Farm Homeschool

I love that we can do hands-on farm homeschool on our one-acre homestead this year. We now have chickens for eggs, rabbits for meat and to sell, ducks for meat and to sell, a cat for rodent control and fun, and a dog that alerts us to any/everything new … along with our garden and fruit trees – so we have a lot of activity and learning opportunities around here.

My kids are learning how to care for various types of animals, life cycles, calculate ROI via animal husbandry and horticulture, keep tabs on animal feed inventory, garden, plant identification, become self-reliant, teamwork, where their food comes from, how to build fences and chicken coops, how to understand weather patterns, to process and preserve food, and so much more from living on our mini-farm. We are learning and growing together while working and playing together – and it is beautiful to experience!

Starting with a simple backyard garden, learn how homesteading can help your family embrace a lifestyle of learning together! Get the FREE printable PDF that will guide you through starting your first garden!

Skills children learn on the farm amount to many! Children learn very practical and hands-on skills in addition to character lessons like the following:

to appreciate nature
to respect animals
to become good, kind stewards of the earth and its inhabitants
to work hard and the satisfaction that comes from it
to appreciate where their food comes from
to be healthy in body & spirit
to work with others, young and old
to marvel at God’s creation
to find beauty in nature
to understand animals
to be thankful for what they have
to praise God for big & small things
to pray about everything

I like to use real life to teach my children academics whenever possible. Finding books, resources, handbooks, workbooks, etc. that relate to real life is a great way to reinforce the fact that academics ARE useful for real life. 😉

From garden & insect unit studies to farm-themed & nature-filled products that cover subjects ranging from math to handwriting. You can create a homeschool curriculum that revolves around farming and homesteading if you want to!

Farm School Books

We Are the Gardeners
Play The Forest School Way: Woodland Games and Crafts for Adventurous Kids
A Year of Forest School: Outdoor Play and Skill-building Fun for Every Season
Forest Craft: A Child’s Guide to Whittling in the Woodland
Forest School Adventure: Outdoor Skills and Play for Children
The Family Garden Plan: Grow a Year’s Worth of Sustainable and Healthy Food
Nature Anatomy Notebook: A Place to Track and Draw Your Daily Observations
Food Anatomy: The Curious Parts & Pieces of Our Edible World
Farm Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of Country Life

Use great math and language arts textbooks paired with farm life and wholesome literature/living history books for a well-rounded education. Homeschooling should be a lifestyle of learning embraced as a family.

History is taught by learning about farming in generations before us, passing down farm traditions, and diving into all types of historical documents. Science is taught through hands-on experience, study of animals in real life, and reference books as the family learns animal husbandry on the farm. Gardening and all that comes with it – from land prep to harvest and preserving – are valuable lessons in many subjects.

Farm life is an educational life – by default! “Farm Homeschool,” says it all.

If you want to use a homeschool curriculum to teach homesteading skills then you will want to check out Homestead Science! It is NOT Christian (they claim to be neutral, but the curriculum is “old-earth”). However, it teaches a lot of basic and practical homesteading skills. My son started this when he was 13; it has been a good fit for him. It is a unit study on homesteading that incorporates many subjects but is heavy on science. They have textbooks for children in preschool through middle school! I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn all about homesteading. It would make a great family study! LEARN MORE HERE