Homeschooling With Alpacas:

The Pasture as A Classroom

by Katy Spears, Psy.D.

this article was originally published in Alpacas Magazine Summer 2004

It is estimated that there are about 2 million children in the United States who are being taught at home.(1) The freedom and individuality inherent in homeschooling are some of the same qualities that made some of us choose the alpaca lifestyle. In the coming years, as more and more people move to rural areas and to work from home, we can expect to see a significant number of homeschooling families raising alpacas.

Six years ago I couldn’t have imagined myself as a full-time alpaca breeder or a homeschooling mom. I had never heard of alpacas and was practically unaware that some kids did not go to traditional schools. Yet both endeavors captivated me. Once I heard about them I was just plain smitten.  Soon I was researching on the internet and calling people and organizations trying to get more information. It wasn’t long till I jumped in with both feet, buying alpacas and later, teaching my children at home.

Once my first child was born, I knew I did not want to go back to work and miss the early years of her development.  In 1999 I discovered alpacas and fell in love. My husband, Steve, had always dreamed of living in the country. We agreed that a rural setting with alpacas would be a healthy environment for our children. The alpacas allowed me to work and to be at home with my children at the same time. The day after I graduated with a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, we moved to our farm and I became an alpaca farmer and full-time mom. My dreams had come true!

I first heard about homeschooling a year later. I was attracted to it for some of the some reasons I was drawn to the alpaca business. Both give you the freedom to make your own choices, to set your own hours, and to basically, do your own thing. Many alpaca owners and homeschoolers share a desire for independence. Comprised of many free spirits, neither group is often accused of following the pack.

Family values are often at the heart of homeschooling. For many, raising children on a farm allow them to focus on these values. The family unity produced by a family business is truly unmatched. When each child contributes and her contribution makes a difference to the whole, there is a great feeling of pride and accomplishment. Throughout their upbringing children can help with the alpaca chores. What better way to teach them the importance of hard work than to require them to participate in the family business.

One can cover almost any academic subject with alpacas. The first time I knew my 5 year old daughter was learning from alpacas was a few days after the birth of a female cria. She had seen a couple of births and found them interesting. It is her habit to try to name crias before anyone else has the chance. This particular cria she named, “Mienta”. We thought it was a lovely and different name so “Mienta” she became. A few days later over dinner her father asked her how she came up with the name. “Dad,” my daughter replied, “it rhymes with placenta!”

Science

Alpaca pregnancies, breeding, birthing, neonatal care, genetics, and looking at fecal samples under a microscope are all opportunities for scientific learning. Animal husbandry is at the heart of a successful alpaca farm and there is much to be learned in this area. A child who learns to train alpacas will learn skills in animal behavioral management.

Growing pasture grass is a science in and of itself. Taking soil samples is a geological event and provides the opportunity to discover many aspects of nature to explore. Homeschooling allows us the time and opportunity to stop and explore whatever we find in the pasture (snake skins, dead birds, cool rocks, etc.) These usually take us on an unplanned research tangent that allows us to have fun while learning. Remember how fun it was/is to learn about alpacas?

Learning to grow things, in this case grass, is a great learning activity for kids. Planning and adjusting those plans due to weather or other conditions is instructive. Children can learn about composting and the life cycle of plants. They can research the climate in which they live and the different zones. They can find out what variety of grasses/seeds work best in their area. What kinds of weeds do we have and are any of them harmful? It’s almost endless.

Math

Little ones can count alpacas, water buckets, bales of hay, etc. Older children can do real life word problems. “If you have 7 stalls and 35 alpacas how many alpacas can go into each stall?”

During the summer months we add the relative humidity and the temperature several times a day in order to make management decisions for our animals. Children can learn to do this in their heads and they can make charts and graphs of the data.

Older children can learn about economics and business from our alpacas. Some enterprising youngsters actually have their own alpaca businesses. Others can learn to write business plans, to market a product, and to provide good customer service. There are infinite things our children can learn when they are a part of the family business.

Geography and History

Kids can learn geography from going to alpaca shows and studying about where these shows are located on a map.  They can figure out the distance between cities and the best route. They can look up different places where alpacas have been purchased or sold and do the same with those places. It’s great to bring the kids along on alpaca trips because with no school to have to get back to you can stop and explore all kinds of things. Zoos, museums, aquariums, state parks, monuments, civil war battlefields, are just some of the sites a family can visit while transporting alpacas or going to alpaca events. And, of course, there are the friends they make at these events. This helps them practice their social skills.  They may even find a paca pen pal they can write to throughout the year.

The history of the alpaca and it’s South American origins is a topic with many possibilities. One could do a whole unit study on Chile, Peru, or Bolivia, learning about the culture, foods, lifestyles, economics of the region.

Life Lessons

Some of the lessons learned by farm living involve death. Death is a difficult concept for children in the early years. It can be excruciatingly painful. It is a universal truth that death will occur and that it will be unpleasant for those left behind. I appreciate that when my children’s lives are touched by death the opportunity is there to talk about it and work through the feelings together. I believe it fosters a healthy way of looking at death as a part of life.

That brings me to the flip side - the birth of crias! Nothing is more fun than a day when all the school plans fly out the window because school will move to the barn today so we can take care of the new cria. We observe and take notes on the cria, i.e. weight, how she looked, ears upright, teeth erupted, etc. This may sound like second nature to adults, but children have to learn how to observe and take notes. What an enjoyable way to learn, watching a baby alpaca begin to nurse and practicing your handwriting skills at the same time!

Personal Development

Many worry about homeschooled kids ability to socialize. Farm visits give our daughter an opportunity to meet many different people from all walks of life. She is learning to be a good hostess and to interact with people of all ages.

Caring for animals requires a certain amount of nurturance and empathy. It  teaches responsibility and accountability. Children who train and show alpacas will build self-confidence. These are valuable experiences that will serve children well throughout their lives.

Homeschoolers Meet the Alpaca

Many people have never heard of alpacas. Let your local homeschooling group know about these wonderful creatures. Alpacas are a great opportunity for those who want to teach their children at home and have a business there as well. Contact your local homeschooling group or association. The local library should know how to get in touch with them. Offer a field trip to your farm. Homeschooled children are generally well behaved and will often bring their parent (s) with them depending on the age. This is an opportunity to introduce the lifestyle to these families as well as to sell alpaca products if you like. Small alpaca toys are big hits with the younger and middle grades.

Another possibility is to organize a handspinning class for your local homeschool group. Handspinning is becoming a lost art. Many fiber artists dream of the opportunity to share their passion for fiber with a new generation. You can donate some fleece to get them started and perhaps hold the class at your farm. Imagine having a hand in creating more people who love alpaca fiber!

Some homeschool groups have a 4-H club. Using alpacas for 4-H is already being done with kids in traditional school. The same possibilities exist with homeschooling. Older homeschoolers who love animals might like to work on your farm. Because their time is not dictated by school they may be available to babywatch or pick up fleece and bag it when the shearer comes. Believe it or not some may donate their time just to have the learning experience.

For us, homeschooling seemed the natural complement to the alpaca lifestyle. The income that the alpaca business provides allows for moms and sometimes dads to be home with their children. Children can learn responsibility, a feeling of belonging, and the value of hard work by living with alpacas.

(1) Moore, Art, Whistleblower, Volume 11,(11), p. 5

Katy Spears is a doctor of clinical psychology and homeschooling mother of four children, Evangeline (6), Augustus (2), and six month old twins Atalanta and Anastasia. Katy and her husband, Steve, own and operate Fairhope Alpacas with a little help from their children. She can be contacted at (251)929-2688 or by visiting their website: www.fairhopealpacas.com