How Do You Prepare Kids for Life in A One Room Schoolhouse?
When I’m not working to get Mission Farmstead’s Farm School up and running...
When I’m not chasing my kids through the woods or figuring out which cover crops are best for restoring our fields at the farm...
I’ve got a day job.
I’m an entrepreneur. And like most small teams, ours is a mix. One teammate is five years younger than me. So is another. My mentor and business partner is fifteen years older.
On paper, I’m the one in charge. But in practice? We’re learning from each other every day. I bring strategy and big picture thinking. Someone else brings fresh tools or a faster workflow. Another has the kind of perspective that only comes with years under their belt.
Pic: Me with some of my team members!
You don’t just learn from someone older than you. You learn from the person beside you. From people younger than you. From trial and error. From jumping in, getting messy, and figuring it out together.
Just last week, someone younger than me introduced a tool that completely changed how we track projects. It wasn’t something I would’ve thought to try, but it made our system better. A few days later, I shared a framework that helped the team prioritize a tight deadline. And when things really get challenging, my mentor steps in with the kind of long-view thinking you only get with time.
It works because we’re different. Because we bring different ages, strengths, and experiences to the table and we treat that as a gift, not a gap.
That’s exactly why we’re building Mission Farmstead’s Farm School the way we are. We’re starting with our version of a one room schoolhouse.
Why You Should Consider a One Room Schoolhouse
Because it mirrors the real world.
At Mission Farmstead’s Farm School, our one room learning environment will bring together learners ages 6 to 9. That means your six-year-old might sit beside a nine-year-old. And your nine-year-old might lead a morning discussion, help teach a math concept, or guide a peer through a woodworking project.
It won’t be grouped by grade level. It will be grouped by life.
This kind of setup encourages peer to peer learning. Kids will teach each other. Learn from each other. Cheer each other on. And when someone struggles, they’ll step in and help. That’s not just a feel-good story. It’s how humans have always learned.
It’ll also build empathy. Confidence. And real leadership for kids, not through titles and gold stars, but through contribution and daily community.
Just like in my work life, we’re designing a space where kids will learn from one another every day. A seven-year-old might show a younger peer how to use a measuring tape to plan a garden bed. A nine-year-old might explain a math game and stick around to celebrate when that younger learner figures it out.
That’s the kind of environment we’re building.
Project-Based, Purpose-Driven
We won’t hand kids worksheets and ask them to sit still. We’ll give them projects that matter.
It might be designing a chicken coop, budgeting for a farm stand, or working through the steps to build a raised garden bed. It could be writing a story, mapping out a hiking trail, or learning how to cook a meal from scratch.
This is project based learning. It’s where skills are built in context. Not just to pass a test, but to solve something real.
When kids work this way, they build more than knowledge. They develop life skills like time management, communication, creative problem-solving, and grit.
And when things don’t go according to plan (which they won’t), they’ll learn to adapt. That’s adaptive learning. Around here, it’s just part of a normal day.
Learning by Doing
One of our core beliefs is that kids should learn by doing.
That will mean:
- Fixing what's broken
- Building what doesn't exist yet
- Getting their hands dirty
- Taking risks (the safe kind)
- Making things with tools, not just typing them into a search bar
We believe in the value of trade skills. Not as a fallback, but as a foundation. Working with your hands sharpens your mind. And when kids can point to something they built, repaired, or grew, they carry that confidence into everything else they do.
This won’t be a hobby farm. It will be a learning studio. And if a kid helps build the chicken coop and then watches the hens move in the next morning, that’s not just a lesson. It’s a win they’ll remember.
Why It Feels Different
Most classrooms are built to manage. Our learning environment will be built to grow.
Because when kids work together, when they wrestle through hard things as a team, they develop a different kind of intelligence. They learn to collaborate. To negotiate. To try again.
That’s collaborative learning, and it’ll be part of every day at Mission Farmstead.
Learning how to plan a project, work through disagreements, and stick with something until it’s done—that’s the kind of stuff they’ll carry into whatever comes next.
You won’t find tests or rows of desks here. But you will find conversations, teamwork, invention, and persistence.
Want to Learn More?
If you want your child to grow in confidence, compassion, and capability...
If you want them to see learning as something they do, not just something done to them...
If you want them to experience what it’s like to be part of a community where everyone contributes...
Join me on the farm for a tour. Click here to learn more.
