EDUC What are the most important skills to have in life?

[MamaDel]

I homeschool my 6 children. I am so grateful that I have this opportunity. I Have God and the core subjects down...but what other life /prep skills would you all say are the most important or helpful to have/learn growing up in these uncertain times?

Thanks in advance for your input,

MamaDel

[L.A.B.]

Orienteering is a great practical sport for kids. It involves compass work with maps.
Then, math, math, and more math.

[penumbra]

The ability to effectively communicate with others.

[Worrier King]

Communication skills.

[penumbra]

Hey Worrier King!

[Worrier King]

Originally Posted by penumbra

The ability to effectively communicate with others.

Oh my gawd, I'm thinking like you!!!!!

[penumbra]

[Cardinal]

Knowing how to find info for themselves, knowing where to look to find it.

Enjoy this time Mamadel. I homeschooled my daughter and the time flew by. These are the best days of your life.

[Bicycle Junkie]

Prayer. Teach them the power of prayer. Teach them to pray every day. Teach them the Lord's prayer. There is no more important skill.

[Rippled]

Discernment

[MamaDel]

Thank you Cardinal, I do enjoy it.I'm with you on the being resourceful. It is built in to our learning because I agree it is an essential skill. Penumbra and worrier King...I still have work to do in that area L.A.B Orienteering huh? You may be on to something there! Thanks!

MamaDel

[tm1439m]

Communication would be number one as most problems come from a lack of understanding in my opinion.. Teach them to be no bodies fool. Teach them that in most all situations in life you are either led by someone or you lead them, so make the first move and take control of the situation when at all possible. I would rather be in control than to be controlled.

[denfoote]

Originally Posted by Bicycle Junkie

Prayer. Teach them the power of prayer. Teach them to pray every day. Teach them the Lord's prayer. There is no more important skill.

Here's why.

Luke 12:26-28 (New King James Version)

26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

[MamaDel]

Originally Posted by tm1439m

Communication would be number one as most problems come from a lack of understanding in my opinion.. Teach them to be no bodies fool. Teach them that in most all situations in life you are either led by someone or you lead them, so make the first move and take control of the situation when at all possible. I would rather be in control than to be controlled.

Is that teachable? A certain amount of that falls to personality tendencies I think. The best I can do, would be to give them a strong foundation to draw from so that even if any of them should turn out to be a more passive type, they are strong enough at least to not flinch when their values are attacked, or feel threatened by nonsense. Pray that they have good discernment would help..I don't know, part of me feels that Leaders are born and not made. Would you disagree?

MamaDel

[WalknTrot]

Getting along with other people and not being afraid of hard work.

[MamaDel]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bicycle Junkie
Prayer. Teach them the power of prayer. Teach them to pray every day. Teach them the Lord's prayer. There is no more important skill.
Here's why.

Quote:
Luke 12:26-28 (New King James Version)

26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

Funny you bring this up. We are doing a study of Hebrews 11(actually 10:19-12:29) Faith IS the topic at hand.It is the foundation upon which our hope rests.You have all done my heart good.

I am already on the same track as you all seem to be thinking and I appreciate that...I have to admit I was thinking more of the line of actual skills like hunting, cooking, sewing...certain trades? I want them all to have a high intelligence level obviously, but my feeling is everyone who can provide some type of an actual service will always be able to eat.

MamaDel

[Volleyball Granny]

Three things:
1. Know where to find the information you need--and have the initiative to look for it.
2. Recognize that God gave you talents and He expects you to use them.
3. Always have a Plan B...and C...and D.

[DustMusher]

Adaptability

If you are stuck in a rut -- the only place you will ever go is where that rut takes you.

Adapt and you can go/do anything!

Dm

[tm1439m]

Originally Posted by MamaDel

Is that teachable? A certain amount of that falls to personality tendencies I think. The best I can do, would be to give them a strong foundation to draw from so that even if any of them should turn out to be a more passive type, they are strong enough at least to not flinch when their values are attacked, or feel threatened by nonsense. Pray that they have good discernment would help..I don't know, part of me feels that Leaders are born and not made. Would you disagree?

MamaDel

You are probably correct and I agree that not all can be leaders. But you can still learn to take control whenever possible.I do get your point. I am strong willed and passed that on to my son. You can show them that giving their opinion on how things need to be done or speaking their mind is not always a bad thing. I find in my life if I push an issue a certain way it tends to go that way most times, but I do not wait for others to give opinions before I give mine. What works best, when dealing with your boss, is when you learn how they think and you can present ideas in a way that they take credit for it but it is your path they take. I am not saying you are to be the boss, just take as much control as allowed and trust me most of my life I have been in control of what was going on around me where I was working even when I was the least experienced and low man on the totem pole.

