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5 in 5 With Latifa and Homeschooling at Zaytuna Farm

The Winter Tour of Zaytuna Farm in 2018 was a prelude to a metaphoric spring for my family.  Enthusiasts and experts of colourful kinds had come for various reasons — as an introduction to permaculture; an opportunity to ask questions about their own designs; to network; or to be inspired. 

I came for all of those reasons, but also to breath!

We have been homeschooling for 7 years.  In that time, we have lived in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia.  With the support and guidance from veteran homeschoolers from around the world, and lots of research I quickly established the best program for my children. Throughout these years my children have received a quality classical, eclectic education. 

They have been in good company too.

With the homeschooling population on the rise, it is easy to find co-ops and social groups to suit your taste.  Sports, arts, sciences, community events — it is easy to debunk the loaded What about socialisation? question that is first on every cynics lips.

And I have always been confident that I have what it takes to be the best teacher for my children, facilitating their intellectual and spiritual awakenings… There was only one real struggle.

The thing is, I don’t do things by halves. Having the best educational program for my children, the best pedagogy, the best resources, great company, there was one monumental element to our plan that was lacking: Environment.

We were overwhelmed in an artificial world. We were living in an environment that was against the very principles that we declare.  We were living in a state of cognitive dissonance, frustration, and ultimately in an unsustainable lifestyle. We felt the cold.

I first met Geoff, Nadia and their daughter at a Permaculture event in Sydney in 2016, and was inspired to do a Permaculture Design Certificate online. Since then, we kept in touch and at the end of that pivotal winter day in 2018, we came together in a common vision— to nurture and educate our children in a wholesome, holistic environment, at the farm.

Together, our children not only see and practice their knowledge in action, but come to true and deep understanding through action! 

In a nurturing community and environment, children are engaged and self-motivated in their own educational paths.  They are encouraged by constant changing landscapes, textures, and seasons.  They see reflected in nature all the stages people go through, physically, mentally, spiritually.

It’s a lot easier to bring up children in an environment like this, because with artificial veils removed, nature nurtures, and has the potential to unlock the doors to gnosis.

We would love to share our experiences with you as we chronicle our homeschooling journey.  And we’d love to hear from you too, and how you are inspired into action, as we bring up our next generation into a world of abundance.


Angela Peime

Angela completed her PDC online in 2017. She became a resident with her family at Zaytuna Farm the following year so that her children could share their homeschooling experience with Geoff and Nadia’s family in a wholesome environment. She has been homeschooling her children for seven years. Before homeschooling her children, Angela had an expensive hobby of university studies in Communication, Education, and Arts majoring in Linguistics. Angela seeks to contribute to the world through encouraging parents and their children to focus their education on growing in character through God-consciousness, a rich education, and of course permaculture.

6 Comments

  1. I was the facilitator of a program for home-based learners (called Spring Leaves Family Learning because family members always joined in our activities) in a small island community near Vancouver, Canada. I couldn’t agree with you more. Our most learningful days together were always the ones spent outdoors, sometimes with a “job” to get done (pick and juice apples, plant the garden, build the compost system, build a shelter to sleep in), sometimes just exploring. For hundreds of thousands of years, this is what education for human children was like … the adults did their “jobs” and the children participated freely or played nearby, soaking it all in. My alternative program is no more (alas, our Ministry of Education deemed that for funding purposes, “bums in seats” more important than learning in minds and hearts), but you might enjoy having a peek at a very irregular blog we kept: https://spring-leaves-family-learning.blogspot.com/

    EnJOY this wonderful time with your children!
    Julie Johnston
    GreenHeart Education

    1. Julie, Thank you for sharing your wonderful work with us. It’s encouraging see families thriving in such diverse ways. Nature always finds a way, even when challenged by desserts, floods, or the Ministry of Education!

      My Best Wishes,
      Angela

  2. Angela we too homeschool and a record of your journey is very much welcome here! Are you actually traveling to Zaytuna to homeschool? I’m doing the online PDC right now and was just thinking of ways to incorporate this wisdom into our homeschool. Please tell me about your thoughts and practices.
    Thanks so much!
    Irene

    1. Irene, Thank you for your encouragement. I am a resident at Zaytuna Farm, so zero carbon miles. All the best with your PDC! My youngest started to draw his own designs while I was studying. Makes for great quality time together. I avoid trying to make a lesson out of it. Seeking knowledge is just part of our language and lifestyle. We do do formal lessons in the liberal arts as children get older, however young children are involved in deep learning through excellent role models and a healthy environment.

      Warmly,
      Angela

  3. So lovely to see Latifa confident with the camera. Geoff and Nadia were tutors on the PDC I did many years ago in New Zealand so it’s been lovely following their journey with Latifa being in on Geoff’s videos, first from a backpack, on his hip and now in front of the camera on her own. What a great environment, (on many levels), in which to be educating children. I home educated our children through most of their schooling although they all went to school for varying lengths of time later on in their school years. They’re all now well adjusted adults, doing their thing in the world in various ways.

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