• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Steel Raven Farms

Getting Back to The Basics

  • General Store
    • Homestead Tools
    • Digital Wall Art
    • Printables
    • Financials
    • eBooks
    • Calculators/ Spreadsheets
    • Courses
  • Animals
    • The Chickens
    • Pigs
    • Our Goats
    • SRF Breeding Info
  • How To’s
  • The Homestead
    • Garden
    • Projects
  • Kitchen
    • Canning
    • Canning Recipes
    • Recipes
  • Welcome to Our Homestead

Homeschool

Do You Have To Homeschool If You Homestead

May 15, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

A ton of people think that homesteading and homeschooling go hand in hand. They’re not wrong, but not totally right either. For a lot of people they simply can’t put the time into doing both. If their fulltime job is homesteading, they may be too busy planting, harvesting, canning, and taking care of animals. If they homeschool, they may be too busy creating lesson plans, helping with work and teaching. So do you have to do both? Not at all. But we do.

We Homeschool and Homestead

I mentioned in this post about how we work and homestead and work. I also briefly mentioned the homeschool aspect of our daily life here. We decided when we started homeschooling the boys, that we did not want to homeschool traditionally. The idea of them sitting at the kitchen table and laboring over busy work made my skin crawl. What was the point of that? Why not just keep them in public school?

There are days when we are wrapped up in other chores that require our full attention, like getting the garden put in or putting in fencing. On those days they have more traditional work like writing an essay or working on repetitive math like fractions, multiplication, etc. But for the most part they are out with us working on firewood, butchering chickens, or just hanging out doing goat math.

We decided that unschooling was the way to go. The boys wanted to learn about things that interested them. Chase wants to be a line man and Jaxson wants to be a train conductor. So they researched those things and we started formulating “lesson plans” on those jobs. If they decide they don’t want to do that anymore? That’s fine, we find something else they want to do, we go do that. The whole point of unschooling is keeping the child at the core of their learning. Not forcing them to learn what we want them to learn about.

My friend over at Homeschool Lady has her own reasons for homeschooling. She talks about the freedom that homeschooling gives her. Her principles align with ours in that she allows her kids to do the work that interests them. While we don’t have any religious reasons for homeschooling our kids, many homeschoolers do.

Jaxson can’t focus longer than a few minutes on any given task and forcing him to is cruel. All it does is frustrate everyone and he doesn’t actually learn anything.

Chase prefers to get all of his work done as quickly as possible so he can go do whatever he wants.

Learning is not one size fits all and people have forgotten that. Unschooling focuses on the individual.

Logo 468x60

Don’t worry about what others say

There are some hardcore homesteaders that say you have to homeschool your kids. Meh, you have to do what’s right for you and your children. Period. If that means unschooling, homeschooling or public school, do it.

There are others that are going to tell you that you are ruining your child’s education by homeschooling them. Again, I say meh. My kids are probably more well rounded and educated than public school kids, if only because they live in the real world and work vs sitting at a desk.

https://www.wickedgoodcupcakes.com/shop-online/thinking-of-you-boxes

Having mom and dad up to their elbows in produce, isn’t really conducive of “proper” homeschooling. But there are great lessons there.

Helping mom and dad butcher a chicken is a great way to teach anatomy, food preservation,

Should You Homestead and Homeschool

You don’t have to, homesteaders have sent their kids to school for hundreds of years. But if you can, I feel like you should at least try it. Give unschooling a try. But if you can’t, or don’t want to, there’s no reason to feel guilty over it. There is no wrong way to learn except to force it.

Want the Ultimate Bug Out Bag? Enjoy the ultimate tactical backpack for an insanely cheap price

My boys have flourished since being out of public school.

Does their handwriting suck? Yup

Can they tell you about every single part of speech? Nope

Will they pass standardized tests? Probably not

Are they happy? Are they learning? Are they becoming capable? Yes, Yes, Yes.

But you know what they can do?

They can pull a goat kid, hatch chicks, butcher chickens, bottle feed a goat kid. They know how to care for a sick goat.

They can plant, harvest, and process a garden.

They can build a chicken tractor (with help because Jaxson doesn’t need to be around a saw). Building a shed is not a problem either. Cooking a healthy dinner is a breeze too.

They know how to find the resources they need to answer a question, fix something, or make something.