My son started working construction with me at 15 on weekends, summers, and holidays. By the end of the first summer he was telling long time employees what to do. He was not the boss. He learned what we were doing, new what was going on by paying attention, and when a question came up he would quickly give the best answer because he was on top of things. When someone was looking for something to do because they were finished with the job they were doing he would casually suggest what was the next thing to do. Believe it or not many times grown men would come to him for answers to their problems. Why, because he took control of his life before someone else did it for him. They saw him as a leader because he made them see that he was one. He gained respect because he new what was going on all the time. This behavior made those who lacked that drive submit to him. You would be surprised at how much control at strong willed person can attain. Every situation has its leaders and followers. Learn to lead.
So although I do get your point, I feel you can at least take some control in your life.

[Cascadians]

The ability to go within, to still oneself and feel God, to hear Him and know His guidance, to walk with Him, follow Him, grow in Him and know spiritual joy.

[tm1439m]

Another very important thing I feel everyone should know is how to research and find answers to your questions. My son came to me as a very small child and asked me how a spider made its web. He was maybe three. I took the opportunity to teach him how to find his own answers. I sent him to the bedroom for the encyclopedia that started with the letter "S". I then walked him through the process of looking up the word spider. Etc...

I always tried to help him find the answer rather than get the answer for him or show it to him.

[jehu]

as has been mentioned, a relationship with the Almighty, Eternal, Loving Creater of the Universe is the best thing that you can point your children to.

If you can assist their critical thinking skills and love for reading that is a great boon.

Another great skill is that of tracking. (no seriously) here is why. Tracking makes you think like the creature that you are tracking, leads to critical thinkging, logic, deduction and overall awareness.

Being able to tinker with moters and machines has come in handy, as well as the ability to care for animals.

I don't know if there is a single skill, but I would get an old Boy Scout handbook and start on a quest to earn all the merit badges that catch their interest.

Come to think of it, the ability to diagnose and effectivly treat an injury is a lifelong ability that will never be regretted.

[jonnytorch]

A second language. Spanish would probably be best.

[Volleyball Granny]

Originally Posted by jonnytorch

A second language. Spanish would probably be best.

I was thinking Chinese.

[dstraito]

The ability to laugh, in good times and in bad.

A sense of humor can keep people going but if they don't want to keep going, all the skills in the world will not help them.

[penumbra]

Originally Posted by dstraito

The ability to laugh, in good times and in bad.

A sense of humor can keep people going but if they don't want to keep going, all the skills in the world will not help them.

What a truth! That has carries me through the toughest times of my life!

[MamaDel]

agreed. Thank you all. While I am ever mindful that God does the calling, it really is the most important thing on my list, that I do my very best to build a foundation of true faith, not blind faith(a HUGE task!) I want my children to be resourceful, no one can know everything, but you'll have the upper hand if you know how to find information. The Boy Scout handbook was an excellent idea, it had never occurred to me.I guess the goal is to help them be God fearing, decent people who are self sufficient and knowledgeable enough to help others in need.

I know it is probably inevitable but I don't want to look back and wish I had taught them something more physically useful for life.

MamaDel

[tm1439m]

Learn to walk a mile in another mans shoes. Try to understand why a person might act a certain way before condemning him or her.

[Wadi66]

Having home schooled our three youngest I would say managing money and learning how to make choices and being given the opportunity to experience the outcome of that choice. The more exposure they have to making choices, the wiser they will become.

Remember... mother doesn't start with an S.

[TKD_Kid]

Here are a couple of mine.

Perseverance - meaning never give up even on a small scale or a major fight.

I agree communication skills either vocally or digitally on the web especially if it is to get a message across.

Common Sense which go along way more so then book smart in some cases.

Learning a language - Spanish, Chinese, French to name a few common then the not so common Korean, Arabic and Italian

Learn a computer trade. Rather it be web design or a computer tech it always come in handy.

Learn a basic mechanical trade to. Like car mechanic or even home repair.

Thats just to name a few there

[Loon]

Teach them how to cook and cook well.

Teach them how to stay on a budget and live within their means.

Tell them to find something they love to do and figure out a way to earn a living doing it.

[MamaDel]

Originally Posted by tm1439m

Learn to walk a mile in another mans shoes. Try to understand why a person might act a certain way before condemning him or her.

re- 
a prefix, occurring originally in loanwords from Latin, used with the meaning “again” or “again and again” to indicate repetition, or with the meaning “back” or “backward” to indicate withdrawal or backward motion

-spect
Middle English, from Old French, from Latin spectāculum, from spectāre, to watch, frequentative of specere, to look at; see spek- in Indo-European roots.]

Respect therefore means to take another look via anothers point of view.

MamaDel

[Sojourner]

Typing.

Seriously, I use it everyday. I never use algebra that I know of.

