School Planning

I LOVE to plan. Have I said that before? I plan stuff for FUN. Not so good at implementing, but that's the fun of it. When the implementation goes awry, back to the drawing board to plan again.



This morning I am home, mostly alone, to plan for next year's school. This is how I spend my summer vacations. Though we do not really stop schooling over the summer, we do spend half days doing school when we feel like it and when it's TOO HOT to go outside.



I recently read Managers Of Their Schools by Teri Maxwell and whereas I do not think I can implement everything she has for her own homeschool, I have put into use many of her ideas. These have kept us on the ball and not turned into slackers once the weather warmed up.



My first step in planning school is to think. What worked well this past year? What didn't? What changes (Skippito Bambino) will we be facing this year? What does my husband think of this past year? Does he have any suggestions? These turn into general goals for our school year.



For example, this past year, I wanted to develop honesty and independence in the older children so my goal in general was for them to self grade their work. This is one goal that we will continue to work on in the coming school year.



I also think about each child and how they have progressed this year. Where do they need to be challenged? What do they need more of, less of? What does Dad and what do they think they need? This turns into individual goals for each child.



The next step is to plan our school calendar. I usually print a calendar from Donna Young. If the plan changes (read: if I decide I want to scrap it all and do some planning) I can always print a new one. I block out all the days we will not be having school: Thursdays (CBS), birthdays, holidays, spring break, etc. Then I assign each week a number 1 - 36. This corresponds to our history program. Sometimes (like this year) we will do two weeks worth of history in one week. This is so we can take most of Nov and Dec off. :D. I count up the days we will be doing school and write it at the top of the page. I believe state regulations say 170 days or so, but I don't stress on it, because we do school all day, all the time as well as all summer in the heat of the day. I am sure we do WELL OVER the required amount.

At the beginning of last year's school year, I wrote a scope and sequence for all years from Pre K through 12th grade. In it is a rough schedule of what curriculum/skills the children should be using/learning. It is not a plan I set in stone, but rather a money and time saving device. It has prevented me from changing curriculum in mid year and kept focus of what was to come.

It IS just a guide, however, because this year when I looked at what one child should be working on, I realized that this particular child was not ready for what was appropriate for when another child was at the same level. We will simply go back a year and set a firm foundation for learning rather than push this little love to keep up. (This is the beauty of homeschooling. Children working as they are able without the shame of being thought of as "behind").

Obviously the next step is to look at the scope and sequence and see what, if any, of the skills/curriculum are appropriate for each individual child.

Changes to be made this year:

Reading:
This year, I have learned from the mistakes of last year. Last year we did literature from Tapestry of Grace in addition to a reading program. I seems this was a bit overkill for those who were reading well. Their time (and mine) would be better spent simply reading and discussing good books and spending more time with the emerging readers.

Science:
Two years ago, we did Rod and Staff science as a family. We purchased a book that was in the middle of the two who were doing it. We shared the reading, took notes and did the experiments together. This was ok, when we got to it.

This past year, each child had their own Rod and Staff science at their own level. We set one afternoon a week aside for the reading and experiments. Many times they never got to it, and when they did, it wasn't a good an experience as the previous year.

This coming year, I want to do the literature/nature study approach (very Charlotte Masony). When cleaning out the book closet the other day I realized just how many cool science books we have at our home. My children LOVE to read books from the book closet, but usually the science books are out of reach. I think this year, if Tapestry doesn't have science in that weeks' readings (moon landing, creation, flora and fauna of Ancient Egypt) I will have a day set aside for science reading. If they are inspired from their reading to do more (experiments, add to nature journal etc) they certainly can. The library, too, can be a wonderful resource for cool science books. It will be sporadic, but definitely a delight directed year of science. I may even just get my act together and record exactly what they study. Dad, I know, will enjoy this kind of science.

