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ShawnaB
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The thread about "Making it from Scratch" has further prompted my curiosity about the "back to the farm" homeschool experience. I grew up amongst homeschooling families like these, who made it ALL from scratch, and were very self sufficient. (I was raised on a farm, but went to Public School.)
Just curious, are there any "homesteading" homeschoolers on this board? Anyone wish they were homesteaders? What are the greatest Real Learning opportunities on the farm? Any drawbacks? What about all you suburban homeschoolers with a homesteading heart..can you create the back-to-the-farm experience in the backyard?
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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lapazfarm
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I am a homesteader at heart, but lack the funds necessary to do it properly.
The problem is in striking a balance between the need for outside income and the need to have dh at the homestead helping out (as I recall, the Ingals faced this very issue). Plus, I refuse to put the amount of effort and dollars required into improving rental property.
Some day, if we ever have our own farm again, I would like to be more self-sufficient. My husband dreams of a cabin in Alaska and we may end up there yet. That is if my son doesn't win out and we end up on a sailboat!LOL! I think either route would be an adventure worth having!
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Theresa
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Maddie
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Cool new advatar, Theresa.
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lapazfarm
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Thanks!
Got it here
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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saintanneshs
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We're on the farm but we're surrounded by suburban growth. I've always wanted to live in South Dakota or somewhere much more rural than here, but that, apparently, wasn't God's plan! 
I was just commenting to dh today about how much I love listening to Farmer Boy (by L. I. Wilder) in the car with the kids because of the self-suffiency of the family! He agreed that it's his favorite book in the series, too.
I think we do have homesteading hearts. We love books and movies and tales of homesteaders and between the two of us we're always trying out new kinds of "back-to-basics" skills. We don't have time for more than one or two a year, but we've come a long way since we were first married. As for rural learning opportunities, they abound on a working farm. Our kids are getting plenty of exposure just by joining in our efforts. My 6yo already knows more about livestock management and handling than I know now. There's the animals, the crops, the preparation and planning in every aspect of day-to-day activities, learning to be flexible and how to respond when things like weather and predators don't co-operate with "the plan"... there's the financial and business end of farming as well as field work and management of vet care, and then there's DEALING WITH THE PUBLIC 
The one big drawback to being surrounded by growth, in this respect, is that we are more or less on a continual "mission" to educate the public (or re-educate when the media has done damage by spreading falsehoods, which is often the case in both our Faith and in Farming). We spend a great deal of time in P.R. and host educational field trips year-round as just one way to combat much of the misinformation that's been put out to the non-farming community (which around here, means almost everyone but us). Dh and I are the only "Young Farmers" here locally (the average farmer age is 60 and above), so there's not much fellowship with other farmers our age. Older farmers are selling out left and right. It's all going to development. We've even stopped dairying and begun a farm market in order to be more "public-friendly" and continue to successfully remain in agriculture. But all of this is getting me off topic...
I suppose that wherever God takes us there will always be plenty of opportunities for Real Learning in agricultural terms...after all, we'll take our "homesteading hearts" with us wherever we go!
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Kristine
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MichelleW
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We bought our little 12 acre "farmette" in the Oregon coast range about four years ago. This has been dh's dream for a very long time. I am a city girl through and through and have had a little trouble adjusting (actually, I am the source of constant amusement to the locals). In the past four years I have raised 30 chickens (in my kitchen until it was warm enough to put them out--lots of funny stories there!), raised a total of 6 pigs through to butchering (more stories), raised 3 cows (and been chased by bulls twice), planted 3 LARGE vegetable gardens and learned to can all that bounty, learned to make my own bread, etc., learned how to bring in hay, etc.
I am still a city girl, but my life has been one adventure after another and I have no complaints. At all. I think the biggest benefit as far as I can see, is that my kids have remained kids a little longer than many their age. Their work is "real" work that has an obvious immediate benefit to the family. They have more freedom to run and play. They are wise in the ways of life and death, but not in the things that are supposed to still be mysterious to them. Whenever one of my sons makes a boat, he can immediately test it in the creek, when another wants to demonstrate the uses of a rope and pulley, it's usefulness is obvious. I don't have a lot to compare our lifestyle to (since it's we've always homeschooled in the mountains), but it feels like so much of our learning is immediately relavant.
On the other hand, we are somewhat isolated and field trips/getting together with friends/library trips/etc. are not as spontaneous as I'd like.
Oh, and there is a giant teepee out my back door that my 9 year old built a few days ago with dh. They went into the woods and hauled large branches up to the house because the kids wanted to construct a teepee that would have been about the size of a real one. We couldn't have done that in town.
Michelle
PS I also have non-biological twins!
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Lisbet
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We have a sharp eye on some property that would allow for a 'mini' homestead. If our house ever sells, we would snap it up in a second! We've made all kinds of plans already!
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
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Wendi DeGrandpr
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I am so glad you asked this question Shawna - I have been wondering about it as well. I am happy to know I share this interest with others here. I would love to be totally self sufficient but I don't know that we will ever get off grid for electric etc.
