Contact us if you are interested in a class. We do not have specific dates scheduled for 2008, but may be able to find a weekend that will work for all of us if there is interest.

Whether for a weekend or a whole week, The Critter Basket offers classes and hands-on learning of homesteading skills for the beginner and advanced alike.  Each weekend offers the opportunity to care for animals, work with plants, and spend time in the homestead atmosphere with other people all interested in learning what it takes to be a modern-day homesteader, whether you live on a farm, small acreage, urban apartment or something in between.  All meals and snacks are included.

The theme is The Home Dairy.  Come milk a dairy goat, process the milk and learn just what to do with all that creamy white stuff! Feed the goat kids and taste the milk yourself.  How does it go from being milk to butter?  What is the process for making cheese or yogurt? Is it really as complicated as it seems? Of course not!

During the weekend we will have hands-on milking, processing the milk, learning to make your own cheese and butter and what it takes to raise a dairy goat for your family.

Sheep to Shawl

Start the weekend with feeding and care of sheep, from trimming hooves to types of feed and nutritional needs. Depending on the time of year, you could shear the sheep! Learn to process the wool, wash it, and then spin it on a drop spindle or spinning wheel. By the end of the weekend we’ll have a shawl or other project as a work in progress for you to take home!

 When a doctor is unnecessary or unwanted, how do you heal up those cuts and scrapes? Do you have to have antibiotics for an ear infection?  How about psoriasis and sore muscles and upset stomachs? Learn some basic herbal healing and nutritional supplements that can help you to stay happy and healthy all year round.  They are no substitute for professional medical care when needed, but how do you know when it is needed and when it isn't?  Let us help you! Sarah is a certified Master Herbalist with many years of experience in treating any number of issues.

This weekend of classes could be divided in some parts for men and women and children.

Women’s Health
 A woman has different needs, physically, nutritionally, emotionally and spiritually, than a man. Come spend some time talking with other women about the health and well-being of a woman on the homestead. Learn how to care for yourself and discuss what works for each individual to stay happy and healthy and protected in your life choices.

Men's Health
 Just as a woman has special needs, so does a man. Women, children, work, and income all play a big role in the life of a man and the responsibilities can be overwhelming. From frustrations and work problems, to health and nutrition, come talk with other men about life as a man on the homestead.

Children's Health
Children are a special case. They can't always tell you what hurts or where, how they got that bruise or scrape, or why they are crying.  From birth to toddlers to teenagers, explore with us some ways to help keep children happy and healthy through natural care.

Juggling Your Resources

Budgeting and Finances For The Homestead
How do you afford to pay all the bills, put your children through school, buy equipment and necessities, pay for medical care AND keep the roof over your heads and food on the table? Simple budgeting and economics will be discussed with worksheets and practice charts to modify to your own family's income and needs.

Time Management
 How do you fit it all in each season, each day, each hour, without exhausting yourself, and still have time to relax?  Easy to learn routines can make your life simpler and easier to manage.

But I Don’t HAVE That!
In a world of the haves and have-nots, many of us being in the have-not category, what do you do when the washing machine breaks and you have five loads of laundry to do before the weekend?  The mixer is missing parts but there are cookies to bake! There is fence to build and you can’t find the post driver anywhere!  Bring your ideas of what CAN go wrong or HAS gone wrong and enjoy a festive afternoon of pondering how to manage when you don’t have the part or tool that you think you need.

Animal Care                                       Retreat capacity limit:  10

Ever thought about getting a few critters to have around the place?  What does it entail?  How much work is it, really? How many hours out of your day are needed? How expensive are they?  This course brings reality to the care and costs of raising many different animals, from household pets to livestock and bees.  We will show you many of the wonders of having homestead animals, from hands-on care and play to figuring out proper feed rations and how much to put up for the winter.

Animal Husbandry
 So you want *more* of them around, do you?  Then you need a course in the creation of your livestock or pets, and it starts with a breeding pair. But how do you know which animals to breed and why?  And then when and HOW?  What you need to know to get started.

Kitchen Love   Retreat capacity limit:  As many as can cram into a kitchen of average size!

Cooking
 The art of adding heat to food to create delicious and nutritious meals is not as tricky as it may seem!  Learn to cook without the use of modern cooking gadgets like mixers, blenders and rice cookers. Cook over an open fire and learn what those pretty cast iron pots and pans are actually for, besides rustic decoration.  We’ll even show you some recipes and meals straight out of the Middle Ages!

Bread Baking Without Yeast
 So you ran out of the yeast packets and are snowed in for a week? What?  No bread?!  No problem. With just flour, milk and a touch of honey you, too, can create your own bread starter in just a few days!

Cooking With Honey
 No need to use a commercially prepared sugar. All the nutrition has been removed from granulated and white sugars. Use your own bees to give you all the sweets you desire, from cookies to candy and breads to mead!

Nutrition
 How do you know who to believe as far as what's good for you? Start from scratch.  If it has an ingredient that you can't pronounce or don't know what it is, then chances are likely that it isn't as healthy as the label says. Come learn about healthy nutrition and meal planning for a longer and more productive life with fewer illnesses and a lot more vibrancy!

Gardening and Harvest                           Retreat capacity limit:  20

Raising food for a year on a limited budget for a family of five?  How can this be?  We'll show you how to go from start to finish in preparing the soil, planting the seeds, and propagating the plants until harvest.  But how do you know when they're ready to harvest and what do you do with the vegetables then? We'll show you that, as well!

Food Preservation Techniques
 What do you do with all this food?  There's no way that it'll all fit in the refrigerator, not to mention KEEPING all winter! So how do you prepare the food that you harvest or butcher in the fall so that you can still eat it 7 or 8 months later?  We'll show you several techniques, including drying, canning, root cellaring, and freezing.

Soaps and Candles

Soap
 Create your own hard soaps from beginning to end. No more buying luxury bars at the grocery store – make your own. They're better, longer lasting and nicer smelling than the store brands. And you'll know that they were made with love!

Candle Making
 Whether the power went out and you're in the dark, you chose to live without electricity, or you just want to make your own candles for fun or profit, we'll show you several techniques for the creation of everything from scented jar candles to hand-dipped candles to the great big three wick candles.

This web site owned and maintained by Sarah and Sean Johnson.  If you have any questions regarding this site, please feel free to contact us!