Homeschooling your children can be a wild and fun ride.  It can also feel a bit overwhelming from time to time.  How do you  know if they are learning enough?  More importantly, how you do you know if they are learning skills that will last them a lifetime?

I really like to focus on adding those life skills to our homeschooling days.  Last fall when I was looking for just such a option I found one!  It is called Kids Cook Real Foods and Tractor Man has been doing his lessons on and off for the better part of this last school year.

Let me add that I love this program so much and rave about it even more that I decided to sign up as an affiliate (links here are my affiliate links).

About the Course

I love that the curriculum is self-paced!  We can start and stop as we choose.

In the beginning I was scared to give Tractor Man a knife (even if it was just a butter knife) with the actual intent of cutting something.  We took a few extra weeks on that section until Mom was comfortable and Tractor Man was a cutting machine.

When I looked into this there was a free knife skills class.  The free knife classes no longer exist sadly (but you can get it for $7 here if you are still interested).
But the team at Kids Cook Real Foods has come up with a few other free classes for you to try for free!  The free course they are currently offering is “10 Healthy Snacks Kids Can Make Themselves”.  Go ahead and click on that link so you can see for yourself how the program works and what they are all about.

Once you get there they will have you enter your e-mail and your children’s age ranges.  Then the healthy snacks download will be sent to you.

Just for Homeschooling?

I have been asked before if this course is designed ‘just for homeschooling’.  The answer to that is no, but it really works great to have this as an elective if you are.

As a parent teaching our kids life skills is so important.  Not only does it allow them to learn something they will have for a lifetime but it also empowers them to be more self-sufficient.

Tractor Man makes his own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  When I was sick for a day or two this winter it was a huge relief for me.  The first morning he came in and said “Don’t worry mom I’ll feed me and Tag Along(he used his real name of course).  I know how to make my own sandwiches.”

The pride and joy on his face shows through.  I want him to have those winning moments.  And I love the break!

If you are a homeschooling parent and want to look at the program from that perspective there is a separate link with more homeschool based information.  You can find that here.

But again please understand that anyone in all walks of life can get this course for their children.  It is not about homeschooling or not.  It is simply about teaching your kids to cook real food!

Additional Resources

One thing I was really worried about (but they have a 30 day money back guarantee) was that I would get these courses and then I would need to dig on the internet to find more resources for the boys to practice the skills with.

Thankfully I was wrong!

The Kids Cook Real Foods course is as complete as they can come.  She provides lesson plans, grocery lists for each week, a curriculum map, video demonstrations with every lesson, and my favorite the Recipe Book.

After watching his video lesson we always take a look at what the recipe book option is to cook.  Having a recipe book that is 50 pages long helps me to know that I don’t have to dream things up on my own.  They have it covered.

We have also gotten a few of the e-books to expand our options for more practice.  There are so many choices when it comes to the e-books.  Snacking, lunches, even sweets options.  I love that she provides options for gluten free choices as well (Tractor Man has a friend who is gluten free so we can make snacks with him still).

Tractor Man’s Self-Made Sandwich

The Bottom Line

The bottom line that I am getting to here is that my family has really enjoyed this course.  I think that there is a good chance that your family would as well.

Tractor Man has the sense of self-worth and confidence to do these things on his own.  He makes muffins, sandwiches and he is even flipping pancakes (reminder he is only 5).

I am happy to know that my son will not need to rely on boxed dinners as he grows.  He will be growing his own food and cooking it himself!

If anything please take a minute to get the free healthy snacks download to enjoy.  Test it out and see if this is where you want to take your family next.

Spread some joy!