Homeschool Beyond The 3 Rs With Life Skills And Electives
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Embracing Homeschool Electives
There is more to an education than the three “R”s (Reading, writing, and arithmetic). Which if anyone is paying attention, that is the most contradictory statement in regard to an education. Don’t get me wrong. We cover math, science, English, and history in a daily basis using standard curriculum for these topics. I also feel that this is just one piece of a solid education. I know that in public school kids have an option for art and music, and in larger schools even offer agriculture and shop classes. But when you’re homeschooling, your kids can experience all these topics plus more in practical situations. Learning about different careers and skills builds solid character and piques interest in further endeavors teaching life skills and homeschool electives.
Plethora of Homeschool Curriculums
Over the years we have tried a ton of different curriculums for extras and life skills. I have really loved them all. Some have worked well for us or been an excellent addition to something we were already learning. Others didn’t always fit, but we found ways to learn from them anyways.
Different Types of Curriculums
I would love to have all of these categorized by type, however, we purposely have chosen so many different subjects and topics there is really no rhyme or reason.
Disclaimer – I believe that every curriculum can have a place. That being said, many of the curriculum we use are Christian based and just as many are secular. If this is something that is a consideration for you, please review each curriculum before purchase.
Sewing
My daughter and I found an online simple sewing course that we worked on together for awhile. We really hope to try it again one day, so it makes it really great that this class is a one time purchase for unlimited access. It has giving my daughter the confidence to do most of the basic mending in the house!
Small Engines
My boys had a blast working through this and still have their individual tool bags 4 years later. My older son actually ended up buying lawnmowers and rototillers at yard sales, fixing them and reselling them for extra spending money after completing this course.
Entrepreneurial Planning (4-H Curriculum)
The kids weren’t super crazy about this course, but I have them push through anyways because there was a lot of good information. They actually had to interview local business owners and write a business plan.
Art Class
We had a lot of fun with this class. I even joined in! The lessons are on a DVD and the website has a kit of all the required supplies and they are extremely high quality items. We ordered the next higher level and unfortunately haven’t had a chance to start it yet.
Executive Functioning
There are many options for teaching this skill. I use teacherspayreachers.com and search life skills, executive functioning, filling out forms, learning styles, etc. This websites provides everything in a PDF or Easel format and everything is relatively low cost or often free!
Software Based Typing
This is a handy program because it comes as a bundle for 2 different age groups. The kids like it, and increased their speed some, but I had a hard time with them “gaming” the program. This means they find a way to pass the levels without actually applying the skills.
Written Typing Program
The Good and the Beautiful never fails with its sweetly written programs, low cost, and ease of understanding. My 7th graders really enjoyed this program. My only draw back was that there wasn’t some sort of instant feedback except to note spelling errors in Word.
Microsoft Office
I have had the worse time finding an age appropriate Microsoft Office program for homeschoolers. I recently found a college level, loose leaf textbook that so far is working. However, it didn’t come with the software program and I don’t know if that will be necessary in future lessons. So far all is working out and I am having my kids to screenshots and save them in a file.
Feel free to send me any Microsoft Office learning program that you would recommend!
Animal Science and Other Agriculture
So if you have been following me for any amount of time, you know that this particular subject is why I decided to start writing homeschool curriculum on small-scale farming. As an agriculture major, I could wait to start teaching my kids about farming and then learning hands on.
I was beyond disappointed that short of starting from scratch each day, 4-H curriculums were my best option to hit all the topics. These curriculums have fun activities, but are often for groups, the information is there to read along, and if its a topic you aren’t familiar with, its very time consuming.
Homesteading
So here is where I put all of my frustrations from the previous paragraph. I wrote a homeschool curriculum on small-scale farming and food for pre-school-4th grade (5th-8th coming Spring of 2022). This was my solution to the lack of an all-in-one homesteading homeschool curriculum!
Kids will learn basic gardening, animal husbandry, and where their food comes from. The ownership I saw my preschooler take in our homestead after completing this curriculum was astonishing!
Career Exploration
My now grown son took this online course through Monarch. It was a neat course that was partially self corrected and them I had to do some correcting. I was excited to see when I started searching for the link for this product, that were are now several career specific exploration classes. So this program could be a fun one to browse a little for your Jr high and High School crew.
Handwriting
This was a completely sufficient curriculum. However, one of my kids has dysgraphia (meaning her handwriting looks like a preschooler even though she is almost in highschool). I have used this program for a few other kids and it worked fine.
Engineering
My son loves engining topics. I found a course on this topic at Outschool.com. The have such a viariety of topics that anyone can find something for themselves at ANY age group.
The hard part for us is that all the classes are via zoom and we have spotty internet at times.
Devotionals
I found these 3-Minute Devotions and we love them. There is one for every chapter of life! We have gone through mom, dads, girls, boys, and guys so far. This is only a few of the options and they are really inexpensive. I have the kids read one a day and then write a couple of sentences so that I know they are paying attention.
Foreign Language
Rosetta-Stone Spanish was a fun one for our kids. They did pretty well will it and tracks everything they do for record keeping. You can use this program on a computer, tablet or phone. So you can practice anywhere. Sadly, their retention was low. I think we may circle back to this program in a couple of years though.
Government
We recently ordered everything that The Tuttle Twins have. There are sets for preschool, grammar school, middle school, and high school. They also come with downloadable PDFs for lessons. I can’t say how I feel about them too much because we haven’t had time to start them.
I like the they speak of a more conservative and constitutional approach to government.
Critical Thinking Company
These curriculums are awesome for math and many other problem solving topics. You can order books or downloads. My kids had fun with them and I would order more for sure!
How do you add electives to your homeschool?
If there is something that you have tried, I would love to hear about it. Or if you have tried one of the ones listed below, I’d like you hear what you thought of something we have tried.
And remember, you don’t need a curriculum to learn something new.
Homestead Homeschool Curriculum
Build Your Own Homestead – Little Learners Edition is an interactive homeschool curriculum that will introduce your child to small scale farming. This one of a kind homestead curriculum is designed for pre-school through to 3rd or 4th grade depending on your child and whether this will be used as a full curriculum or supplemental to another curriculum.
Build Your Own Homestead is designed to give your child a better understanding of where their food comes from. This allows them to take ownership in providing food for the family whether that’s understanding what they are choosing at the grocery store, helping you tend to the garden, or gathering eggs from your chickens.
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