I have been in alot of the chat rooms that deal with homeschooling but looking for a liitle more likeminded people who are interested in homesteading also.

-- Sarah (CBE@Dellnet.com), February 17, 2000

Answers

Sarah, I have 2 teenagers and have homeschooled them from the beginning. They have learned alot over the years being on a hobby farm but they still aren't crazy about butchering chickens. Frankly, neither am I !!!!! For home-economics, I like to have the kids prepare a meal from start to finish and as they got older, have taught them the job of pressure canning. They have planted my garden (large) for several years now. I appreciate the fact they are getting better at it ! We got into beef cows a year ago and were excited to have our first cow birthing. One of my children is taking the steer to "4H" this yr. I've been doing milk goats for a little longer than that. They both will be kidding next month and then it's back to milking. One of my kids alternates the barn chores with me. While the other one, who has allergies, will take care of the pigs, weed the garden or clean house while we work in the barn. How long have you been teaching your kids at home? It has its' ups and downs, doesn't it? For the most part - we enjoy it. This time of year is always harder for us cause we're anxious for spring. We usually do school work off and on through the summer. That way we get all our hours and books done by the end of April. That's when the farm work really begins! We love getting done in the spring and it drives their cousins NUTS cause the public schools are still going. One of the advantages of homeschooling!!!! There are several families such as myself in the area who raise their own meat,vegetables,eggs,milk and still homeschool. One lady has MANY children! Hope this helps.

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), February 17, 2000.

HI!! i homeschooled our youngest son when he was 16, he did very well and even was able to work part time and learn the plumbing trade, he is now a plumber. i think its the best! And thats a difficult thing for me to say as i teach in a public school. But after seeing a lot of the bull**8 that goes on I think homeschooling is a more gentle way of teaching and its effective. good luck, if I can help in any way let me know.

Bernice

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), February 17, 2000.

Hi, Sarah! We homeschooled our 2 teenagers for about a year and they did well. We moved to a fairly remote area of the country and began homeschooling. Unfortunately, the kids do not share our homestead "vision" and made our life miserable until we sent them back to public school. I still have them studying one grade ahead in a few subjects, as they wish to graduate sooner while still being able to "socialize" in school. Our school system is allowing them to "test out" of subjects; that is, if they can pass the final exam in a given subject, they get credit for that class. I think it was the best compromise for all of us. My husband and I on the other hand, love the homesteading life. We currently have 17 chickens and 2 dogs and are waiting for spring to come (a.k.a when that 5ft. of snow melts!) to try beef/milk cows and possibly a pig. By the way, how old are your children and how long have you been homeschooling/homesteading?

-- Lisa (tepeeclan@nidlink.com), February 18, 2000.

Hi There, I have been homeschooling for about 3 years. I have 3 boys, ages 3, 6, 8. I also have 12 acres where were are starting out in homesteading. Our mother goat just kidded and the boys were there. They have learned alot since being here. I am trying not to be a relaxed homeschooler, but, that is what I am. I teach most through life experience and my goals are to raise mentally healthy, self suffient men. That is going to be a feat in itself. Hope to hear from you. We are in Maryland. Karole

-- Karole Schoepf (Biz3boymom@aol.com), February 18, 2000.

I homeschool my six year old daughter. She was in public school, but I pulled her out. It wasn't meeting her needs.

I also homeschooled my now-4th grader when he was younger. He went back to school, but they advanced him one year upon reentry. So, that worked well for him.

We have a fairly typical homestead in Minnesota. We were on the edge of the grid until last year, when they put us on the 911 map. This is a good thing, actually, as my little ones would have a time of it in an emergency telling people to look for a yellow house 1/2 mile away from a pig farm.

We have goats, a sheep, turkeys, chickens, guineas, dogs, cats. Mice. Bats. You know, the usual. This year, the older kids and I are going to try hand-sowing an acre of wheat, and hand mowing and shocking it, and then threshing.

Please tell us the ages/grades of your homeschoolers. Maybe they could penpal?

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000.

