Permaculture + Homeschool

How the 12 principles can be applied to designing a life without school.

In 2020, I came across the term Permaculture and my curiosity was piqued. Whilst under house arrest (aka. lockdowns), pregnant and with a toddler, I dove down the rabbit hole of this inspiring ideology, reading everything I could get my hands on including David Holmgren's incredible tome Retrosuburbia and many back issues of PIP permaculture magazine. I was also deschooling myself concurrently, having known home education was the right path for our family early into motherhood. The idea of merging these two beautiful lifestyles, and how they could form the backbone of our own family culture, spoke directly to my soul. I had a crystal clear vision of what our lives could be and a compass to help guide us in the direction of our values.

Since that transformative COVID bubble period, I've continued to immerse myself in all things Permaculture and Homeschooling. Aside from devouring books and podcasts and relishing the opportunity to tour Melliodora on the same day our offer was accepted in purchasing our forever home (and garden), I also dove head first into the Milkwood Permaculture Living Course in 2021 and this really lit a fire in my belly. Looking back on this time span from seeds of possibility being planted in my mind to now living and embodying these ways of being, I am filled with gratitude. In this current season of life I find myself unschooling my two little wildlings, hosting Australian Homeschool Stories the podcast, co-ordinating our local homeschool adventure/co-op group and actively participating in a brand new permaculture playgroup. In between we garden, grow food, care for our chooks, cook, bake, preserve, read, create, play, wonder and connect whilst leaning heavily into each seasons offerings.

The permaculture principles and how they can be so equivalently applied to homeschooling has been on my mind for some time to delve into further. As an avid lover of both convictions, here is my interpretation of how they so perfectly intersect and the possibilities this framework provides for designing a sustainable, joyous and abundant life for all. I've included sketches I made of each principle back whilst studying with Milkwood, aptly complimented at times by my daughters doodling.

1. Observe and Interact (aka. Deschool)

Step one in permaculture is perfectly mirrored in the first step of homeschooling. Deschooling, at its core, is simply standing back, letting go of all expectations/pressures/results/outcomes and watching our children play and interact with the world. It is observing what lights them up, what grabs their attention, what they naturally gravitate towards, when and why. How they prefer to be in relation with their environment, their siblings, their friends and community. It can be getting to know what sort of learner they are - audible, physical, visual or a combination of all three.

Whether designing a new garden or a life without school, it pays to not rush into the doing. Taking time to study and understand the way our kids are uniquely wired will ultimately lead us towards tailoring a home environment and rhythm that is perfectly suited to our families. A joyous, harmonious and learning filled lifestyle begins with understanding, compassion and curiosity.

2. Catch & Store Energy (aka. Plan Ahead)

It can be tempting to do all the things, join all the groups and attend all the events when first starting out with home education but this principle reminds us to keep some options up our sleeves. Research what possibilities exist for kids in your local area, that you can draw upon when the time is right and a particular interest is sparked. Let's not burn ourselves out trying to do it all right from the outset. Freely abandon the rate race mentality.

Likewise, stockpiling open ended materials when they present themselves, are affordable or you find the time to do so can be a valuable future investment. Books, workbooks, craft supplies, toys and games can all be rotated in and out of daily offerings depending on what day, week, month, season we find ourselves in. Planning ahead and knowing what resources are available, both inside and outside of the home, can help prepare us for the natural evolution of our children's education.

3. Obtain a yield (aka. Enjoy the Journey)

Homeschooling is not just about learning, nor is just about children. You are an active participant in this lifestyle and your needs need meeting just as much as the kids do. If you are pouring yourself into them and not getting anything back from the process yourself, home educating will not be sustainable in the long run. Nor will it be much fun. And ultimately, it should be fun! Having taken the time to observe and better understand how to give your kids the best childhood they could imagine, now too look upon yourself and give yourself the gift of a great, humungous, outrageously joyful life.

How can your needs and theirs intertwine? If you crave the outdoors, spend the day at the beach or your local park. If you love to read, make a pot of tea and curl up with a read aloud of your choosing. If you need to create, get out all the art supplies and get crafty alongside your munchkins. If you are craving something sweet, bake something delicious together. Permit yourself enjoyment in choosing this lifestyle. Martyrdom will only leave you famished.

4. Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback (aka. Review and Evolve)

It's rare in homeschooling (and life in general) for each season to look the same as the one that came before it and the ones still to come. It is a continual evolution that can change monthly, weekly, even daily sometimes (particularly if you unschool). Expect things to shift and change as children grow, their interests taper and energy levels peak and trough. It can help to regularly check in with ourselves and our kids. Is what our days are currently consisting of still working for everyone? Is it time for a re-think on certain aspects? Listen to your body as much as your little kids big voices.

Kids who have never been to school or have deschooled sufficiently are pretty confident in speaking up about what they want and need so this can be a relatively easy source of feedback. More often we will come up against ourselves, and our beliefs about the way things are done or how things should look, will surface in our bodies first and foremost. Trust your gut. Really feel and listen to the sensations your body is sending you. Is this activity/resource/event/friendship/timeframe/appointment still worthwhile upholding? Is there a creative solution to be found past this roadblock? Take on board all that resounds with you and tally up what needs tweaking.

If in doubt, say no, drop a ball, cross things off your calendar and politely decline. There is no script you need to follow. You get to author your families story and edit the s#!$ out of it as you go.

5. Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services (aka. Live Gently)

When we opt out of school, this beautiful road less travelled reveals itself and it can feel like opening Pandora's box. If we don't need school, what else could we go without? What else in life could we reframe or do differently? With time on our side to focus on the things that really matter - family, connection, freedom, joy - leaning into natural and sustainable living goes hand in hand.

The natural world itself is the only classroom a child needs and it is readily abundant and free to all of us. Could your household recycling become the components of your child's next art project? Could a trip to the bulk food store not only reduce your household waste but contribute to your child's understanding of numeracy? Could a toy library membership kit you out in STEM activities, games and puzzles? Could you bike ride to the local library once a week for your book drop off and collection? Could you go without a second car or a car in general? When you choose to home educate you may be taking your first brave step down the path of saying "No thank you" to the status quo, don't let it be your last.

6. Produce No Waste (aka. Make Your Own)

This is a fundamental lifeskill that we have the ability to embrace and engage with consistently as a beautiful by-product of being home based. Just as we strive to produce as little waste as possible in our day to day, there is no exception when it comes to homeschooling. This principle flows directly on from the previous, because if you choose your resources well and with thought, waste is naturally minimised.

A hugely important part of homeschooling for me is modelling how to care for our home, our environment and our community (drawn from the three Permaculture Ethics of Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share). As an example our kids are well acquainted with our compost bins, bays, worm farm and chook scrap platter. They know that paper offcuts, grass clippings, fallen leaves, weeds and prunings are important components of good compost too. They also understand the bigger picture of compost making, that we are slowly turning our old food into plant food that will give us new food.

If the kids or I feel a want or need arise for something we don't own, my go to mantra is "can we make it?" instead of buying it. What have we got on hand that we could creatively use instead? Upcycling, recycling, repurposing and ultimately refusing are all concepts that naturally weave into the rhythm of our days. We are are by no means a zero waste family but are always making strides in that direction and make choices with this is mind, such as where we shop, what we buy and how we eat. Waste reduction needn't be an insurmountable mountain but a slow and conscious re-imagining, together as a family, how we might all live a little gentler in the spirit of not just sustainability, but regeneration.

7. Design from Patterns to Details (Aka. Don't Lose Sight of your Why)

It is so easy to get caught up in the details of our days, to feel overwhelmed, under prepared, over committed and under supported. There are days, we all have them, where homeschooling feels hard, where we apply copious amounts of pressure onto ourselves and our children to prove that this choice hasn't all been in vain. Often societal standards and expectations draw out these insecurities. When will they read? Are they getting enough socialisation? Are they spending too much time on screens?

Zoom. Out.

If you find yourself hyper-focusing on the minutiae of your days, on outcomes and milestones and moods and modules, it will be messy. Kids aren't naturally linear learners, school created this structure for learning not in the best interest of students but to uphold the system itself. There will be periods of intense insatiability and knowledge leaps, where you won't be able to keep up with your child's ever expanding interests. There will also be times when they simply need to rest and not do anything that looks like learning. All are okay. These are tiny moments on a lifelong learning journey. Our kids never stop learning, especially when they are no longer kids! The goal is raising long-term learners who will continue to educate themselves for their entire lifetimes.

