I remember that there were two things my dad said that we needed to learn before we left home. We had to know how to cut up a chicken. We also needed to know how to gut and pluck a chicken! YUCK. I learned to cut up a chicken really well but I didn’t learn to gut and pluck until I left home and had my own family. After I had my first child we moved to the farm that my parents had purchased for a short while. We happened to be there at slaughter time and I just felt obligated to help my mom. I think that I was the only one of my parent’s nine children who really did learn to gut and pluck. Lucky me!
The next item to consider in your Master Inspire Plan is ADULT SKILLS. This is a list of the skill areas you would like your children to gain proficiency in before they reach adulthood. This list will definitely be different for every family.
I am pretty confident you won’t have gutting and plucking on your list but what do you want your children to know by the time they leave home. I have a friend who has only daughters. Their father wanted all of them to be able to change the oil, tires and spark plugs on a car. So far, as each one has left home, they have known that and more.
My grandmother felt that each granddaughter should learn how to embroider without making a single knot. Yes you heard that right, not a single knot. She believed that the back should look as good as the front of any item you were making. I have always prized that skill as it is so uncommon.
Do you recall the story I told about my sister who felt that each of her children should know how to pump gas, how much it took and what it cost before they were ever old enough to drive?
I have another sister and her husband that wanted each of their children to have a job and make their own money, with a significant nest egg saved by the time they left home. They have accomplished that task with four of their five sons and the fifth is well on his way.
I have another friend who wants all of her children to start and run a business while they are young so that they can learn what it takes, what it costs, the pit falls and the rewards of entrepreneurship.
I wanted my children to be able to cook good meals without breaking the budget. I wanted them to be able to do their own laundry and to keep a home clean. I wanted them to be able to use a sewing machine.
I do not have any children left at home. I did have the opportunity to take my newly married daughter shopping a couple of weeks ago, after I showed her how to construct a menu for two weeks. I was a bit late getting this done because I didn’t have a plan in place and she was the youngest. Nevertheless, we got it done. This week she made her own menu, bought her own groceries and didn’t go over budget. It would have helped her confidence in her ability to be a wife if she had had a few years experience doing this before getting married.
We all have skills that we consider important but how and when do they get taught? When we take them out of our heads and put them on paper then we can formulate a plan to accomplish them. We can find ways while children are young to inspire them to want to know these same skills.
Here is a list of some adult skills that you might want to consider:
- shopping
- baking
- meal preparation
- household cleaning
- first aid and maintaining health
- auto maintenance
- care of animals
- personal financial management and budgeting
- sewing
- emergency preparedness
- physical fitness
- canning
- child care
So what have I included in my own Master Inspire Plan?
Meditation
Embroidery
The meditation is for me. It is a skill that I think will enhance my life and one that I never learned. I have been enjoying the lessons and mentoring I have been receiving in this area.
I want my granddaughters to be able to embroider with no knots. I know that it isn’t something that is really important but it is an art and skill that I want to pass on. So I will have those materials in my Spark Station for when they visit me and to take when I visit them.
Begin thinking about what skills you would like to incorporate into your Master Inspire Plan so that you can help your children to gain proficiency in them.
Possibly Related Posts:
- Fun ways to learn about Florida for kids
- The art of responding-inspiring kids to learn
- Places to Go – Master Inspire Plan Part II
- Core Cannon – Master Inspire Plan Part 10
- Family Relationships – Master Inspire Plan Part 9
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