Grammar/Writing:
For the past two years, we have tried to do Tapestry's writing program in addition (as per Tapestry's suggestion) a grammar program. This seemed again, like overkill, since Tapestry's writing includes a bit of grammar. The children didn't seem to learn from their grammar curriculum; it was just busy work. In the meantime, we were trying to do grammar so much, there was never time for writing. TOG writing is supposed to be independent, but the children were lost. Year before last, we took TOG and did it together. I combined and taught it directly. They seemed to really enjoy this, so I plan on making time each day to do this and do away with the grammar program. Instead we will do dictation/copywork (as per TOG suggestion. dictation teaches spelling, grammar and penmanship)

Bible

We will continue to use the scripture box, CBS (Revelation) and AWANAS. We try to do scripture memory at breakfast using the scripture box. Then before we start school, we do a bit of Brain Gym or jumping jacks, push ups or do laps in the basement. After this we pray and then settle down and do CBS and AWANAS.

Handwriting

We will continue to use Italics handwriting. Dad will be pleased to know these are the only workbooks we will need to buy this year!

Math

Math is Math. We generally use Rod and Staff. I like to keep math an every day, all the time thing. I also believe in stopping the "book work" to firm up skills (like multiplication facts) that are vital. This means they are generally behind, but it doesn't matter. As long as they keep plugging away and progressing.

Art
This past year we sporadically did a book called How To Teach Art To Children. In it they learned the basic principles of art: line, shape, color, texture, etc. At the end of the book, children learn to find these things (and copy them) from Artistic Masters. We did not finish the book, so we plan on doing that during our Friday afternoons. When this book is complete, we plan on beginning Artistic Pursuits. These will teach them about drawing using the works of Artistic Masters. My ultimate goal is for them to sketch what they see during their nature studies. If they go beyond that, fantastic!

Tapestry has an art appreciation element to it and the children look at art from the period they are studying. (Can you tell why I love Tapestry so much?)

Preschool

Last year we had three preschoolers. This year, we will still have one preschooler and two in Kdg. Kdg is an "ify" year to me. It is a time to gain skills (abc, color, shape, writing, counting etc) which, to me, is what preschool is for only in preschool it happens at a much slower pace. I like to wait until children are really ready to begin reading. We have not set time table. If they need more time, then that is what they need. They don't need Mom to push them to things they aren't ready to do. At the beginning of the year we four began the Preparatory Curriculum from Brightly Beaming Resources. Though they enjoyed it, we never got to it. The preparation time was too much. I needed something simple yet fun and effective. A fellow homeschool mom suggested Little Hands to Heaven. We love it. It's simple, Biblical and the babies love it. Did I say it was simple? :D.

Phonics

I am doing phonics with the eldest preschooler/Kdger. I have owned but never used How To Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons, but have never used it. Each of our children have learned letters/sounds/reading in different ways, so it was a good investment. I knew someone, sometime, would would benefit from it. We have begun it this summer and we have both been enjoying it. It's simple, repetitive (something this little love needs) and effective. Did I say simple? :D

So.....

After I decide WHAT we need to do we need to decide WHEN. This is actually the easiest part. Last year's schedule was pretty elaborate. We had a small baby to entertain/nurse and we revolved our schedule around her needs. Each older child was in charge of her for a short time during their morning. Everyone enjoyed this. She got to hear piano playing, got to do coloring and "shelfwork". As a result, she knows the game when it comes to school time. This year's schedule will be pretty much the same:

6:30 - 7:15 get dressed/animal chores

7:15- 7:45 breakfast/scripture memory

7:45 - 8:00 clean up breakfast (we always do bf dishes by hand...saves room in dishwasher later)

8:00 - 9:00 chores (monday is WHB, Tues, Wed, Fri is zone cleaning, Thurs is mini whb)

9:00 - 9:45 Bible

9:45 - 10:45 Math/Phonics/Preschool

10:45 - 11:00 Copywork

11:00 - 12:00 Projects (History or Science or Keepers)

12:00 - 1:00 Lunch (I like to read to them while we are eating

1:00 - 2:00 Writing/Grammar

2:00 - 4:00 MT History Reading/Lit Reading, W Science Reading/Lit Reading F Lit Reading/Art

Preschool schedule:

The little ones will do their AWANAS during Bible time(they do not have a CBS curric). Then they will do "shelfwork" until I am ready to do preschool with them. Shelfwork is fun, educational, skill building toys. Ever heard of Montessori? I was raised as a teacher on the method. They like choosing their own work, taking it to their space doing it and returning it for another. We rotate the "work" every few weeks. I used to rotate it every week, but that wasn't........simple enough :D. \

After preschool, they can do more shelfwork or bucket time (a bucket with their name on it; it has coloring books, notebooks, workbooks in them). Then if necessary, they can play in the playroom until 11:00. My oldest daughter helped me a great deal setting up this system of occupying the preschoolers in a quality way and also in such a way as to keep them apart. When they got together they would immediately begin running in circles to the entertainment of all.

If Dad is home and they have done their preschool, he may take them upstairs to do jobs with him or let them play outside. The can play outside while the older kids are doing projects. I also might have an older sister do preschool with them if I am occupied elsewhere.

How many hours is that? If you count what we do at meals, it comes to over 7 hours. Not bad, and it's....what's the word? Simple. Just what we need this year with baby coming and eldest daughter going to college.

So all that is left is to get the history all planned. Since this is the first year we will be doing year 1 and since it is literature based, I need to see which books the library has and which activities we want to do. Planning :D. What a wonderful way to spend the summer.

I'm such a nerd.

How We Do What We Do: Laundry

In the olden days when there was only one child, we used to do all house cleaning and laundry in ONE DAY. We would take all day to vacuum, dust, mop, clean bathroom (yes, just one), and do laundry. It would take a few hours or all day if we let it.

Now I laugh at those days. Laundry for 10 people is a job. Not a hard job, just a consistent job, and an every day job.

The Laundry Room:

Our new home has a much smaller but more assessible laundry area than before. It's nice to have the laundry area a few steps away from the kitchen and bedroom, but it's also in view of the front door which makes me want to keep it picked up and company ready. (Yes, even laundry areas can be company ready)

The Logistics Part 1: Sorting/Starting/Shuffling/Drying

Here is where we store dirty laundry:
Upstairs kids: These chillins are STEPS away from the laundry area. When they disrobe the walk to hamper in laundry room to deposit.
Downstairs dwellers: These three have a shared hamper that they sometimes remember to bring up to be sorted. (If they don't it means they get to be in charge of laundry for the next day!)
Mom and Dad: have a hamper in their closet.

Ideally laundry is sorted in the evening before family devotions. When the children get their pjs on, laundry is collected and sorted.

Sorting: We have a set area for each "color". Lights are next to door, brights are in the middle, darks are across from washer and whites go into the hamper. This makes it easy to teach the children how to sort the laundry.

I can usually get a few loads washed and dried before I go to bed. My husband and oldest and I take turns shuffling laundry before bed.

Shuffling: taking what is in the washer and putting it into the dryer. Cleaning dryer filter and starting dryer, putting new load into washer and starting it. Children start helping with this job when they are young and eager to do it!

In the event of warm weather, I will just wash all the loads and let them sit in the hampers until morning. Then, after breakfast the next day, we will all hang laundry to dry. On these days, all the laundry is dry before noon :D :D :D :D.

In the morning, we will do any sheets or diapers that need to be washed that day. This means that we need to only shuffle laundry once or twice during the school day. The oldest three can start a new load themselves.

Logistics Part 2: Handling The Clothes

Does every piece of clothing get washed after it is worn once? The answer: if I can let the kids know in time.

PJ's . The children know that they get new pjs if 1. the ones they have on stink and 2. if they got new sheets. new sheets = new pjs. This saves us a "bit"

Sunday clothes: Sunday clothes are those we were to church and on special occasions. If they are not dirty or stinky in the three hours they have been worn, they can be hung up and playclothes can be put on.

Everything else: We believe in putting forth our best when out and about. We want to represent a large family well, not as dirty ragamuffins. ( I *totally* get Kate Gosslein's uptightedness at having kids look nice when out of the house) For example, cut offs are generally just home clothes. If we were going somewhere, we would probably have them change esp if they were dirty. This might mean for more laundry, but like I said, if I can catch them in time and have them save clothes that aren't dirty I do.


