Eliant Conference, november 2017

Ronald Heusschen, FarmSchool, Netherlands

rheusschen@upcmail.nl www.boerderijschool.nl

Growing connections:

Rural exodus and urbanisation - Reconnecting children to the natural world

Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

There was a child went forth every day,

And the first object he looked upon

and received with wonder or pity or love or dread,

that object he became,

And that object became part of him

for the day or a certain part of the day . . . .

or for many years or stretching cycles of years.

The early lilacs became part of this child,

And grass, and white and red morningglories,

and white and red clover,

and the song of the phœbe-bird,

And the March-born lambs,

and the sow’s pink-faint litter,

and the mare’s foal,

and the cow’s calf,……………….

First outdoor memory

Where were you?

How was the weather?

What year was it?

How old were you?

Who was it with you or were you alone?

What happened or what did you do?

Essence of the FarmSchool

• an initiative by parents based on real life learning (learning through meaningful

experiences in everyday life) and relationship-based experiential learning

• in the authentic environment of a farm; a farm is by far the richest learning

environment that exists

• with the aim to connect young people on the hand with themselves and on the other

hand with the other, the environment and life as a whole.

• all activities focus on both personality in the sense of individual development of

talent and abilities as well as on connectedness.

experience moment immediacy time.

TRUSTcommunity nature authenticity simplicity

“Turboschools” „fastfood culture“ overactivity

FEAR

all in numbers fragmentation cognition

Slow education

6

Every child is born a genius

•it is impossible for children not to learn;

•we thrive to liven up education

•through the senses the child connects with the

surrounding world

•we are happy that teachers, farmers, children

and coaches are imperfect and can develop;

•we embrace boredom for it makes creative

•we focus on positive experiences and broaden

and deepen them for ourselves and for the

children

•we create connecting and integrating learning

moments during FarmSchool

•

7

Every child is born a genius

•we abandon information- and knowledge-based

and cognitive learning (there is enough of it at

school)

•there is no difference between children with

special needs and other children;

•all children, all people have to basic thrives:

they thrive to reaffirm themselves and

simultaneously they search for unity and contact

with something or someone.

•Experiences of connectedness are the stepping

stone to a basic attitude of connectedness

•Human beings are part of nature

the naturalist intelligence

Catching insects with a pumpFascinating nature

Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence

Muscular strength

To balance

Verbal-linguistic intelligence boerderij reporters van de week

REPORTER PAPIER

Datum

Reporters

HET WEER DEZE KEER

Regenmeter

Temperatuur

Windrichting

Wolken

KALFJE METEN

Kalf nummer

Kruishoogte &

Borstomvang

FOTO’S

Maak een foto van de tak van de boom

Maak een foto van de boom

Maak een foto van iets wat jullie graag willen laten zien op de site!

Making name tags for the open day

Being a journalist

Spatial-visual intelligence

Building a animal hotel

And: build clay oven,

painting barns

tinkering weather meter

braiding wreaths

plus : a lot of pictures in the

logbook

Making scarecrows

Logical-mathematical intelligence

Realistic computing

“How deep, how far apart, how much iron wire,

how many piles…?”

Musical intelligence

• Make music

• Sing songs during work

and breaks

• Composing your own

farmschoolsong

• Season festivals (Easter,

Pentecost)

Intrapersonal intelligence

“I can be

myself on the

farm.”

“My teddy.”

Self-reflection in the

logbook

Interpersonal intelligence

Working together, talk together and

be strong together

.

Identity: Multiple intelligences

Connectedness FarmSchool

The child gets

connected to him

or herself,

the other,

nature and

Life as a whole

Connectedness FarmSchool

Farm and School

School De Zonnewende (vh. De Zwaan)

en

Hoeve ‘t Hulshof

Connectedness FarmSchool

Boerderijschool

“De Boerderijschool verbindt!”

“The FarmSchool connects”:

29 sprouting beans in the classroom

30 expectations and experiences

31 wordweb

32 composing an exposition

38 seed at the beginning and at the end of season

Outdoor and place-based education and education in school

Connectedness FarmSchool

Tussen vakgebieden zoals taal, rekenen, beweging, natuur, techniek en WOboerderij reporters van de week

REPORTER PAPIER

Datum

Reporters

HET WEER DEZE KEER

Regenmeter

Temperatuur

Windrichting

Wolken

KALFJE METEN

Kalf nummer

Kruishoogte &

Borstomvang

FOTO’S

Maak een foto van de tak van de boom

Maak een foto van de boom

Maak een foto van iets wat jullie graag willen laten zien op de site!

Math, language, geography, history, music, physical education, social

personal and health education

Connectedness FarmSchool

(grant-) parents and

school

~ parental involvement at

home and at school

~ parental participation

~ parentsroom

22

A day at the FarmSchool

The daily routine:

8.50: bike or drive and walk to the farm

9.20: arrival, welcome, update by the farmers

explaining and dividing tasks

9.30 at work in 4 groups, 1. round

10.45: pause together, eating, drinking

11.15: at work 2. round

12.15: clean up and gather

12.30: back to school

13.00: arrival and pause

13.30: individual or common reflection

14.45: End of the day at school

23

the reflection

At the farm:

-After a task at the farm is finished you can

look back immediately.:”What does it look

like? Was I or were we successful? Were you

surprised at anything?

-At the end of the farm visit the various

groups tell each other if their work was

successful and what the result looks like.

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the reflectionAt school during the first weeks

The logbook:

-What did you do today?

-When were you excited?

-What touched you most?

-What was difficult for you?

-What did you learn at the farm this week?

-In reflecting the learning is harvested

Reflection, value differently

Fase 1. Brainstorming: When am I a good assistant farmer? Answering the question

with the children; the farmers are present to help them.

Fase 2. Formulate together a top three and make a poster of it

Fase 3. Selfassessment: Top (what can I do properly?) and Tip (what can I learn more?)

Fase 4. Co-assessment: Reflection by the farmer om Tops und Tips

Fase 5. The masterpiece: children show by performing a special task what they have

learned

26

FarmSchool programmes

• FarmSchool: classes visit a farm for 15 – 20 days

during one year

• FarmAtelier: classes visit a farm during 5 days to get

familiar with the possibilities of farmbased education

• Green healthy communities: Children and parents of

multicultural districts in the city learn about food,

agriculture and nature on a nearby farm

• InterventionClass: children who threaten to become

school drop-outs are guided back to school after an

intensive programme on the farm

Are there any questions?

Thank you for your attention!

Ronald Heusschen, Farm School