read the darn thing!

It's an amazing resource. I buy used copies and give them to family members. Hopefully talking out loud about it here will jumpstart some ideas. I don't know... maybe there's already some great home ec course out there that someone will link?? :bigear: I'd be happy to just use the book as a reference to another curriculum.

[Faithr]

My sil gave me this book years ago. I took it as an insult because my house is a wreck and hers never is...... so I promptly put it away. But a couple years ago I stumbled on it and thumbed through the pages wistfully, wishing that I had domestic goddess in my genes. I would love to see any plans you come up with. It could be a fun thing to do with my kids. Or at least it could put a spin on housekeeping that might be engaging enough to make us actually do it!

[helena]

... just that if I did that to my refrigerator each week I'd have no time for a Rich Inner Life. Not that I do now ... at any rate, you might want to temper some of the more time-intensive bits with some short & sweet FlyLady practicality ...

 

I think it could be a very fun study, though.

 

ETA: from How to Wash the Refrigerator, in the Kitchen Culture section

 

(preceded by a note to do this before your marketing, and weekly at least)

1. remove as many drawers as possible

2. set non-highly-perishable foods on countertop

3. crowd highly perishables on remaining one or two shelves

4. wash drawers and shelves you pulled out with hot, susdy water

5. rinse them well

6. let them drain

7. wipe one shelf dry and replace

8. move Highly Perishables to the clean shelf

9. wash the shelf that had been holding the Highly Perishables

10. unplug the refrigerator

11. wash interior walls and all other surfaces. "Work quickly" with warm, sudsy water.

12. there oughta be about 4 tbl. baking soad/quart of your sudsy water

13. bleach any mold

14. wash gaskets

15. plug it back in.

16. replace the food.

 

I've owned that book for years. I find it intriguing but not that useful in the end. I read it and then remind myself that the author has ONE child, is a lawyer and lives in NYC. If I had one kid, had everyone out of the house all day and had a small NYC apartment to manage I could keep it pretty darn clean.

 

Plus, and I know this sounds totally stupid, in the middle of the chapter on bedrooms she makes this anti co-sleeping comment. Now, I don't expect her to be PRO co-sleeping or anything. She is entitled to her views and that is great. I just don't understand why in the middle of this tome about housekeeping she felt the need to make the comment. I can't remember it off the top of my head (haven't read it in 18 months or so) but it always just seems so odd to see in the book. Whenever I see it, it brings me up short. Then again, she is telling my how to run my house and how often to wash my shelves so I guess that makes her feel entitled to tell me how to live the rest of my life? :laugh:

 

And, aside from maybe the first couple chapters it is a reference book. It tells you how to get out stains or how to clean wood floors. or how to read those symbols on your clothing tags etc. I don't know how you would make a 'class' from it unless you got a bunch of fabric and learned how to clean them. I don't know about you, but I have better things to do with my time. And if I need to know how to clean velvet, I have the book and can look it up. But, like I said, I haven't read it in a while. You might see more in it than I did.

 

 

My kids know how to do a lot of basic cleaning jobs. They're major contributors to keeping the house clean (not just tidy). I really want them to know the art of keeping house. I remember my mom cleaning the fridge like that (described passage from book). She didn't do it once a week, :scared:, but she did do it. She taught me all kinds of stuff like that... We'd watch a good movie or listen to some music, put on a pot of beans, and polish copper pans or change the linens (hospital corners of course :tongue_smilie:). She always made time in a busy schedule to rotate the deep cleaning jobs. Now that I'm a mom with kids and a home, I'm glad my mom taught me those things. They're skills I appreciate and they're good memories. Maybe for me, it's also about family culture.

[helena]

I love the idea. Having not read the book (it's now in my Amazon cart), how old do you think a girl need be to make use of the book and/or the projects?

How about boys, is it a losing battle for me? Mine generally like to cook and sew, but I can see that some home projects would fizzle quickly.

 

Speaking of, is there a home maintenance, or similar "boy" book? I don't have a particularly handy husband and something like this in the manly realm would be good for he and the boys alike.

