Skills to pass along and help others, Part 3

This is Part 3 in a series about learning new practical skills and knowledge. The more you learn and the more you can do, allows you and your family to become more and more self-reliant.

4. Learn new family hobbies

grandma Skills to pass along and help others, Part 3

image by normanack

Most of what our Survival Mom forbears knew how to do was passed on to their children and grandchildren. Generation after generation knew how to hunt and preserve food. Knowledge and skills were meant to be shared, not only for survival but as a way for the family to share common experiences.

There’s no reason why a SurvivalMom should keep her skills and knowledge to herself. We need to also pass on what we know and are learning. As soon as my daughter was old enough to hold knitting needles, I had that little girl knitting a scarf, which ended up being as long as she was! We’ve spent hours in the kitchen together, and now she can make nearly any recipe from scratch! As soon as I learned how to shoot a gun, guess who we dragged along with us to the range? Yep, and now she can shoot better than me!

A common complaint of modern families is, “We all live separate lives. The kids have their activities, we have our jobs. We hardly ever see each other!” Look around and you’ll find that the happiest families are those that share the most common interests. A collection of family hobbies, focused on practical skills goes a long way toward drawing families close. When any activity has meaning and a purpose, it suddenly becomes a “grown up” thing to do, and with Mom and Dad setting an example, kids are eager to participate. Oh, don’t let the kids get hung up on “boy” or “girl” activities. Your future daughter-in-law will love the fact that her husband-to-be, your son, can make marinara from scratch and knows how to sew a quilt!

family garden Skills to pass along and help others, Part 3

image by derrickpubliclibrary

So, when you plant your spring garden, haul the whole clan outside to participate. Pulling weeds and sifting dirt builds character, but more importantly, it provides time for chatting about both important and trivial matters, telling jokes, and just being together. This is how memories are made and heirloom skills are passed from one generation to the next. If possible, be sure to include extended family members and friends to spread the love, and the dirt.

5. Lend a helping hand

Good things are meant to be shared, whether it’s a basket of warm cinnamon muffins or a bar of homemade oatmeal soap. A mom who has few skills and hasn’t bothered to learn helpful information doesn’t have much to share. Preparedness has an element of generosity. It’s not about hoarding for me and mine, but preparing in such a way that you have more to give, and that includes sharing what you know and what you can do.

Let me tell you about a time that I wasn’t able to help someone in need. I was at a movie theater and went into the women’s rest room to find an elderly lady standing over a sink with a severe bloody nose. I paused, thinking, “Wow, that looks bad!” when another woman came out of a stall. She took one look at this helpless lady and immediately went into action. This little brunette was a dynamo, grabbing handfuls of paper towels, placing them over the woman’s nose, and directing her to tilt her head downwards. When a theater employee came into the room, she yelled at her to call for a doctor. Me? I gawked and then scurried into a stall. Four years later I am still kicking myself that I wasn’t able to determine if the woman needed help and how to help her.

Action step

What can you do that you haven’t taught your kids? That would be a good place to start to ensure those skills are learned by a new generation. Ask your kids what they would like to learn. Take classes together and look for opportunities to use your new-found abilities to help someone in need.

Coming next: Part 4 in our series will give you ideas for learning skills that will add to your family’s income!

(2) Readers Comments

Kdonat
May 28, 2011 at 5:03 pm

I have nieces and second cousins that have learned how to sew or some basic knitting skills because a family member spent the time with them on summer vacations.

My first canning experience was with my grandmother. I had picked tomatos when the fields were opened to the public and she was going to show me how to can. We spent the day peeling, cutting, cooking. I ended up with 8 quarts. I figured my costs for the jars and tomatoes it came to about $2.50 a quart. The memories, the experience and the time with Gram were priceless!

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Banjoe
June 7, 2011 at 1:07 pm

I have been following a blog from a young guy whose dad set up a thing for him where he gets to hang out for a full day with a different man each week. This man shares his skills, life views, lessons he has learned, etc. with the boy and the boy gets to see all different professions and educational choices, etc. There is so much we can learn from each other if we will turn off the tv and DO things together!

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