Farm to Table Learning.
Farm to Table is our outdoor homeschool & farm school support program inspired by the old-fashioned “one-room farm schoolhouse.” It is a five-hour drop-off Homeschool Farm School Support program for children grades K–6th, with a focus on the outdoors, nature, gardening, & animal studies. Farm to Table offers multiple-subject & multiple-grade-level academic / homeschool support. A full day’s worth of homeschooling out on the farm, outdoors, with peers of similar ages, and incredible teachers. Our daily farm school program includes Reading, Phonics, Writing, Handwriting, Math, History, Art, Nature Studies, Animal Studies, and Science. Designed to support, not replace, homeschooling families, Farm to Table offers academic guidance. Core subjects are woven into the day through our proposed daily schedule. Learning unfolds with a consistent structure that blends workbook time, read-alouds, discussion, hands-on farm experiences, and child-led exploration.We have a 5-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio. Our hope would be to host two separate pods: a younger pod and an older pod. Each pod would have its own Head Teacher, with an Assistant Teacher supporting both pods.
Ojai- Totem Ranch is a working citrus farm that maintains biodynamic and organic certification, practicing agricultural production with a strong emphasis on holistic land management. The ranch is planted with diverse orchards, with primary crops including oranges, lemons, tangerines, and avocados, along with many other varieties of edible fruit trees. As part of their commitment to biodynamic farming, the ranch also raises livestock, including chickens, pigs, and sheep.
DETAILS:
We meet Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, for 5 hours each day at the beautiful Totem Ranch Co. in Ojai. Come for all three days, two days, or just one! Families are encouraged to attend multiple days to fully experience the program and take advantage of multi-day discounts.
Farm to Table is a year-long program, with fall and spring semesters, meeting from 10am to 3pm.
Fall and Spring Dates:
Spring Semester ‘26 18 weeks: January 8 - May 22
Days Off: March 30 - April 3
Weather Make-Up Week: March 23-27
Fall Semester ‘26 15 weeks: August 24 - December 11
Days Off: November 23 - 27
Weather Make-Up Week: December 14 - 19
More about Farm to Table:
What do we mean when we say Farm To Table- multiple-subject & multiple-grade-level farm school, homeschool support program?:
Our vision is to have children of differing ages, all learning together and helping each other learn the core subjects of English Language Arts, Math, History, Science, and Arts. Our vision for this comes from two inspirations:
Our Director’s own homeschooling experience at home- The most used place in their home is their huge table in their kitchen. It’s at the kitchen table where they eat, learn, and spend a lot of quality time. They have 5 children ranging from 3 to 14 years old. Some of their children are just beginning to learn letters, while others are learning to write MLA-formatted essays. Some are just learning to write numbers, and others are learning to complete algebraic equations. Sometimes the older children help guide the younger children with concepts they have already mastered. They teach Science and History lessons to multiple age groups together, knowing they will each experience different levels of comprehension and mastery, depending on what is age and developmentally-appropriate.
One-room farm schoolhouses have been an important part of American history for hundreds of years across the USA. Do you remember those beautiful one-room country schoolhouses, like the ones in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder? Our family loves this series. Children from TK-8th grade all learn in one space together and are taught by one teacher. While we aim to group students in closer academic learning pods, we have been inspired by the “one-room schoolhouse” and from many seasoned homeschooling families where they found something good that worked!
At Farm to Table, we want parents to feel confident and assured that when their children are dropped off for the day, they will be engaged in activities in Language Arts (Reading, Writing, Phonics, Grammar, and Penmanship), Math, History, Science, Nature Studies, Art, and seasonal cumulative group projects. Ultimately, it is up to you - the parents’ discretion - as to what your child needs; some parents request their child(ren) to come home with their learning materials so they can continue to work on it at home. Others prefer to keep their materials at their child(ren)’s cubby at the farm and only do formal schoolwork at Farm to Table.
So why choose Farm to Table? Farm to Table addresses many of the challenges that homeschool parents face. Parents can rest assured that their children will receive all the core learning from highly qualified, caring teachers every day of the program. Another huge benefit for many families is the children’s opportunity to experience this learning outside in a beautiful, healthy, natural environment and alongside their peers.
We often hear three things from parents:
I don't like that my children are inside all-day
My children need socialization and often spend large amounts of time by themselves
I don't feel confident to teach … (Beginning Reading, Science, Math, etc…)
Farm to Table wonderfully exceeds those needs and provides a place for children to thrive.