"Don't You Think Your Kids Need School Socialization?"

Well, the school thing for my kids has been unbelievably horrid.  I put Kyle, Ivy, Ashley, and Caleb in a charter school.  Kyle had gotten bullied so badly that we switched him to another school.  It went good for the first day and then went way downhill after that.  Kyle has been dragging his feet since the second day.  Kids are calling him gay and making fun of him for not going after girls.  Yeah, we've taught him over and over that you focus on academics and not on crushes.  Why would they?  He's only 12 years old and can't marry till he's 18.  It's okay to think a girl is pretty, of course.  Thankfully, he listened to the advice and he thinks of school as a place to learn and not worry so much about the opposite sex.  Kids have said vulgar things about him to his face.  Sex acts that they think he wants to do to other boys.  Writing love letters to boys and signing Kyle's name. Another kid would stand over him and block him so when it was dismissal time he couldn't get up.  Then if he tried, he'd get shoved down.  Kyle's confidence level has gone way done.  It's only October!  He's been in school less than a month.  All three bullies were separate incidences and all three were suspended.  However, when one kid is suspended, another kid steps up to take their place.  I get comments from the teacher that Kyle is very respectful to them and he's such a good kid.  In fact, his teacher from the first school said she misses him because he was her only respectful student.  Really?  REALLY?  Why?  Her only respectful student?  That is very sad.  :( Every morning on the way to school Kyle and I will talk about the bullying.  He asked me why they hate him so much.  I told him because he's different.  It makes people uncomfortable when you listen, do your work, are respectful to authority and they aren't.  It's like shining a light into their heart and exposing them.  He's not meaning to, but his exampleship not only makes him stand out, it makes them feel bad.  We talked about right responses to insults and violence done to him.  He's tried going to the principal but she's talked so down to him he doesn't want to go to her.  He shakes like a leaf in front of her.  I've gone into the office and talked to her.  I told her I've taught my kids to never pick a fight but they can defend themselves.  Both teachers he had from two different schools told me they are not allowed to defend themselves.  They just go to a teacher.  That's why sometimes bullying continues.  Kyle got in trouble because he got cornered and was being shoved down.  Because he was cornered and no one to help him, he punched the kid in the gut and was able to run away.  Soooo, maybe by him defending himself that kid will think twice.  Every day, every single day, Kyle begs me to keep him home.  He's been sad and lost confidence.  He LOVED the school on the first day but when you spend your day watching your back and enduring what he has, you lose your love of learning.  This is why I get upset when people tell me I need to socialize my kid.  Really?  With kids that swear all day, talk about sex acts they want to do with each other, yell sex acts at my son and make fun of him?  I vaguely remember 4 years ago my kids going through being choked and beat up in school and me saying that this was not the kind of socialization I want my kids to have.  I'm giving him the weekend to think about being pulled.  He wants to come home and be a part of bible studies again and learning here.  He will have regular teachers since it's through a school, it'd just be at home. 

Kyle's 12th birthday



I really don't think it's a mistake my boys are respectful.  I really, really believe it's because they've had good socialization.  We were able to watch what kind of friends they had and their influences.  Respect is taught at home.  Clean language is taught at home.  Kindness is taught at home.  Character quality is taught at home.  It's really hard to keep that training if it's sabotaged all day.  Teachers can only do their best but it's so sad when instead of teaching academics, they have to worry about bullying, disrespect, perversion, and keeping a bunch of rowdy kids from climbing the walls.

Next time a parent asks me if I think my kids need more socialization, I'll just say, "No thanks.  Not that kind of socialization."

New School and New Bullies

Okay, this is the news.  I had talked about how I was going to take a break this year.  I had gotten so busy I hadn't blogged much this past year.   Now you believe me?  Ha!  I love to blog! 

Ryan tested into 9th grade rather than into 8th so him and Chaz will be starting high school together.  I got them into a school district but they do their work at home.  They have their own teacher so it takes the load off of me a bit.  I asked them if they wanted to attend a high school together.  The only catch is I would not allow them to go to a regular 4 year high school but one that goes down all the way to Kindergarten.  It's a charter school and they'd be with their siblings.  They both said no, they'd rather stay home.  So it is what it is.  :)  Four kids at home and four kids in a charter school.  The only one that does not want to be there is Kyle.  He got bullied on his first day and every day since.  Thankfully, they're completely against bullying and once he brought it to their attention they caught the boy and got him to stop.  Hopefully he's done bullying my son for good.  We'll see.  Many times I've always believed that bullying is learned behavior.  The sad thing is I'm hoping it's not because the bully is being bullied at home or anywhere else.  :(  Maybe Kyle and I should pray together for him.  He said the kids in the class are extremely disrespectful and swear all the time. Just because he doesn't do those things, it's made Kyle more noticeable. Now they're coming after Kyle because he's different.  I told Kyle to stand strong.  It's a GREAT thing to be different and it's even more awesome that it's because he's respectful and does his work!  :D

New Year, New Changes

Wow, some big changes around here.  Can't talk about the details.  Just that there was a domestic violence situation with a family I knew, drove out of state to get them, did a stakeout for 6 hours, pulled them out, and now they are in a domestic violence shelter far away.  It was a very rough time as they were temporarily in my home until we could find a place.  It was so packed full of people here we always had a line to the bathroom and to the microwave.  Haha.  It was a rough time as it really worked on my patience level to be able to manage 15 people in the house. 

