As a home school family, learning by doing real projects has a deep appeal to you. You can see the benefits of having your child raise an animal as a centerpiece of his or her learning. May I suggest raising rabbits.
Rabbits have a number of advantages as a choice of animal for a home school project. They are much easier to care for and to contain than a pig or goat or cow, especially for those families who do not have the space for larger animals. But on the other hand, they are not as simplistic as a cat or similar common pet, and require a level of care that will bring your child into real learning situations.
What things are important, then, to consider in turning raising rabbits into a learning project?
First, it's fascinating that with rabbits there are two strong philosophical camps that do not acknowledge each other's existence. There are those that view rabbits as pets only and those who view rabbits as farm stock only. No one I have found will present both views on the same page. So having your child explore these two opposing camps and talking about the difference between them is a learning experience in itself.
But the first significant element for learning is housing. Designing a rabbit hutch, indoors or outdoors, writing a materials list, purchasing the needed supplies, and finally building the rabbit hutch are all key parts of learning during the middle school years.
Working with a rabbit breeder or adoption agency is next. Have your child engage in as much of the interaction as possible. This is their project and the best way to learn.
Rabbits look cute and cuddly and they are, but that's only one side of them. They are not always easy to care for, but they must be cared for, day and night. Your child will learn responsibility and application to task in a way that "assigning lessons" can never do. When your child fails to do what is needed for the rabbits, the results will show themselves rather quickly.
Which brings us to the next vital element of learning that comes only with the hands-on care of animals, and that is sickness, injury, and veterinarian needs. The amount of learning that will come through your child's interaction with a sick animal, with a vet, and with the needed knowledge to understand the problem and to solve it is large. No classroom could ever give this kind of learning. Plan for it beforehand so that it works well enough that your child finds success instead of failure.
But even failure and burying a dead animal are important parts of real-world learning. We have done it. It is sad, but the bonding that comes when a family shares sorrow together is without price.
Amazingly, the choice of rabbits as a project in no way stops there. Rabbits as a scourge in Australia is a fascinating and important study. Rabbits as characters fill literature and story and folklore. Watership Down by Richard Adams ought to be read aloud as a family. Beatrix Potter and a study of her life and art, Joel Chandler Harris, Brer Rabbit, and African-American folk tales, the list goes on.
From designing and building to great works of literature, rabbits are a great choice for a real learning experience, not only for your middle school child, but for the whole family as well.
To access the resource page for the Raising Rabbits Project Guide, please go here: yguide.org/Nature/RaisingRabbits.html yguide.org/Nature/RaisingRabbits.html
Daniel Yordy is the director of YGuide Academy, an Internet school serving the active-learning needs of families with students in 7th through 12th grades.
For more on project-led learning, visit us at YguideAcademy.com/ProjectLedLearning.html YguideAcademy.com/ProjectLedLearning.html. We help you develop project ideas into meaningful learning experiences.
Copyright 2009 by YGuide Publishing, Inc. Freely use without changes, including links.
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