~ Down on the Farm Homeschooling/Unschooling ~

Welcome to the September Carnival of Natural Parenting: We're all home schoolers
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how their children learn at home as a natural part of their day. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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We have yet to officially begin homeschooling for this year. We are starting off our year with a field trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota next week and will begin structured classes when we get back. Not being in structure class however does not keep us from learning on a day to day basis. Living on a farm requires you to be open to learning all the time. There is always something that needs to be done and just about a million ways to get it done. The hard part is choosing the way that is not only going to be fastest but also the way that makes the most sense in the long run.

"Many hands makes little work" and "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" are a big part of our day. I am only one mom to four kids and a farm. Including our kids in the kitchen not only has helped us to teach fractions, fire safety, and why choosing organic/heirloom foods are important, but that when you are really hungry, lunch or dinner comes much faster if you are willing to help.

My three year old daughter is learning fractions by helping to fold kitchen towels. We have one drawer for towels and if they are all going to fit they have to be folded in half, in half again, and then in thirds. If was so much fun to watch her little brain go and the concentration on her face as she folded those towels.

We learn about animal husbandry and what it takes to keep animals by having animals. We had 65 chickens, but between one getting stepped on (got the worse mom in the world award for that one), a fox and an owl, we are down to something like 58. The boys and I had to go out in the chicken yard for a few night and chase chickens in the coop instead of letting them roost in the trees. The boys thought it was fun for the first five minutes but after that they were ready to go in. It was a lesson in patience, putting others first, and compassion. If we left the chickens in the trees there was possibility of them getting attacked by the owl.

The chicken in the above picture is a Light Brahms. These guys have turned out to be huge, but gentle and have feathers on their feet. They are tons of fun.

Our calf Carmel.

They have learned that having a cow means we have to have a bit of a schedule if they want fresh milk. She likes to be milked around the same time every morning and when you are late she gets a bit annoyed, but she is always patience and stands to be milked. You most likely will get a few swats with a tail, but after all, you were late. I remind them that when they get annoyed, patience is a much better route to take. It again helps them learn to put others first as our animals can not let themselves out or get their own water.

And last but certainly not least, all of the creepy crawlies that we find. This is a snake that we found the other day. I wanted to get a picture of his whole body because he was huge. He was about four feet long and an inch in diameter. The boys were running home to show their dad before I got a chance to take more pictures. We find moths, worms, beetles, caterpillars, toads, salamanders...its hard to think of what we haven't found.

I know that not every one can or has the inclination to live on a farm or homeschool for that matter, but I believe that our kids are losing out on a huge learning opportunity when all they do is go to the grocery store to get food or stare at a textbook to learn. See if there is a local farmer, big or small, animals or no animals, where you can get a tour or even go help out with afternoon/ evening chores. Most farmers would be glad for the help. Farmers markets are a great place to meet farmers and get some great local foods to cook up together. Scour your back yard for bugs and creepy crawling things. Check out your local library for books on creepy crawly creatures. There are lots of online resources for learning about the life cycle of butterflies or the parts of a plant. (weeds are great to dig up roots and all to learn about the different parts of the plant) God created this wonderful earth in all its glory and I am very thankful that I can spend each and everyday learning and teaching my kids of all it's wonders.

**I must apologize to Lauren and the rest of the carnival members, we went on vacation and I thought I had my post schedule and ready to go but apparently it wasn't.**

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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

(This list will be updated September 14 with all the carnival links.)