I've been homeschooling for a few years now so I decided to take a break this year and only homeschool my oldest two.  I'll four kids in charter school.  So I'll have four kids in school and four kids at home.  I'm gonna spend this year really focusing on my older two and their education.  I'd like to take them on field trips and just spend this year getting closer to them.  Also, I need some time with Juliet and potty training her.  I don't know.  I just wanted to shake things up again.  Change the routine.  The four kids going to school are super excited and I think we all needed a bit of a change for awhile.  Sometimes it's hard to appreciate things when in the same routine for a long while.  Tomorrow is their first day.  :D

I already have my whole week planned!  I have to schedule appointments for the heart doctor and skin doctor for myself.  My doctor was a bit concerned.  My son Chaz has to have a blood test to make sure he's okay.  Jaxon might be getting a helmet for his head in two months.  He'll wear it till he's 18 months old.  So basically for a year.  Juliet, like I said, needs potty training and some focus on her behavior.  Right now she's got so many siblings catering to her. Argh.  That's the problem when you have a naughty 3 year old that is just so cute they get away with things.  I have some major projects I need to do in the house, like turning my garage into a playroom. It's gonna be a huge job.  I have huuuuge plans for this school year and need the extra time. 

My life just has exploded with busyness and I need to get a grip on it.  I'm absolutely in love with my family.  Wow, as hard as I work for my husband and eight kids, I wouldn't trade them for anything!! Just need a change in the routine.  I even have their new curriculum sitting on top of the armoir right now but I sending it back on Tuesday.  I'm hoping I have lots more time for blogging as well.  My kids actually went to bed early in anticipation for school tomorrow.  We'll see how long that lasts.  Haha. 

Anyhow, I have to include an amazing video of my kids and their friends at camp with our church this past summer.  Amazing!  It is neat seeing them in the video.  I absolutely with all my heart love the people at my church.  Wow... :D

Hey remember that one time we went to Camp. Oh yea that was cool!
Posted by 4Eighty Student Ministries on Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Homeschool/Unschool vs. Public School

Lately, I've being giving homeschooling/unschooling a lot of thought.  I hate this battle that goes on inside of me every single day.  My biggest desire is to meet a family that maybe does a little of both but is further ahead of me.  We do some of both.  We do structured Math and Language Arts.  We only do American history and and we only do Science if interested and we learn often through experiences.  We're leaning towards interest led learning for the kids that know what they want to do.  

It would be nice if I could be super confident in our choices.  All I can do is look at my own experiences growing up in the public school system.  I absolutely loved school before 4th grade.  Kindergarten was amazing as it was mostly learning through play.  We had naptimes, a dollhouse, legos, books, toys, reading time.  It was fun and a great introduction to learning.  Only when we hit 1st grade then it got serious about reading and numbers.  What I learned in 1st grade, kids are now learning day one of Kindergarten.  There is no easy transition.  I will never forget the shock on my firstborn's face as I led him into his kindergarten classroom.  Blank, white walls and not a toy to be seen.  He looked out of place and ready to bolt.  He HATED his first day and I didn't blame him.

  

4th grade was a disaster for me as that's when the bullying started. There was so much peer pressure to be cool and if you cared too much about learning and getting ahead then you were a nerd.  If you didn't have the most expensive clothes then you were shunned and out of their circles.  Each grade on up got increasingly worse but one thing I really noticed was the older I got, the less the lessons made any real life sense.  High school was getting ridiculous to me.  Whatever happened to learning what we actually needed in life?  Every single time I ask a public school kid fresh into the summer break what they learned in History that year, they shrug their shoulders and say, "I don't know. I can't remember." 

A friend pointed out a really neat video going viral.  If you have a hard time understanding the words in the song he has them written out under the info of the song.

Don't Stay in School

Thinking About Virtual Academy and Fast Pregnancy

 I think it's funny how just before I had friends move in, I wondered if I could handle having 8 kids since I'm pregnant.  Okay, I'm no longer worried.  10 kids are living here now and it's working out with our schedule.  Also, Charles and I decided to go ahead and enroll Chaz and Ryan into Connections Academy.  I hated K12 Virtual Academy so much that I said I'd never do that again but this place is different and I've had friends tell me a lot of positive things about it.  My two older boys are in Junior High and very close to going into high school and it's important I can get them into college easy.  I have some pretty amazing moms that know how to do homeschool on their own and get them into college.  I would love the help so having them be able to call their teacher when needed would take a huge load off my shoulders.  :D  I still will be homeschooling 5th grade and younger on my own the the older boys will homeschool alone in their room with a teacher they can call whenever.  :D  Yay for me. 

Well, I'm 19 weeks pregnant and all is well. I love feeling little Jaxon move in my tummy.  It assures me that he is okay.  I can't believe I'm almost half way done with the pregnancy.  I feel like I just found out I'm pregnant.  Man, time is flying so fast it makes my head spin.  In a week I'm going in for a 3D ultrasound so that'll be fun.