8. Integrate rather than Segregate (Aka. Do Life Together)

I've written about this principle before, it's a gem I draw upon whenever things feel out of balance, when I am doing too many things that involve swapping 'hats' like a madwoman. It aligns with Lucy AitkenReads term 'Sites of Mutual Fulfilment', places where both children and adults can have their cups filled alike, and which speaks to me as weaving the threads of life together rather than separating and sorting them into various sized containers and juggling them all in isolation. It is a reminder to shelve all the mismatched jars of who we are and what we do/need/want, find a big bucket and throw in as many compatible parts as possible, stir and let the magic happen.

School is a classic example of segregation at its finest - classes of same aged kids, learning segmented into subjects that are defined by bells, separation of children from their primary attachment figures, home base and community for the majority of their days. When choosing home education we get to put everything back together, the way our species originally evolved and how we as humans inherently learn best.

Humans thrive together, not apart. Despite being ever digitally connected we mortals have never been more physically isolated. Once we lived as hunter/gather tribes, working, living and learning together in multi-generational communities in deep connection with country. Today we are predominately siloed in nuclear families, our children and elders separated from the goings on of everyday life by institutions, our time and attention bought and sold and we've all but severed our connection, our reverence and respect for the earth and all its wonders.

Just because this is the norm, does not mean we have to follow the rules.

Rebel, I say, and bring it all back home.

When we choose to homeschool we put relationship at the forefront of the learning experience, it is a stance that says we are going to do life together, not apart. Our children can actively participate in the goings on of our communities with people of all ages by joining our local community garden, friends or landcare group, joining or creating a co-op for kids of all ages to gather, play and explore whilst parents bond and experience the joy of the world through the lens of childhood.

Together, we cook, we garden, we clean, we take care of our houses, our neighbourhoods and each other. And all the while learning is weaving itself into our children's hearts and minds serendipitously with every interaction, each task and conversation. Ideas are sparked and creativity is fuelled by the simplest of means in the most unexpected places. Learning naturally unfolds when we feel safe, connected and supported - it is not confined to the four walls of a classroom or the dictate of a curriculum or certified teacher. The more we meld our existence together, stitch our children into the fabric of our lives and vice versa, the more room there is for joy, connection, peace and clarity.

Design your life so that home and school are one.

9. Use Small and Slow Solutions (Aka. Run your Own Race)

In a world that believes bigger is better and that values instantaneous results, choosing to live a slow, simple life flies in the face of the mainstream paradigm. Our days are the sum of hundreds of small decisions which add up to create the life we are either living by accident or by choice. I choose the road less travelled. The one that's overgrown and wanting of wear as Robert Frost advises. But a slow and simple life doesn't happen overnight, funnily enough. For me anyway it has been the conscious choosing of my hearts wishes a million times over in service of designing the type of life I want and know is best for my family.

Radically, it is not the life society prescribes in bulk.

It is not the easy path. No one glides when paddling upstream against the current, hence accepting the journey as part of the joy of creating a life you bloody love makes all the little wins along the way even more delectable. It's taken years for our family to reach the season we now find ourselves in and we are still working away, little by little, each day towards our big life goals (which aren't really that big in the scheme of things). Slow and steady is how I am approaching living and so to this applies to homeschooling.

In our family there are no markers of behind or ahead, no milestones I am expecting my children to hit by certain ages, no pressure to be reading, writing, multiplying, subjugating in any time but their own. I feel that my job as a home educating parent is not to dangle a carrot or crack a whip but simply to provide a rich learning environment (our home) filled with interesting books and resources (toys, games, instruments, art and craft supplies, etc.) to be drawn upon when a passion stirs, whenever that may be.

Homeschooling is not a race, but a conscious reimagining of what education can be. I have complete faith in taking baby steps in the direction our values guide us. Anything worth having/doing/learning takes time, so relish the small stuff in pursuit of a leisurely life.