Banner 468x60

In short. No, you don’t have to homeschool to be a homesteader or vise versa. You just have to love and take care of your kids, land, and animals.

If you like this post feel free to share it on your social media and follow us on the social medial links below! And don’t forget to subscribe to stay up to date on all our posts!

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok

Share this:

  • Tweet

Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: Canning, Chickens, cooking, Goats, homeschooling, Homestead, kitchen, unschooling

JOIN TO OUR MAILING LIST!

Leave us your email to receive new posts and special offers for members only! Don't miss a thing!

Homeschooling

May 5, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

Since we homeschool and it is a huge part of our daily life and routine, I wanted to talk about the reasons why we choose to homeschool. The list is too long to discuss every single point, but I wanted to explain our thoughts and why we made the leap and chose to do this.

Jaxson and George

Why We Started Homeschooling

The list is endless but it comes down to our boys. We figured out pretty quickly that both our boys struggled in school. It wasn’t necessarily what they were learning about, but how they were being forced to learn it. Neither one of my boys want to read what they are forced to read. They also hate doing busy work. So when they were put in a position to do both of those things, they failed. Miserably.

The school system told us that both of our boys couldn’t read, write, or do basic math. I was ready to come unglued. How could this be? It wasn’t until I took my boys out of public school and let them decompress that I figured out that they could both read. Math was pretty easy. They did very well in fact. Writing was definitely a problem but not that bad. So what was the problem?

Public school is about doing the most good for the most amount of people. If you or your child don’t fit the mold, they will get left behind. And unfortunately due to certain legislation, you may not realize that they are that far behind until it’s too late.

How Did We Start

When we started homeschooling we started with “deschooling” which is basically letting their brains and bodies reset from public school. They do NOTHING until they say they are ready to learn. This can take a couple of weeks to a couple of months. We “let” our boys have four months of deschooling before we started introducing unschooling.

Logo 468x60

Unschooling is when the child directs what they want to learn about. No matter what it is, they get to dive as deep as they want to with it. I wanted to go this route when I talked to Chase about his ability to read. According to the teachers, Chase couldn’t read. He wasn’t even on the scale. But I literally watched the child devour Captain Underpants and could tell me everything about it, while he was still in school.

Jaxson, was so afraid to read because he was afraid to fail. He wouldn’t even try because he thought he was stupid. This was heartbreaking and something that we are still combating even three years later. He really struggles with the idea that he will get something wrong, so he doesn’t even try. Which ends up being frustrating for all of us.

Subscribe to Craft Beer Club Today!

Thinking of Homeschooling?

If you are thinking of homeschooling your kids, I would highly suggest it. You don’t have to be the most intelligent person. You just have to love your kids and want what’s best for them. We have found out just how far we can push them before they shut down. We know that Jaxson is incredibly smart, but would never show it on a test. He can build just about anything, but that doesn’t serve him in a classroom.

Chase will make you think he can’t do anything for himself, but properly motivated can move mountains. He will out work anyone for a little extra screen time. Teachers wouldn’t and couldn’t know that because they have so many other kids, with so many other personalities, that they could never keep up.

But if you can? I would definitely pull your kids and start this process.

https://www.wickedgoodcupcakes.com/shop-online/thinking-of-you-boxes

If you like this post feel free to share it on your social media and follow us on the social medial links below! And don’t forget to subscribe to stay up to date on all our posts!

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok

Share this:

  • Tweet

Filed Under: Homeschool, The Homestead Tagged With: deschool, homeschool, Homestead, unschool

JOIN TO OUR MAILING LIST!

Leave us your email to receive new posts and special offers for members only! Don't miss a thing!

Homestead Daily Schedule

April 28, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

On our homestead, this looks a little different than most. Due to our work schedules, one of us is gone 48 of 72 hours. Sometimes more. However, the goats still need to be milked, fed and let out. Chickens and ducks still need feed, water, and be let out. Dogs are also hungry and need to go to the bathroom. And all the other chores need to be done. So regardless of who is home, the daily schedule looks pretty much the same.

You can find my new homesteaders check list in our members only area.

Sign up below to receive access to multiple freebies. Look for an email with the password and instructions to access our members only area.

We do not sell your emails ever. We will send you weekly or monthly updates and notices of new blog posts.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

What Is Our Daily Schedule?

