We do not do everything just like everyone else does, as many of you have observed by now. That is true not only with our farming methods but other areas of our life as well. About a year ago I felt God directing us to build a small studio for each of our children where they could go to study, learn and write. True education is not merely having information memorized and doing your required time in a school building, but it is knowing where and how to get the information that you need when you need it. Young people need to learn to study and research for themselves and enjoy it, not expecting others to do the study and research for them and provide the answers. In my own research, I have found that many highly educated individuals today are not true scholars. They are merely repeating things that others have said. A verse in the Bible that stood out was: "And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children." (Isaiah 54:13)

The concept was to build six small rustic cabin type studios. Each of our children would have a mini school house of their own where they could go to for times of studying alone and to be alone with God. The bulk of their school time would still be in our school room in our farm house. The little school houses would be built on wheels so that it could easily be moved to any place on the farm. Each child has input into the design of their mini school house. We started by building two school houses for the two oldest, Joel and Nathan. We have four more to build.

As the name of our farm means: "The Lord will provide". In the weeks that followed, God provided the materials at incredibly cheap prices.

• At an auction we bought 5200 linear feet of new rough sawed oak lumber for the incredibly cheap price of $50 which we used for the siding.
• At another auction we bought 17 five gallon buckets of Sikkens log cabin stain for only $75.
• We bought the metal roofing at half price.
• The 2×4’s and other framing material we bought at Lowes as "cull" lumber for 75% off. Most of the lumber did not have anything wrong with it!
• Our neighbor, without knowing what we were doing, dropped off enough windows for all of the school houses from a remodel job that he was doing.
• We bought new doors at an auction for several dollars a piece.
• The trailer axles were free. One was from the rear axle of a minivan that the children tore apart several years ago before we junked it.
• We were given two small wood stoves for the two school houses that are finished, from a friend that we helped put up his greenhouse.

The total cost for each school house – about $200.

This is Nathan’s school house. The main part is 8’x8′ with a 4’x8′ porch. The porch will have a drop leaf desk attached to the railing for studying outdoors.

Nathan practicing fiddle in his school house. It is a great place to practice an instrument where others are not disturbed.

Joel, Kara, and Myron working on Joel’s school house. The building of the school houses is part of the children’s practical hands on training.

Joel’s school house is a little larger than Nathan’s. The main part is 8’x12′ with a 4’x8′ porch. Joel, age 21, is not going to college, but he is still learning and is studying college level human health and agriculture.

Joel is also using his mini school house as a recording and mixing studio.