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Micro
Eco-Farming as a Partner to Homeschooling
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A
win-win-win situation
for education, families and the earth |
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SEATTLE, WA © Barbara Adams www.BarbaraBerstAdams.com. Combining a homeschooling commitment with a family operated micro eco-farm, even a spare or part time venture, can bring deep wisdom to children otherwise cut off from the land. "Our society is mainly an urban society now with little understanding of farm life, cut off from an understanding of our food sources," said Joan Schleh, mother of three homeschooled children and owner of GardenHome Farm, a sustainable micro dairy in Washington State. "This leaves us vulnerable to manipulation and propaganda by large pharmaceuticals and agribusinesses. I believe that we must do whatever we can to educate the next generation to be protectors of sustainable living." |
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| "Many parents don't feel their kids can really do the work of tending animals," she continued. "If children are shown that a living, breathing creature is dependent on them and that the whole family, indeed the whole community, benefits by their work, then they feel good about themselves and their place in the world. Homeschooling for us still involves serious schooling, which sometimes the kids squirm about, but it also means watching life unfold in front of your eyes. It's breeding season here now- yup, sex ed is pretty much covered, as well as genealogy and reproduction systems. Formal school pauses in late February as every day or two brings new babies into our lives that need to be birthed, examined, saved if necessary, mourned if unavoidable, and nurtured. My daughter is already an accomplished midwife at age 14, and my two boys are close behind. Learning comes in many different packages, and by homeschooling we are free to choose whatever washes up to shore." | |
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Homeschooling activities are "arranged" by the farm itself, and can beautifully integrate school (and life) subjects. Children can be in charge of a home child-friendly earthworm ranching operation, keeping stats on a farm children's weather station, or cultivate a small corner flower-pressing garden to make the family's supply of greeting cards. The National Gardening with Kids Garden Store offers many resources and products for both homeschooled children and public schools to reunite children with co-creation with the earth. © Barbara Berst Adams www.BarbaraBerstAdams.com |
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Resources
for Secrets
to Successful Homeschooling |
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Kids &
Nature Books Nature
Crafts (Creative Kids) Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms & Communities |
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Eco-Storybooks A
New Coat for Anna |