Maine Local Living School
nurturing the human-earth relationship
Grade School/ Homeschool Homestead Immersion
The Homestead Immersion is:​
-
A place of hope where kids experience humans as a generative and creative force in an ecosystem
-
A learning space that inspires belonging, not belongings, kinship, not ownership.
-
A place to ask questions, be weird, be a kid outdoors, make mistakes, be curious, kindle fires, tell stories, run in the woods, jump in the lake, hoot like an owl, be as quiet as you can.
-
A safe place to make friends with all the earth community, humans and more than human.
-
A place to make things with your hands.
-
A time to come to know the earth as both a home and a place in which we have roles and responsibilities.
​
​
Each program incorporates at least one experience in the following areas:
handwork, ecology, ancestral skills, agrarian arts, sustainable systems:
​​
Handwork:
- Carving with the drawknife and shave-horse; spoons, spatulas, bowls, butter knives
- Hide tanning and leather work
- Birch bark bracelets sewn with root
- Folded baskets from pine, cedar or birch bark
​
Ancestral Skills:
- Friction fire
- String from natural fibers
- Acorn processing and acorn bread making
- Wild-gathering food, fiber, medicine, and craft materials
​Sustainable Systems:
- Rocket stoves
- Solar hot water
- Composting toilets
- Solar food dehydration
- Year round ice storage
- Root cellar storage
Ecology:
-Forestry and forest dynamics
-Plant and tree identification
-Tracks and signs of local fauna
-Earth's systems and cycles as they interact with the homestead.
-Weather and climate
- See here for alignment with Next Generation Science Standards
Agrarian Arts:
- Grinding grain and baking bread
- Shitake mushroom inoculation
- Bean threshing and winnowing
- Cooking with 100% local foods
- Planting, tending, or harvesting crops
- Food and herb dehydration
- Making sauerkraut or kimchi
- Domestic animal care (goats, sheep, ducks)
"....Children chopped veggies, ground corn and washed dishes. Sweet songs of gratitude before meals, songs while walking, grinding, and wood-working, songs of kinship and connection to each other and this earth.” ~ Reflections of a parent on the 3-day immersion
Other Elements of the Immersion Experience:
​
Social and Emotional Learning: Creating safe, inclusive and supportive spaces for kids to share, be themselves and thrive.
​
Reflection and Documentation: The daily flow includes a morning quiet sit, mid-day journal entry, and evening sharing circle.
Service Learning: Each group of students will add its mark to Maine Local Living School's landscape through a service project.
Songs: We sing a song before each meal and often during work. Songs are a way to celebrate what we have and to bring spirit into any activity.
Daily Chores: Shelter, Water, Fire, Food: Providing for daily needs opens eyes and builds connections. At Maine Local Living School, basic necessities come directly from the surrounding land. We bring these gifts into focus by involving kids in real, gratifying work during daily chores.
Cost: $85 to $125 per student per day, depending on group size, access to resources, and other factors. Average program 3 or 4 days. Minimum 10 students, maximum 24 students. We are striving for financial accessibility of our programs; our Financial Aid Request form can be found here.