 

Before anyone gets too upset, I don't mind breaking down barriers, but I'm fine facing the reality that I have no interest in repairing a toilet and he has not interest in throw pillows. ;)

 

 

 

My girls are 11 and 14. They know and do the basic cleaning (along with me). I don't think I'd start this book until they found it easy to go through the house for a good quick clean. It's a big book and might make them hate the whole thing. Right now, I think they feel good about the fact that they make a big difference in our home. I mean... don't get me wrong. We're all messy. :D It's a constant struggle. But, we can pull it together pretty quick and what they do, they do correctly.

 

I think 2 and up, boy or girl, if taught correctly might love many of these jobs. If you look at Montessori classrooms in the wet and dry practical life areas you'll see kids washing and drying dishes, polishing shoes and silver, hanging clothes on a line, etc.

 

I don't know of any home maintenance books for boys... but I'll bet there's something out there. :)

[helena]

I have that book & it is really useful as a reference book. I think it would make an excellent course. You could throw in Julia's Kitchen Wisdom and Sew Everything Workshop to round it out. I'm off to add things to my course wish lists on Amazon.

 

 

YES!!!

You're right, I need to add sewing and cooking. They enjoy baking and light cooking, they like to sew and have even taken a class or two. It's time though, to master the basics.

 

The books look great, I just put them on hold at the library.

 

Hmmm... now I'm wondering about scheduling. How would you do it? One book at a time? Break it up to avoid burn out?? Would basic gardening be part of home ec? Or any other skill?

[helena]

Wait, I am supposed to clean my fridge weekly?

 

 

I look at it like this. There's no way I'm going to clean it once a week, but when I do, I want to do it the most effective and correct way.

[helena]

My sil gave me this book years ago. I took it as an insult because my house is a wreck and hers never is...... so I promptly put it away. But a couple years ago I stumbled on it and thumbed through the pages wistfully, wishing that I had domestic goddess in my genes. I would love to see any plans you come up with. It could be a fun thing to do with my kids. Or at least it could put a spin on housekeeping that might be engaging enough to make us actually do it!

 

 

I hope my family members don't feel that way when I give them copies! Probably not though, my house is cluttered and there's always a list of to-do jobs. :tongue_smilie:

 

Honestly, I had to get desperately low to finally put my foot down with the kids and cleaning. I have health problems that make me tired and sore. I just couldn't do it all by myself. I was angry that the kids weren't stepping up. Then I realized that it was silly of me to expect them to understand on their own. I had to teach them, just like any other subject. That's what my mom did. She took the time to teach and correct. It's a little painful in the beginning while they figure out what passes and what doesn't as a job well done. But, it was worth the effort, because now it happens easily and they take pride in their work.

 

I'm not a domestic goddess, but I did grow up around women who were. The desire to live like that in my own home has pushed this messy mom to pull it together a bit. :)

[weederberries]

Wait, I am supposed to clean my fridge weekly?

 

Yes. I believe this is true when 1 week = 3 months.

[helena]

 

Yes. I believe this is true when 1 week = 3 months.

 

It's important to have your math facts down for the domestic arts! :tongue_smilie:

[TechWife]

YES!!!

You're right, I need to add sewing and cooking. They enjoy baking and light cooking, they like to sew and have even taken a class or two. It's time though, to master the basics.

 

The books look great, I just put them on hold at the library.

 

Hmmm... now I'm wondering about scheduling. How would you do it? One book at a time? Break it up to avoid burn out?? Would basic gardening be part of home ec? Or any other skill?

 

 

Probably do cooking and sewing one at a time. The Home Comfort book could probably be mixed in. Sewing & cooking take a lot of practice. Maybe 1st semester Home Comfort & cooking and second semester Home Comfort & sewing? Then that second semester you could just have her cook a meal two or three times a week as part of family life. You could even wrap up the year by letting her have some friends over for a dinner party - you & your husband could be the wait staff! A dinner party would combine some of the Home Comforts book and the cooking, after all, you'd want her to invite her friends to a clean house, right? There's also a section in the book on serving meals. It includes info. on choosing appropriate table linens, setting the table, centerpieces & how to serve. The dinner party could even be her final exam! You could have her sew the table linens or sew some party favors to round it out for the whole year.

