January 21, 2026 – What are “Life Skills” and How Do I Teach Them?

Hey, Mama!

Gena Suarez, Publisher of TOS

Life Skills: The Real Education

Hey, Mama.

You’re teaching your kids algebra and literature, but here’s what they really need to know: how to boil an egg, how to introduce themselves without mumbling, how to set a table, how to apologize, how to work hard when no one’s watching.

Those are life skills.

Life skills are the stuff nobody puts on a college transcript, but everybody needs to survive in the real world. Cooking. Basic sewing. Public speaking. Manners. Handling money. Cleaning. Working with your hands. Serving others. These aren’t extras—they’re discipleship.

“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels” (Proverbs 1:5). Your kids are watching how you do these things. They’re learning by being with you—in the kitchen, at the table, in conversations. Stop assuming they’ll figure it out. They won’t.

Teach them by doing it together. Let them fail at the recipe. Have them practice the introduction ten times. Make them uncomfortable with growth. “Withhold not correction from the child . . . ” (Proverbs 23:13-14). That discipline—that refining—matters.

Your job isn’t to raise perfect kids. It’s to raise capable, faithful adults who can take care of themselves and serve others well. Years from now, they’ll remember your hands teaching theirs. That’s the legacy. His hand is on your head, Mama. Always.

—gena

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Stacy Farrell

HomeschoolAdventure.com

Essential Life Skills for Uncertain Times

With soaring food prices and supply chain vulnerabilities, “life skills” take on new urgency—skills like: 

• gardening
• food preservation
• meal planning and strategic pantry management 

These aren’t optional extras—they’re pathways to money-saving, self-sustaining abundance and are foundational for thriving amid economic hardship. 

Integrate Skills Seamlessly into Homeschool Lessons

As homeschool parents, we have the privilege and responsibility to design a course of study that will equip our children to become successful adults. 

Fortunately, teaching life skills blends naturally with academic lessons: 

• gardening teaches biology and ecology
• preservation teaches safe food science
• budgeting groceries sharpens math
• cooking builds reading comprehension through recipes

Find Reliable Sources

In this “Age of Information,”  it can be difficult to discern reliable counselors from fools (especially with AI on the rise).

But when it comes to learning and teaching skills like canning and food preservation, it’s critical to learn safe practices.

On our FoodPrepGuide.com website and its YouTube channel, we focus on safe, efficient, and practical ways to embrace these timeless life skills. 

Start Today

We offer free resources—blog posts, recipes, and video tutorials—to guide families seeking to develop these skills. Here’s some helpful resources to help you get started:

• FREE Staples Garden Plan
• FREE Companion Planting Chart
• FREE Food Storage Plan

The Food Prep Guide YouTube channel offers free step-by-step videos on gardening, canning, and dehydrating.

It’s never too late to learn. (I didn’t learn how to make chicken soup until I was 50!) That said, the best time to begin is now . . . don’t wait!

With His love,

Stacy 

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About the author

Surprised by Jesus, Stacy went from an unmarried, childless, thirty-something career woman to a Christ-following wife of more than thirty years with two sons she homeschooled K-12.

Author of more than twenty books—including the award-winning Philosophy Adventure and Food Prep Guide: A Plan for Money-Saving, Self-Sustaining Abundance in Hard Times—she loves to equip and encourage homeschool families. Visit her at HomeschoolAdventure.com and at FoodPrepGuide.com.

Hal and Melanie Young

Raising Capable and Successful Adults

It’s easy to get focused on curricula and class credits. They’re important, but academics are just a small part of adult life, aren’t they? When our sons and daughters leave home, they need to know much more!

Think through daily life and picture your teen in different situations. Does he know how to shop and cook for himself? Can she make a doctor’s appointment? Can they do their own laundry? Can they manage their own time and schedule?  These may sound ridiculously obvious except we’ve run into young adults who couldn’t do these things! 

The key we found for training was the example of Jesus. He didn’t enroll the disciples in class; instead, He lived in front of them. He’d teach crowds, then ask them, “Do you understand?” Next, He’d call them alongside to help Him minister. Finally, He sent them out on their own—and followed up afterward, to answer any questions. 

That’s how we’ve trained our teens. Show them how things are done. Have them try with our help. Gradually give them opportunities to fly solo. Whenever you think about it, call your child alongside and talk about what you’re doing. “Hey, sweetheart, let’s check the fluids in the car.” “Son, let me show you how to iron a shirt.” “Kids, this is how we prepare the turkey!” 

Our teens are capable of surprising things with proper training, support, and supervision. Give them a chance while they’re still at home! 

Your friends, 

Hal & Melanie

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About the author

Hal and Melanie Young have been homeschooling almost as long as they’ve been married, and they’re still happy with both decisions! They wrote My Beloved and My Friend: How to Be Married to Your Best Friend Without Changing Spouses to encourage their young adults – find out more at raisingrealmen.com.

Heidi Mosher

The Kids Are Watching, So Walk This Way

Your children came with a free life skills curriculum (your life) and a built-in teacher (you).

These kids you are schooling at home have the advantage of a front row view of your life. This is important—the kids get to watch closely as you, a real person, live real life. 

Kids see what you feed on—not just food, but also your information diet: what you listen to, read, and watch. They notice what you laugh at and what you don’t find funny. Little ones observe how you handle spills, interruptions, tempers, fears, and tears. Teens are watching too. They see how you cope with disappointments and trials, how you drive, how you handle arriving late, how you make decisions, how you argue and make peace, how you relate to your parents and siblings and neighbors, how you forgive, and how you grieve. 

The kids are listening, noticing, imitating, and remembering. 

You, the parent, are perfectly positioned near your kids. And there’s good news for when things don’t feel so perfect: Jesus! He’s covered our messes with love. You get to apologize and admit to your children when you mess up. You get to point your children to Him over and over. Family comes with thousands of opportunities for grace. 

Maybe the greatest life skill of all is “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Your life is ultimately a message to your children: “Follow me as I follow Jesus. I’m on my way to Heaven, and I want you there too! This is the way. Walk like me.” 

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About the author

Heidi Mosher is honored to write for The Homeschool Minute, as it was a lifeline of her early homeschooling years. She is thankful to be the mother of four: three recent homeschool graduates and one in high school.

Life skills are the practical abilities our children need to navigate adulthood with confidence from budgeting, cooking, and organization to communication, problem-solving, and time management. SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers courses like Home Economics, Logic, and Personal Finance in Bite-Size Chunks to equip your child for real-world success. Discover them today!