[tm1439m]

When my son was young he would get birthday money or other money and then ask me " dad can I buy this or that" . I would always tell him that it was his money and he could do whatever he wanted with it. I did always ask him to wait a few weeks before making any major purchases. He would get upset and say" I will not want it in a few weeks, I want it now". My response would always be something like " that's right and in a few weeks it will be shoved in the closet or under the bed or on its way to the goodwill". He always got mad at me for asking him to wait but did always agree it was the best choice afterward. When he finally bought something it was usually a good choice because of that waiting period.

To this day he rarely makes any kind of impulse buy and if he does it is only on something cheap. He always saves for the things he wants, and pays cash for everything. He still waits to make any big purchase. He now thanks me for this lesson he was taught as a child. He sees his friends throw their money away thoughtlessly and has a hard time understanding how they could do it.

They were not taught as children the value of money.


ETA: I would like to add I detest money but we are all forced to live in a world that is ever increasing in its dependency on it. Our government has and continues to create a world that we are forced by their laws, fees, taxes, etc.. to earn a regular living of cash so we can continue with the required burden of giving to them. Even when old if we cannot supply their required taxes and such then we loose our home. Call it what you will we are slaves.

[tm1439m]

One thing I did with my son when he was young was to give him whatever items we were going to discard. We would disassemble whatever it was like an old tv, clock radio, old or broken toys, or just any old thing. He learned what made things tic without fear of destroying something along with the ability to use tools properly which is something many adults have a hard time with. I have a degree in Electronics engineering technology and by the time he was four he could name most any electronic component when we took things apart.

[In8lyShy]

I agree with so much that has been said on this thread. Skill in communication and a sense of humor things that came first to my mind.

I totally agree about learning the ability to pray and turn things over to God - including asking for help in knowing what is most important to do in any given situation. I'm also working hard on this at the age of 53.

I loved the idea of the boy scout handbook and would add the girl scout one too. Other skills I would list are things that I was taught that I have been so grateful for and that I value in other people:

Reading comprehension
Critical thinking skills
Listening skills (part of communication but needs special focus)
Money management - loved the advice above about delaying
purchases.
Cooking
Sewing
Tenacity - learning how to see things through to completion
The meanng of committment - doing what you say you will do.
Writing skills (so much is conveyed this way that it is VERY important to know grammar, how to spell and string words together intelligently). I believe reading copiously is very helpful for developing this skill. Note: I'm certainly not perfect in this so have mercy on me.

Some advice I recently heard from a saint:
Don't Criticize
Don't Condemn
Don't Complain

I figure MANY interpersonal issues could be helped by mastering this last advice - good luck! (speaking for myself).And that was a perfect example of criticism! (self criticism, self condemnation and complaining about yourself is just as much to be avoided as doing these things in relation to others!)

[Trailboss]

All of the above are excellent. I would add personal responsibility for actions, and words. Being able to apologize when wrong. Not to be self centered. But to think of others and be willing to help others. Goal oriented. Hard working, money wise is very important. And Not to think more of themselves than they have a right to. This a a balance between too much self importance and too little.

[LoupGarou]

All of the above are very good, and the only things I would add are:

• Keep G_d first in your hearts and lives.
• Learn as much as you can, while you can.
• Learn discernment of the situation at hand, and if you can't figure it out on your own, ask the Lord for help. And if you can figure it out on your own, ask the Lord for confirmation.
• Learn to listen to your environment. Sit in a room, quietly, and listen for the slightest noises and nuances. This is a skill that everybody needs whether they are in a forest miles away from people, or in a crowded room. Close your eyes and pick up as much info as possible. There will be times when you will need this.

Loup

[cory]

Without those, you're hungry, naked, and dirty.

Also fix stuff, plumbing, carpentry, electrical wiring and to the code.

Next is how to figure out what to keep and what to toss as well as how to organize a storeroom. Gotta keep the preps somewhere.

[Old Gray Mare]

These are some of the things I thought it was important to teach my own children. I can only give them the opportunity I can't make them learn.

Communication skills are very important. I encourage a second language.

The idea that work is a good thing and not to be afraid of it or think any honest job or person doing one is beneath them.

When I give them a task I don't always tell them exactly how to do it and let them figure it out.

Knowledge of how to use common tools properly and safely. Stressing the right tool for the right job as well as how to make do. How tools should be cared for. For Christmas I'm thinking tool boxes of their own tools. I wish I could teach them more about the care of machinery and small engines.

How to take care of themselves and deal with others. This includes things like good manners, honesty, keeping your word, first aid, personal hygiene, resolving problems with others, wash clothes, cooking, cleaning, map skills, how to handle money, putting food by, taking care of livestock, gardening, canoeing, fishing, meditation and self defense. It is very important they have responsibilities and answer for them.

Stress that schooling is an opportunity for them to take advantage of and that education does not stop when they leave the class room. A good public library can be a very powerful leaning tool. I also stress a respect for books. They will have to decide for themselves which books deserve the title "good".

Respect for God, themselves, family, other people and property. Religion is a foundation block in our family and helps provide, among other things, comfort and guidance.