The focus during your child’s teen years needs to be helping them find their strengths, gifts, and passion. Thankfully, homeschooling allows time for this. After all, real homeschooling is all about seizing the teachable moments with your child.
My daughter had a love for cooking and plate presentation. So, I had an idea during her senior year of high school. We gave a portion of the family food budget to her so she could plan a menu of her choice and prepare the meals she desired. It was never a forced requirement; I didn’t want to kill the passion she was developing.
Some weeks she cooked up a storm, others not so much. At times I would remind her how much easier it is to experiment with recipes on our budget than when she is out on her own with very little money to spend. We encouraged her to keep trying new things. Some meals were amazing, others not so much. Those would be the ones everyone could show their appreciation for her time and effort, then make a quick bowl of cereal or sandwich to satisfy their hunger.
The results of that year transpired into her entering college knowing exactly what she wanted to do. Her focus was to own her own restaurant. We have enjoyed many conversations about the pros and cons of being in the restaurant business. Our talks would revolve around new recipes she had created, listening and, for example, observing her demonstrate how to cut an onion and the seven different ways you can cut carrots (at 11:00pm mind you). Her older sister and I had the opportunity to share in her enthusiasm.
Our goal was not to make her cook but to see where her love of cooking would take her. At this point her college classes are geared toward that objective. It really doesn’t matter what your child is interested in but that you look for ways to allow them to pursue their interests. You may think or want them to do something you believe they would be good at, but if it isn’t interesting to them they won’t have the drive to see it come to fruition.
