For starters, it's smart to know how to keep a home. He may choose to remain single for a while, and live on his own. There's not going to be any mama coming behind him to wash his socks. And, while he could live on cheese sandwiches, there comes a point when a boy needs a hot meal (besides a grilled cheese!). Learning how to keep a home running well and learning to cook are important life skills for everyone, regardless of gender.
However, most book-based curricula I can find that is involved enough to be worthy of high school credit is more "Homemaking for Young Ladies" than "Real Men Make Quiche." He wants to learn to cook and (ugh!) clean properly, but has zero interest in sewing and other needle arts, decorating, or any other "girly-project" things. One of the beauties of homeschooling is tailoring education, so guess what? We're going to build our own course that plays to his interests!
We're starting out in the kitchen. There may be an adage of "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach," but in this house, there is also "If Mama ain't happy..." One of the ways to make Mama happy is for Dad to cook some nights. Many nights, Neal will start dinner if I'm not home, or even take over on nights when he can see I am up to my eyeballs and asking "What's for dinner?" may be a fatal question. I'll admit -- I don't even make meatloaf anymore, because Neal's is so much better. Real men make bacon-wrapped meatloaf.
This week is the Schoolhouse Review Crew's spring Five-Day Blog Hop. Our series is going to be called "Homeschooling in the Kitchen." Luke is going to be using it as a midterm of sorts - sharing with our readers what he has learned. He'll be sharing some practical information about budgeting (both your dollars and your groceries), stocking a kitchen with cooking essentials, and how to get started cooking. He's discovered that there is a LOT of work to do before you even start cooking! At the end of the week, he'll share two meals he's made with his new found knowledge, and using some new-to-him cooking techniques - braising meat and a one-dish cake for an Americana-style meal, and an Italian favorite with an easy spaghetti bolognese and an everything-from-scratch Tiramisu that will leave his future wife swooning.
I hope you'll stop back each day and join us! After this week is over, he'll still be practicing and sharing new skills and meals. If you'd like to view what he has planned for the future, take a look over at the Pinterest Board "Real Men Make Quiche - and other stuff" to whet your appetite!
Other posts in this series:Planning Meals
Food and Kitchen Safety
Mis en Place and other final prep
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I love this. I'm going to be doing some cooking lessons with all my kids this summer. I got married not knowing how to cook at all. So I want all of them to know. And my son especially likes cooking and is considering going to culinary school!
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