Last Updated on August 21, 2024 by Sarah McCubbin
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If you want your child to spend time outdoors and learn practical life skills, farm school homeschool programs are unique hybrid programs that offer the best of both worlds.
While every program is different, many farm school programs combine hands on homesteading type skills with chores, games, social skills and some academics. In the past, my kids have experienced a tiny piece of this through farm field trips, but in the summer of 2024, we had a chance to spend two days a week for 2 months at a farm school camp.
All summer long my kids did things like take care of farm animals, muck out the stalls, plant gardens, weed gardens, played group games, prepped traditional foods in the kitchen and practiced entrepreneurial skills by selling things they brought to camp. The farm school we attended even had an 1800’s one-room school house that students used for lessons! Many of the activities we did were meant to teach the basics of farm life in a way that is manageable for kids and young teens. Each day covered a variety of topics that engaged students interests.
The farm school my kids attended offered classes for different grade levels…from preschool through about 7th grade.
In this quick guide, we will talk about farm school education and give you tips for finding programs in your area.
Table of Contents
Farm Schools Integrate Education with Agriculture
A Farm School Homeschool Program is essentially an hybrid homeschool program that that integrates traditional school activities with farming and gardening. In such programs, students might participate in regular school subjects like math, science, and language arts, but these subjects are interwoven with practical, farm-based experiences such as planting and harvesting crops, homesteading, cooking lessons, soil science, caring for farm animals, and learning about sustainable agriculture practices.
These programs are typically something offered outside of public school districts. The one I found is primarily for homeschooled students but it also offered a summer camp style program that many public students attended.
13 Pros and Cons of a Hybrid Homeschool Education
Benefits of Farm School Programs
Educational Activities and Local Foods:
One key of farm school programs is the focus on local foods. Students learn where their food comes from by engaging directly with the process of growing fresh fruits and vegetables and then of course the tasty benefit of eating things they help make. This really does give them an up close experience with real life biology and ecology but also teaches them the importance of nutrition and healthy food choices.
Imagine a full day program where students might learn about:
- Foraging
- Planting
- Weeding
- Picking fresh fruit and vegetables
- Soil Health
- Natural Fertilizers
- Companion Plants
- Food processing
- Cooking from scratch
- History
- Physical Activity
- Animal Care
- Good agricultural practices
- and more…all at a level kids can understand.
Supporting the Local Economy:
By integrating local farmers and local producers into the curriculum, farm programs foster a strong connection between the whole family and the local economy.
Farm schools often offer multiple programs on the same property. The farm school my kids attended also offers Saturday classes for adults who want to learn homesteading skills. They also sell milk, cheese, butter, eggs and other delicious home grown foods.
Seeing this farms diverse income streams was helpful for kids to understand that working farms usually do need to have different forms of income and that this is a good practice in life in general!
Environmental and Social Impact:
School gardens and on-site farms become powerful tools for teaching students about environmental stewardship and sustainability. Moreover, these programs often emphasize the importance of community and cooperation, helping students develop a sense of responsibility towards their surrounding area.
I have seen some amazing “school garden” type programs. I’m all for those. However, a farm school offers a really special opportunity to immerse kids in a variety of farm life activities. The one we attended had many relationships in the community. They would pick up discarded produce from a local grocery and feed it to the pigs. I loved that kids could see that kind of intentionality up close.
Different Kinds of Educational Farm Programs
- Field Trips to Farms or Petting Zoos.
- Special Speakers who come to your group to talk about farming or agriculture.
- Classroom Curriculum – Teachers can use curriculum to help students do farm activities without leaving the classroom!
- Destination Farms – These are farms that offer a variety of fun activity options like corn mazes, pumpkin patches, obstacle courses, corn pits and more.
- Farm School Hybrid Programs – Homeschool programs that allow students to be dropped off and experience farm life a couple of days a week.
Finding a Farm School Program
The ideal place to look for a farm school program for home-based learners is going to be in a farm community. Here you have working farms that have the structure in place to add some classes for students. In my area, these programs are relatively rare but we can hope there will be more over time!
- Ask in local Facebook group and on social media
- Talk to other homeschool parents in your area.
- Talk to farm schools outside your area as they may know of ones in your area.
- If you have a high school student, reach out to a local farmer to see if they can come work!
Farm School Challenges
- While farm school homeschool programs offer numerous benefits and opportunities to learn about the natural world, there are a few challenges.
- These programs can be hard to find.
- They can be expensive and hard to afford. The one we attended cost about $75 a day and the programs run 8-14 weeks.
- Weather is an obvious challenge and sometimes everyone is soaked from a sudden rainstorm.
- Physically strenuous- The first couple of weeks my kids attended they were exhausted! They just weren’t used to being outside 7 hours a day.
- Dirt…so much dirt!- At the end of the day, kids are dirty!!
- There are no “best practices” for a farm school. Each program will likely be based on what they have in place at their own location.
School on the Farm Promotes Life Skills Learning.
Farm School Homeschool Programs while relatively new offer an amazing opportunity for students to learn healthy habits which they hang out on a farm. You could say they learn almost on accident. Farms offer education opportunities you won’t find anywhere else. Based on what I saw, it worked especially well for kids who have a lot of energy!! Middle school boys can actually focus when they have some time to burn off energy working or playing games on the farm!
In the past 17 years, I have been part of MANY homeschool programs. There are so many great ones out there. One of the challenges homeschool parents always face is trying to balance learning with the strengths and weaknesses of each of their children. And sometimes traditional book learning isn’t a great fit. Just like schools use different education practices to reach different students, homeschool parents need to be mindful of how their kids learn best. Not all kids learn the same and finding what works can take time but that effort is a much better way to teach students.
Sarah McCubbin and her husband and 9 kids live in Ohio. She loves talking about all kinds of education topics and is passionate about helping families find the best education options in each season! Socially awkward growing up, she loves to help families teach life skills, social skills and leadership.
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