 

I just remembered that The Teaching Company has a new cooking course out. I got it for my husband for Christmas. He said it's very good and basic (he's past that phase). He hasn't gotten too deeply into it, though.

 

I don't think gardening is part of home economics, but you could probably do a semester credit on kitchen gardening and the care of basic landscaping. Oh, I know. See if your extension office allows teens to take the Master Gardener course. That in itself would be a 1/2 credit and you wouldn't have to plan anything.

 

This is sounding so much better than a traditional, packaged home economics course!

[LivingHope]

Home Comforts was the book that taught me how to really wash dishes, fold sheets, and make my own cleaners...that was probably the year it was first published. Love that book. And I have never used a sponge since. We have separate dish cloths, dishtowels, cleaning cloths, bath towels, and we NEVER wash the dish cloths with the cleaning cloths. :-)

[Vida Winter]

I used to own that book, just after I had baby #3 while homeschooling #1 and #2. It made me feel completely inadequate and I sold it. Probably due to those memories I would not use it as a home ec study. CLE has a nice home ec study for high school that my middle school dd likes.

[stripe]

Plus, and I know this sounds totally stupid, in the middle of the chapter on bedrooms she makes this anti co-sleeping comment.

 

Ha, I hate stuff like this too. I've encountered anti-homeschooling comments in the same way and they irritate me. I always think super clean freaks don't like co-sleeping of any kind, including spousal.

 

I grew up with my parents thinking I was freakishly clean, but when I read books like that, I feel sorely inadequate and very, very dirty and unorganized. Happily, I have met other people, most notably most of my female in-laws, who totally understand why I have separate spoons for sweets and savory ingredients.

[kewb]

I look at it like this. There's no way I'm going to clean it once a week, but when I do, I want to do it the most effective and correct way.

 

Whew, then I am doing it correctly.

[helena]

Probably do cooking and sewing one at a time. The Home Comfort book could probably be mixed in. Sewing & cooking take a lot of practice. Maybe 1st semester Home Comfort & cooking and second semester Home Comfort & sewing? Then that second semester you could just have her cook a meal two or three times a week as part of family life. You could even wrap up the year by letting her have some friends over for a dinner party - you & your husband could be the wait staff! A dinner party would combine some of the Home Comforts book and the cooking, after all, you'd want her to invite her friends to a clean house, right? There's also a section in the book on serving meals. It includes info. on choosing appropriate table linens, setting the table, centerpieces & how to serve. The dinner party could even be her final exam! You could have her sew the table linens or sew some party favors to round it out for the whole year.

 

I just remembered that The Teaching Company has a new cooking course out. I got it for my husband for Christmas. He said it's very good and basic (he's past that phase). He hasn't gotten too deeply into it, though.

 

I don't think gardening is part of home economics, but you could probably do a semester credit on kitchen gardening and the care of basic landscaping. Oh, I know. See if your extension office allows teens to take the Master Gardener course. That in itself would be a 1/2 credit and you wouldn't have to plan anything.

 

This is sounding so much better than a traditional, packaged home economics course!

 

 

Thank you for helping me out! I have The Sew Everything book now so I'll probably start reading it tonight... All great ideas here. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I must start at the beginning of summer. Maybe I need to have one schedule for summer and another for the school year.

 

We just watched a video clip for the baking course (from Teaching Company). I think she's going to want that one.

Okay, I'm starting to get excited. :)

[helena]

Home Comforts was the book that taught me how to really wash dishes, fold sheets, and make my own cleaners...that was probably the year it was first published. Love that book. And I have never used a sponge since. We have separate dish cloths, dishtowels, cleaning cloths, bath towels, and we NEVER wash the dish cloths with the cleaning cloths. :-)

 

This is exactly what I'm wanting for the girls. I know I don't need the book to teach it, but the book is good, so good.

Of course, I've been watching a lot of Downton Abby... all the downstairs cooking and polishing. It's got me all worked up! :lol: