What I Learned from a Summer of Teaching Life Skills

Lessons from Common Sense Camp

When my husband and I decided to run our own Common Sense Camp during the summer of 2020, we set out to teach some essential life skills. And our plan worked: our kids gained competence and confidence in so many areas, from personal finance and laundry to emergency preparedness and cleaning. What I didn’t expect ? That I would learn so many lessons myself.

Slowing down can be really rewarding. I don’t like to sit still; my daughter once said my spirit animal is a hummingbird. So the quieter pace of lockdown life challenged me in new ways. I had to accept that trying to do things quickly and efficiently just didn’t make much sense anymore.

During our Kitchen Confidence week, for instance, the kids were eager to learn how to make fresh pasta. Armed with the knowledge from a how-to video, we worked as a family to create our own noodles from scratch. Kneading and rolling out the dough had a soothing rhythm, including a “rest” period.

As someone who doesn’t normally enjoy cooking, I developed a whole new appreciation for the process of creating something special that takes a little more time. Doing this new hands-on activity together was incredibly relaxing and joyful, and the results were delicious. We all wondered if we would be able to enjoy…