Heritage Homestead

So, I just got back from playing Bunco with the Gals, always lots of fun! But I wanted to tell about the day that the J-Boys and I had today. We went to Heritage Homestead in Plano where they have preserved some 1800's homes and artifacts and they have started to do classes on Fridays for homeschoolers so we went up there and today they talked about "Then and Now". Toys, games, chores, etc.. then and how they differ now. Of course, you know how cold it was today and so the kids were bundled, but still cold. The teacher had them beat the rug which would have been a chore that kids would have done in the 1800's, my kids each gave it a whack and said they were done. Oh, my little pioneers! They made there own checkerboard and other little crafts. The teacher read them a short story from Aesop's Fables. She also explained that back then stories that were read to the children always had a moral or a lesson to it, which is different from now.

So a little side note about me, I absolutely heart the "Little House on the Prairie" shows and I enjoy reading stories about the Amish. I think that it is the simpler life that draws me to it and the sense of community. But I don't have plans to cut off my electricity and wash my clothes in the nearest creek! I would like for things to slow down though and show my boys a sense of appreciation for the things we take for granted. O.K., I am going on a soap box here for a second, but I do think that we are growing up a spoiled generation even if you try to limit toys or exposure to certain things. Kids now a days have NO idea what it means to do chores even if they have things that they are responsible for every day. Children back then had up to 11 chores that they did a day. The thing is they might not of liked doing the chores, but they did not talk back or was disrespectful to their parents because if they did it was off to the woodshed. Also I believe that kids knew that the family is together and they all pull some weight to survive on a farm. My boys are not responsible for 11 chores but more like 2 that they are to do every day and it is never without some argument. Maybe I need to talk to Mechanic Man about a woodshed. Anyways, all this to say that I pray so much for my boys to learn respect and show it. To have the fear of the Lord and the love of Jesus at the same time. We have been reading "Farmer Boy" every night before bed and let me tell you I was astonished at the work that the family had to do all year around. Most of the time it was sun up to sun down. Kids were to be seen and not heard at the dinner table, only adults talked at the table. I thought that it was not a bad idea, J#1, didn't think so. But we have tried to implement that the boys need to stay quiet until they are done eating mainly because this is the first time that Mechanic Man and I have a chance to talk face to face and would like to do it without interruption and also it can become a problem with too much talking and not enough eating. I just want so much for my boys to have some simplicity in life, is that possible in this day and age? I don't know the answer so I will hop off my soap box for now.

Ya'll have a good night and stay warm, it is chilly out there.