Today I made a comment to my husband that was very poorly thought out. We were discussing homeschooling and he made a comment about what "we" are doing with the kids. I said, "What's this 'we' stuff? I do most of it!" He begged to differ! He reminded me that he has shown them (and will continue to show them more as they get older) things like fishing, hunting, gun use and safety, how to build a fire, fire safety, how to distinguish animal tracks, about the different types of clouds and what type of weather they indicate, self defense and many more things.
Some seem kind of unnecessary, like how to play poker, but other things, like how a husband should treat his wife, are some of the most important things they will ever know.
I am almost always the one who sees their interests and does the footwork to follow them. I'm home the most often, so I do the crafts and games, and I plan going places and doing things and D comes along when he can. But his comment reminded me that unschooling is not just about finding the academic aspects of their interests and exploring those. It is just as important to learn all the practical life skills that make it so much easier to explore the academics.
They are probably even more important :) They could be used daily and the knowledge base is great for a job but a person needs to know how to take care of themselves too. Both the mother and father have their very important roles together. Neither is greater than the other but both equally important. Sort of like the Holy Trinity... 3 persons in one God. One is not greater than the other but the three equal one ;)
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