You are so sweet, and so encouraging. And these were some excellent tips. As a first generation Christian, from a very broken childhood, I am having to contantly learn how to be a good Christian, a godly wife, and a godly mother, althewhile continuing to navigate homeschooling. So when I find beautiful, positive examples like yours, I soak it in. We are blessed to have 6 living children, ages 16 down to 2, and I homeschool all of them except my oldest, who prayerfully decided to attend public school last year. It has been a difficult, yet very rewarding journey, learning how to work out how to do it all as our family has grown, and I wouldn't change it for anything. Keep fighting the good fight, sister, and thank you for being such an encouragement. Definitely subscribing today! God bless!
Thank you so much! And thanks for the subscription and for sharing your story. I lLOVE hearing feedback from other moms! I am glad to hear this has encouraged you. Keep doing the daily kingdom work of raising those little blessings in the Lord!
I’m a mom of 5, mine range from 12 to 5, and I’m bringing my kids home to school next year. I so appreciate your advice - it’s kind of a daunting task!
Oh, how exciting! If I could say one thing to you it would be this. You absolutely can do this! Homeschooling is not easy, but it is a step you never regret. Take it one day at a time and don't be too hard on yourself!
Thank you for this! I have 8 children and one on the way. 5 are school aged and I have a 3 and 2 year old who are begging to be schooled as well so its getting crazy. Also 4 out of my 5 that are school aged need me to be hands on bc im teaching them how to read. My 10 yr old was pulled out of public school 2 yrs ago and I found out he couldn't read so im trying to catch him up. So thats my main focus teaching him and my pre-schooler, kinder and 1st grader how to read. My 13 yr old is very independent thank God. But I NEED to make my 10 yr old independent ASAP. As for sports and outside activities I'm only allowing my 4 oldest bc its a lot to juggle. 4 of my school aged go to piano class, 2 of them do basketball and my oldest does volleyball. We were going to have the littles do tumbling but we've decided not to. I will just find ways to get them active at home or go to the park on the weekends ect. A field trip here and there. We have the zoo planned for Nov when the weather cools down. Things are getting SUPER busy as more of my children become school aged. 😅 So this was very helpful. I have a LOT of littles right now.
You are welcome! Congratulations on a new little one on the way! What a blessing! Sounds like you have a lot on you with a couple kids who are learning to read, but also looks like you have a great plan in place! Focusing on your 10 year old and working down is the same thing I would do. When he becomes more independent, that will help him to move on with less assistance and will help you to be able to work more with your younger kids. Kuddos to you for letting go of some extracurriculars like tumbling, especially for littles...it's great if it meets a need, but if it is overwhelming the family, it's not worth it. I always try to make extracurriculars more of a priority for my older kids, but the littles get so much stimulation just with the busyness of a big family plus they need time for play. Blessings to you and your family!
Thank you for this! I just found you thankfully, because I am just about to go over the cliff. I have 5, 10 years old, 6 years old (ADD), 3 year old RED headed TWINS (my boy exhibits traits of ODD ADHD w/ rage) & a 7 month old. It's so hard to do anything, it's so hard to do everything, with my 3 year old with all his problems. He hasn't been raised any different than the rest. We are God fearing Christians, but this situation has all but broken me. I refuse to medicate my son, I refuse to vaxx my children & send them to public school... but the environment is not conducive for learning when my 3 year old is not getting what he wants when he wants it ... please pray for me..
You are welcome! So glad you found my channel and I hope it can give you some helpful encouragement. I am sorry you are having a rough time. Sounds like you have a lot on your plate. Don't be too hard on yourself. You have chosen the narrow road and sometimes along the way it can get messy and be really tough! If I were you, I would step back from the school work a little and focus on your family and home atmosphere, meeting the kids' needs individually as best as you are able. Try to do a little reading, writing, and math every day if possible, but shift your focus from school to home for a while. Address the kids' struggles first. Reach out for help if needed. Have everybody contribute to chores, clean up, helping out, etc. to help the house run smoothly. Putting school on a back burner temporarily won't put anyone behind in the long run. You will make more progress long term if you put your family first.
We are homeschool family. I am glad to find the similarities with your hs family We use same curriculum for Math and Science. We clean up a bit before Homeschool We have small breaks for my older kids can play with the foster toddler I take care of.