Why Can't I Be Like Everyone Else- Mommy Insecurities

I need to step up on my game.  Sometimes I feel so insecure because I can't get the house perfect like I see in all those Instagram and Facebook photos.  I don't get it?  Ha.  I was the baby of the family.  Babies are known to be the messies.  Whyyyyy can't I retrain myself to be like this fantastical, amazing, pefecto woman, wife, mom, everything?  My husband said, "All those women you compare yourself to, are they homeschooling a large family?  Because it's just not the same otherwise and it's not fair to compare yourself to someone where their life is just completely different."  I love my husband.  It always puts it back into perspective for me.  :)

Not sure how clutter gets back into my house but it does.  We are not shopaholics here but it just makes sense that which 9 people, stuff can just add up quick with birthday and holidays.  It's like this never ending carousel for me that I've learned to just deal with rather than loathe.  Some people can just stay right on top of it.  I'm amazed by them.... unless something or someone(s) important in their life is being replaced to do it.  I want my kids to grow up and really feel they know me.  I hope they'll say we had a relationship.  I promise, the clean house doesn't matter because that's such a faded part in my memory of my own past.  I remember the relationship stuff.

Juliet has got to be the world's lightest sleeping baby.  She will go to bed on time but because she hears people going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, she'll wake up.  She never puts herself back to sleep but instead calls for us to come play with her.  I have to keep certain pajamas on her and keep a gate up at her door or she'll run naked throughout the house in the middle of the night.  She doesn't just strip and run, she laughs wildly while she does it.   Ha ha.  So cute but soooooo much work. 

Usually the softie to come to her side is Ivy.  Ivy will hug her, change her diaper, get her a bottle, and they'll snuggle.  However, Ivy got trapped into playing in her castle with her at 1am.  Anytime Ivy tried to walk out Juliet would cry.  In fact, when I took this picture, that's exactly why Juliet was crying in it.  Ivy felt bad, came back in, and when she did, Juliet pushed-forced her towards the castle. Ivy and Juliet are giggling their heads off right now. 

Routines and Babysitting

I've had some extra kids at my house these last couple of weeks.  Sometimes I had 11, this week I only have eight (Ryan is at someone else's house for the week and I have two that aren't mine over).  It's really hard because we are in our homeschooling season and I have to work whether or not the kids that are with me understand we need to study.  Some days though I just had to quit because the house was way too loud.  I know at times I need to put my foot down and not always be the available babysitter because I'm home.  I need to just say no and that's that. 

Updated chore chart for 2014.  Much neater and changed a tad. :)

 I made an exception this week for two girls.  They are in their teens and actually are more helpful than a hindrance.  During homeschool hours they will help with the reading and flashcards with the younger ones.  The hardest thing for me is my routine.  I hate to go out of a routine because it takes me several days to adjust.  They were kindly (and amazingly) asking which chores they could help us with.  I have each zone assigned to members of the family and we get it done so efficiently, we rarely need the help.  I mean, if I call chore time, within 30 minutes the house can be almost perfectly clean. That's years and years of training and consistency.  Not luck.  Oh man, that bugs me when people think it's just luck I have kids that are good at it.  Believe me, we've sweated it out with them for lots of years to train and keep going even when we didn't feel like it.  There were days where we battled and battled for them to do their work but we never, ever gave up.  The only times was when I was having a baby in the hospital, sick, something crazy happened, OR we took a special family day outing.  Those are only rare exceptions.  Otherwise you can find us here doing our bible study, homeschool, then chores, day in and day out except for the weekends.  If I even give an inch when the kids whine about their work, they will take it a mile.  They have to know mama is serious and it has to be done.  Rain or shine.  Except there is no rain here.  Or snow.  Better yet, we homeschool so it doesn't matter.  I never have them do my work for me.  I have my own zones I take care of.  If possible, I do my chores at the same time they do so they can see me doing it when them.  Kids learn by example.  :)

We've been trying to do more family game nights rather than just separating at the end of the day to do our own thing.  Often I don't sit down for time alone till 11 at night but that's okay.  I love my days busy and full.  :D 

Friend Adriana doing flashcards with Ivy

 

 

 

 

 

Update: Since Ivy finally got her new prescription glasses, her reading skills have soared!!  I mean, she's daily trekking through her books.  She may be behind but she's quickly closing in the gap.  Today she was reading a book and doing so bad I got worried.  I realized she forgot to put her glasses on. Once she did, she had no problem reading the book.  Ivy and I laughed and laughed together at the mistake.  She doesn't seem to understand these are all day glasses.  She keeps setting them down around the house and losing them.  Anyway, I can sigh with relief that we solved the problem.