We live in a suburban area on 5 acres - we only use about 1 1/2 acres currently. I dream about a farm house and lots of land but I am content and grateful for what we have.
I do try to make breads and such from scratch but I also keep a few loaves in the freezer for times when things get a bit busy. We have a freezer full of veggies - I don't can anymore as I bought a food saver and it is so much easier to freeze - well at least it is less time consuming. We raise our own chickens for meat and for eggs, we raise turkeys for meat, we buy beef and pork from friends, and we have two dairy goats arriving on Sunday afternoon. I am very excited to have a milk source in the back yard not to mention learning to make soap, yogurt and cheeses. We also have two dogs, a cat and I am looking for a bunny for our newly organized barn. I would love to someday have a greenhouse so we can have fresh veggies year round - I get so sad this time of year trying to make a salad - the grocery store veggies are just covered in "stuff".  We have a large garden but I am learning to make it more manageable each year. This year I filled all my extra space with flowers so we had lots of color inside and out until the recent killing frosts.
We have strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and six apple trees (not producing yet but coming along).
I love to do this work and I love it when the kids join in and seem to enjoy it too.
It can be a stretch to keep it all going and feel like my kids are getting their school work done as well. DH supports all the efforts, but he travels and is really only here from Fri evening to early Monday morning.
Well, speaking of it all my time is up and I have to get back to it all. 
Happy Homesteading!!!!!!!!!
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God Bless,
Wendi
Mom to four blessings
"We can do no great things - only small things with great love." Blessed Mother Teresa
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Essy
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Well...I think there is a little inkling in my heart...but since this was the first year that I've even tended a vegetable garden, I think it will take some time(LOL).
We do own over 40 acres way up in NorthEastern Maine, but it is mostly a hunting area...and bears scare me...so even though I've had hopes of building something up there...it is looking less, and less likely. So...what to do that 'inkling'?
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Maddie
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Homesteader School
Found this on another message board, thought I'd pass it along.
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~Maddie~
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ShawnaB
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Yes Theresa, the running horse is very cool.
What you say is so true...the need for "Pa" to work outside the home does make homesteading more complicated, if not impossible. This is exactly what happened when I was a kid. My dad tried to quit his business and farm...farming couldn't support us, so he had to do both. It was rough on everyone, my mom in particular.
A couple of weeks ago, dh took off an entire week of work to work around the house, doing fall clean up and projects on our 1 acre. Ds, age 6 and dd age almost 4 followed him everywhere, and ds really worked along with his dad. It was wonderful, and it makes me think that the learning possibilities on a real, working farm must be unparalleled.
Kristine, do your little ones take part in the family business yet? Still too young?
In our area, there are a few truly "working" ranches left that have been passed down from generation to generation. Families continue to work them as their sole means of income (they are mostly cattle ranches). Its a lifestyle I think you almost have to be born into.
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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lapazfarm
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I think you are right about having to be born into it. If only because of the price of land these days! Who can afford to quit work and farm when you have such outrageous payments to make? That is why we lost our farm awhile back. Just couldn't make ends meet and had to cut our losses. Some day we hope to have another, but the cost of land is prohibitive right now.
This is one reason why were are considering Alaska, as it seems like the only place where land is affordable anymore. That and the amazing bounty of natural resources to take advantage of (Salmon and other abundant fish, plentiful hunting, tons of berries to pick) make homesteading in Alaska more realistic than many other areas. We have decided we will either do that or end up on a boat like Jennifer and her crew. Problem is we need to stay here until dd graduates high school in 1.5 more years. So, we are just biding our time until then. It is very frustrating, to say the least when all we really want to do is get on with our lives.
Wow. That went really off topic. Sorry!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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gwendyt
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We're not homesteaders, but DH and I often discuss it! We have a few friends who are pretty self sufficient (dare I say for religious "end of times" type of reasons?) Now, homesteading doesn't necessarily appeal to me for those reasons, but I do like the idea of being self sufficient...and the food is so much better IMO! We do own 10 acres next to my in-laws farm, but it's a ways from our existing friends/community AND we just don't have the money to build now.
We are currently on 4 wooded acres, so we keep a garden over at our in laws. This was the first year we did a large garden, and while a lot of work, we ended up really enjoying the fruits of our labor! We have various friends that we are able to get beef, chix, pork, turkey, eggs and raw milk from, which is great. A little extra leg work, but well worth it. I just bought a grain mill and berries, so I'm anxious to get more into bread making and other baking. We don't have wood heat or anything like that, but we do have a generator and a large gas tank to run things for awhile should we need it.
I guess we're trying to come off looking like we're homesteaders??  Who knows what the future will bring!