But then again....*some* of us change socks and undies three or four times a day. Some have accidents, some wear THREE LAYERS of clothing. Theses things need to be addressed and this is one reason why we have a lot of laundry. OTHERS of us have a job which requires a uniform (let's face it....pajamas) and wear two sets of clothes a day.

Folding and Putting Away:

If we have time before lunch (again ideally) we will fold while lunch is being made and put it all away. Sometimes we play the laundry game. If laundry does not get done at this time, we will fold and put away during afternoon chore time or after dinner.

Since we go through clothing drawers about once a month, the children are learning which clothes go where. I try to hand undies/socks/pjs to the little ones separate from the pants/shirts so they do not get confused. I also do not allow the three basement dwellers to carry their clean laundry down in a basket to be put away. Laundry in a basket usually stays in the basket.

Training Children:
Our goal as parents is to have all of our children knowledgeable in the ways of laundry. Not just laundry, LOTS of laundry. That way it will be no big shock if they have a large family on the amount of effort that goes into it. We certainly do not want our boys to have to depend on others for clean laundry!

Start Em Early! Everyone helps with laundry as they are "age able" to do so. So if all you can do is put clothes in the hamper, fold napkins and put laundry away, that's great. The older they get the more they are trained to do. For example, 9 yo son just learned to do the sorting on his own. 6 yo son can sort and start dryer but cannot start washer.

They fight over the napkins (easy) and pawn off what is hard (sheets). Sometimes a child will ask how to fold something they have not had an opportunity to fold. These are teachable moments. I even *gasp* let them use the floor when folding. Whatever works to teach them!

Posters: For those who can read, I have posted all the above information on posters. So they know what temp to wash everything on and which soaps to use.

Character: Some children *love* to fold laundry, really. Some do not. I think it highly character building to have everyone learn to fold every kind of what comes through the dryer ESPECIALLY when the do not want to do it.

The Laundry Schedule:

Monday: Towels (kids towels every other week), diapers, clothes
Tuesday: Little boys sheets, clothes
Wednesday: Mom and Dad's sheets, baby's bedding, clothes
Thursday: Girls' sheets, clothes
Friday: Big boys sheets, clothes, diapers

Bedding gets washed once a month or so on a person's sheet day.

Accidents happen which makes it important to get all the clothing washed and dried in the evenings to free up washer for such accidents and emergencies.

That's it! Not too complicated just very much all. the. time. But with everyone working together laundry really takes no time at all!

How We Do What We Do: Basic Weekly Plan

I guess I got ahead of myself with my WHB post. I whould lay out how our week runs. Doing the same thing each day of the week helps tackle what does not get done during our big cleans on Monday and Thursday.



Here is how it goes:



Monday: WHB, wash towels (kids towels every other week the take less showers than the rest of us), diapers



Tuesday: Little boys sheets get changed, laundry room (socks, wipe down, iron & mend- the last two seldome get done!), zone chores and office work (update calendars, checkbook, phone calls, plan week).



Wednesday: Our sheets & baby sheets, zone chores/kitchen, grocery/coupon stuff, start to plan school



Thursday: mini WHB, girls sheets, freezer cooking



Friday: Big boys sheets get changed, diapers, zone chores, finish school plan



Sat: Sat chores (sweep sidewalks, straighten yard, dog and horse clean up, clean vans, bake)



Sunday: NUTHIN...I try not to do laundry on Sunday. I try not to do ANYTHING on Sunday!



Does it look like a lot? yeah.

Does it all ever get done? sometimes.

Do I have a lot of help and delegate? Yep! This is how we feel about work.

How We Do What We Do: Weekly Home Blessing

How to keep house with 8 children?

It's easy. The Weekly Home Blessing.

If you have been a FlyFamily for years like we have been, you learn to perfect it. Well, we're still perfecting it. You learn to tweak it to suit your needs.