Decisions on How to Spend 2 1/2 Hours of Quiet Time/Bliss for Any Mom

Tonight I had nursery at church with the babies, toddlers, and 4's and 5's.  Being that I have so many the same age, I always think about what life might be like for people that have like quintuplets or septuplets.  Haha.  I think, "Man, their days would be sooooo busy!"  Haha.  Then I go home to my nice quiet house of seven kids.  Seriously, it IS DIFFERENT.  I have kids from the ages of one to 13 so, yeah, it is different.  One or two in diapers at a time.  Not all at once.  I wish I could take pictures of all the cute little kids in nursery but I definitely have my favorites.  A little redhead boy that's a live wire is definitely one of my faves.  He's like a ball of energy.  Kind of like a super hero with coffee in his system.  Just a dash of mischievousness.  Love him!  My little Juliet is the known escapee of the group.  We have to have the door shut AND a baby gate put up for when she gets past the door.  You thought we had chain locks on all our doors at home to keep the boogie man out huh?  Nope, it's to keep the little curly blond in the house.

I added something into our day that really kind stretches me to my limit.  I seriously don't think I can mentally afford to do any more than what I'm doing right now.  When I say mentally afford I mean, if mommy can't teach and raise kids with joy, then whatever it is that is making mommy a grouch butt has to go.  Whether it's an outside activity or a time consuming person not part of the immediate family.  I don't know whether to rejoice or wince at times.  (It's kinda half and half depending on the day).  There is a church almost next door to us that does a fun after school program, complete with learning and bible study.  Well, that's double dose for my kids because we already hold our own bible studies at home every morning.  I just thought it'd be neat for my kids to meet other kids in the neighborhood.  Plus, they have the opportunity for volunteer work and gardening.  Once a week they are teaching them baseball and another day basketball. They are having so much fun.  However, we have to really be on the ball to get bible study, homeschool, and chores done before 3:30pm when they leave.  Four kids choose to go which means I usually have only one teen and two little ones napping during that time.  For 2 1/2 hours I can either choose to sit and sip coffee with a good book, mop the floor, or just work on dinner or chores.  I mean, seriously... 2 1/2 hours of options!  Haha.  Yes!  However, it's made my day tighter for the other waking hours and I have to stay on top of things big time.

I Am a Friend of God - Morning Studies With My Kids

Today the  kids and I were having a bible study in the morning which we try to keep as a normal routine.  Lately, I've been so excited to share with the kids when I have been learning in the scriptures.  The mood of our studies have definitely changed over the last few months and our talks much, much more meaningful.

We always start our studies off with praise songs but usually just with us singing together.  I realized I should put my smart tv to use and find praise songs for kids on YouTube.  We could all sing together.  I found the song I am a Friend of God by Israel Houghton. 

John 15:15 ESV          

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.


James 2:23 ESV        
And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
  
Sometimes I try to be a bit sneaky by throwing in a lesson about what we are currently dealing with behavior-wise.  Today, we just started out with praise songs and when I saw this song I just had to share with the kids some things on my heart about this subject.  It a fun interaction with each other and ended up going for an hour.  That's great!  That means everyone was into the discussion.  Otherwise it is sometimes only 15 minutes.  Each day is different.  :)

An issue I've been really dealing with is sibling rivalry.  Me and the rest of America.  More importantly, the subject of forgiveness.  Many of my kids in the past have said they don't know if God forgives them and they are scared.  I saw them pray to God, confess things to Him, and really pour out their heart.  Yet, they still felt fear.  I really feel that it's hard to give forgiveness when we don't feel forgiven.  It's hard to give love when we don't feel love.  Hurt people hurt others.  I held a lot of bitterness in my heart towards people the last few years because I really didn't understand God's love.  I didn't really believe he forgave me. I didn't UNDERSTAND forgiveness.  So how could I give it?  We've been really, really, really focusing our morning studies around this area.  

  What a blessing it is I get to have all my babies with me throughout the day!  My life is so ABUNDANTLY blessed.  Kyle, my 10 year old, walked up to me today while I was doing my chores asked me, "No really mom, what did you REALLY want to do when you grew up?"  I told him I always wanted to be a mommy.  He was like "yeah right."  For real!  I told him in elementary school we had to stand up and say what we wanted to be and that's what I said.  A mother.  To me that was the best, awesomest, coolest job I could ever have.  :D

Back On My Feet

I know it's been awhile since I've posted.  I took a week off from homeschooling.  The first couple of days (after the weekend I miscarried) I pretty much just stayed in bed, cried, was in pain, and not much else.  After those four days I couldn't handle laying down anymore.  I got up and decided to spend the rest of the days off just getting my house together.  My house got TORN APART while I was in bed.  It was bad.  The kids had fun never picking up after themselves and not having mommy remind them to.  I worked so much scrubbing everything my arm had spasms and I couldn't sleep from the pain.  Nobody believes me how bad the house can get when I'm down and out but it can.  Believe me.  Kids that don't go to school mean they are all home and living, playing, and it can add up fast.

I cleaned like I crazy lady.  It was like therapy for me.  I'm no perfectionist.  Ha to that!  But it was keeping myself busy rather than laying around and being sad.  It worked.  I got my house 75% organized in just a few days.  I thought to my self, "my gosh, it's easy to clean when mom doesn't have to homeschool. If my kids were in school I'd have all that time to clean."  I'm not gonna do that though but the thought did cross my mind.  Oh well.  ;) I love having them with me every day!  They may be a lot of work, but I love my job 100% and wouldn't trade it to have them gone just so I can have the perfect thouse.

