Yesterday I heard a gift idea that I liked and wanted to share, confident that we could come up with a lot of good suggestions on this blog.
A friend of mine mentioned that from the time their children turned 12 they began to give them "kits" for Christmas that would be useful in their homes. One sounds like the great shower gift that LeJeune gave to Stefanie and Angela. It was a sewing kit, with a good pair of scissors, pins, a tape measure, thimble, a few spools of thread, all in a sewing basket. Then they would make sure their kids knew how to use the tools in the kit. The boys received a tool box with a good hammer and tape measure, then each Christmas might find a wrench or a pair of pliers in their stocking, so by the time they leave home they have a complete took kit.
This seems to go along with a suggestion made last week at Women's Conference in the class, "She looketh well to the ways of her household". The presentor mentioned that she likes to give her children gifts that develop skills, such as a wheat grinder.
So. . . I have a few questions: What tools do you think ought to be in a tool chest? Can you think of other "kits" that would be useful? What should go in them? What kinds of skills did (do) you want your children to know before they left (leave) home?
5 comments:
What a great idea. I love the idea of this. I'll have to commit it to memory for when my kids are older (or you can remind me. :) The sewing kit - what a great idea. Every time my mom comes and I ask her to mend something I hand her some lame hotel sewing kit I've picked up along the way!
I think that girls should know how more about cooking, but I don't know what you would do to make a kit for that. Seems like you get a lot of that at a wedding. But one stake I was in in college wouldn't let girls bring ready-made things to ward parties because they felt the girls didn't know how to cook anymore. But maybe good recipes that you know how to cook with some good basic instructions in them too - how to make white sauce, etc.
Other skills that I think would be useful would be knowing how to clean. Again, I don't know what kind of kit for that. Squeeges? Chamois for car cleaning? Not sure that one works either. But I also think that toilet basics is useful knowledge and Ryan always seems to think I'm useless because I never knew anything about fixing toilets!
And car basics - checking the oil, checking the tires, using jumper cables. I do remember getting a good tire-checking gauge from my dad and some jumper cables. I guess mine are mostly from a girls perspective. I know Ryan loves the drill bit his brother gave him once. I hope you tell us what more ideas you come up with!
For several years in my Laurel classes (and with Jennie), we kept 5 x 7 index cards on 3 rings with a set of inserts (desserts, breakfast, salads, etc. They made a cover for the recipe booklet, and I laminated them. By the time they graduated, they had quite a few recipes they knew how to make.
cyhunsaker
p.s. I could not add anything else to your wonderful ideas -- or to Jen's.
Great suggestions! Thanks! Maybe we should do our own family enrichment meetings, or consider skill sharing at family reunions. I'm always amazed to see Will fix things (leaky toilet or faucet)and those are things we could learn.
I like the idea about cleaning kits. I have a friend who found videos on how to clean a bathroom, etc. and her family watched them for FHE. I remember making and laminating lists about specific tasks to do before you could call a bathroom clean, such as wash mirror with. . ., clean toilet with. . . I bet if we put our heads together we could prepare a great list!
Hi Susie,
Just visiting your family blog. :) Thanks for sharing all your ideas. Ken and I are working on updating our 72 hours kits, I sure wish I knew more about the "essentials" that need to go it it. (Rope, first aid, towels, things that don't expire would make a great kit. . . )
Hope you're doing well.
Love,
Kathy
I taught the 10 yr. old activity days for two years. We cooked a lot (of course!). I had a 14-yr. old girl sign up for my cooking class with her mother who cooks once a week at home. I had many boys sign up who were great cooks as well. We made sewing kits with lessons about sewing on buttons, fixing a hem etc. Got the sewing kit list from Martha Stewart. It's a great, easy kit to go in a Kerr jar. I made one for the cabin.
But, you can learn just about anything on EHow online. I have been watching the videos on how to prevent a swarm, what a good beehive should look like etc. When I need to know something I look it up on EHow.
XOX,
Martha
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