Valley Oaks Charter School Hobby Farm Living Mr

Valley Oaks Charter School Hobby Farm Living Mr. Warren, 661-345-2814 [email protected]

Class Syllabus

Hobby Farm Living exposes students to hobby farm living and teaches them how to develop their own farm for personal enjoyment and self-sustainable living. This hands-on, educational experience with livestock, edible landscapes, crops, and orchards will help students: • Know the difference between hobby farming, homesteading, gardening, and running a small farm business. • Know how to care for hobby farm animals (anatomy, breeding, nutrition, health) • Know how to grow food (farm irrigation, soil management, orchard maintenance, crop management)

Class Requirements: • Work Ethic : Student shall be graded on a scale of 1-5 for their demonstrated work ethic during class in the areas of preparedness, punctuality, and participation. Note: If a student uses a cell phone during class, his/her work ethic grade will drop substantially (90 pts.) • Portfolio Assignment: Student shall organize all work in a portfolio in a neat and organized fashion. The portfolio shall be graded weekly by the home educator and turned in at the end of each unit (180 pts). When student is finished, he/she should have a well-organized resource manual that should last them into their adult years. • Projects: Student shall develop the plans for and manage the budget of their own virtual hobby farm (100 pts. each) • Oral Presentation: Student shall make oral presentations in class (50 pts.) • Absences : Absent students are required to pick up a homework packet from the front desk.

Grade reporting: • Students and parents may keep track of their grades by accessing their ABI account online. • Computation of Grade 98-100 = A+ 88-89 = B+ 78-79 = C+ 68-69 = D+ 92-97=A 83-87=B 73-77=C 63-67=D 90-91 = A- 80-82 = B- 70-72 = C- 60-62 = D-

Necessary Materials: • Textbook, None at this time • Three ring binder (8 ½ x 11)

Grading System: • Classroom work ethic 10 % • Portfolio 25 % • Projects 60 % • Oral Presentation final 5 %

Fall Semester Topics: • Hobby Farm living • The home vegetable garden • Poultry for eggs and meat • Easy fragrant herbs

Spring Semester Topics: • Backyard Fruits and nuts • Meat and dairy • Home grown grains • Food from the wild

1 Valley Oaks Charter School Hobby Farm Living Mr. Warren, 661-345-2814 [email protected]

Portfolio Week Unit Description Project Assignment Hobby Farm Comparing Hobby Farms Prompt 1: What is My virtual Living (pleasure), Homesteading the difference hobby farm (produce), and Small Business between a hobby 1 farming (profit). Tour school farm, a homestead, farm. Animal introduction and a small farm (respect, care, handling) business? Important things to know before Prompt 2: Which you start: land, cost, time type of farming is 2 commitment, purpose best suited for you and why. Tools and Safety. Tool rooms tour Assignment3: Lot layout 3 and introduction How to be safe presentation Ledger items 2-3

The Home Terminology Definition list My virtual 4 Vegetable Garden hobby farm

Irrigation Types 5 Ledger item 4 Row Gardening Raised beds 6 Raised Bed Gardening Ledger item 5 Soil management Soil composition and maintenance 7 Compost Ledger item 6 Greenhouse Seed starting 8 Ledger item 7,8 Planting/harvesting Pest control and Irrigation, 9 Vegetables, fruits, nuts, vines, disease control garden, bear root Ledger items 9-12 orchard plan

Poultry Terminology and breeds Definition list My virtual 10 Ledger item 13, 14 hobby farm Disposition and shelter Ledger item 15-16 11 Feed and Water (methods) Ledger item 17-19 12 Health care (dust, shells, etc.) Routine Management, equipment Ledger item 20, 21 13 (brooders, scissors, trimmers, etc.) Poultry plan

Herbs Types and purposes Definition list My virtual 15 Ledger items 22 hobby farm Designing your herb garden Ledger items 23- 16 25 Harvesting products Drying, cooking Herbal plan 17 Oral presentation Virtual hobby 18 farm presentation

2 Valley Oaks Charter School Hobby Farm Living Mr. Warren, 661-345-2814 [email protected]

My Hobby Farm Project

Student will design, develop, and manage his/her own virtual Hobby Farm. Each student shall:

□ Be given a start-up budget of $10,000. Student must maintain this budget by keeping a record of costs. Student may use Excel or create his/her own budget sheet (sample below). Students must research the cost of each purchased item. In the case of construction projects, student does not need to show the price of material, just the cost for building the structure or the fence. Simply put the size/square footage, type, and/or length of item in the Description box. □ Include google pictures of every purchased item (must match the description on the budget sheet) □ Start with an empty lot, a house, and a garage. Student may choose a ½ acre, ¾ acre, 1 acre, 2 ½ acre, or 5 acre lot. If parents wish for the student to design something for their own lot, we can make that happen. □ Design their own self-sufficient hobby farm on the lot however they wish □ Must incorporate the six elements of this class into their farm (vegetable garden, orchard, livestock of your choosing, herb garden, poultry, and food from the wild). □ Meet each of the deadlines for turning in the work completed on their farm □ Prepare an oral presentation for their final exam. Student will prepare a brochure for their farm.

Date Description Withdrawal Deposit Balance 10,000.00 3/4/16 Dexter cow w/ calf 1,050.00 8,950.00 3/7/16 Spring Seeds 22.43 8927.57 4/18/16 12 x 12 Hay Barn 2,000.00 6927.57

3 Valley Oaks Charter School Hobby Farm Living Mr. Warren, 661-345-2814 [email protected]

Photographs of Purchases:

Item: Cow and Calf Breed: Dexter

Item: Hay barn Size: 12 x 12 Material: Wood

Item: Seeds Type: Carrots, onions, corn, squash, tomato