I grew up in an athletic family; my husband grew up in hands-on family. While I was working on perfecting my free throw shot, he was working on rebuilding a ’68 Mustang. I spent every weekend either playing ball or watching my siblings play. With 4 kids in the family and each of us playing in the regular leagues as well as travel teams, we weren’t home much. We grew up on the ball fields and basketball courts. My husband grew up working in his family’s garden and helping with his dad’s construction company.
So when I got married, it wasn’t a shocker that I didn’t have many skills that I needed to be a homemaker. I didn’t know how to do laundry or balance a checkbook or cook anything that didn’t come from a box. My husband taught me, little by little and eventually I became the domestic goddess that I currently am. 😉
But once we had kids, I realized I wanted more for them. I wanted them to have knowledge that they simply weren’t going to learn in school. If you’ve been around for a while, you know that there were 2 main reasons we decided to homeschool: We wanted more time with our kids and we wanted to teach them life skills.
The beautiful thing about learning in this day and age is that we have the internet to do all the dirty work for us. I was able to learn right alongside my kids. We grew a garden, made homemade jelly, learned to sew and baked bread from scratch. It was hands-on learning at it’s finest.
And then high school rolled around.
There’s just something about teenagers that make you start to panic. It may be that you suddenly realize you only have a few years left to teach them everything they need to know before you send them out into the world on their own. It may be that you suddenly worry that they may never learn how to put their own dishes in the dishwasher. No matter what it is, teaching life skills for teens is something that makes you second-guess everything you’ve done up to this point.
So, once again I turned to the Internet to help me. And that’s when I found Mr. D’s Life Skills 4 Teens class.
I’ve used Mr. D’s math classes in the past and we absolutely loved them. With the option to atend the live classes or simply watching the replays, it’s perfect for our unpredictable schedule. In one semester, Mr. D has taken everything I still wanted to teach my 14 year old and put it into a class that covers everything I needed and then some.
In just one semester, Mr. D’s Life Skills 4 Teens covers:
- Goal Setting
- Time Management
- Financial Literacy
- Check Writing, Credit Cards & Bank Accounts
- Getting What You Need and Asking for What You Want
- Financing a Car or Project
- Learning Styles & Career Assesment
- Career Virtual Field Trips
- Specialized Knowledge & A Burning Desire
- Resume Writing
- Researching a Company or University
- College Campus Virtual Tour
- Managing Life Like a Business
- And so much more!
Classes are scheduled weekly, so teens have plenty of time to complete their assignments. The class is interactive, with a safe and private place to discuss the assignments, ask questions and get to know fellow students. Teens actually look forward to Mr. D’s contagious enthusiasm and enjoy his classes.
As my teen works through some of life’s harder skills with Mr. D, I made a list of things I can teach her to make sure she’s ready to take on the world.
- Pump gas
- Make and stick to a budget
- Work independently
- Work with a team, even if she doesn’t like them
- Communicate effectively
- Create healthy meals
- Save money
- Care for her car and do basic repairs, like change a tire
- Sanitize the kitchen
- Cook creative meals, using what she has
- Wash, fold and put away laundry
- Personal hygiene
While I can teach my teen to do their laundry and whip up their favorite meals, there are some things that are simply better taught by someone who knows what they’re actually doing. Mr. D is just the guy for the job!
If you are trying to raise a well-rounded and productive adult, you do not want to miss out on Mr. D’s Life Skills 4 Teens class!
Trust me, your kids will fall in love with Mr. D’s approach to teaching! Check out the other classes offered. We’ve taken Algebra 1 and the Life Skills 4 Teens and both have blown us away! They’re fun, interactive and best of all, he does all the hard work for me, so I can focus on teaching things I love!