Living Life Fuller

Antisocial. It's the homeschool stereotype, right? Albeit one I don't generally find to be true, I couldn't resist a bit of humor in today's title. This episode is all about history, geography, government, civics, and all those other things we know as social studies. It's a broad field, there are so many ways to cover it! Stephanie and I talk about our own experiences learning social studies in public school, and what works for us now as a homeschooling family.

The featured image for today's episode comes from the wall of the house we lived in in Bunia, D.R. Congo. There are few things I truly miss about that house, but the huge world map we hung on the living room wall is one of them. It was often a place where kids and adults alike would stand and just study out of curiosity. It was a great reminder of just how big and interesting our world is.

In the episode, Stephanie mentioned the My Father's World history and geography curriculum. It's a biblically-based five year rotational series that's designed so additional kids can jump in at any particular year, and cover all five years somewhere between 3rd and 8th grade. It's also adaptable for kids who are slightly older or younger as well. It's been a great foundational course for our family.

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is a fantastic audio series that covers historical topics like the World Wars. These are really in depth episodes. While probably not appropriate for younger kids, they could be acceptable for junior highers and high schoolers. Most of the me are a few hours long, but they're not boring. We both learned quite a bit from listening to them, and our oldest daughter, Larinda, has listened to some of them as well. You can find select free episodes on iTunes or on Dan Carlin's Website with other episodes available for purchase.

The Tuttle Twins series of books is awesome! They cover subjects like economics and civics from a liberty-leaning perspective. Many of the books are distilled versions of well-known treatises, but they're presented in a way that makes them fun for younger kids. There's also a series of books for teens, parent guides, audio books, and a weekly free market curriculum.

Finally, Tom Woods's Liberty Classroom brings you "the history and economics they didn't teach you" in school. Like Hardcore History, this content is really geared towards adults, but it makes great material for high school students as well. You'll find broad survey courses in topics like Western Civilization and US History, but there are some more provocative courses as well. This episode is coming out a couple days before Christmas, but maybe after going through "How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America," What’s Wrong with Textbook Economics," or "The 10 Worst and 10 Best Presidents" along with "Intro to Logic," your high school student will be ready to sow discord at next year's family gatherings!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and what better time to talk about turkey! In this episode, we walk through raising and butchering turkeys, but we don't stop there. If you're not interested in raising turkeys, or butchering them yourself, fear not--we also spend some time talking about preparing the bird for your dinner table! Below are the recipes we discussed in the episode for oven roasted turkey, Owen's highly acclaimed turkey gravy, and Stephanie's turkey soup.

So far this year we have butchered four of our turkeys, all of them the big white broad-breasted ones. The one in the picture was the biggest at 29 lbs...but "Puffy," who we will our Thanksgiving turkey is even bigger. I have no doubts he will be well over 30 lbs dressed!

Omri with his biggest (so far) turkey!

During the butchering portion of the episode, Stephanie mentioned that we used a laundry basket with a hole it it for a "killing cone" to suspend and contain the bird while we dispatched it. This was an OK solution, but I think next time I will choose something with solid sides, so that the turkey's talons don't get caught in the holes. I'm not sure whether it will be a little on the big side when the time comes to butcher a couple of the Narragansets. The 60-qt pot from Bass Pro Shops we used for scalding the birds before plucking, on the other hand, was excellent! If you do any brewing, I think the spigot on the front would come in particularly handy as well.

Our makeshift turkey killing cone made from a soft-side laundry basket

Be sure to check out Our Favorite Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes for written directions on how to prepare roast turkey, gravy, and turkey soup! While you're at it, check out Dave Cooks the Turkey, the short story Stephanie mentioned in the episode. It's worth some laughs while you're working on dinner.

As mentioned in the episode, my (Owen) mother passed away the night after Thanksgiving when I was in 3rd grade. I know there's a lot of drama, concern, and restrictions out there right now due to COVID-19. Lots of people are saying to wait until next year. Just stay home. However, not everyone has until next year, so you make the decision that's right for you, and your family. Whatever you decide, we hope you have a lot to be thankful for despite all the craziness 2020 has shown us.

Winter is coming! That means we've been busy scrambling to complete a bunch of fall projects. It's been busy the last few weeks, and it's taken awhile to get this episode published. From butchering goats, roosters, and turkeys, to building new feeders and waters, and fencing over the poultry run, there's been no shortage of things to do. It hasn't been all work and no play though. As we mention in the episode, we took some time to do a bonfire with friends, and camp out with the kids. At temps in the low fifties, I was about at the limit for my summer bag, and really would have preferred my winter bag, but oh well. We had fun anyway!

The goat chow mein Stephanie made was fantastic! The kids all loved it. She used this Spicy Lamb Chowmein recipe from Alicia's Pepperpot, with a few tweaks. Obviously substituting goat for lamb was one of them, but she also used rice noodles in place of chow mein noodles. We really like goat, and I imagine we'll be adding them to the homestead at some point in the future.

What are you doing to get ready for winter?

Drink of the episode: Starlight Single Barrel Huber's Rickhouse Select Indiana Straight Bourbon. We got to go to the Starlight Distillery and help select the barrel for one of the local whiskey groups we belong to. This particular barrel was reminiscent of cinnamon rolls. If you're ever in southern Indiana, it's worth a visit.

