Frugal Moms

I home school and I have 5 children.  I find that sometimes I NEED a new lab set up, or I NEED this teaching book.  It really is a disease this NEED thing.  In reality, I am quite qualified to teach with out a book on the methods of instruction for such and such child.  The thing is I wish my kids had those microscopes, and chemistry set ups, and such.  I have most of the time had to improvise.

When we studied light, I didn’t have prisms and neat colored plastics.  However we did have several eye glass pieces from old pairs of eye glasses.  That was a hot topic for a while… the kids could get over the wood burning beneath their sisters eye glasses.  I also had water colors to blend colors.  I had water in a clear glass to show refractory properties.  Ya know, how the straw “bends”.

For chemistry we had baking soda and vinegar.  We had creme to butter.  We had water and oil.  We didn’t have crucibles, Cu, or even an alcohol burner.   I tried, at least with in our limitations, to do well.

For biology we have land filled with natural untainted forest.  We had each other and our animals.  None were disected, although we did butcher a few chickens for dinner, which served as a disection of sorts.  Home schooling is reallly learning as much as you can about what you can with in your grasp.  That’s it.

Family letters replace the letters to famous people we all did in school or the artificial pen pals we were all handed.  Recipes replace fractions.  Money replaces decimals.  The metric system is learned in the kitchen when medicine is given.  Reading is for pleasure and discussions occur naturally.  Everything is made relevent.  So if anyone ever says, oh you can’t afford to home school.  Tell them yes, you can.

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