My Day at The Homestead Schoolhouse

This past Thursday, I had the privilege of spending the day at The Homestead Schoolhouse in Taneyville, Missouri. The sun was just coming up when I arrived with my cousin Kimberly (the school director) and her children.

We gathered around the fire in the wood stove to warm up our hands. The stove had just been installed earlier in the week. Kimberly’s husband came over early that morning to build the fire. I suggested we could call him Almanzo Wilder.

I set up my laptop in the library to do a little work before the school day started. As the students arrived, they each had chores to do before “taking up books.”

One student was cleaning the girls’ restroom adjacent to the library. She introduced herself and told me it was her birthday—she was 10 years old. She wondered if I had noticed their new stove. I told her I had. “It fits right in!” she said. “It’s medieval!” I chuckled to myself. Later, I found out they had been studying the medieval era in history.

School started with pledges to the American and Christian flags and the Bible.

All the students stayed together for Bible class in the main classroom for the 1st period.

Later, they divided into four age groups for more grade-specific subjects such as math and English.

After lunch, the students divided into two groups. The older students had history (Medieval times!) on the day I was there, and the younger students had science.

Other subjects, such as music, memory work, and life skills, were incorporated at various times throughout the day. And I didn’t even make it out to the barn to visit the school animals—goats, rabbits, chickens, a calf, and a horse!

I had planned to spend a second day at the school, but we woke up to fresh snow, and school was canceled.

My “office” on Friday was the kitchen table in the rustic Ozark Mountain Cabin where we were staying. The power stayed on, and the wifi stayed up, so it was a good day to get work done. As winter workspaces go, they don’t come much cozier.

It was a lovely getaway in spite of the severe weather.