Only 5 kids here, but we try to keep team sports to 2 per season. If more kids want to play and they aren’t close enough in age to be on the same team, then other kids can do sports classes. But more than 2 always proves to be a logistical nightmare! 😂 thanks for this video!
I can relate! It can be hard to limit outside activities when we want to be able to give our kids as many opportunities as possible, but I think that doing too much has the opposite effect. Kids can't enjoy or benefit as much from the sports when the family is frazzled and they have too many irons in the fire.
I came from a family of 10 kids (I am #9.) I always wanted 9-10 kids myself, but 5 kids in, I am finding it so much harder than I thought it would be. Being a full time homeschool mom and stay home mom, house keeper or wanting more children all seem out of my reach. I found AO 6-7 years ago. I really appreciate your input and opinion that it is not for large families! Oh. My. Goodness! I have felt so deflated and so much of a failure. Thank you for your example, tips, and insight as a Christian mother. Thank you for teaching me something today! Thank you for you example of patience especially!
Oh wow, I love hearing about big families! I can relate to how hard it can be at times. One day at a time! Thanks for your kind words about the video...I am glad it relieved you of any pressure of feeling like you have to do it all. Blessings to you and your family!
Thanks so much for your encouragement and honesty. I have five and we are in a season of busy. We are still trying to get into a routine with our schooling this year. Everyone seemed to change into a different phase of growth at the same time. I needed to take a step back and breath. I can get so weighted down by all the needs that everyone has. I don't like that feeling, I pray for a change in my heart and just choose to be honest. Thanks again for your message and time.
You are so welcome! You are speaking my language! I have been there..."weighed down by all the needs that everyone has". It's hard to be in a season where you feel buried. You are doing such an important job raising those 5 precious kiddos! Finding a routine that works is so helpful so hopefully you can get into a good rhythm. Keep taking one day at a time and asking for the Lord's help. You can do this!
Very encouraging. Thank you! I am a homeschooling mom of 6 with #7 on the way. I know you mentioned the kids doing chores after your morning time, but how do you do chores the rest of the day? For example after meals when the kitchen and dining room get messy fast! How do you and your kids work together to keep up with these things throughout the day? Thank you for any advice on this! Thank you!
Thank you so much! Congrats on expecting a little one! What a joy! I give more details about how we do house work on the blog post. ourlifehomeschooling.com/2022/10/10/10-tips-for-how-to-homeschool-a-large-family/ From the blog about kitchen clean up: "Depending on the ages of your oldest kids, assign a child to either be your kitchen helper (middle kids) or completely responsible (older kids) for kitchen clean up for for every meal. Currently we do this by day. One child is the kitchen clean up person for one day a week. This is less confusing to me than having a different person for every meal." One thing I did not mention was how we often do a 10-15 minute pick up after school is over. I set the timer and we all work together. It helps me to assign different areas (living room, kitchen, basement, etc.) Also, before they get their evening screen time, they have to have clean bedrooms. I inspect every time...and I can be a pretty tough inspector, ;) so that has helped to keep the bedrooms at bay. But realistically, Tip#9 (Be flexible) is the rule of thumb in our house. We may be able to get it looking pretty good for company or the start of our school day, etc. BUT 11 people live in our house! And so, that means it usually looks "lived in"! I like to have a plan and we all work hard to keep order, but being rigid just doesn't work for me. I'd rather spend that time enjoying my kids. :) I have also found that I think it gets a little easier as the oldest kids get older. I hope this is helpful! Blessings to you and your family!
You are so sweet, and so encouraging. And these were some excellent tips.
As a first generation Christian, from a very broken childhood, I am having to contantly learn how to be a good Christian, a godly wife, and a godly mother, althewhile continuing to navigate homeschooling. So when I find beautiful, positive examples like yours, I soak it in. We are blessed to have 6 living children, ages 16 down to 2, and I homeschool all of them except my oldest, who prayerfully decided to attend public school last year. It has been a difficult, yet very rewarding journey, learning how to work out how to do it all as our family has grown, and I wouldn't change it for anything.
Keep fighting the good fight, sister, and thank you for being such an encouragement.