One of the turkeys supervising the aviary netting workOmri hauling a 40-lbs bag of feedOur new feeder setup which can hold two bags of feedThe turkeys seem to like the constant supply of foodStephanie's goat soupOliver helping pluck the chickens (pretty brave for a five-year-old!)Aviary netting over the poultry yardWe used chicken wire to cover the walkwayWalkway from the chicken coop to the poultry yard

We love our ducks and geese! Whether you've raised other birds, such as chickens, or are totally new to poultry, we think waterfowl are great, and worth considering for your homestead, too. They produce wonderful meat, eggs, and down. As a bonus, they're just plain fun. In this episode, we cover why you might want waterfowl, what it takes to get started raising ducks or geese, and other helpful considerations for selecting your birds.

In this episode we mentioned several items you might need to get started raising birds. The list isn't exhaustive. Most notably, we didn't include things like a Rubbermaid bin, as those are easily found at local stores, and people generally know what we're talking about. A large bin should last you a couple of weeks. As the birds grow, you will want to move them to a bigger enclosure. You might be able to find the rest of these items for better prices at your local farm store, but we'll put links here for your convenience if you want to order them from Amazon.

* Heat lamp with bulb guard* 125W heat lamp bulbs (go with incandescent, avoid infrared)* Waterer* Feeder* Non-medicated Chick/Duck starter (see paragraph below)* Brooder thermometer/hygrometer (if hatching eggs)* Incubator such as the HovaBator 1588 combo kit w/ egg turner and candler, if hatching eggs (also available standalone without turner/candler)

We somehow forgot to mention feed in the episode. For starting your ducklings/goslings you are going to want chick starter crumble. This is available at almost any farm or feed store. It's very important you do not get medicated feed for your baby waterfowl. Medicated feed is fine for chickens, but it can harm ducks and geese. There are a variety of brand options out there from pretty basic to specialty (e.g. organic) feeds. We've used Purina Start and Grow, Manna Pro Chick Starter, and Nutrena Naturewise Chick Starter. They all come in a non-medicated version, and have similar protein and nutrient formulations, which are ideal for young birds. You can find feed online, but it's often much more expensive than buying it locally (so we recommend looking nearby first).

If you want additional information about how to raise poultry, we highly recommend Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry and The Backyard Homesteade Guide to Raising Farm Animals. You can't go wrong with either of these books. They are both packed with useful information.

Drink of the episode: Shiner Holiday Cheer. A seasonal brew from Shiner Brewery in Shiner, TX, this beer has dark flavors offset by the sweetness of Texas peaches. It's quite delicious!

Day old ducksDucklings and goslings in a brooder boxOur larger brooder setup

Parents of multiple kids, the challenges are real! You have to figure out how to teach algebra to one kid, and counting to another. One kid is writing research papers, and one kids is learning the ABCs. Oh, and there's a baby crying to be fed! Trying to homeschool with kids of different ages definitely has its challenges! We've got five kids. The oldest is a freshman in high school, two in middle school, one is in the middle of elementary school, and the youngest is in Kindergarten. We've been through the ups and downs, and rest assured, it is possible! In this episode we discuss some of the things we've found that make it easier. It all starts with flexibility!

Links: Lauri Tall-Stackers Number Express - A nice little foam and peg set that makes a great "school time toy" for younger kids. It incorporates colors, numbers, and motors skills, but let's be honest, the kids really like chewing on the foam puzzle pieces.

Magic Desktop - When you want to let your kids play and learn on your computer, but you don't want them messing it all up, this is the answer. When running, it locks down a Windows computer in a special kiosk mode, teaches computer skills, and provides curated games and activities. There's even a basic email client you can lock down to specific contacts.

Drink of the episode: Driftless Glen Single Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey (Iowa Whiskey Chasers pick) - With tastes of cinnamon rolls and spices, this is a great whiskey out of a distillery in Wisconsin.

In 2020, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot more people have considered alternatives to public school. If you're new to this world, you might have your own conceptions about what it means to homeschool, and probably some misconceptions too. What is it exactly? Online private school? Full boxed curriculum sets? Unschooling? Well, ask two different families how they do it, and you'll probably get different answers. Unlike public school with its cookie cutter one-size-fits-all approach, homechooling can be tailored to fit your specific family needs. Schedules, curriculum options, and subjects are flexible, and that's one of the things that makes homeschooling great! In this episode we go into detail about what is and isn't homeschooling.

Links: Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom - Get the economics and history lessons you never had in school from top instructors.Weapons of Mass Instruction: A Schoolteacher's Journey Through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gato - An excellent read (or as we prefer, listen) on the history and state of public education.

Drink of the episode: Kendall Jackson Vinter's Reserve Chardonanny - We're normally red wine fans, but when we need a white, this is our go-to. Sweet and crisp, with citrus and pear notes. Yum!

Welcome to the first episode of a brand new podcast! Owen and Stephanie Fuller, parents of five and acreage owners, introduce themselves, and give you a preview of what's to come on this new show. Living Life Fuller: Journeying toward independence through homeschooling, homesteading, and a whole lot more!

Who are these people? Why did they get into homeschooling? Where are they homesteading? Why did did they decide to start this show? Good questions! We cover these, as these in episode 1. Thanks for checking us out, and we welcome your feedback.

Drink of the episode: North Coast Brewing Tart Cherry Berliner Weisse. Not normally a big fan of sours, but this one has a nice zing! Great to try a new beer while recording a new show! Thanks for the recommendation, Beth the Booze Lady!