Life and Homeschool

We live in a mobile home. 

Mobile homes come in different qualities. The expensive ones are pretty much the same as average site-built houses. The cheap ones, however, not so much. Oh, the frames, the buildings themselves,  have had to meet the same HUD standards as a site-built since the 70's, but the insides are made the absolutely cheapest way possible; cupboards are made of pressboard (sawdust and glue), 1x2's, and nearly paper-thin paneling, and are smaller than normal cupboards; plumbing is cheapy plastic, etc. This is great for those who can't afford your average home. 

Ours is one of the cheaper ones, and we are very thankful for it.

But, 27 years (we've owned it for 17) + 9 children + cheap products= well, a mess, sometimes.

Due to pipe leaks (note the cheap plumbing mentioned above), the cupboards throughout the house are not in the best of condition (note the sawdust and glue mentioned above).

So, I asked Hubby a couple days ago if there was any reason I couldn't go buy a couple 2x4's and just set the counter in my bathroom on to those, throwing away the rest of the cupboard. He didn't see why not, but on the way home from work Monday he saw a real nice looking bathroom vanity (professional word for the cupboards under the bathroom sink) sitting by the side of the road with a free sign on it. So, yesterday morning the kids and I went to look at it and brought it home. Though it's actually older than my original one (we talked to the previous owner) it is made of real wood, 2x4's instead of 1x2's, and the paneling it does have is 4x's as thick as what was on our old one. Obviously and expensive unit, even if it is dated.

We brought it home, and after doing only half a day's school, I couldn't resist any longer. We took the old one out (pretty much shattered as we did), sealed up the mouse holes behind it, and installed the new one. Two of my adult boys did the majority of the work (the third was at work).

So, what with all the going to get the tools they needed and taking things out of their way, and so on, I walked a lot yesterday :-) 9503 recorded steps yesterday. Yeah!

Though I always try to make school work a priority, life is school and school is life. Sometimes there are things that really are more important than math and spelling. 

Putting together a study... when you have no money.

I think we've all had those times. Unfortunately the true "city library" is all the way in town. Now, we do have a "library" in our community, but it is in the government school (city planners saving money, no doubt) Ummm, I'm not taking my homeschooled kids onto a government school campus during school hours, thank you very much. (and the size of the building leads me to believe I have more resources in my house anyway.)

So, I've never done it quite this completely, but you can homeschool your child with just what you find in your library.

I am now doing my planning child by child at their birthdays. For those things we do together, I'm still working it all out over the Christmas break. But for them individually, just focusing on one kid at a time is really working. It lets me see what they really need without being distracted by what others are needing.

Yes, I am Anti Government Schools

An interesting article on Govenment schools being pagan and homeschooling being the solution. 

And they are in so many ways. We have trouble imagining anything but government schools, but really, they are a fairly new thing, especially in this country. and they were designed and and are controlled by socialistic Atheists. Why do we expect our kids to turn out as anything else whne that is exactly what the system is founded on?

Why Public Schools will never get better EXACTLY!
I try to steer clear too, often, but maybe we shouldn't. Maybe it's time we stood up and told other Christians, "It's time to quit doing the same things we've been doing for decades. It's not working and never has."

Ray Moore: Christian Parents Should Get Kids Out of Public Schools