Definitely subscribing today!
God bless!
Thank you so much! And thanks for the subscription and for sharing your story. I lLOVE hearing feedback from other moms! I am glad to hear this has encouraged you. Keep doing the daily kingdom work of raising those little blessings in the Lord!
@@OurLifeHomeschooling Thank you 💖
Thank you so much for taking the time to share! Being a mom of 15 myself I really appreciate your heart in being willing to share!
You are so welcome! Nice to meet you! I love hearing from other moms of many. :)
I’m a mom of 5, mine range from 12 to 5, and I’m bringing my kids home to school next year. I so appreciate your advice - it’s kind of a daunting task!
Oh, how exciting! If I could say one thing to you it would be this. You absolutely can do this! Homeschooling is not easy, but it is a step you never regret. Take it one day at a time and don't be too hard on yourself!
Thank you for this! I have 8 children and one on the way. 5 are school aged and I have a 3 and 2 year old who are begging to be schooled as well so its getting crazy. Also 4 out of my 5 that are school aged need me to be hands on bc im teaching them how to read. My 10 yr old was pulled out of public school 2 yrs ago and I found out he couldn't read so im trying to catch him up. So thats my main focus teaching him and my pre-schooler, kinder and 1st grader how to read. My 13 yr old is very independent thank God. But I NEED to make my 10 yr old independent ASAP. As for sports and outside activities I'm only allowing my 4 oldest bc its a lot to juggle. 4 of my school aged go to piano class, 2 of them do basketball and my oldest does volleyball. We were going to have the littles do tumbling but we've decided not to. I will just find ways to get them active at home or go to the park on the weekends ect. A field trip here and there. We have the zoo planned for Nov when the weather cools down. Things are getting SUPER busy as more of my children become school aged. 😅 So this was very helpful. I have a LOT of littles right now.
You are welcome! Congratulations on a new little one on the way! What a blessing! Sounds like you have a lot on you with a couple kids who are learning to read, but also looks like you have a great plan in place! Focusing on your 10 year old and working down is the same thing I would do. When he becomes more independent, that will help him to move on with less assistance and will help you to be able to work more with your younger kids. Kuddos to you for letting go of some extracurriculars like tumbling, especially for littles...it's great if it meets a need, but if it is overwhelming the family, it's not worth it. I always try to make extracurriculars more of a priority for my older kids, but the littles get so much stimulation just with the busyness of a big family plus they need time for play. Blessings to you and your family!
Thank you for this! I just found you thankfully, because I am just about to go over the cliff. I have 5, 10 years old, 6 years old (ADD), 3 year old RED headed TWINS (my boy exhibits traits of ODD ADHD w/ rage) & a 7 month old. It's so hard to do anything, it's so hard to do everything, with my 3 year old with all his problems. He hasn't been raised any different than the rest. We are God fearing Christians, but this situation has all but broken me. I refuse to medicate my son, I refuse to vaxx my children & send them to public school... but the environment is not conducive for learning when my 3 year old is not getting what he wants when he wants it ... please pray for me..
You are welcome! So glad you found my channel and I hope it can give you some helpful encouragement.
I am sorry you are having a rough time. Sounds like you have a lot on your plate. Don't be too hard on yourself. You have chosen the narrow road and sometimes along the way it can get messy and be really tough!
If I were you, I would step back from the school work a little and focus on your family and home atmosphere, meeting the kids' needs individually as best as you are able. Try to do a little reading, writing, and math every day if possible, but shift your focus from school to home for a while. Address the kids' struggles first. Reach out for help if needed. Have everybody contribute to chores, clean up, helping out, etc. to help the house run smoothly. Putting school on a back burner temporarily won't put anyone behind in the long run. You will make more progress long term if you put your family first.
I needed this today, especially #10. Thank you for this.❤
So glad to hear! You're welcome!
Yes! It’s so important to encourage the kids to be independent learners!
So true!
We are homeschool family. I am glad to find the similarities with your hs family
We use same curriculum for Math and Science.
We clean up a bit before Homeschool
We have small breaks for my older kids can play with the foster toddler I take care of.
That is awesome! Sounds like we have a lot in common!
Thank you so much for this encouragement may the Lord bless you
You're welcome!