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saintanneshs
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ShawnaB wrote:
Kristine, do your little ones take part in the family business yet? Still too young? |
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They do. They are little but little ones are expected to do a lot on a farm. Currently (some chores change with the seasons) they gather eggs, catch chickens, haul pumpkins, help tag calves, and are learning to drive small equipment (always on Daddy's lap). Mostly "little helper" types of jobs, but dh has remarked more than once how helpful the 6yo is especially. He can't get over how much hay a 6yo can stack! Our 5yo is closely following, but a bit more of a "dreamer" so he doesn't always pay attention and isn't AS helpful as his big brother, but we all know that's to be expected...there can't be any fair comparison. I know there's more as far as what they do, but I can't think of what else right now. The older two (6 and 5) go out to farm everyday with dh after lunch, so long as they've had a good "school day" (good attitude, work done, etc.) I'm usually in the house with the littles and we go out in the afternoons after naptime.
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Taffy
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I am SO much a homesteader at heart! In fact, I went through the animal science program at university with an eye on becoming a future farmer (and/or veterinarian). Instead, I got married and became a homeschooling mom!
I still yearn to have land with livestock and, especially, horses. I used to be involved in therapeutic riding as a volunteer, but needed more funds to continue and become an instructor. I still hope to, just too busy right now though.
My dh comes from a family farm and none of his brothers want to inherit the land. My dh doesn't want to either - one can't make a living as a farmer these days  . BUT, he may be pursuaded if he finds work up there - he knows how much I crave it and he agrees with me that it would be good for our boys. He and his brothers were never allowed to participate in the family farm. He knows me well enough that our children would have plenty to participate in with me around.
While we do live in a VERY rural area, I miss having the land to mess around on. We live on a trailer lot and, like Theresa, I refuse to spend a lot of time and/or money on improving a rental property. I cook almost always totally from scratch (as we have dietary issues with the boys, this is not totally voluntary) and am interested in starting a garden. It's hard to do now as we always have to spend summers travelling to visit family. We have a pretty short growing season around here. And I LOVE crafting and am yearning to start sewing some clothes - have to find time and a place to put everything first though. I have almost finished knitting my first sweater though - just have to sew it together. It's for my mom - I hope she'll like it.
In fact, I'm enjoying knitting and working with wool so much that I'm looking into getting into goats or sheep as a hobby. The added bonus of milk that my lactose intolerant son can handle and meat make it more tempting...
Well, I'm starting to babble now so I'd better quit now. No wonder I like hanging out here, with all these fellow homesteaders at heart!
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Susan
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saintanneshs
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Taffy wrote:
| one can't make a living as a farmer these days |
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Actually, one can! One can even support a growing family as a full-time farmer...my dh does! But as my dh has discovered, farming today, especially when you live in a growing community of non-farmers, requires creativity and ingenuity. It can be done!
FWIW, when dh and I were in high school we had a chemistry teacher who told him one afternoon that he had to pick another career field because there was no such thing as "growing up to be a farmer" anymore. Dh told her, respectfully, he'd like to see her tell this to his dad and grandfather (both career farmers)!!
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stefoodie
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There's a LOT of homesteader in me. Maybe it comes from hearing of my parents growing up -- my papa actually planted rice with the community. my mom grew up with parents who had lots of a land including a river, and they grew a lot of what they ate. i still remember feeding the chickens and pigs my grandparents had. no one now save for 1 uncle is doing this. one other uncle in missouri just bought 40 acres hoping to do this, but he's in his mid-50s and still working for monsanto. 
just two acres would make me very happy -- no money for this yet. i dream of a garden/small farm like monty don's. maybe when the kids are bigger even raise some baby produce for local restaurants.... sigh:(
i'm so a farmgirl wannabe.
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stef
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Dawnie
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Many of you are living my dream life...I would LOVE to live on a farm...but then I think about how I can BARELY get the household chores done NOW...how could I add caring for livestock and gardening on to raising a growing family? I don't have an abundance of free time here!
Seriously, how do those of you who are homesteading fit everything in?? Do you just let some things go? Do you only sleep 5 or 6 hours a night? How did Ma Ingalls have time to sew and knit in the afternoons??
Dawn
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lapazfarm
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Dawn, That's what I'd like to know, also.
When my grandsons came to live with us I became a bit overwhelmed and I knew something had to go. It ended up being the garden being neglected because I was not going to neglect the horses, the children, the schooling, the cooking, the cleaning (Ok, a little neglect there), dh or the family time. Actually, the horses have not been ridden in quite some time either. sigh...but I also know I waste quite a bit of time as well, like being on the computer too much...
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Theresa
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ShawnaB
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Dawn, I have wondered this too! I think that, A.) Pa Ingalls was home caring for the crops and the horses, and the barn, B.) this kids went to Plum Creek for school, and then home for chores...and school broke during farmin' season, and C.) Ma did NOT check email, Blog, or watch Oprah.
Oh, and when there was 5 feet of snow outside the door, no body went anywhere...thus all the knitting and sewing!
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Shawna, wife of Jacob, mom to Abraham 8 Amelia 5 and Jillian & Jonathan age 3 years http://www.psalm121family.com
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Topic: Is there a bit of a homesteader in you?
