I grew up lucky, and for a long time I didn't even know it.
My grandfather Richard could fix anything. Electrical, plumbing, engines — it didn't matter. If something was broken, he figured it out. Instead of just fixing it himself, he'd pull me in beside him, hand me a tool, and explain every step. He never made me feel like I was in the way. He made me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
My grandmother, June, was the same way in the kitchen. She could turn a garden into a meal, a meal into a memory. She taught me how to make caramel from scratch, how to can produce she'd grown herself, how to feed a family with patience and love and real ingredients. Her kitchen wasn't just a place food came from — it was a classroom.
I didn't realize how rare that was until I grew up and started meeting people who never had a Richard or a June. Grown adults who'd never changed a tire, cooked a real meal, or fixed something with their own hands. Not because they weren't capable — but because nobody had ever shown them how.
Now I have two kids of my own. And every single day, I try to be their mentor — teaching them the things that don't show up in a curriculum but matter more than almost anything else. My goal is simple: when they leave this house, they leave ready. With a full skill set, real confidence, and the knowledge to handle whatever life throws at them.
That's the moment The Little Generalist was born.
Schools pulled AutoShop. They pulled HomeEc. And somewhere along the way, the quiet everyday knowledge that used to pass naturally from one generation to the next — just stopped.
I started this because I want every kid to have what I had. Not the luck of the right grandparents — but the knowledge they gave me. The confidence that comes from knowing how to handle the world.
Every month, The Little Generalist delivers a little piece of that to your child's door, in a tangible form. Real skills. Real recipes. Real curiosity from around the world. The stuff that doesn't show up on a report card but stays with them for life.
My Grandparents shaped who I am. This is my way of passing it on.
— Jonathan, Founder of The Little Generalist