The Strong Bond Between Homeschooling and Homesteading

It seems as though there has always been a higher than usual correlation between families that homeschool and families that homestead. Let's look at some of the characteristics endemic to both to discover why that seems to be the case.

Self-Reliance

Many homeschoolers are families who, for whatever reason, became unsatisfied with their current schooling program. Oftentimes research is done into options such as alternative schools, private-pay institutions, professional and student tutoring, specialized programs within public schools, and other local options. Ultimately, homeschoolers decided that the absolute best fit for their family is the do-it-yourself (or DIY) path.

Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart. Many times it involves starting from scratch in selecting curriculum, finding the right academic level target, avoiding academic gaps, and ensuring a complete and well-rounded education – often for more than one child at the same time. This process involves hours upon hours of research, comparison, budgeting, and planning at least a year at a time. While the homeschooling learning year has a lot of flexibility, it still follows a logical flow and may have to adhere to educational standards, depending on local governance. But the end result is a completely curated and customized academic course that has the best chance of resembling the ideal individualized learning program for the homeschooler.

Likewise, many homesteaders are critical thinking families who, for various reasons, become unsatisfied with commercially available food and product choices. Oftentimes research is done into options such as co-ops, independent distributors, community-supported agriculture, farmers markets, small farmers, and other local options. Ultimately, homesteaders decided that the absolute best fit for their family is (at least partially) the DIY path.

Homesteading, also, is not for the faint of heart. Getting started involves a significant amount of research; starting with growing zones and legal permissions, and extending beyond into agricultural practices and the practicality of growing food and products at home – often also into marketing and selling products of their own. Homesteading follows a natural rhythm of seasons, and projects have to adhere to certain parameters or risk failure and futility of effort.

Just like homeschoolers rarely have substitute teacher backups, homesteaders often have trouble finding farm sitters or being away from the home for any significant length of time. The key word in the DIY approach is very much "yourself" in both situations.

Independent Thinking

One common reason that families give for homeschooling is the intellectual freedom that it grants. With the ability to choose and customize curriculum, supplements, programs, and teaching tools, there is an opportunity to apply critical thinking skills in choosing materials that best align with your own philosophies and ideologies. Homeschoolers can be more picky about exactly how any information is conveyed and are free to choose curriculum most closely reflecting the outlook of the family, instead of simply letting others tell learners how to think.

Similarly, growing and producing your own foods and consumables via homesteading allows the option to pick and choose exactly what you want to be producing, as well as making your own executive decisions. While grocery produce, for example, can be extremely limited in selection, there is usually a great deal more variety in purchasing seeds and plant starts. For instance, commercially available produce selection is often reduced to only a handful of apple varieties, whereas a quick Wikipedia search indicates that there are over 7,500 types of eating apple worldwide. Comparing apples to apples, then, shows that in order to have the absolute best selection, you're going to have to grow your own tree. Chances are that most people have not yet even tasted what could potentially be their favorite apple.

While it is true that homesteaders may be constrained a bit by season for fresh fruits and vegetables, home food preservation methods make it possible for the DIY food producer to enjoy the fruits of their labor year round. Again, the homesteading route is a little bit more work, but the payoffs can be exponential in relation to the work invested.

The Pioneering Spirit

In the often-retold story of how the American west was won, authors often speak of the "pioneering spirit" of the folks who packed up the entirety of their worldly possessions and headed out for parts unknown. These pioneers had many different reasons for their exodus. Many were lured by the promise of a better life in a fantastic land of plenty. Others were enchanted by the possibilities of the unknown. Some may have even been escaping bad situations or even possibly fleeing the consequences of an error in judgment. For some, it may have simply been an incurable case of wanderlust. Whatever the motivation, the romantic notion of leaving everything behind to turn over a new leaf and try something completely new is a very human inclination and a commonly-told story.

In a similar vein, homeschoolers often depart from the comfortable ruts of commercially-available comprehensive curriculum and public school options to pursue the possibilities of what else is out there academically. Often, it's a leap into the unknown and a learning journey of trial and error. But some of the fun lies in the adventure of discovery as options are tried, tested, revised, refined, and completed.

Wanting to Start Homesteading?

Maybe you've been looking into or considering starting some homesteading projects of your own. The best way to get started in homesteading is one project at a time. Start small, learn from any mistakes and master your first project. Then consider adding the next. Think of it more of a marathon than a sprint. Even if you get there a bit more slowly, the end result is still the satisfaction of having done it yourself.

