June 27, 2007 - So happy!.. plus some musings on homeschooling.
I just checked in and finally was able to get on and the "friends" link works! I am sooo happy. This makes it so much easier to catch up. I just didn't have all the time to go blog hopping.
Farmer's market is well under way and we are in full swing for summer. Market sure makes life busy. I used to feel guilty that we get behind on the bookwork, but after having some refreshing time... I am feeling much better. My girls all have wonderful home life skills under their belt. They all know the ins and outs of raising sheep and chickens and a few other birds/pets. And they all know how to work at the market. Ok, doesn't sound like much... but oh what is included in that.
My oldest two are running their own booth together this year. They are learning the cost more directly this year as they have to pay me for the ingredients and the packaging of the items they bake. They are learning salesmanship as they are working on their presentation.. not to be just sitting in the chair and looking around, but smiling and approaching customers and welcoming them to their booth. They give out samples and that has brought on more sales. (all this stuff my dh learned in college in his retail management degree). They also work on their booth "look". And labels are made with their own style and design.
Today, my oldest is down in Missouri at a national sheep sale. On Monday she helped her dad show the sheep and they got judged. The sale is today and they will be headed home. She's gone before to this sale and enjoyed taking classes with her Dad. She went to a class to be a certified inspector of hair coats, one year, although they deemed her too young to get the "paperwork". Another year, she learned about parasites and worms and how to identify that in sheep and the different stages of infestation by their symptoms. This alone is a great asset to a farmer in being able to reduce the regular rounds of worming, because you are on top of the situation, instead of just worming to worm... just in case. Very few regular active sheep farmers know that information. Our last lambing season Kate was very involved taking shifts that alternated with mine. I worked nights and she kept it going early in the am until I was rested to take over and she also kept an eye out when I was busy with household duties as well. We had a selenium deficiency this year due to different feed and wow did we learn alot. Kate also had to pull soooo many little lambs this year. She is even better than I in that department. She said she could get a job hiring out for pulling lambs with a chuckle. Too bad there aren't very many openings for that. LOL. She did pull some for a friend of ours... though she didn't get paid. Some of our bottle lambs also tend to get festers. We think it is an allergy to the dry milk. So treatment of that was done as well. She was our main sore cleaner.
In addition to knowing that, the girls have attended sheep sales at local sale barns and watched what people look for in sheep. Their dad is active in the registry and in the national sheep improvement program and the volunteer scrapie program, so they have learned alot about genetics, codon testing, and learning how to breed to get better characteristics in your animals. As his only help, the girls are also included in on sales pitches and selling the sheep. They give tours of the farm when Dad is delayed. They even have taken over selling the sheep when Dad got called away. They are quite able to converse with customers and do not bring down the sales, but often bring them up. You know, this includes skills such as speech, sales pitches, social skills, and so much more!
I will not allow myself to feel that we aren't doing enough. Why should I? What other high school students walk out ready to tackle their world. My kids are able to run their own home with chores, baking and cooking skills, family management and can cook for large quantities. They all volunteer at church willingly. They step in and offer help in areas they are well versed with. (Hence the reason Kate was pulling our friend's lambs). They have two job skills under their belt, selling produce/ eggs/ and baked goods at the market... or running a sheep farm. Which those skills will help them immensely with any other job they may choose to go after. No going to college to learn how to talk to customers. No going to college to learn how to give a good speech or sales pitch. They've already got it. No, I will not feel guilty...
and this isn't the half of it...they still are doing other things. Kate our oldest loves her horses and keeps them on their toes with working with them and keeping them clean and brushed. She also is headed for a mission trip this summer. Chelsea is big on style... clothes and hair. She is learning how to care for her hair and loves to try new products and "test" them out.... even homemade ones. Her sense of clothing is modest but in style... and she challenges the rest of the family with her style. She is the one that keeps us feminine. LOL. Megan is still young and still discovering what it is that makes herself tick. Currently she enjoys shopping. She maintains her budget with her sheep sales to keep money all year round. At only 12yo, that is quite the accomplishment... to always have money in the bank and budgeting on her own to keep it that way with absolutely NO help from mom or dad.
Nope, I will not feel guilty. I just need to learn how to render all this learning into credits for college. As I figure that out, perhaps I will post courses that we made up to give others some ideas.
Warmly, ~Melissa
Comments
June 27, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by TOSPUBLISHER
It's nice to have that friends link up and running again. Homeschooling is so much more than just learning core subjects, it looks like your family is homeschoooling just fine.
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
