A mother reveals how she teaches her children “real life skills” at home, including gardening, cooking and DIY. Lucy Loganville, 27, started homeschooling her eldest son, Rhett, aged seven, during the lockdown when schools were closed. She loved it so much that she continued it to teach him “real life skills” he couldn't learn in the classroom. Rhett learns to help out on the family farm, changing tyres, oiling machines, using hammers and air guns, and cooks using child-safe cutters and peelers. A part-time secretary, she also teaches her daughters Remi, aged four, and Rubi, aged three. The girls learn simpler tasks in addition to the traditional school curriculum. Lucy feels this method prepares her children for life better than sitting in a classroom for eight hours a day. “It's not healthy for kids to have to sit for eight hours a day in a traditional school. We set up a monthly schedule and the kids actually learn life lessons, instead of having a little bit of fun in the evening like in traditional school. Anything can be a lesson. We love the flexibility of the schedule and the time we spend with our kids,” said the mother of three from Ozark, Missouri. Lucy's husband, Rex Loganville, 33, runs a farm and the kids grew up watching him do the work. Neither Lucy nor Rex were homeschooled, but they loved the flexibility of homeschooling. Lucy creates a curriculum based on online information and spends her mornings on it. In the afternoons, they immerse themselves in age-appropriate “real world” tasks. This includes DIY, meal prep, car maintenance, gardening, and more. Lucy said, “Rhett can use a level, a hammer, an air gun and a saw with parental supervision. He knows sawing safety, he has learned the geometry and different angles of sawing, and he knows how to use wood glue. He can lift things correctly with a crowbar. Sometimes it feels like having another man on the team. He can turn farm equipment on and off, and he can change gears while my husband drives the tractor or truck.” The children all participate in meal preparation, using child-safe cutters and peelers, and can help with measuring when baking bread. They also help with watering the garden, weeding and tending to the plants. Rhett is old enough to go near the stove, so he often makes eggs for breakfast and can bake with his youngest sister. Lucy said, “Ruby is very artistic. I'm teaching her to decorate. It's wonderful to see what they can accomplish together.” She said that people think homeschooled kids are “unsocialized and awkward,” but that's an “outdated stereotype.” She said: “It actually gives them more socialization time,” she said. “They go to kids' clubs, music groups, sports groups, and play with their friends.” If they want to pursue a formal education, such as a degree, when they're older, she and Rex would support that. Or they might want to join the family business and work on the farm, but there's no pressure to do so, she said. “I joke that my son is like a little adult. He's got his tool belt on and he's sitting up straight,” she said. “When you teach real-life skills, it's amazing how much confidence you can build,” she said. “It gives them a desire to learn. They think, 'I can do that, I'm going to do it.'” “Everyone has their own opinions, but the results speak for themselves. We're doing well,” she said. “We're seeing great results, not just academically, but with the skills they know,” she said. “Seeing those little light bulbs go on in their heads when they learn a new skill is really the greatest joy of my journey as a mother.”