Chickens, horses and ed choice scholarships combine for an ideal home education setting

This is what home education looks like to Vivian McCoy:

Feeding horses in the morning. Mucking stalls, too. Doing the same in the late afternoon, plus whatever else needs to be done at the horse farm where she works part-time.

In between, Vivian, who is in the ninth grade, and her sister, Genevieve, second grade, complete their schoolwork on the 15-acre farm where they live with their mom, AnnaMarie, in DeFuniak Springs.

“I feel I have way more free time to do the things I enjoy,” Vivian said, when asked about the benefits of home education.

That free time includes caring for her own two horses – Blue, a quarter Mustang mix, and Froggy, a Tennessee Walker – and tending to the other animals that live on what AnnaMarie calls a “teaching farm.”

Genevieve looks after the chickens and works in the 2,000-square-foot garden.

There are the core courses, for sure, but there is plenty of hands-on learning for the McCoy sisters in the only educational setting they have known.

Florida education choice scholarships help make it affordable for AnnaMarie, a single mom who works from home part-time as a dietitian consultant.

Genevieve receives the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA). Vivian receives the Personalized Education Program (PEP) scholarship available through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. Both scholarships are managed by Step Up For Students.

Like FES-UA, PEP is an education savings account (ESA) that gives parents the flexibility to customize their children’s learning to meet their needs. The scholarship, enacted by the Florida Legislature before the 2023-24 school year, has been a financial boon to AnnaMarie.

Until then, she paid out of pocket for the curriculum and supplies needed for Vivian’s home education.

“Pre-scholarship, it was a real struggle meeting all of her goals and being able to present her with things that were going to enhance her interests and her education,” AnnaMarie said. “Although we did it and we got through it, having the scholarship opens up an entire new world for us.

“I can use that money to really enhance what their interests are and what their weaknesses are, or their strengths.”

Like most students who are home educated, Vivian’s and Genevieve’s learning has evolved.

“I’ve gotten a lot more experience over the years to see what works for us,” AnnaMarie said. “These are two very different children, very different students, with very different interests and learning abilities. So, before the scholarship was an option, I definitely did things that were very budget-friendly and utilized anything that was a possible benefit to us that was low-cost, and I still do.”

Vivian is interested in agricultural science and animal husbandry. Hence, Blue and Froggy and her job at the horse farm.

“She's also very artistic,” AnnaMarie said. “She's super, super creative and super artistic.”

Genevieve, an excellent swimmer, is interested in anything that involves physical activity. She uses part of her ESA for speech-language pathology therapy and the educational tools needed to support that.

While Vivian was “born loving science,” AnnaMarie said, she finds herself trying to find something that will spark that interest in Genevieve. Toward that end, AnnaMarie has “melded” their home into a working farm.

“Everything here presents a teaching opportunity or learning opportunity, and they can see it from beginning to end,” AnnaMarie said.

Genevieve watches the chickens go from egg to chick to chicken – the entire lifecycle. In the garden, she follows the plants from seed to harvest.

“And all the struggles with that,” AnnaMarie said, “the positive outcomes and the negative outcomes and the environmental outcomes.”

AnnaMarie said there are “pros and cons” to every education setting.

“This lifestyle suits them best,” she said. “Having this environment and the flexibility in our schedule really suits their interests and their needs.”

Vivian, 14, is nearing driving age, yet she opted to spend the money she could have put toward a car to buy Froggy.

“She eats, lives, and breathes horse stuff,” AnnaMarie said.

“I’m fascinated by the equine species,” Vivian said. “The power and the majesty they hold. I find it very cool that you can do so many things with them and how they've evolved over the years.”

She was thrilled earlier this summer when she was allowed to ride Froggy in the local Fourth of July parade. It was a big step for both of them, Vivian said. She was able to do something away from the farm with Froggy, and he was able to be around a crowd with all the music and pageantry that comes with a parade.

“I was proud that he didn’t freak out,” she said.

Vivan said she plans to attend college and would like a career in marine biology or one that allows her to work with livestock.

For now, she’s content to work part-time at a local horse farm and care for Blue and Froggy.

And she’s grateful her home education setting allows for that.

Roger Mooney, manager, communications, can be reached at [email protected].