The other night I had my parents over, actually my mom cooked for us, and it was such a good night.  We played our fun, new game Headbanz.  I love it because it's so simple for a family of all ages.  Even the little guys.  It feels good to be back on my feet again.  A heart a little bit heavier by losing a baby, but I know I have a beautiful someone waiting for me in Heaven.

A Pain I Never Wanted to Understand

Everything's stopped in our house. The cleaning, homeschooling.... I'm just laying down a lot.  The house looks like the pits.  Stomach hurts still and my back.  Today the pain was bad.  Not horrible but enough to make me catch my breath.  Tomorrow I go in to have a look inside through an ultrasound.  Hopefully everything is good and healthy.  I found out today that when I was in bed that day miscarrying, Kyle was standing outside my door crying.  Charles told me that when he rushed home to be with me, he found Kyle like that.  I feel so sad I didn't know.  No matter how I felt, I would have brought him in, pushed away the pain and just hugged him.  Makes me sad.

I'm tired of laying around.  Every time I say I'm done just laying around, I'm knocked back on my back from exhaustion or from pain.  So I'm taking this week and this is the first time I'm not gonna fight it.  I don't ever take a week off from my work.  I don't like doing that.  I have to though because whenever I think about going back to my daily routine I just feel more tired.  Do I really work that hard every day?  Wow.  I guess I'm always so full of energy I can't ever stand to just sit around.  I enjoy being busy.  I told my husband I have no energy and it must be hard for people who always feel like this to be motivated.  He said, "Welcome to my world."  Really?  Wow, that would be hard.  

Since it's only been two days since miscarrying, I hope the energy comes back soon.  I always think I'm fine and then I just break down sobbing several times a day.  How do people just throw away their babies by choice?  Thousands upon thousands?  Oh gosh.  I'm crying over my little 9 week sweetie in the womb and people walk to the abortion clinic like it's going to the dentist.  What has happened to our nation? God, help us!  These are real human beings we are talking about with their very personality and looks written right into their DNA.  My kids' personalities still are a lot like when they were even in my tummy.  Kyle, my wild one, was also wild in my stomach. That boy would use my hip bones as a jumping point.  He was a very painful boy to hold in my tummy.  Guess what?  He's the same way now. 

I had some warning signs about this pregnancy not going well.  First off, I had told Ivy in the beginning that I would soon start to have morning sickness.  I've always had it with every pregnancy.  She asked me almost every day of those few weeks if I had started getting sick.  I kept saying no.  I wasn't worried till I had hit the 8 week mark and still no sign of morning sickness.  I thought that was a little odd.  Another thing is the word miscarriage kept going through my mind the entire time since I got pregnant.  I just kept brushing it away in my mind because I thought it was just me being worried.  I've always had good, strong babies.  I even started writing on my wall calendar each week that I was progressing in pregnancy.  Every Thursday it would be another week.  I started writing them ahead of time.  I always write all the way up to week 40 for every pregnancy.  It's just fun to stare at it every now and then and count down.  Something told me to stop and so I did.  Then I tried to ignore it by going to week 20.  Then I quit there.  Sigh. Woman's intuition?  I don't know. I know next time I'm pregnant I'm not complaining about morning sickness.  I'm gonna rejoice.  For me it's a sign of a healthy pregnancy. 

I'm sorry to the mommies for all the times I didn't understand what it was like for you to miscarry.  Many a times I've had mommies tell me.  I would tell them I'm so sorry yet not truly understand.  It's so much worse than I thought....

No Time to Waste- Learning How to Say No

I have been blogging for 8 years!  Wowee!!! 

 Here is a picture of my son Chaz (who is now 13) six months after I started blogging.  Soooo little!  Haha. 

My days have been so filled with homeschool, chores, laundry, dishes, cooking, and playing that I can scarcely think to even sit down and blog.  However, after a few days pass I get this longing to write again.  It's strong!  I've always journaled my life since I was in elementary school.  Always privately in a book but writing is writing.  To me I write this blog just because I love to write.  I don't write for an audience.  I have to say though that in the process of blogging for 8 years I have met some amazing bloggers!!!  I never would of thought I would blog so infrequently just because I have seven kids.  I think the difference is my priorities have changed extremely.  I just have an order to my day that I don't mess with and change for no one.  Well, most of the time.  Lately, I have been having to fight for our school time.  I guarantee you, and I bet a lot of stay at home moms get this, the whole world seems to think I have all this free time because I'm at home.  People think I have it so easy and I can always take on all this extra stuff for every one.  Lately I have been fighting for my kids and family.  School at home absolutely comes first no matter what.  Unless someone is in desperate need and it's a true emergency.  

 

My first Christmas blogging and this is Kyle at 3 years old (2006). We lived in a tiny two bedroom apartment with three kids while our house was getting built.