If you live out in the country with no one nearby, chances are you have a lot more freedom with what you can do with your property: plant an orchard, build a barn, raise large farm animals, keep bees, put in a large garden plot, etc. But surprisingly, there are a lot of things you can do with even a small city plot. In recent years within the US there has been a resurgence of an urban farming movement, spurring municipalities to adopt allowances for activities which had traditionally been seen as rural land uses.

You don't need a large tract of land, or even to live outside of city limits. Your options, of course, may depend on variables like climate, terrain, area, local governments, and even your nearby neighbors. If you're not sure the legalities of what types of homesteading practices are allowed in your town, your local feed store employees are a great resource. They can also help you narrow down which types of projects work best in your community. Your local city hall or department of agriculture will have additional – and official – information on what is and what isn't permitted in your area.

Most notable among this urban farming resurgence is the backyard chicken movement, which allows city dwellers to keep laying hens in coops in a city yard. Oftentimes there are regulations as to number and most prohibit the keeping of roosters. Some cities also allow waterfowl, like ducks and geese. Keeping a handful of chickens takes little space, is easy, and requires very little time commitment once established. Starting a backyard bird flock is a great way to begin any homesteading journey, and a great way to get your kids involved in sourcing their own food production.

Rabbits are an often overlooked and underrated source of meat. They are quiet, take very little space, and have no feathers to pluck. Rabbits reproduce like… rabbits, and have a very quick turnaround time from litter to litter. They are also one of the most efficient animals in terms of feed to meat ratio, eating grasses and relishing dandelions as a special treat. Rabbits are easily kept in small yards. In fact, many people make portable enclosures called "tractors" that move around, allowing the animals to keep the grass mowed.

You don't even have to have a yard to produce your own food. Consider keeping potted blueberries or cherry tomatoes on a porch or balcony for a fresh and tasty treat. Rabbits can also be kept indoors. Herbs grow great in windowsills or sunny out-of-the-way spaces in the house.

Whatever homesteading project is right for you, rest assured that it will provide ample opportunity for full-family hands-on learning. What a great way to put those math, science, biology, life skills, and other book lessons to a practical use through application and hard work – just like homeschooling!

My Story

In 1942, a young family with two toddlers in tow packed up all they had to move onto a former prune orchard to start a new life in the foothills of the forested coastal mountain range not far from the end of the Oregon trail. Their new life started off modestly, sleeping in the former chicken coop while they built a small farm house (which they would continue to add onto as their family grew). They slowly and steadily built a new life together in a strange new land.

She was a teacher in the local one-room schoolhouse and he worked as an engineer. Evenings and weekends were spent growing the homestead while raising five children. As the kids got older, they helped with farm chores. Gardens were planted and harvested, and chickens were kept for eggs and meat. Children as young as five would help with milking goats – practicing their Morse code with every milky squirt as they worked together. Not a teachable moment was lost.

This was my dad's wonderfully practical and untamed childhood. And this is the same piece of forested coastal foothills where I now serve as caretaker for the extended family; the same homestead that I am teaching my son to manage as we homeschool together in the breaks between farm commitments. Over the years we have raised many gardens, kept different types of poultry and waterfowl, learned about beneficial forageable edibles and wildcrafting, practiced timber and orchard management, as well as raising dairy goats and starting our own soap business.

While we certainly benefit today from the foundations of those who have gone before us, I would argue that we still retain some of that pioneering DIY spirit that keeps us starting new projects and constantly discovering new things while homesteading and homeschooling in our own piece of the wild forest.

About the Author

Heidi Lathrem has been taking care of her fourth-generation family farm since 1999 and homeschooling as long as she's had a school-age kid. Her current homesteading focus is on chickens, dairy goats and waterfowl, but she has also had other animal projects in the past, including horses, pigs, turkeys, peafowl, and rabbits. Nestled in the forested foothills of the coast mountain range in the US Pacific Northwest, the property allows plenty of opportunity for forage, wildcrafting, and exploring new projects like maple tapping, bee keeping, orchard fruits, and exploration.

Check out her many homesteading classes at IndyEd.com!

Secular classes: Heidi Lathrem, MA

Non-secular classes: Harvest Heritage Academy