Sarah, we've been homeschooling for the last 9 years, and we've been "wanna-be" homesteaders for only the last 3 years. We've tried Christian and public schools and I feel home is best. I've got 5 children and two have already graduated. Before we moved out of the city, I helped lead a homeshool support group, so if you have some specific questions or just want encouragement, feel free to e-mail me. I'm in Kentucky.

-- glynnis (gabbycab@aol.com), February 18, 2000.

Sarah, I am homeschooling my 4 and 6 year old here in southeast Iowa. The 6 year old get about 1 - 2 hours of hard core stuff, writting, reading, and math 6 days/week. He does simple chores and has a whole lot of play time. I really like setting my own school calender. Lots of studying in the dead of winter and the heat of summer. More fun stuff in Spring and Fall. We are studying gardening, dinosaurs, and weather as unit studies this year. He has been having a lot of fun testing my garden soil with a simple home test kit and diging up sprouting bean seeds from pots. I didn't think I would do any gardening studies in February. Oh the joy of flexibility. We would be interested in pen paling with any other families out there. Hope you enjoy all the contacts you are making on this forum.

-- Kathy (redfernfarm@lisco.com), February 18, 2000.

Hi, I've been homeschooling for 10 years. Have 22, 20 and 18 year olds who have 'graduated' from homeschooling and am now homeschooling our 13 year old twins. It seems to me that homesteading and homeschooling go together. Feel free to E-mail me. It's great that the kids have been exposed to all the homesteading ideas all day- every day. Chris

-- Christine Allen (cfallen00@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000.

Sarah, We homeschool also. I have a son in 11th grade and a daughter in 1st. I love it. We pulled our son out of public school in the 9th grade and it was the best thing we could have done for him. Our daughter never went to public school. I think the kids learn a lot more at home and certainly on a homestead. I just wish we could got more projects going, but are content with the garden and chickens for now. We live in Arkansas. Susan

-- Susan DeFrancisco (defran@cei.net), February 18, 2000.

We have homeschooled our 16 year old (and the 10, 8, 4 yr olds) from the beginning. Unfortunately, we only started homeschooling our 2 older daughters in JR High....one of them is lost to us now...

The basic question is merely this: do you want these individuals to be your (and God's) kids, or the government's and peers??

Secondarily, if you want them to think and learn, keep them out of government indoctrination centers.

Really, (if you think like me) no sacrifice is too great to homeschool - and, its not a sacrifice anyway.

-- Guy in Sandy Eggo (guyiii@home.com), February 18, 2000.

Hello Sarah. I have homeschooled our kids for the past 9 years. The same year we started homeschooling we also started homesteading. I am a pretty laxed teacher, using what we do on the farm in place of pen and paper, 7 hours at a desk, school work. The kids have learned practical skills with the proper book learning that is required. As we gardened, I would have them ready with pen and paper to calculate square footage; how many rows of this and so make this and that? It was wonderful for all of us! My daughter is now 21 and in the air force, having graduated from homeschool. My oldest son is 20 and has graduated from homeschool and in college. That leaves my 15 year old son, still being homeschooled and deciding on a vocation. He will dual enroll next fall at the local community college while finishing up high school. I wouldn't trade these last 9 years for anything! It hasn't been a piece of cake, but, it has been well worth it all. I have good "ole fashioned" children who know how to respect, and honor others. They have also developed a strong Biblical character and integrity. I don't believe they would have turned out his way had I kept them in public/christian schools. By the way, I am a single mom, and have been all these years. I started a house cleaning business, even though I have a degree in Legal Secretarial, so that I could continue home schooling the kids. They went with me and we homeschooled and worked! I have a very busy farm with dairy goats, and cows, chickens and turkeys. We can, quilt and garden. So, we have stayed very busy! I am pleased with what we have accomplished! Good luck to you and may God bless your good endeavours! Sissy

-- sissy sylvester (jerreleene@hotmail.com), February 19, 2000.

Hello!

I have always been homeschooled, (as well as my brother and 2 sisters), and am currently in 11th grade. We raise pastured poultry, (it is actually my brother's business), and we also have several cows, horses and chickens. My family also runs a homeschooling business, Tree of Life School and Book Service, which we operate from our home in New Brunswick.