As of right now I only have three kids that will be done with their homeschool by May.  The other two will not be done on time.  My rule is that you do not move forward in the lesson unless you completely understand it.  I have to say though that the other reason is I've taken off so many days to help other people.  I just can't do it anymore.  My kids' schooling can't suffer in the process.  I use my summers free of homeschooling to do some extreme couponing and organization with my extra time.  Not happening this summer.  We will be schooling completely through the summer with the last two.  I'm gonna give it some serious thought to put my two older boys through Connections Academy online this upcoming school year.  They would have a teacher and online meetings with them.  I need my boys to step it up in the Junior High grades and I think maybe we'll try it out.  We absolutely HATED K12 and their domineering ways so we are a bit gun shy about trying another version.  A few years ago when we were trying out K12, they were encouraging me to drop my kids off at a local YMCA for 4-6 hours to learn with a teacher.  I asked, "You call that homeschool?  You're kidding me, right?"  They talked down to me like I was the idiot.  I can't believe how many homeschool moms were falling for it.  To me it was basically another public school.  I was astonished that they also wanted school to start at 6am.  Yeeeeah right!  Hopefully they changed that. 

 

An old photo of our house (2006) getting built in first year of blogging

I'm starting to learn what night owls all my family is and we are adjusting our schedules.  We used to put our kids to bed at 7:30pm every night.  I have to admit it was heavenly.  It works good when your kids sleep almost 12 hours straight through.  Well, my older ones don't now.  The only ones that do that now are Ashley (6), Caleb (4), and Juliet (almost 2).  They actually put themselves to sleep at that time.  They all just climb right into their beds and pass out.  Gee, I wish it was that easy with my first four kids.  Kids have to be in their rooms by 9pm but I don't expect them to fall asleep.  As long as they are quiet and stay in their rooms.  We all like to wake up around 8:30am.  Late mornings at 9am.  Yay!  Charles says he wishes he could do the same!  Ha.  Poor Charles.  :D  He's always been a night owl as well. 

Little Ivy 2006. I was newly pregnant with Ashley here.  Needing bigger house!

 

My silly three boys with diapers on their head December 2006

14 Kids and Pregnant Again! Duggar's Original Documentary

The hardest part about being so in tune to my body and knowing I was pregnant since I was only one week along is... I'm only at 6 weeks!  Haha!  It's going by so slow! That's okay.  I think there is a reason a woman's body takes 9 months.  Not only does their body get ready but mommy's mind has to get ready.  I have 8 more months to process the fact that I'll no longer sleep good yet again at night.  I'll be nursing a lot and getting adjusted.  Not that big of deal though.  :)  Done it a few times.  It actually gets more and more enjoyable because the selfishness has died soooo long ago.  At least it should!

I'm soooo excited that a new season of the Duggar's 19 Kids and Counting is coming out on April 1st.  It's such an encouraging show to me.  I've seen them since it was just 14 Kids and Pregnant again.  It's such a cool video and their style has changed so much I'm gonna post it here!  Haha.

14 Kids and Pregnant Again Part 2

14 Kids and Pregnant Again Part 3

14 Kids and Pregnant Again Part 4

14 Kids and Pregnant Again Part 5

I always figure if what they do can work for 19 kids then it can definitely work for my 7 kids.  Often I've taken organizational ideas and homeschooling tips from them.  They are the reason I use Switched on Schoolhouse with some of my kids.  It is such a good program for a large amount of kids homeschooling.  It's expensive to buy at first but you can use it for each kid after.  I love those old vidoes!

Time4Learning Online Curriculum Review

 

I've tried several different online homeschool programs for my kids but so far our favorite has been www.time4learning.com. It's very visual for my kids and makes it fun for them to homeschool every day.  I have kids in several grades using this program.

Click to view larger pic



 Another great thing about it is how it keeps track where your child left off from the day before.  I'm able to look up their grades they made on any of the assignments to see if I need to reassign it so they can understand it better.  That's where you can see the portfolio in the upper left hand corner of the picture.

Click to view larger pic

I have several kids on this program and you can select how many different classes you want for your child.  Of course for Ashley I chose only Language Arts, Math, and Science as her focus for now since she is only in Kindergarten.  You can try this out for free so definitely check it out!  It's also very easy to get a hold of anyone that is on staff.  They are very friendly and quick to help!

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.





How Do Some Moms Do It All?

 

I've been a little frustrated by how quickly the kids mess up the house.  Arghhhhh!!!!  We have such a good chore system in place but the kids wreck it soooo fast!  Even though the rules are no drinks or food back in the rooms, I find stashed dishware.  Today the girls woke up to ants in their room because they spilled a Koolaid drink they snuck in.  Oh my word.  I can't explain the frustration I feel at times.  As hard as I work, I need them to understand how not to trash the house in between chore times.  With one or two kids I can see knowing who makes what mess so I can hold them accountable.  With seven kids it feels impossible to know.  Usually by the time I find the mess they don't remember who did it.  A ghost named "not me" did it.  I'm gonna find that ghost and tell him to please find another home. 

