Grill: Open Tue-Sun 11am-8:30pm (Closed Mon), Market: Open Daily 9am-7pm
Join us at the James Ranch to learn some of the most valuable and underrepresented skills in the modern day. We provide a healthy environment for kids to grow and express themselves in the outdoors. We will cover multiple topics related to agriculture including, but not limited to, gardening, working with farm animals: pigs, poultry and cattle, understanding and working symbiotically with our ecosystem, and cooking the crops we grow. We work hard, play hard, and see the tangible fruits of our labors, while acquiring lifelong skills.
Gardening: Our students work in the garden, planning, planting, growing, and harvesting crops. The harvested crops are cooked and preserved in class or sent home with our students.
Animal husbandry: We work with the animals on the ranch including chickens, turkeys, ducks, pigs, beef and dairy cattle. We learn to water, feed, house, and diagnose the animals happiness and health. We preserve and cook the products derived from the animals on the ranch in class.
Nature: We spend time in nature on and off the James Ranch gaining an appreciation for our local biome and an understanding of how to monitor its health. We design and implement projects to improve biodiversity and our understanding of ecosystem management.
Summer session will run from June 2 to Aug 13. Learning and experiences will involve raising farm animals, gardening, learning the local flora and fauna, cooking harvested crops, and learning valuable life skills.
This summer we will be raising our spring ducklings who are soon to grow into layers and meat ducks. The variety this year is a Pekin Duck. The school garden is given much attention over the summer as we monitor the health and grow the spring crop, as well as plant the summer crop. This year we will be planting plenty of Corn, Squash, Pumpkin and other gourds for the fall harvest, as well as raising the spring herb and flower garden.
The students will also be looking after a mini fish tank aquarium filled with critters from the ponds on James Ranch, that they catch themselves! Anything from snails, frog eggs, and crawdads, to small fish, they watch them grow and learn about our local fauna and their ecosystem. We also teach foraging while out for ranch walks, to gain a deeper understanding of our local lands, and how much of it is edible!
Once spring crops are ready, the students will harvest, and learn to use the vegetables in cooking, whether at the traditional stove and oven in the schoolhouse, or by campfire down the ranch.
Half of each day is dedicated to learning in and around the schoolhouse and gardens, and the other half is focused on spending time around the ranch, in and around ponds and rivers - so expect your little one back wet and muddy most days!
The kids are required to pass a swim test or wear a provided lifejacket.
Please choose which day(s) of the week your children would like to commit to for the summer session. Minimum age for all classes - 8 years.
Pricing: $385 per day of the week for the full summer session (11 classes).
Please note: if you are unable to make your day of the week for any reason, the kids can make up the class on a different day of the week, space permitting. Please arrange ahead of time.
We hope your family can join us on this adventure.
I grew up on the James Ranch. Homeschooling through my 7th grade year allowed me to have a deep connection to and appreciation of the land, the domestic animals, and the abundant wildlife. After high school, I took an internship with a ranch in Harlowton, Montana affiliated with the Savory Institute, and managed their herd of 4,000 yearlings for the summer. Upon completion of my internship in Montana, I had the urge to travel abroad and found a yearlong apprenticeship in Ranschbach, Germany on an regenerative vineyard. On my return to the States, I rekindled my passion for Biathlon and joined the Army National Guard to race on their team. I spent a year on the national team training in Vermont and took first in the National Guard's Western Regionals in Alaska. I love skiing and biathlon but at that point, I realized that my love for animals was pulling me back to my family's ranch and I also wanted to enroll in college. I was hired by my family to be the irrigator for the James Ranch and I took over the Whey Good Pork business from my Uncle Dan.
Jump ahead six years, I have changed my focus from irrigating and raising pork on the James Ranch to establishing the James Ranch Homestead school. I am thrilled to be offering my wide base of expertise of homesteading skills and love of working with children to bless the next generation and continue to be a contributing member of the third generation of the James Ranch.
