Years ago I read about a mother and her teenage son.

They were lost in the bush in New Zealand and were found dead the next morning.
From the article it was seen that neither mother or son has any idea how to survive out in the bush for even one night.
They didn’t build a branch hut , they didn’t dig a hole to lie in to keep warm, they didn’t light a fire, or probably know how to light a fire.

They had no idea about the basic skills for survival.

From this experience that they had I felt it very wise to teach my children what I could about survival and growing their own food.

We learned a lot from history studies and also from studying people from other countries.
For instance we learned how the Laplanders roamed and could build a makeshift home/dwelling on ice or ground by laying down branches and such then covering them and putting a tent over it all, providing a gap between the cold ground and also a soft place to walk and sleep on.

We also learned how they ate, and also what other people from other countries ate and how they survived, what they grew and how they cooked their food.

My Home Schooling goal was to teach the children how to grow a vegetable and flower garden.
So they were sent out to walk around the house and choose a flower garden.

Then we went to the veggie garden area and they chose a spot to grow their own vegetables.

Each had to dig the garden area’s and then prepare the spoil for whatever they were growing, then plant seeds or seedlings.

We always had a wonderful time going to the gardens places around town that sold seeds or seedlings.

It was like going to a toy shop, the children were thrilled to buy seeds or seedlings to try them out in their gardens.

There was a lot of trial and error, learning.
Some things didn’t grow, and we were told that some wouldn’t grow here in our town yet the children grew them anyway and to some success which really made them feel good for having a go even told by others not to try.

When ever we try something we experience the letdowns and the successes and that makes us better much stronger people, and it also shows us that to get anywhere with what we are trying or want to have and do, we must do something about it, we must try.

It is also a good thing to learn some of the science about the plants your child is growing, with the child of course, and the history of the plant, where it came from etc.

You could plant some marigolds, learn the history of the plant, make sure you have it planted in good soil in the right spot on the yard and then draw the plant for art when it blooms.

Something we did a lot was do one project, say for this example, planting a seed, but planning, preparing the soil, learning’s its history, then drawing it.

This is research, art, physical and Internet activities, learning how to plan, protect, prepare, be responsible (feeding and watering the plant over the months), and then reaping the rewards of your work, such as seeing the flower bloom or eating crops.

One of the things that gardening shows us is that as effort brings healthy results, that taste nice (far nicer than what we can buy in the shops) and that we are rewarded for our efforts. adding art to this means that we will have a visual memory on the wall to remember the wonderful garden of 2005 or whenever.

The next step with vegetables is bringing them in or eating them straight from the gardens.

My children and I would often be sitting out in the sun on a Summers day munching away from fresh peas from the gardens while Home Schooling.

The children would learn about preparing the vegetables for eating and then cooking them.

Also how to add them to food to make the dinner more delicious, healthy and even exciting.

Another lesson is the knowledge is a large amount of money is saved from growing your own food.

Gardening is also helpful when the children get restless inside.

Taking them out to work in their individual gardens is getting fresh air, natural exercise, being in nature, and feeling useful, happy and at peace with themselves and life.

The huge advantage of NOT having a planned, formal, well structured Home Schooling day is that you can adjust the day and learning according to how the children are doing.

For instance if they are tired and restless in front of the TV, computer, pen and paper, you can just whisk them outside for some fun gardening, walks to the local lake playgrounds, parks etc. As their Home Schooling guide/parent you can get to know them and you will note the signs of restlessness and make changes to the days activities accordingly with refreshing fun breaks and refreshing fun activities.

It is well known that a half hour learning and activities is retained in the soul so changing activities even a small amount can help with the remembering of a subject.