Teaching Life Skills to Children is best done by having your children work alongside you as YOU engage in real life, intentional living, and old-fashioned tasks. Besides the obvious life skills a child will need to learn to care for themselves as adults, sustainable life skills that may be best described as “homesteading skills” are important, too. These are the resources we have used in our homeschool. Some are perfect for self-motivated children to use on their own as a reference when they have specific interests.

Teaching Life Skills to Children

There are three homestead-focused homeschool curricula that I can recommend. Using a curriculum is a great place to start, especially if you are newly embarking on the homesteading journey.

Homestead Science Education – this is a secular option for teaching homesteading skills to children in elementary and middle school grades.

Sterling Spectacles Homeschool Homestead Unit – offers a curriculum for all grades and adults! A Christian family created this.

Agricultural Science from Gentle & Classical Press – this is best for grades 3-6. A Christian company developed it.

Nature Anatomy Series – this set of secular books is great for children to use on their own, but can be used as a curriculum when paired with these notebook companions from Daily Skill Building. The Farm, Food, and Bird books are especially applicable to life skills.

Books for Learning & Teaching Life Skills

Polyface Micro: Success with Livestock on a Homestead Scale – the best overall book for homesteading skills!

The Backyard Bird-Lover’s Guide: Attracting, Nesting, Feeding – the best book for learning about birds and whether they are a pest or benefit to your homestead.

Tea and Teatime Recipes: A Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin – a great starter book for choosing tea and brewing tea, plus simple cooking and baking recipes and skills.

Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats, 5th Edition: Breed Selection, Feeding, Fencing, Health Care, Dairying, Marketing – a MUST if you own goats. Choose any of the Storey’s Guides for the livestock you want on your homestead.

Regional Foraging Series – a great resource for learning about foraging in your area of the USA.

The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 50th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual for Living off the Land & Doing It Yourself – this is a very in-depth reference book, and every household should have one.

Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering – a great way to learn how to butcher. Use this book along with watching YouTube videos for guidance.

Get the Books on Amazon!

Polyface Micro: Success with Livestock on a Homestead Scale
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 50th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual for Living off the Land & Doing It Yourself
The Backyard Bird-Lover’s Guide
Butchering Poultry, Rabbit, Lamb, Goat, and Pork: The Comprehensive Photographic Guide to Humane Slaughtering and Butchering
Pacific Northwest Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Alaska Blueberries to Wild Hazelnuts (Regional Foraging Series)
Tea and Teatime Recipes: Storey’s Country Wisdom Bulletin A-174 (Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin)
Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats, 5th Edition: Breed Selection, Feeding, Fencing, Health Care, Dairying, Marketing

Bonus Book: We have not used this, but it looks great and has great reviews. My guys always refer to the auto manual specific to the vehicle they are working on, but if you do not have your vehicle’s owner manual, this book may be a good substitute.

Auto Repair For Dummies