One of the primary purposes for parenting is to prepare your children for adult life. This includes making sure that they have the basic skills for self-reliant independence. In the best case scenarios, this means being at home on this planet and having the skills to live within one’s culture.

There are a number of additional skills needed since we were hunter/gathers. There is, however, some wisdom to be gleamed from our indigenous ancestors, both in what the needs are and how to impart them to our children.

The basic skills were: Awareness, Shelter, Water, Fire, and Food.

The education system was to make early life all about honing these skills. No matter whether they were helping mom, playing, or listening to the ancient stories, the underlying curriculum was passing on the wisdom and skills that were important to their survival. Using everything around you to embody life lessons is called the art of mentoring.

Today’s youth must also have a knowledge and skill base. Ufortunately, the practical aspects of life can be difficult to find in the education of our young people. Valuable skills such as work ethic, financial intelligence and applied imagination can be missed.