Oh, so many ideas, and so little time! This is my absolute favorite part of homeschooling.
One of the blessings of having your kids home with you all day is the ability to teach them so much more than academics.
Start good habits while they are little. Small things like making the bed first thing in the morning, keeping the bathroom tidy, devoting small amounts of time daily to keeping rooms clean, these are good processes to implement early.
Teaching them to avoid the overwhelm, especially for kids who struggle with executive function deficits will really help them as adults.
Have daily or weekly chores for each individual child and hold them accountable.
This is a great way for them to earn a little extra money and teach them the value of work. Get bank accounts as soon as they are old enough. Then set up a savings, tithing and investing (with teens) plan. This will lead to good spending habits in adulthood.
Involve your kids in meal prep.
Small children can serve bowls of cereal, put toast in the toaster, or gather supplies for more complicated meals.Older children can chop vegetables, season meats, and prepare side dishes. Teens can create entire meals from scratch.
Great life skills for them, and a way to free up time for you to attend to a different household task (or sneak off and read for a bit). Win-win!
To piggyback off of meal prep, create a weekly meal plan.
Task a child with the grocery list and another with gathering supplies the day of. Thawing meat, prepping side dishes, planning when to start and what time dinner should be served. Planning ahead can often avoid last minute fast food meals which is healthier and saves money.
If you are good with automotive maintenance (or maybe someone else in the household) teach your child these skills. Changing a flat tire, changing oil, when to schedule regular preventative maintenance- all good lessons in how to keep your car running well, for longer.
I often talk about making sure there is plenty of time to get outside and play. Show your children the balance of work, play, and exercise.
Exercise is vital to maintaining health, managing stress, and avoiding obesity. Let your child choose his physical activity, just make sure he does it regularly.
Many children as young adults experience anxiety over calling a business and setting up an appointment. Start this practice early, a hair appointment is a great place to start. It only takes a minute and he will feel a sense of accomplishment if he can do it correctly.
Maintaining library accounts is another good place to start. It is often fairly easy to login through the library portal and extend overdue books, or pay fines at the library when they are incurred.
This is just a short list to get you started on life skills. Be mindful of the tasks you complete daily as an adult and think of ways to bring your children in on the process.
They will appreciate the independence, and you will see the fruits of you labor down the road.