-- Abigail Flewelling (treeoflife@sws.nb.ca), February 21, 2000.

Hey,

Thanks for so many people responding to my letter. I live in NOrth Carolina in a small town outside of Charlotte. I have a 11, 9 and 7 year old they have never been in school. We have a very relaxed home school. We have 5 chickens and 2 dogs and cats. We love the outdoors and are members of a small but active homeschool group. We dont have a real structured school. My philosophy is if i can raise independent children who love the lord and to serve him then i have succeeded as a parent. I feel there is no one more capable of raising and teaching our children as my husband and myself. Thank you for writing and maybe we can keep in touch and make some pen pals for the kids.

Sarah

-- Sarah (CBE@Dellnet.com), February 21, 2000.

We homeschooled and "homesteaded" (or at least did a lot of homestead- type things) at the same time for seven and a half years. At that point I had to go back to work as my husband was out of work, and we had moved and had a church with a school, so I put them in there. It was good timing, as they were getting into high school math and science ... but the years we homeschooled were something I wouldn't trade for anything. We didn't "unschool", as it sounds like some of you might be sort of doing; the girls had book-work and assignments to do, but other than the first couple of weeks of each new school year it seldom took them more than three hours a day to get it all done. Then they had plenty of time to do other things. I wouldn't slight the academic work too much. It's true that our first responsibility before God is to raise up our children to love, honor, obey, and serve Him -- and I've got one who is serving Him full-time now, which is such a joy -- but if we don't make sure they get a BETTER education than the public schools are dishing out (which is not at all hard to do!), then we've failed our children and the whole home-schooling community. It gives those who oppose home- schooling a wedge, and if you give them an inch, they'll take a mile.

One of the biggest advantages we saw from home-schooling was when we were in Alaska. We weren't so far north that we lost the sun altogether in the winter, but it would only be up for a couple of hours in the middle of the day, with another hour or two of half- light at either end. I felt so bad for the children going to the public school -- they were going to school in the dark, and coming home in the dark, with only a couple of short recess periods to get outdoors, if the weather allowed. Our girls, and a couple of home- schooled friends who lived nearby, would get their school done before the sun came up, and were almost always outdoors for the whole light period. They burned off their excess energy, got fresh air and exercise and what sunshine was available, and were ready for quiet pursuits when it got dark again and they had to be indoors.

I was pleased to find, when we did put them in the Christian school, that they had learned to manage their time well on their own, and had no trouble getting assignments in on time -- I'm sure it was because we'd been using a goal-chart system, where I set out a weeks worth of reading and assignments on a chart, and they were responsible for managing their own time (with some occasional prodding!) and getting the work done. Just a tip . . . :-)

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 14, 2000.

Hi,

We also homeschool. Our daughter is 7 years old and will be completing 2nd grade by May 12th. We use the A Beka curriculum and she has taken to it really well. We are very pleased with her progress. It only takes her about 2 hours, more or less, to complete her schooling for the day. She is then cut loose for the day to help me work around the house and/or play. She takes piano and swimming lessons, as well.

We live on a small farm with 22 acres. We have a Jersey cow which we breed with a beef breed each year, and she will be calving within a week or so. We also have three horses, 14 chickens, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 guinea pigs, and will be getting a few sheep this summer, as I like to spin and want the sheep for their fleece. We have raised pigs and we just recently ordered our meat birds (chickens and bronze turkeys). We have had the cow and horses for 4 years now and have been milking and making butter, cheese and yogurt during that time. We also have a large garden and do lots of canning....never have to buy vegetables all winter long, which is really nice. We grind our own flour and I make all of our bread.

These are all skills that our daughter will learn by being home. We try to balance the academics with the 'hands-on' learning. I am not an unschooler and am quite structured, as a matter of fact. I require that she complete her school work before she can do anything else. She doesn't have a problem with this and will even get up and start her schooling (her independent work) without me. Homeschooling is a blessing!

-- Tammy (btawilliams@juno.com), April 15, 2000.