What is a weekly home blessing? You can learn about it here: There is no right or wrong way to bless your home. As Mrs. Marla (the FlyLady) says, "Housework, even done incorrectly, still blesses your family." or something like that.

In our home, the weekly home blessing is an hour of time spent on Monday after breakfast but before school. Here are the items we cover:

Floors: sweep, vacuum, swiffer, mop

Dusting

Bathrooms

It would be easy to park all the little ones in front of the tv or lock them in a room or closet while we got our work done, but that wouldn't work for several reasons.

1. It would be wrong.

2. They wouldn't learn how to work

3. The are a valuable part of our team.

So that mass havoc does not occur with four children 5 and under running around, we felt it necessary to "buddy up" and make teams for our WHB. Buddy system is when we pair an older child with a younger child to teach them how to do their job or at least give them "work" to do to keep them out of mischief.

Team 1: The Tub Scrubbers Mom, ds 8,6,4 and the baby. Jobs: vacuum, sweep and wet swiffer wood, sweep and mop tile, dust upstairs.

8 yo vacuums, gets mop water ready and helps mop.

6 and 4 yo move things for 8 yo to vacuum under, fetch stuff like the swiffer, cleaner (get a grip, it's vinegar), broom, dustpan, bucket, mop, towel (for drying tile).

They are also good at moving chairs in dining room and picking up rugs etc for sweep/mop.

We use our FlyLady dusters and some cheapies we bought at the store. I dust what is high (and I can reach...:D) and they dust what is mid and low.

Team 2: Cleaning Tornados dd 17, 10, 5 and ds 3. Jobs: downstairs bathroom, vacuum and dust downstairs.

17 yo cleans the bathroom and sliding glass door upstairs. She help 10 yo if she needs it.

10 yo and 5 yo pick stuff up for vacuuming. 10 yo vacuums then they both put stuff down and dust. 10 yo also deals with the newspapers.

Team 3: Dad Job: Bathrooms

Bathroom job includes, sink, counter, tub, toilet and all the other "stuff": stools, baby tub, trash cans etc.

Dad does the bathrooms sometime on Monday. An ideal day has him doing them at the same time as us. Sometimes Mom does bathrooms w/ help from her team. Sometimes Team 1 and 2 try to race to get it clean when Dad can't. I insist to my husband that I can clean the bathroom in 15 minutes. Really.

When our WHB is done we go downstairs for school. The best part is that the upstairs stays clean all morning long! In a house of 10 that's an accomplishment!

We repeat everything except bathrooms on Thursday. We feel that since we are home all day, every day, our house gets "used up" a lot faster than if the children were gone to school all day. We call it our mini WHB.

In the past, we have tried to do whb on Friday afternoon so we would have a clean house for the weekend. But by Friday afternoon, no one wanted to do anything. So we tried Monday afternoon and had the same result. To take an hour first thing in the Monday gets it done and out of the way. In fact, we take the first hour after breakfast but before school every day to do some cleaning....but more on that later.

The children learn housekeeping skills at an early age. As they age, we will adjust their jobs to be age appropriate. Imagine what we could accomplish when they are all teenagers! They also learn teamwork. I am grateful for our teams! It would take a long time for Mom to do it all alone!

Why We Do What We Do: Philosophy of Family, Work, Fun

Ok, so I promised I would to this series and then I got busy. Real busy. Like, never home busy. And now that I have put my world in order I have time to write.

Before I get into the fun stuff of how to do laundry for 10 people, there needs to be a foundation of understanding. It's not all chores, you know.

So....

Why do we do all the stuff we do for work, fun, family building etc?



Since becoming a Christian my husband and I have learned (and are still learning) what makes a family a family. At the heart of it, is God and it is God who makes up a family. Each of our children are a gift from God and we can have no doubt that God had a hand in each addition to our family.



What this looks like in real life: Well when we as parents or they as siblings are angry and exasperated and at the end of our patience and kindness ropes we step back and gain some perspective. This comes in the form of long talks, purposeful family devotions and stories and role play. We discuss that each of us are blessings and not burdens, We realize our role in this family is a God given role and to embrace it joyfully. We praise each other for a right heart towards one another.



