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Monday, March 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
New Homesteading Class Begins in March!
Spring is the most exciting time of year at our homestead, and we’d like to share this special season with you! Sage Hill Academy invites kids ages 9 to 15 to participate in our Homeschool Homesteading program. Join us as we plan and plant an organic heirloom community garden, raise a new batch of heritage breed chicks, try our hands at natural building, make our own household consumer goods, and enjoy the delights of handcrafted art projects with natural materials. We’ll also host a local Earth Day Festival, and end the course with our own Homegrown Harvest Festival. The program will mentor and inspire you to "homestead," whether you live in a rural, urban or suburban environment. See the weekly overview below to glimpse HOW MUCH FUN we’ll have as we learn together!
DETAILS:
Fridays from 2 – 4 pm at Sage Hill Homestead in Wildomar, just off I-15 Bundy Canyon Rd Exit (address and directions will be shared upon enrollment).
Dates of 12-week course: March 4, 11, 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 29; May 6, 13, 20, 27
COST: $15 per 2-hour class, with $60 payment due at the beginning of each month; siblings receive $15 discount per month. Pre-pay for entire 12-week session and receive additional 10% discount.
Nonrefundable deposit/materials fee ($30 per student) due February 18 to reserve your space.
Class size limited to 10 for small-group collaborative learning. Parent participation encouraged! Interested parents may join enrolled student(s) for free.
Early Bird Special! Come to our NURSERY PLANTING PARTY on Friday, February 25, 2 – 4 pm. During this free additional class session, we’ll plant heirloom tomatoes, artichokes, onions, sweet peppers, and other seedlings that will go in the ground during Spring planting. Bring your own recycled plastic food containers with lids to make your own seedling greenhouse to take home with you.
Please email EniciaFisher@gmail.com today to reserve your space!
PROPOSED WEEKLY CURRICULUM (Topics subject to change based on the needs and interests of our student group, as well as weather and other natural elements):
March 4: Gardening from the Ground Up: Soil Ecology and Composting
Survey the soil conditions of our community garden site and determine amendments needed as we begin to prepare new beds for planting. Enjoy a “hands-on” experience with fungi, microorganisms and insects that help with the important task of decomposition and building healthy soils for healthy food growth. Learn how to turn kitchen trash to garden treasure through a variety of composting techniques, including a slow heap, rapid heap, and vermiculture (yes, worms!).
March 11: Garden planning: “Today's Victory Gardens”
Join America’s “Freedom gardeners” to promote sustainability through home-grown, local, and organic food. Learn the science behind companion planting and exercise math skills as we plan our Heirloom Community Garden plots. Discover the fascinating world of heirloom produce as we select which crops to grow.
March 18: First Spring Planting!
Celebrate the annual tradition of planting heirloom English peas, and other early Spring crops, on or near St. Patrick’s Day.
March 25: Garden Ecology
Learn the concepts of Permaculture as we look at and create our garden as an ecosystem connected to its surrounding environment. We’ll learn to assemble communities of plants, conserve water, provide habitat for beneficial insects and birds, as we garden in collaboration with nature and develop our community garden. Now, what do we do about those pesky squirrels?
April 1: Succession Planting and Seed Sharing
Apply succession planting techniques to cultivate a continual harvest throughout the growing season. Plan and plant thematic garden plots, including a Three Sisters Garden bed, pizza garden, culinary and medicinal herbs, potato patch, pumpkin patch, ornamental gourds, and plants to attract beneficial insects. Share heirloom seeds to plant in our community garden and at home. Chart germination and harvest dates as we watch the gardens grow!
April 8: Hand-made Hand Salve
We'll take care of our hard-working hands making a shea-butter gardener's hand salve. (Sssh! This makes a great Mother's Day gift).
April 15: Recycled Paper Making
Make hand-made recycled paper for greeting cards and book-marks. Include wildflower seeds so the cards can be planted in the recipients garden!
April 22 (no class): Earth Day Festival! Location TBA
Let’s create a local Earth Day Festival tradition and share the joys of sustainable living with the greater community. This is not a regular class but will be a free afternoon event that we will plan and sponsor together with Sage Hill Arts in Nature Collaborative and other local community organizations.
May 6: Raising Heritage Breed Chicks
Learn how to house and care for a new batch of heritage breed chicks, from the time they arrive (via USPS!) as 2-day-old hatchlings and grow into cuddly pullets in our indoor nursery. We can mentor you through the process of raising your own flock at home (check your city ordinance), or you can “adopt” our fledging flock at Sage Hill Homestead.
May 13 and 20: Earth-Friendly Building
We’ll explore natural, reclaimed, and recycled building techniques and put them to good use by building a straw bale garden bench, a cob oven, or a hen house for our expanding flock.