I love your channel so much. You give the best tips. We have 6 kids and live in Maine ❤
Thanks so much! Nice to meet you! Maine is a beautiful state.
Thank you very much, you talked about every situation I found myself in. I appreciate it so much.
You are so welcome! I'm so glad you found it helpful! 😊
Only 5 kids here, but we try to keep team sports to 2 per season. If more kids want to play and they aren’t close enough in age to be on the same team, then other kids can do sports classes. But more than 2 always proves to be a logistical nightmare! 😂 thanks for this video!
I can relate! It can be hard to limit outside activities when we want to be able to give our kids as many opportunities as possible, but I think that doing too much has the opposite effect. Kids can't enjoy or benefit as much from the sports when the family is frazzled and they have too many irons in the fire.
I came from a family of 10 kids (I am #9.)
I always wanted 9-10 kids myself, but 5 kids in, I am finding it so much harder than I thought it would be. Being a full time homeschool mom and stay home mom, house keeper or wanting more children all seem out of my reach.
I found AO 6-7 years ago. I really appreciate your input and opinion that it is not for large families! Oh. My. Goodness! I have felt so deflated and so much of a failure. Thank you for your example, tips, and insight as a Christian mother. Thank you for teaching me something today!
Thank you for you example of patience especially!
Oh wow, I love hearing about big families! I can relate to how hard it can be at times. One day at a time!
Thanks for your kind words about the video...I am glad it relieved you of any pressure of feeling like you have to do it all. Blessings to you and your family!
Thanks so much for your encouragement and honesty. I have five and we are in a season of busy. We are still trying to get into a routine with our schooling this year. Everyone seemed to change into a different phase of growth at the same time. I needed to take a step back and breath. I can get so weighted down by all the needs that everyone has. I don't like that feeling, I pray for a change in my heart and just choose to be honest. Thanks again for your message and time.
You are so welcome!
You are speaking my language! I have been there..."weighed down by all the needs that everyone has". It's hard to be in a season where you feel buried. You are doing such an important job raising those 5 precious kiddos! Finding a routine that works is so helpful so hopefully you can get into a good rhythm. Keep taking one day at a time and asking for the Lord's help. You can do this!
This is so encouraging, thank you
Glad to hear! You're welcome!
With 4 kids I can relate to these things, especially the last few so much. I appreciate your honesty and time. Thank you!❤
You are so welcome!
Homeschooling mom of 8 here! Great tips!
Nice to meet you! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing 🙏
My pleasure!
LOved it❤❤!
Thank you!
Such a sweet message - thank you so much!
Thank you! Glad you liked it!
Very encouraging. Thank you! I am a homeschooling mom of 6 with #7 on the way.
I know you mentioned the kids doing chores after your morning time, but how do you do chores the rest of the day? For example after meals when the kitchen and dining room get messy fast! How do you and your kids work together to keep up with these things throughout the day?
Thank you for any advice on this!
Thank you!
Thank you so much! Congrats on expecting a little one! What a joy!
I give more details about how we do house work on the blog post.
ourlifehomeschooling.com/2022/10/10/10-tips-for-how-to-homeschool-a-large-family/
From the blog about kitchen clean up: "Depending on the ages of your oldest kids, assign a child to either be your kitchen helper (middle kids) or completely responsible (older kids) for kitchen clean up for for every meal. Currently we do this by day. One child is the kitchen clean up person for one day a week. This is less confusing to me than having a different person for every meal."
One thing I did not mention was how we often do a 10-15 minute pick up after school is over. I set the timer and we all work together. It helps me to assign different areas (living room, kitchen, basement, etc.) Also, before they get their evening screen time, they have to have clean bedrooms. I inspect every time...and I can be a pretty tough inspector, ;) so that has helped to keep the bedrooms at bay.
But realistically, Tip#9 (Be flexible) is the rule of thumb in our house. We may be able to get it looking pretty good for company or the start of our school day, etc. BUT 11 people live in our house! And so, that means it usually looks "lived in"! I like to have a plan and we all work hard to keep order, but being rigid just doesn't work for me. I'd rather spend that time enjoying my kids. :)
I have also found that I think it gets a little easier as the oldest kids get older.
I hope this is helpful! Blessings to you and your family!