10. Use and Value Diversity (Aka. There is No One Way to Homeschool)

In school, there is one curriculum. One long, sequential learning pathway from prep to year 12 that is enforced, regimented and tested on every single child no matter their learning style, neurological make up, personalities and interests. How on earth did this come to be the benchmark by which we hold all children to?

The concept of school was born out of the Industrial Revolution, a way to train a mass workforce of employees to take up the highly coveted position of factory worker. It was designed to subdue and conform. To iron out all the intricacies of human nature and spit out a compliant, docile, obedient populous who would work for the greater good of capitalism, not a healthy, humane society.

Whilst life looks completely different now than it did 200 years ago, modern day schooling looks eerily similar. Whilst the system would have you believe it is still the best way to educate a child, despite the fact you can look up anything and everything in the palm of your hand, today we fundamentally rely on school as a form of daycare for our children. Capitalism has been so overfed and economic markets so overinflated that it is simply not possible for all families to afford to pay a mortgage and put food on the table on a single income anymore. We are still metaphorical factory workers on the treadmill to survive and numbing ourselves with consumeristic tendencies to cope with the demands of every day life. In my opinion, school as it looks today is an on-road for consumerism and a destroyer of creativity as a byproduct. How can we expect school to provide a holistic education for all children when the narrow goal posts of results based testing and examinations are held up as the pillars of success?

Opting out of this oppressive, archaic system opens the doors to possibility, attunement and belonging. There is no curriculum to keep pace with, no tests to be graded and/or shamed by. There is simply your child, the distinctive being you birthed in front of you, a born person filled to the brim with curiosity and wonder who when given autonomy and a seat at the table of designing their own childhood, can only flourish.

Choose the path that works for you and your child and if it doesn't exist, create one. Embracing diversity in our children's education means embracing them exactly as they are. A populous raised on a diet of self-acceptance, empathy, individuality and radical acceptance is the type of society I long to be apart of and build upon.

11. Use Edges and Value the Marginal (Aka. Be Brave)

The proverb that accompanies this principle, "Don't think you are on the right track just because it is a well beaten path", perfectly encapsulates this idea of opting out of mainstream education. The thought of which, I acknowledge, is daunting initially for almost everyone when considering their families choice to school or not to school. Fear holds us back from making radical, necessary change. How will people think and react to this dismissal of what many believe to be a fundamental rite of passage for children? How will we cope financially on a reduced income? Where will we find the time?

Choosing to educate our children at home, to retain foundational attachment bonds with their caregiving adults may seem counter-cultural in modern society but it is far from unnatural. For me, saying no to normal, to a career, to bigger-better-shinier, to more, means saying yes to connection, joy, time, to things that truly matter, to living my one wild and precious life in synchronicity with what lights up my soul and feels right deep in my gut. A good, prosperous future for all beings involves turning the volume down on the loudest messaging and attuning our senses to the gold that sparkles on the outskirts.

12. Creatively Use and Respond to Change (Aka. Have a Vision)

Our 'why' and our values can underpin our home educating choices but without a clear vision of what we hope this will all amount to we may find ourselves sometimes adrift. Visioning is the most powerful way of manifesting our dreams into reality. But our visions don't need to be held steadfast, there are no hard rules or exact routes we need to traverse along the way. Our vision can evolve with us as our children mature, needs change and priorities shift.

So much of the life we now live was but once a picture in my mind. I've carried it in my heart for years and it has guided our decisions and choices along the way. Sometimes the choices we have made seemed reckless at the time, a gamble, a leap of faith, but I knew even when diving off the deep end it was in service of our aspirations. Without this foresight, I know we wouldn't be where we are today, with all the learning, growing, creating and adventures still ahead of us.

~

So there we have it, my take on the marriage of permaculture and homeschooling, my two biggest passions documented by way of my favourite creative outlet (writing).

If you have enjoyed my take on this framework be sure to let me know. I can't be the only homeschooling permaculture nerd out there! I'd love to hear if these two concepts have captured your heart as much as mine.

Also, if you are looking to broaden and deepen your understanding of permaculture and how it can be applied to our everyday actions, be sure to check out The Milkwood Permaculture Living Handbook by Kirsten Bradley which has just come out! I just picked up a copy from my local library this week but you can order your own here.