May 27: Homegrown Harvest Festival
See how easy (and healthy) it is to eat homegrown! Besides heirloom produce, we’ll try home-made kefir, no-knead wholegrain bread, green smoothies, and devilled eggs from our free-range hens. Come hungry!
Copyright 2011 Enicia J. Fisher
DETAILS:
Fridays from 2 – 4 pm at Sage Hill Homestead in Wildomar, just off I-15 Bundy Canyon Rd Exit (address and directions will be shared upon enrollment).
Dates of 12-week course: March 4, 11, 18, 25; April 1, 8, 15, 29; May 6, 13, 20, 27
COST: $15 per 2-hour class, with $60 payment due at the beginning of each month; siblings receive $15 discount per month. Pre-pay for entire 12-week session and receive additional 10% discount.
Nonrefundable deposit/materials fee ($30 per student) due February 18 to reserve your space.
Class size limited to 10 for small-group collaborative learning. Parent participation encouraged! Interested parents may join enrolled student(s) for free.
Early Bird Special! Come to our NURSERY PLANTING PARTY on Friday, February 25, 2 – 4 pm. During this free additional class session, we’ll plant heirloom tomatoes, artichokes, onions, sweet peppers, and other seedlings that will go in the ground during Spring planting. Bring your own recycled plastic food containers with lids to make your own seedling greenhouse to take home with you.
Please email EniciaFisher@gmail.com today to reserve your space!
PROPOSED WEEKLY CURRICULUM (Topics subject to change based on the needs and interests of our student group, as well as weather and other natural elements):
March 4: Gardening from the Ground Up: Soil Ecology and Composting
Survey the soil conditions of our community garden site and determine amendments needed as we begin to prepare new beds for planting. Enjoy a “hands-on” experience with fungi, microorganisms and insects that help with the important task of decomposition and building healthy soils for healthy food growth. Learn how to turn kitchen trash to garden treasure through a variety of composting techniques, including a slow heap, rapid heap, and vermiculture (yes, worms!).
March 11: Garden planning: “Today's Victory Gardens”
Join America’s “Freedom gardeners” to promote sustainability through home-grown, local, and organic food. Learn the science behind companion planting and exercise math skills as we plan our Heirloom Community Garden plots. Discover the fascinating world of heirloom produce as we select which crops to grow.
March 18: First Spring Planting!
Celebrate the annual tradition of planting heirloom English peas, and other early Spring crops, on or near St. Patrick’s Day.
March 25: Garden Ecology
Learn the concepts of Permaculture as we look at and create our garden as an ecosystem connected to its surrounding environment. We’ll learn to assemble communities of plants, conserve water, provide habitat for beneficial insects and birds, as we garden in collaboration with nature and develop our community garden. Now, what do we do about those pesky squirrels?
April 1: Succession Planting and Seed Sharing
Apply succession planting techniques to cultivate a continual harvest throughout the growing season. Plan and plant thematic garden plots, including a Three Sisters Garden bed, pizza garden, culinary and medicinal herbs, potato patch, pumpkin patch, ornamental gourds, and plants to attract beneficial insects. Share heirloom seeds to plant in our community garden and at home. Chart germination and harvest dates as we watch the gardens grow!
April 8: Hand-made Hand Salve
We'll take care of our hard-working hands making a shea-butter gardener's hand salve. (Sssh! This makes a great Mother's Day gift).
April 15: Recycled Paper Making
Make hand-made recycled paper for greeting cards and book-marks. Include wildflower seeds so the cards can be planted in the recipients garden!
April 22 (no class): Earth Day Festival! Location TBA
Let’s create a local Earth Day Festival tradition and share the joys of sustainable living with the greater community. This is not a regular class but will be a free afternoon event that we will plan and sponsor together with Sage Hill Arts in Nature Collaborative and other local community organizations.
May 6: Raising Heritage Breed Chicks
Learn how to house and care for a new batch of heritage breed chicks, from the time they arrive (via USPS!) as 2-day-old hatchlings and grow into cuddly pullets in our indoor nursery. We can mentor you through the process of raising your own flock at home (check your city ordinance), or you can “adopt” our fledging flock at Sage Hill Homestead.
May 13 and 20: Earth-Friendly Building
We’ll explore natural, reclaimed, and recycled building techniques and put them to good use by building a straw bale garden bench, a cob oven, or a hen house for our expanding flock.
May 27: Homegrown Harvest Festival
See how easy (and healthy) it is to eat homegrown! Besides heirloom produce, we’ll try home-made kefir, no-knead wholegrain bread, green smoothies, and devilled eggs from our free-range hens. Come hungry!
Copyright 2011 Enicia J. Fisher
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