Maybe it is a gender thing…

csmamma – that was a neat thread to re-post.  I do not have boys, but felt an urge to examine how I treat my husband with all of our roles combined.  Sometimes he is the after-thought or helpmeet, and I think I should try to set a better example of a loving, caring wife. =)  

I also do not think that it hurts a girl to learn how to hammer and saw, or a boy to learn some manners while playing tea party.  Most children gravitate right back to the more gender specific things anyway – cars or dolls or their many variations.  We all have our divine natures from God, after all. Learning practical skills is still a vital part of education today.  As much as we do not want to admit it, sometimes those skills come in handy.  A spouse can die, be deployed, become ill, or something and it is helpful if one can be self-reliant for a few things.  So I am okay with the 2 year old boy practicing how to be a good daddy with his sister’s baby doll.  I am also okay with his sister hanging out with Dad learning how to change a tire. 

When I first posted, I was being amused by the thought that we were all coming to the same goals by very different means, and I had wondered if there were general learning differences/preferences for boys versus girls you had experienced in your homeschool career since it seemed that the posters had all of one or the other.  Interesting discussion and some points I had never even really considered. =)