Wow, that's neat that you and your dd have a clear vision at such a young age! It's freeing for you not to have to worry about jumping through hoops to get to college.momto6 wrote:Hello there everyone. Just wondering if anyone out there has a child who is not college bound. My dd13 is on that path and i am looking for some advice on what you may have done with curriculum, other activities, etc. She basically just wants to learn to be a Godly woman and maybe do some music and art, etc, while she waits for her perfect match. My husband and I are completely for this idea!!! We are not against college but just don't see wasting time and money if that is not God's direction for her. I already did that and have 3 half degrees!!!
She is such a great girl, with a real heart for God and others. She is musically and artistically talented so we do those things already. I am going to have my daughter in law teach her sewing and I think I will have her plan the garden this year...
That said I am looking to figure out what to do with school work. We are planning on doing AHL for 9th grade next year. She does great with History and Math, is good with reading, but doesn't much care for writing and science, although she still does it with a pretty good attitude. Any advice?
My oldest is 13. I see you have children a lot older than my oldest and I don't think I am really qualified to even chime in on this, but it IS an interesting topic.
Why not make a list of the things she needs to know before becoming a wife and mommy. Things I can think of include a lot of what you have listed:
How to study the Bible (different methods)
First aid and basic health
Child Care and development
Nutrition, Food Safety, and cooking
Budgeting and banking
Arts (such as fine arts and practical things like home decorating)
Sewing and other needle crafts
Auto mechanics
Drivers Ed
How a house works (circuit breakers, basic plumbing)
She also needs enough history, science, and literature to hold a decent conversation with other adults and to (hopefully) home educate her own children.
Also, keep in the back of your mind that she might want to pursue college if she sees that her singleness might extend well into her 20s and possibly 30s if that's God's will. College no longer only means going off to a dorm room and paying a high price. There are a lot of on-line programs, community colleges, etc. around now. Don't abandon traditional academics altogether. They might come in handy in 10 years or so!
You said she's not crazy about science. But it's good to have a little of it. She may never need molecular chemistry, but there is a lot of practical science to being a wife and mom. I mentioned how a house works and health and child development. There's also kitchen science. You know, how to adjust your yeast bread to match the weather of the day. Also, it's nice to learn a little about high altitude baking (after 12 years in Colorado, I still haven't figured all that out). She needs to be able to figure out why a trusted recipe flopped (could it be the baking powder got old). That's science.
You are probably well-aware that there are some neat programs to help young ladies in this direction such as Training our Daughters to be Keepers at Home and Polished Cornerstones by Doorposts.
She sounds like a really neat young lady.