• A is for Apple {But right now it's more fun to pick apples!} — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment has a four-year-old who wisely knows she must forgo the worksheets for now and do things with her mother if she's going to learn.
• Baby Talks — Amy at Anktangle talks, talks, talks all day long to her preverbal baby, about simple things and complexities. (@anktangle)
• Baby University: Little Man, My Teacher — The ArtsyMama shares how her relaxed and patient "teaching" at home resulted in a confident little one when she returned to work.
• Creating a Sensory Garden — A sensory garden has given Marita at Stuff With Thing and her girls practice in math, science, budgeting, fine motor skills, and more. (@leechbabe)
• Despite the Big Yellow Bus — Seonaid at The Practical Dilettante has surprised many friends by sending her kids off to mainstream schooling — but their learning doesn't stop there. (@seonaid_lee)
• Down on the Farm — Megan at Purple Dancing Dhalias describes the multitude of skills her children learn by homeschooling on a farm.
• Early Childhood Education — First Do No Harm — Laura at Laura's Blog provides an incredible list of tips to facilitate learning at home.
• Education Starts At Home — Luschka at Diary of a First Child was happy to realize that learning at home isn't limited to older children. (@lvano)
• Every Day Is A School Day — Summer at Finding Summer lists the ways her family learns in this poem of a post. (@summerminor)
• hands on — the grumbles at grumbles and grunts read her little one Sherlock Holmes in utero. She'll continue to make learning fun now that he's on this side of the womb. (@thegrumbles)
• Have a Happy Heart — Erica at ChildOrganics has days of poop on the couch and oatmeal down the pants when sending her children to school seems like the perfect solution — until she regains her perspective. (@childorganics)
• Home Sweet Home Schooling — Check out CurlyMonkey's Blog for a photo montage of how her kids are learning anatomy, architecture, and more — all at home. (@curlymonkey_)
• Homeschooling — My Needs? — Do you homeschool for the kids, or do you do it for you? Read some thoughts from Home Grown Families. (@momtosprouts)
• Homeschooling: A Way of Life — Kimberly at Homeschooling in Nova Scotia has children who meet learning with enthusiasm and are becoming self-sufficient at a young age. (@UsborneBooksCB)
• How We Homeschooled — Deb at Living Montessori Now details in retrospect how her two lifelong learners spent their homeschooling years. (@DebChitwood)
• Learning at Home With a Preschooler and Toddler — Need some inspiration? Michelle at The Parent Vortex shares her tips and resources for lifelong learning. (@TheParentVortex)
• Learning at Home: Are We All Homeschoolers? — Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings incorporates homeschool ideas even though she plans to send her kids to school. (@sunfrog)
• Learning From Life — Mamapoekie at Authentic Parenting doesn't even have to think about how her daughter learns. She just does it. (@mamapoekie)
• Learning Through Play — What better way to learn at home than through play? Dionna at Code Name: Mama lists the many ways children learn through play, whether they know it or not. (@CodeNameMama)
• Learning With Savoury Pikelets — Deb at Science@Home breaks down how cooking facilitates learning. (@ScienceMum)
• Lessons Learned by Bowling (Yes, Bowling) — What life lessons can you learn from bowling? Ask Jessica from This is Worthwhile. (@tisworthwhile)
• Life is learning, learning is life. — Kristin, guest posting at Janet Fraser — Where birth and feminism intersect, defends the truth that children are hardwired to learn. (@JoyousLearning)
• life learning... — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children found that structured schooling is about teaching, whereas unschooling is about learning, and her family resonated with the latter.
• Live to Learn Together — RealMommy at True Confessions of a Real Mommy knows that children learn in all different styles, so only one-on-one attention can do the trick.
• Natural Parenting and the Working Mom — Jenny from Chronicles of a Nursing Mom shares how natural parenting in the Philippines — and learning at home — includes "yayas" (nannies). (@crazydigger)
• Not Back to School: How We Learn at Home — Denise at This Holistic Life has learned to describe what unschooling is, rather than what it isn't.
• Our Learning Curve — Andrea of Ella-Bean & Co. has a special bookshelf set up where her daughter can explore the world on her own terms.
• School at Our House — Where is learning happening at Kellie at Our Mindful Life's house? It is pouring all over the floor. It is digging down deep in the earth. It is everywhere!
• Schooling Three Little Piggies — Despite the mess and the chaos, Melissa at White Noise lets her children into the kitchen.
• SuperMom versus The Comic Books of Doom! — Mommy Soup at Cream of Mommy Soup realized that if "getting the kids to read" was the goal, it didn't matter what the kids read. (@mommysoup)
• The joy of learning at home — Heather at Life, Gluten Free has a daughter who sees magic in the stars and understands the honeybees. (@lifeglutenfree)
• those who can't teach — Do you need a superiority complex to homeschool? Stefanie at Very, Very Fine wonders.
• Too lazy to unschool? — If unschoolers aren't lazy, Lauren at Hobo Mama wonders if she's too lazy to live her dream of free-form education. (@Hobo_Mama)
• Unschooling the School of Me — Rachael at The Variegated Life considers what she's teaching her son about work as a work-at-home mother — and the extreme work ethic she doesn't want him to emulate. (@RachaelNevins)
• What We Do All Day — Alison at BluebirdMama discovered that it's easier than she thought it would be to quantify how her child learns all day. (@childbearing)
• Who taught that kid ‘exoskeleton’? — Nervous about how you will facilitate learning at home? Don't be - they will absorb things on their own! Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma shares her story. (@kitchenwitch)