Homeschooling for Large Families...How do you do it?

[mimiharshe]

Hi to all you amazing moms who homeschool.

I need your help! I need honest feedback here. I have a 3 yr old and 19 month old and we just found out we are pregnant w/dc#3! We are so excited. However, I just don't know how I will home school. We have gone back and forth many times. I am discouraged again. You see, my poor dh ...I'm talking him into having at least 4-5 children, if not more. I just don't see how I can homeschool w/that many children. I think I might go crazy. Already w/the 2 I think I'm going crazy when it comes to entertaining them, nap time and bed time! (they won't go to sleep on their own anymore and that's ok except they need sleep!) I give all I have to these children that I wonder what's left. I don't mean this in a bad way, I'm just wondering if I need to find some kind of a balance. Do they need to start being a little more independent in some ways, like playing alone w/o me or having a quiet time in their room? How can I even think of homeschooling 4 or 5 or more children? : I don't know if I am cut out for this and dh is questioning it too. I'm sorry to go on and on, I am just very discouraged about homeschooling right now! I don't have anyone to help out, so I never get a break (except dh and he's got his plate full right now, though he is wonderful). But when I think about sending them to school, I don't feel good about that either!

So, how do you do it? Do you get breaks? Do you expect your children to help out or do things on their own? Do you have any words of wisdom?

January...a mom who wants to homeschool, but just doesn't know if she can.

[Brisen]

There must be some large hsing families here... we have 3 kids now, but plan to have more. If you don't get responses here, you might try googling for another forum.

Was it you who said you were into TJEd on another thread? If not, you might want to look into it, it is IMO large-family friendly.

www.tjed.org

I have similar worries because I am introverted and, when things get rough, I don't function well without adequate time to myself. Books on cd help a lot, as do craft materials and lego.

It has also helped my energy/enthusiasm level to move from seeing hs as something I am doing *for* the kids to something we are doing together.

[Anglyn]

OMG, its so easy! The little ones learn from the older ones, I mean I am AMAZED at what my two year old knows, just picked up from his 3.5yr old sister! Ok, I dont mean to make it sound like its no work at all. Heres what I mean:

I didnt think I could hs either, when it came to our decision to pull my oldest (15) out of school. But I pulled the curriculum (list of what your child should know by the end of...k, 1st, 2nd etc..) and was amazed to see that my 3.5yr old has almost everything on the preschool list done and about half of the k list. And my two year old, about half of the preschool list. And we have done NOTHING formally. Just reading to them, answering thier questions etc and of course my 15yr old loves nothing more than to teach the three year old (usually stuff I dont want her to know,lol) So by age four my dd will be ready for first grade? I think she is learning just fine without formal schooling.

If you find that unschooling fits your family I say the more you have, the easier it is for each subsequent child to learn. Now, if you are going more for the school at home with lots of structure and workbooks and testing, it might get more hectic but then again studies have proven that the "one room schoolhouse" method of education is MUCH better than teh current peer grouping that we do. For the reason I already stated, older kids help teach the younger ones.

Well, what do I know, I dont yet have three kids in the "school age" range but so far its going great with the three I have and one more on the way.

[yitlan]

Your kids are so young. Mine are young, too, but the difference in a 5yo's attention span and a 3yo's is marked. So remember you're not doing much "school" right now at their ages. You have a few years before you need to get formal, if that's the direction you take. By that time, your older will be helpful with the younger ones. And it's hard to imagine the routine and flow of the day when you find out your expecting another. All you can do is ask, "ANOTHER? How will that work?!?!?!" But it will because you will have no choice but to make it. I gave up on hsing for awhile b/c I couldn't imagine doing it with 2 or 3 kids. Now that my oldest is approaching school age, it seems much more manageable. Good luck!

[Mallory]

I don't really think of my family as large, but I have three boys (10 mo., 5 yo, 7 yo.) and my sister (11 yo) also is living and homeschooling with us now.

I agree that from your view having a more toddlers and preschoolers is going to push you past your limits. But as your children get older things do get easier. By the time they are about 4 or 5 most kids are capable of making thier own breakfasts (a bowl of cereal) or lunches (a sandwich) or snacks (yogurt or crackers or an apple). And can even mostly clean up thier own mess. Sure I don't depend on them to do it everyday alone, but some days they do (like if I need a nap or a shower or just to be alone for half an hour and the baby just went to sleep), and most days they at least help. They get dressed on their own and can make a real contrbution to getting laundry washed, folded, and put away, as well as filling and emptying the dishwasher.

And in some ways having more children makes some of it easier.
With three older kids I can usually send someone to go stack up blocks and ocupy the baby for 2 minutes, or send the oldest two to go read together while I do baths and teeth with the younger, ect. They can hold the baby while I go pee by myself (something I didn't think I'd ever be able to do when my first two were 1 and 3).

We do have rather formal school, but my first two are close enough (19 months apart) that they do many subjects together. And my sister is old enough that she can do much independantly.

I agree that you will be busy and overwelmed with a 4, 2, and newborn. Preschoolers and toddlers and babies take a lot of energy, they wake you up, they have to be on top of you day and night, they need you even when you are peeing.

But they grow up. They sleep all night. They wipe thier own bottoms. They wash the dishes. You'll make it and when they are older you can decide about homeschooling.

[annethcz]

I have 4 kids, which I don't view as all that large of a family. I would like more kids, but that is currently a topic of discussion between me and DH, so we'll see what happens...

ITA with the others that there is a HUGE difference between being the mother of toddlers and the mother of older children. My youngest child is 3. And there's a big difference between the capabilites of my youngest at age 3 compared to my oldest child when he was 3. With many older siblings, my 3yo is much more mature and capable my oldest was at the same age.

There are many different ways to homeschool. But if you're planning to homeschool using formal lessons or structured subjects, it is doable even with many children. We're relaxed homeschoolers. Each day I ask my oldest child to do one page of a phonics workbook and one page of a math workbook. This takes 5-25 minutes. I also read to this child, following a curriculum- this takes approx. 30 minutes per day. I have my two middle children combined- they are using the same materials/curriculum this year. My middle two are learning to read this year. Each day I read them books about the topic for the week, and they do a worksheet, play games, etc. This usually takes 30-60 minutes. My youngest is 3 and too young to do any formal schooling. However, I do make sure that I take 20-30 minutes each day to read her library books.

While I'm working with one child, the other kids are playing together, playing computer games, drawing at the table, doing puzzles, etc.

All in all, it works out pretty well. Formal lessons take a short amount of time, and we have the rest of the day to spend playing, doing things around the house, meeting with friends, and just generally enjoying life

[mimiharshe]

Thank you for all of your quick responses! They were great. Thank you for the link Brisen.

I realized while reading your responses that I am worrying about something that isn't even here!: Silly me. I'm not going to worry about anything until after I have this baby!

January

[ABand3]

I have three kids and don't plan any more, so I'm not really a large family, but some days I feel like we are... I try to think of those families that have 4, 5, and more, and wonder how they do it. I think giving the older children responisbilities helps. My 6.5 year old is truely a great help around the house, and when we are out.

Here's an article that helped pull me through one of those crazy days when I wonder what life would be with them all in school : (disclaimer -it's from a christian perspective) http://www.schoolofabraham.com/babylesson.htm

[AngelBee]

For me, it helps for me to see our homeschooling as a lifestyle....not just something we do. That allows for alot of flexibility.

For instance, we homeschool year round. If we miss a day.....no worries! Doing it all year, we have it covered.