Farm School: 10 Amazing Things You’ll Learn
Today’s post is all about Farm School!
And, it’s an extra special article because this is PlanIt Homeschool’s first guest post!
A special thank you to Mandi Anderson from Synergos Farm School for guest authoring this fabulous article.
Share on Pinterest! 📌
What is Farm School All About?
Farm school is a term that has recently taken the education world, particularly homeschool education, by storm.
A Farm School Program is an outdoor educational environment led by a teacher or guide that focuses on nature, agricultural science, and the importance of teaching the traditional.
Farm school kids can expect to learn skills like growing and preserving their own food, personal independence, and being self-sufficient.
There are SO many things you can learn from being a part of a local farm school.
Keep reading to find out more!
Related: 11 Critical Thinking Activities for Homeschoolers to Unleash Creativity and Intelligence
Related: The Wildschooling Guide: 7 Easy Tips to Start Wildschooling
Related: Homeschool Lesson Plan Template: 10 Important Things for Your First Day Homeschooling
Related: What is Worldschooling: 5+ Easy Ways to Start Today!
Farm School Fosters a Love of Animals
Working or, in most cases, playing with animals on the farm will spark a passion for our kids.
Touching, caring for, and interacting with animals they don’t regularly see will create a connection for them and show them that these animals are helpful not just for their souls, but also to our food system.
Students of a farm school will likely work to ensure the animals on their property are well taken care of.
They will get to feed the animals, learn what to do if an animal gets sick, and sometimes even assist in building safety structures for the animals to live in on the farm.
Plus, some studies suggest that caring for farm animals and being around farm materials (hay, grass, feed, etc.) can reduce kids’ allergies long-term.
Related: 5+ Best Homeschool Nature Study Activities to Try Now!
Farm School Teaches Finding Answers to New Questions
New environments inherently foster new curiosities. 🤩
By bringing your child to a farm every week, questions about the operations, the animals, and the outdoors will naturally develop.
As you probably know, kids are constantly asking questions like these.
Take them to an outdoor educational program, and you will be amazed with the kinds of answers they’ll find to their questions!
Related: 11 Easy Ways to Do Homeschool Enrichment for Gifted Children
Farm School Explains Complex Topics
A good farm school will cover complex, real-world topics like regenerative farming.
Understanding where our everyday products come from, and the effects they have on our environment, is crucial for being a well-rounded, well-educated citizen.
And that is something we want for all of our children!
Farm School Promotes Self-Reliance
Students in the farm school program are given a unique environment to discover their own abilities.
Unlike a typical classroom, when a child is learning outdoors in the presence of animals, while learning from teachers and farmers who are passionate about their trades, it opens up a whole new world of what education can be!
This is even true for your littlest learners at a good farm school. Your kiddos will be given materials to get hands-on with their learning from an early age.
The important life skill of self-reliance is taught through growing your own food and making your own products on the farm.
Farm School Encourages Risk-Taking
A certain level of risk-taking is only available in a hands-on environment such as the farm school.
Kids in a program like this will surprise themselves when they are given a farm-related task and create new and unusual solution!
Related: 7 Reasons to Wildschool: Life Lessons in Survival and Independence + FREEBIE!
Farm School Teaches Through Purposeful Play
Farm schools create a unique opportunity for students to learn complicated concepts through fun group play activities like “Farmer’s Market.”
This simple game packs a punch: it not only teaches kids economics, but it can even increase kids’ ability to work through experiences in the real world.
For instance, participating kids will learn skills in trading, sales, marketing, market value, and it will also give them a unique perspective on the value of hard work.
Maybe your kid will be ready to do the grocery shopping soon and you can have a nap instead! 😜
Farm School Teaches Homeschool Socialization for Diverse Age Groups
Just like in the real world, problems with the best solutions require ideas and contributions from many different people with a range of ages and backgrounds.
Students in a farm school program are not clustered in groups of peers only their same age and grade levels.
These kids regularly engage in mixed-age play ranging from pre-k to upper elementary.
Older students can benefit from real-world socialization practice by cultivating a learning and growing environment for the littles, and the littles have those older kids there to look up to and watch as they take in the ways they talk with adults, ask questions, and help others.
The Farm School Strengthens Community Relationships
Meeting local farmers and building local community relationships fosters a better, more connected community.
It provides an opportunity for children to meet hardworking people whose work directly benefits their quality of life.
The farmers and teachers in the program get to connect with new families throughout the community and can then make changes to the curriculum or additions to their crop based off what the community feels is important to them.
Farm School Expands Imagination and Family Bonds
You will love having the opportunity to watch in silence as your child shows you their extensive imaginations with the tools nature has given them at the farm school. ♥
You will get a special glimpse into their minds and souls as they play and connect with nature on a deep level they won’t get in other school environments.
Farm School Improves Strength and Balance
Running, playing and jumping is a natural part of being a kid. Plus, giving our kids the chance to do all of this outside a big reason many of us have chosen to homeschool.
The ability to balance (or better yet, catch your balance after a fall) is extremely important for our children’s still-developing bodies.
For a child to understand how to catch themselves and protect their bodies, they first have to move their bodies!
A farm school provides an environment perfect for lots of fun movement like tree-climbing and animal chasing.
There will be some tree-root stumbling and scraped knees on branches, but, in the long run, a child who knows how to overcome those small inconveniences will be much better off later in life.
That’s Everything You Need to Know About Farm School!
As you can see, farm school can be a great homeschool style or a supplemental option to spice up your homeschool learning.
Just like every day as a parent, there will be struggles.
Some days are harder than others. However, I encourage you to do the hard things – more specifically NEW things!
Everything new will be a struggle for our little ones.
Trying new things may be scary at first, but when your child sees how comfortable and adaptable you can be in a new environment, it will encourage them to spread their wings just a little bit further while they still have the comfort of you to fall back on.
The most important advice I can give to you is: Be a part of the mess. You will continue to discover something new about those little creatures you love so much.
And each day will be a surprise as they develop their personalities – their likes and dislikes.
Enrolling in a farm school will provide a unique experience to discover your child’s passions, explore the outdoors, and learn a lot! I know you’ll love it! ☀
What to Learn More About Farm School?
Here are some additional resources to look into for information about Farm Schools and Outdoor Education.
- Children in Nature Network https://www.childrenandnature.org/
- Timbernook https://timbernook.com/
- 1000 Hours Outside https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/blog
- Good Earth Farm School https://www.goodearthfarmschool.com/?ref=logo
- One Acre Farm http://oneacrefarmtx.com/index.html
- The Little Farm School https://thelittlefarmschool.com/aboutus
- Synergos Farms https://www.synergosfarms.com/
- Farm to School Program https://www.fns.usda.gov/f2s/farm-to-school
Written by Mandi Anderson
This article was written by our first guest author, Mandi Anderson! 🎉
Mandi is a certified SPED teacher, homeschool mom of 2, a former Tinkergarten leader and outdoor enthusiast, and a backyard vegetable gardener.
If you’re interested in learning more about guest posting for PlanIt Homeschool, complete the contact form below!
Before You Go, Comment Below!
Leave a comment and let me know what you think about farm school!
Are there farm school options available where you live?
Or have you already tried farm school?
And feel free to give a shout out to our first guest author, Mandi Anderson, to thank her for writing this awesome post! 🥰
Mandi says: Follow @SynergosFarmSchool to see what our Farm School Classes are up to in Alvin, TX!
For everything homeschool, we can PlanIt! ♥