We also believe that we have been put on this earth by God to work. Work can be hard, challenging and also enjoyable and joyful. In this world of saying yes to each selfish desire, it is a struggle to to deny the self. This is a daily struggle for each member of our family. But the more we stress work (chores, school, serving others) as a blessing to God and to each other, we change our attitude towards work and it becomes joyful.

What this looks like in real life: I don't know about the rest of the family, but I enjoy down times so much more when I have earned them. I like to model working joyfully to all members of our home in hopes that they will take on the same. True, I think we need more out loud conversations about the joy and satisfaction of working. There also needs to be more out loud praises of their help. The idea, for me personally is, that my husband has given me the house to manage for him (and Him). Anything anyone does to help is a blessing to us all. I make a concerted effort to tell them thank you for doing things to help run the household.

Adoptive families are a bit different that other two parent-bio kids only families or even step families. We have felt that the family make up needs to be seamless. No US and THEM...even with foster children. If you are here, you are family whether it be for a few weeks or forever. Each of us has a unique story of how we came to be part of this family.

What this looks like in real life: We are sure to reminisce about how each of us came to be part of the family. We eliminate all the sad parts and focus on all that is miraculous and joyful. We are a story telling family. The children love to hear how they came to be part of the family. We also often tell them (usually when they are feeling fragile) that we are glad God gave them to us. We are glad they are part of our family. They are just where God wants them to be. Most conversations happen at the table, though some just happen in the day to day.

I am bad at the big, big deals, but we sure have a lot of moments that are "just us". No big fancy parties, no company, just us being together being us.

From temp camera

How, What, and Why We Do What We Do

I love to get new ideas and share good ideas.

Most of my online time is spent reading about other families and how they do what they do. Most of my mommy cup filling time is spent talking about home making and children. I am always looking for ways to bring more peace to our home. What a blessing these Titus 2 mentors have been to me!

Just about weekly I am asked how we do what we do. I don't claim to Have It All Together, but if someone can bring more peace to their home I would be honored to be used by God in such a way.

So I have decided to do a series of posts on What we do, How we do it and most importantly Why we do what we do as a large family.

For my own purposes, writing it all out will hopefully help me weed out the whys of a few non-working aspects of home life.

He Ought To Be A Boy Scout

Our children sit with us in church.

As to the "why" we prefer this is the fodder for another blog post. Stating such is the basis of our story.

I also give children gum in church. Not it isn't a bribe. Really. It gives their mouth something to do. It expends energy. But, if they think it's a bribe, who am I to correct them?

Today, some children had been banned from gum. Three are banned from sweets for a month and one *just* got gum privileges back today. I won't tell you how he lost it the first time. Let's just say, Mom took care of the mess. The three who were allowed gum were given a small piece as the sermon began.

Also, today, B was Little Miss Grump.

Let us begin.

Today Daddy wrestled with LMG for quite some time until it was time for her to have a New Human. New Human = Me. She didn't ungrump for mommy either so we went to the back to listen to the rest of the sermon.

We sit front and center most weeks so the family seemed speck from my vantage point. But what I did see was 8 year old son who is usually very self controlled during church getting up and talking to Dad and laughing. Six year old son was looking anguished. It wasn't until after church that the pieces were put together.

Dad said son 8 told him that 6 year old son got gum in his hair. The 6 year old was the one who *just* got back gum this week. It seems his gum chewing absence didn't teach him the main rule of gum chewing: Keep It In Your Mouth. Son 8 also handed dad the clump of gum...with hair attached. You see, Mom and Dad forgot their own commandment of Frisking The Boys Before Church. Son 8 had used the scissors of his pocket knife to cut the gum - and hair - from 6 year old son's hair. Son 6 was freaking out -as he is won't to do- in a "quiet we're still in church and sitting front and center " kind of way. His main concern was not the loss of hair...or gum chewage, it was, "Are you going to tell Mom?"

Kudos to son 8 for taking the initiative. He ought to be a Boy Scout.


I about peed my pants laughing so hard.