I continually get rid of stuff to make cleaning easier but I don't want to be a freak mom that just has nothing in her house.  Literally, the kids each have maybe one medium size bin of toys.  They've even gotten used to not holding attachment to things because we declutter about every 3 months.  I make sure I never rid of something they really love but if I feel they have an attachment to duplicate items I'll make them pair down. One of my biggest frustrations is understanding how some moms can have a lot of kids and keep a decent house.  HOOOOOW?  Is it they clean all the time?  Their kids go to school and therefore not home to make messes all day?  Does the mom clean too much and ignore kids?  Does mom NEVER just hang out with kids and have fun?  Do they have an awesome gene and I just need to get down on my knees and beg God for it too?  LORD!  Deliver unto me that awesome gene!  Sigh. 

Okay, I know I have to give myself a break.  I homeschool five out of seven children.  I have a close friendship with each one of my kids.  I love to sit on their beds and have discussions of whatever they need to talk about.  I love to take each kid on a date as much as possible.  Sometimes we do group fun and sometimes individual dates.  I need each of my kids to feel they are so special to me.  I love they feel like they can come to me about anything and I'll always make the time.  Just one question....

HOW DO SOME MOMS DO IT ALL???  Please share.  ;)  I need the awesome gene.

More Than a Perfect House Mom

So I finally, finally, finally got my children's homeschool books in the mail.  I've been waiting for so long it seems.  I truly thought I'd be excited to have the whole summer off but I was so bored!  I discovered how much I like a solid but some room for a fun schedule.  We decided to get off the internet schooling bit and try some books.  It's nice for a change.  :)  I want to see how the kids do getting to pick where they work on their books.  Who knew I couldn't imagine sending away my kids to school every day?  I miss them when they are away at their enrichment classes twice a week.  My husband had to talk me into that one because two days was too many for me.  Ladies ask me at times why I would want my kids home all day with me.  My answer?   Because one day they'll move away and I'll wish them to be home.  I don't know what next year holds but for now, my babies are home.  ;)



Silly pic!

I still remember when Charles sat me down one day and told me that although he liked how clean the house was, he wondered how well I knew my kids.  At first I was offended but I listened.  He wanted me to worry less about a perfect house and more about our kids likes and dislikes. More than flavor of syrup.  Deeper stuff.  I promised him I would try.  I have to clarify I'm extremely far from being a perfectionist.  That doesn't mean I never tried to have a decent house.  I worked very hard at being a good housewife. I left out being a really good mom though.  A mom is more than someone who bathes, diapers, and feeds. She feeds the soul, learns the heart, and solves issues.  She prays to be a discerning mom who knows what's being said in between the lines.  I wasn't that mom but because Charles pointed it out, risked offending me, I figured out how to aim towards it.  My first kid is now a teen.  EEK!!!  I seriously need God's wisdom.  I may not have hit any rough patches but that doesn't mean I'm naïve enough to think none will come.  I DO remember my teen years and I'm praying God's grace runs deep, deep.  Heh heh.

Sleeping At The Office-Exhausting days

It's been a tough week.  My husband has been working almost 24 hours a day.  No joke.  It's 1am, we are at the office and we're not leaving anytime soon.  As soon as I get home in the wee hours I have to pack up for the guys to go camping. Thankfully since Charles is having a father/son camping trip he gets time off.  He planned for it so it's gonna happen for sure. His office hired a new designer to help out but he isn't coming till September.  My poor husband has been taking naps in his office, only an hour at a time.  It's just crazy.  We come with him at night to keep company and the little kids find spots to rest in sleeping bags.  I'm usually up with him and get a little rest later but since I have to pack them up for camping, I won't get any sleep today. 

The girls first day of enrichment classes are today.  It's school for them and they are so excited!  Since they homeschool, I sign them up for some classes twice a week.  It's a school only open to homeschool kids and you pick the day you want them to go.  You wouldn't believe how amazing the kids are.  It's the most polite playground you will ever see compared to homeschool kids.  Non of that crazy, negative peer pressure stuff I was so used to.  I took the girls school shopping  yesterday and they were so excited!  This is Ashley's first year.  I got them backpacks, clothes, and shoes.  They even slipped in a couple of Hello Kitty hats.  The girls will giggling all day today trying on their new outfits.  It's so hard taking girls shopping because they want everything in sight.  It's so different when I take my boys. They're like, "this'll do."

I still haven't decided on which homeschool program I want to go with this year.  Very undecided.  If I ever go on Facebook and ask for some ideas I get overloaded by a 100 different opinions.  I'm sure they're all valid, I just think everyone has different tastes.  Makes it hard for me to decide.  Sigh.  Just goes to show you there is no perfect ONE homeschool.  So many people I know mix and match from different resources.  I need one that is a good fit for a large family.  I am excited because at their enrichment school, I picked some subjects I didn't want to worry about teaching at home.  I usually like them to learn science in a lab rather than at home.  I'm so incredibly blessed they have a school that offers these classes for homeschooled kids.  Wow!

