Description
Not Your Mom’s Home Economics Course Overview
Every parent eventually asks: “Is my high schooler ready to handle life in the real world?”
This practical, project-based course equips students with essential life skills for responsible independence and confident adulthood. In this high school-level class (formerly Life Skills and Family Science), students develop the foundational habits and competencies necessary for thriving beyond graduation. Families can explore all of our homeschool enrichment and life skills courses.
What Your Student Will Learn
- Responsible independence
- Time management in a social media world
- Healthy eating and hygiene
- Gardening and food preservation
- Family life and marriages that last
- Servant leadership in the home
- Financial decisions and budgeting
- Filing taxes
- Basic home and vehicle maintenance
Students gain hands-on experience with practical household tasks such as fixing faucets and toilets, installing light fixtures, changing furnace filters, repairing flat tires, and performing basic car maintenance. The goal is not just survival in the “real world,” but confidence and capability.
Watch a Sample Class Session
Course Structure
This course is highly project-oriented. Rather than using a traditional textbook curriculum, the class is organized into focused units:
- 5 weeks — Personal responsibility
- 2 weeks — Finance and budgeting
- 5 weeks — Home and car maintenance
- 3 weeks — Family life (traditional/biblical perspective)
Students complete one weekly meal preparation and one practical home project selected with parental guidance (painting, gutter cleaning, furnace filters, etc.).
Required Materials
Two reference books are used throughout the course. They are not required reading each week but serve as helpful guides.
- How Your House Works: A Visual Guide to Understanding and Maintaining Your Home by Charlie Wing
- Home Economics: Vintage Advice and Practical Science for the 21st Century Household by Jennifer McKnight Trontz
- Home Ec for Everyone: Practical Life Skills in 118 Projects by Sharon & David Bowers
Additional supplies include groceries for weekly meal preparation and materials for selected home maintenance projects.
High School Credit
- 0.5 credit
Recommended Grade Level
- Grades 9–12
Prerequisites
- None
Estimated Workload
90-minute live class + 1–3 hours per week + one major project assignment
What Families Are Saying
“Great exercise for all of us! It spurred conversations about saving for emergencies and what happens when you have more month than money.”
“These boys are making yummy meals every week! Homemade mashed potatoes, baked potato soup, cornbread from scratch — delicious!”
“It really showed the importance of teenagers learning these life skills.”
“Amazing teacher and godly woman. Love her!”
“She is learning so much and having so much fun in the process.”





