Walking Therein

Unit Study in the Making: GOATS

3:37 PM, Saturday, August 12, 2006 .. Posted in Living Learning Moments, A Dixon Home Education .. 5 comments .. Link

   In keeping with the spirit of My Contest: Back to (Home)School Contest: How Will You Do It?, I am going to tell you a few of the things I have come up with for the current Unit Study we are going to be working on.
   That would be about GOATS. No, it may not interest you, but we have become particularly fond of goats around here, and in an effort to learn more about them, we are going to study them - hands on.
   I went to the library the other day, and there are not too many books on goats. Ok, there were a few. There was a particularly adorable one I picked up for the Littles, and it even featured Nubian Goats, which is what we have. It is called G is For Goat by Patricia Polaaco.

A is for Apple, the best treat of all (we have found this to be true, as we have 2 apple trees).
B is for Billy, what boy goats are called. I could go on and on... It is really cute.
It includes all about their munching, flowers,
R for ram - when they butt heads for fun...
it covers a Nanny having kids... V for the vet and W for wait...

Another book for the Littles, which I will have to look over, about a goat and other farm animals is Billy Goat and His Well-Fed Friends by Nonny Hogrogian.
I purchased Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats last month, and there is a lot of practical information in it, so that will be what we use the most, probably.
Practical Goat information we need to learn:

*Basic Terms *Gender Differences *What Goats Eat *Goat History *Goat Breeds

Now, we have discussed and are praying about raising/breeding dairy goats, so we will be studying accordingly:

Milk-
*A New Taste   *As Medicine   *vs. Cow's Milk   *Raw vs. Pasteurized
Basic Goat Care:
*Housing   *Fencing   *Feeding   *Grooming   *Health

More Advanced Topics include:
*The Buck - Why to Keep One - or Not, Pros and Cons
*Breeding   *Kidding   *Raising Kids   *Milking
Another very good topic to at least have knowledge of:
*Keeping Records::
   The Basic Barn Record vs. Capital Costs and Operating Expenses.
   This will be good to learn to get an idea of another way to keep Records and Finances.
*Chevon - basically, goat for dinner.....
   We have actually discussed this already, Matt and I. We have wanted to change our meat-eating habits form the store-bought, chemical-infested meat to natural meat, and this may be our answer.... again, we will need to pray and ask the LORD what His plans are.

Another book that I picked up at the library is Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals. I am going to look through it and see how advanced it is and what we can use out of it for the older girls. I think I may just have them look it over and see for themselves.
Assignments I have planned so far:

*Bible Study: *Find Scriptures and Bible stories that include goats. A few I have thought of are the story of Jacob and Esau, when he makes a stew of goat meat, and the separation of the sheep and the goats in the NT.

I am sure we will be surprised at how many times goats are mentioned in the Bible!! There is also when Jacob was working for Laban and made the deal to take only the speckled goats...maybe it was lambs... either way, it has to do not only with breeding, but the wisdom God gave to Jacob to know what to do. I learned, by reading Adam and HIs Kin by Ruth Beechick, that we do not have a clear understanding of the wisdom and knowledge people had in ancient times. We are made to think they were mere cavemen, but history proves otherwise!
*Wild Animals of North America has pictures, and it will probably be good to read to the Littles.

*We own an old book to identify wildflowers. I plan to go on a couple of nature walks and have them pick some weeds/wildflowers.

They can *put them into their notebooks, *draw them, *classify them and then *write down information as to whether it is a safe one for the goats to eat.
*They will draw pictures of the different goat breeds and have them be able to identify them.

*The older girls will have to make a little bit more advanced drawings, as far as physiology - probaby 4ds9, Eric, too. I think that will interest him. He told me last week he wants to be a farmer. I think we will spand time at the feed store and Tractor Supply Co. so he can see "farm things." I am sure the LORD will provide a farming friend, too, if that is His will!

*Since we are trying to eat well, we will probably discuss and find information on the benefits of raising your own food.

Well, this is just a start of what I hope to be a fun study and a lifetime of learning. I know we love goats, and having Chloe and Heidi to go out to and prove understanding will make this even more real.
Many Blessings!
Jacque
Back To (Home)School Contest link

Leave a Comment

Congratulations!

4:03 PM, Saturday, August 12, 2006 .. Posted by TOSPUBLISHER
You are a wonderful choice for Featured Blogger! The goat unit study sounds interesting. You might want to try the 4-H extension office and see what they have on the subject. If you have any local dairy goat clubs they should have something.

-gena
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

You may...

11:28 PM, Saturday, August 12, 2006 .. Posted by Suzanne
...have this somewhere on your HSB blog, too, but I saw it over at one of your other sites: http://keepintouchdixons.spaces.live.com/ The "this" I'm referring to is your "10 Random Things About Our Homeschool." I really appreciate you including this... especially the part about the supposed "delay" in learning to read. I have a 6 yo dd and a 4 yo dd, and I've not tried to "pressure" them to read... I've done basic phonics type stuff: "C says 'kuh' and 'sss'" and that type of thing. And, we've briefly worked on sounding out words. But, I'm in no hurry... even if the "world" says I need to be. They'll both learn to read when they're ready, right?

Anyway, sorry for such a lengthy comment. Just wanted to express my thanks for your encouragement.

I have thought about raising Goats for the last 8 yrs (0:

2:42 AM, Sunday, August 13, 2006 .. Posted by Canadagirl
I keep swaying and swaying towards the idea. Maybe when we finally get on our land that idea might materialise. Who knows and I am going to see how you guys do too. (0; My hubby raised goats while he was growing up. God bless. I hope to ask you more questions about Heart of Wisdom. How much time it takes and what you need to add to it for curriculum. I saw it is a 4 year program, wow. I know you are trying to absorb it and I hope to pick your brain. God Bless.
In Him,

we have pygmy goats

1:11 PM, Sunday, August 13, 2006 .. Posted by KyMentor
and absolutely love them. They are so much fun to watch! We have built them a pen that is up off the ground and they climb to get to it. They also have a brigde and it looks like they play billy goat's gruff all the time. I might just post some more pictures of them today sometime :)

Wow!

10:36 PM, Sunday, August 13, 2006 .. Posted by BarbaraFrank
What a great post! What you have described here is homeschooling at it's best.

Thanks for stopping by my blog,
Barb

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Unit Study in the Making: GOATS

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I have thought about raising Goats for the last 8 yrs (0:

we have pygmy goats

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