I'm No Supermom...Not by a Long Shot

I'm doing some research before I make a final decision about this upcoming school year. Basically, my kids are spoiled.  I think they are spoiled rotten at times.  Deprived you say?  Bwahaha!  My kids have memberships to the huge 3 story science center, a zoo membership, gym membership.  They don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn and they get to leasurely eat breakfast every morning.  While they lazily sip on their morning hot tea, they are either listening to a family bible study by me or watching an educational video.  School comes some time around 10am or maybe starts at 11am.  Depends on when mom's brain wakes up.  That only comes after a good dose of coffee.  They get done in a few hours, maybe only two if they really concentrate, and then they start their chores.  If they are lazy about it they finish in an hour.  When they are really good at it they are done in only a half hour.  Yeah, young ones have dissected and learned the insides of some animals before most kids ever get to.  It's weird having a five year old depressed because her older brother got to dissect a frog before she could.  Yeah, my kids have it amazingly good.  I don't have to worry about late nights at church and having to rush them to bed because of school in the morning.  We have such a good life. 

Do you think my kids would be at my feet thanking me for the good life they have?  Noooooo.... they think schooling takes too long and chores take to long.  They've completely forgotten their days of public school that they hated, hated, hated.  They hated the long days, hunger, and bullying. They hated getting lost in the system because the teacher had moved on before they were ready.  They hated the hurried lunches and the lame 5 minute recess.  Did you know they've cut recess waaaaaay down?  When I was a kid we had a good 20 minutes-30 minutes of recess.  I needed to get all that energy out.  I'm sure my teacher begged the principal to give me Benadryl each day.  Something to knock me out so she could peacefully teach the rest of the class.  A week ago I told them I wasn't sure about another year of homeschooling because they aren't appreciating it.  They all cried and hung on my leg.  Please noooooo!  I took a deep breath.  I thought about it while doing cardio at the gym, I thought about it while lifting weights.  I thought about it while swimming my midnight laps.  I thought about it while showering, eating, and just before dozing off.  I ran into a book that just made my heart leap for joy....

Click here to see on Amazon

Wow!  This is about 15 different families that are all in different situations and all homeschool differently.  I needed a way to keep the attention of my kids and it seems what I'm doing isn't working.  It's just not as exciting for them.  I've been devouring this book and can hardly put it down.  There are those perfect parents who seem like they have it all together and their three year old is learning calculus and then there are the ones.... like me.... that give so much to the kids that I'm just happy to shower that day.  Do you know why I go to workout at the gym after the kids are asleep?  Because that's when I have the time.  When I go it's usually 9:30pm-12:30am.  No, I don't sleep in all day.  Heck, I'm writing this at 2am because it's the only time I've had yet I still have to get up with the early risers.

I woke up to this the other day. Juliet trying to figure out how to get
out of her crib.  Okay, she's 12 months! Help!

I get excited when I find a book that just lifts my spirits when I'm lagging inside.  I don't have a homeschool co-op or a support group.  I wish I could have those cheer leaders on the sidelines but I don't.  I have to just keep my faith in God, relying on His strength, my mind in constant study, and my heart resting in God's grace.  That is the only way I can give sooooooooooo much of myself every day without cracking.  I'm no supermom.  Ha...  By a long shot.  I'm related to some but I'm not one.  I just have to work super hard.

 

Good news!  I'm down 10lbs!!!  Aaaaaagh!  NO CARBS and lots and lots of juicing and vegetables.  White meat more than red meat.  I'm learning to make really yummy food and I can eat LOTS of it!  I will share soon on a great Souperman food I now make. Get it?  It's a soup but man, oh man, is it packed of good stuff.  Superman himself might be knocking on my door soon for the recipe. 

A Detailed Chore Chart for Large Families-Works for Us!

I've had some people ask if I would show what kinds of chores each kid does everyday.  So I figured I'd take a picture of the cards and post them here.  I really believe that each child should have a specific chore because if clear lines aren't drawn then the older could end up doing the bulk of the work. Then I'd see the younger trying to get away with a lot.  This way I can see who did their chore and who did not.  It starts every day in the To Do folder and as each chore is done they go down into the Finished folder.  :)



Starting with youngest to oldest.  Here is 3 year old Caleb's card.

 

 

Here are 5 year old Ashley's cards below:

 

 

7 year old Ivy's chore cards below:

 

 

9 year old Kyle's chore cards below:

 

 

11 year old Ryan's chore cards below:

 

 

12 year old Chaz's chore cards below:

 

 

If they don't finish their chores and homeschool by 3:30pm then they get to pick from the Extra Chore list to add to their regular chores:

 

 

Here is another list we have posted.  The two top ones are for me.  I have a schedule for clothes being washed.  They know to have the clothes they need washed in the hamper by their scheduled day or mama doesn't wash it.  The weekly chores is the extra chores I do on top of my regular daily chores.  The bottom is Saturday chores for all of us. :)

 

 

Hope this helps!

 

We have been following this system for five years and absolutely love it. Each kid is held accountable for their own area.  We pay for the chores they do to understand working.  They aren't paid a lot because I really feel these things should be done to be taught responsibility.  The other part of me wants for them to understand the reward of hard work and how someday they'll be working for money.  That's why we don't pay a lot but enough to help them see the reward.  They get paid biweekly like daddy does.  Some kids spend it right away and others save it for bigger things. :)