Most days start around 8am. Earlier for the one going to work. Blu gets her morning meds and mom needs coffee. The first set of dogs are let out and showers start. Jaxson gets his bandages changed and the boys start working on their chores. I will usually start a load of laundry and work on it throughout the day.

Tractor Supply

Each kid rotates chores for the month. One has chickens, dogs, cats, counters, and bathrooms. The other has goats, dishes, cars, and dragons. They will flip every month unless they really like a chore. Jaxson really likes the chickens and ducks. Chase really likes the goats. If they want to switch they can, if not they keep it.

Now we also make sure that they have fed, watered, and let out all of the animals as well as check to make sure bedding is good and everything is picked up for the most part. We start our chores for the morning, which generally includes helping whichever child needs the most help. Since Jaxson is currently injured, he needs more help with the chickens.

George

After everyone is done and animals are fed, we start working on school work, this is usually around 930-10. Jared and I have different views on this. Usually I let them unschool and Jared is more structured. Unschooling is when the child directs what they would like to learn about. I feel like this gives them the opportunity to learn about the things that interest them and helps them learn better. Jared prefers to help them with “normal” school work.

Neither way is wrong and the boys seem to enjoy having the flexibility. Win Win.

After eating lunch, we usually start working on whatever projects we have for the day. It could be finishing the chicken coop, canning, working on the garden, or firewood. Earlier this month we got our new buck and Jared had to rush to get the buck pen finished, so having the flexibility to get these things done is pretty awesome.

Logo 468 x 60

This still counts as their schooling since they are learning things like how to follow the instructions on how to put together a metal shed. Or how much firewood makes a cord and then measuring the stack that they’ve made. They also get crash courses in animal husbandry if an animal gets sick and needs medications. They’ve also been a huge help in the garden and ask a ton of great questions. Most that I don’t have an answer to, so we ask google a lot of questions.

Around 5 or so, the garden gets watered. And as long as no one gets hurt, JAXSON, dinner is around 6-7. After dinner chores are much the same as morning chores except in reverse. Animals get fed, watered, and put up.

Banner 468x60

The boys are allowed to play on their electronics until 930 and then it’s showers and start getting ready for bed. Currently, Jaxson gets bandage changed and then lays with his foot propped until bed time.

That’s about it. Every homestead is different and come summer/fall there will be a ton of canning in there as well but for the most part the day to day life is pretty mundane. Though the occasional trip the the vet, doctor or ER is not out of the realm of possibility.

If you like this post feel free to share it on your social media and follow us on the social medial links below! And don’t forget to subscribe to stay up to date on all our posts!

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok

Share this:

  • Tweet

Filed Under: Animals, Canning, Chickens, Garden, Goats, Homeschool, How To's, Kitchen, Pigs, Projects, The Homestead Tagged With: Canning, cast iron, Chickens, Chicks, cooking, Eggs, Goats, Homestead, kitchen, Welcome

JOIN TO OUR MAILING LIST!

Leave us your email to receive new posts and special offers for members only! Don't miss a thing!

Primary Sidebar

WELCOME

WELCOME

My name is Leigh and I am the lead chaos creator here at Steel Raven Farms. You will see throughout this blog that I am the crazy goat lady.

I am married to my high school sweetheart, Jared and we have two amazing boys.

FOLLOW ME

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok

GET UPDATES!

Leave us your email to receive new posts and special offers for members only! Don't miss a thing!

  • General Store
    • Homestead Tools
    • Digital Wall Art
    • Printables
    • Financials
    • eBooks
    • Calculators/ Spreadsheets
    • Courses
  • Animals
    • The Chickens
    • Pigs
    • Our Goats
    • SRF Breeding Info
  • How To’s
  • The Homestead
    • Garden
    • Projects
  • Kitchen
    • Canning
    • Canning Recipes
    • Recipes
  • Welcome to Our Homestead

Footer

WELCOME

My name is Leigh and I am the owner of Steel Raven Farms. I am also the mom of two wonderful boys, wife to a pretty nifty man for the last 15 years and paramedic to boot. We want to bring you along on our crazy journey of Homesteading and all that entails!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

COME AND GET IT!

Leave us your email to receive new posts and special offers for members only! Don't miss a thing!

Copyright © 2023 · Midnight theme

Copyright © 2023 · Midnight Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in