Maine Local Living School
nurturing the human-earth relationship
Grade School Homestead Immersion
The Homestead Immersion challenges youth to do real work in community, practice listening to the natural world, make things with their hands, and develop an awareness of the earth as a home and a place in which we have a vital role.
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Each program incorporates at least one experience in the following categories:
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
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Ecology:
-Forestry and forest dynamics
-Plant and tree identification
-Tracks and signs of local fauna
-Water cycle on the homestead
-Weather and climate
- See here for alignment with Next Generation Science Standards
Ancestral Skills:
- Friction fire
- String from natural fibers
- Acorn processing and acorn bread making
- Wild-gathering food, medicine, and materials
Agrarian Arts:
- Grinding grain into flour
- Sourdough bread baking
- 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)
​Sustainable Systems:
- Rocket stoves
- Solar hot water
- Composting toilets
- Solar food dehydration
- Year round ice storage
- Root cellar storage
"....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:
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Social and Emotional Learning: Creating safe, inclusive and supportive spaces for kids to share, be themselves and thrive.
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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. Minimum 10 students, maximum 24 students. We are striving for financial accessibility of our programs; our Financial Aid Request form can be found here.