Homeschooling ten unique kids means that no two days are exactly alike… and I love that!
We follow a two part plan in our homeschool: a small amount of daily practice in the basic academic skills, combined with a large block of time for pursuing personal interests and goals.
Today our two oldest (ages 17 and 15) will be gone working one of their part time jobs. They were employed by an amazing woman who lives on an 80 acre homestead in a log cabin she built years ago. Bella and Leo thoroughly enjoy working for her doing whatever odd jobs she needs done around the farm. They get to both earn money and gain wisdom from someone who fully lives life and has many unique skills!
Before they left Leo made me a latte with our very favorite Shepherd’s Crook Coffee (use KREKE25 for 25% off your first order, and KREKE10 for 10% off subsequent orders).
Everyone else was busy completing their morning job and personal care. Samuel and Silas were done early so they asked to watch a video on how to braid a whip. These two are very creative and love working with their hands, so they’re always up for learning new skills.
Our family subject this morning was history. We’re going through an old copy of The Good and The Beautiful History 4, and also filling out a timeline book that I found (brand new!) at our local thrift store. I’ve wanted to have one of these for years but never made the jump into beginning, so I was more excited about it than the kids were.
While we all listened to the audio narrations that accompany the History curriculum, the younger kids kept busy coloring or playing.
Elsie continued working on her beaded bracelets during this time. She has been using polymer clay beads and making really cute jewelry!
After this time together some kids chose to go out to play, and others decided to complete their daily requirement right away. Silas and Elsie both worked on their language arts books from The Good and The Beautiful. Lydia has their Preschool course and really enjoys going through it with me! She didn’t know her letter sounds when we started this book but is picking them up pretty quickly as we go through. I do not think any sit down “schoolwork” is necessary for the younger years… in fact, for some kids it can be detrimental. This age learns through playing, listening to engaging picture books, and living life alongside mom. However, I have found that when you’re in a large family you tend to want to ‘do what the big kids do!’ so I follow my preschooler’s lead and work through these books on days that they ask for them. We really do enjoy the one on one time together, so it is extra special.
Once they’d played outside for a bit the younger boys came back inside and needed help settling a dispute! We worked it out and I took the opportunity to set them up with writing in their personal journals. Although they usually do this in the evening, we had been busy several nights in a row so now seemed like a good time to work on them. They tell me what they’d like to write and I put that on a dry erase board for them to copy. Eventually I’ve found that my kids transition on their own to writing without me helping in this way, and instead ask for help spelling occasional words.
To motivate everyone in keeping up with their journals we do a “challenge” that refreshes each month. On the last day of the month we have a journal reading time as a family. Anyone who wishes is encouraged to read one of their entries to the family and we all listen and applaud afterwords. This is a part that they all enjoy! For kids who wrote at least four times a week there is some kind of small yummy treat, usually a chocolate bar or something similar. It has become a very fun ending to the month!
Since we finished our Teaching Textbook math for the year, we’re taking a summer break from the program. To keep math skills sharp, each child has to complete one multiplication worksheet each day. It only takes a few minutes and the boys usually race each other (if you have boys in your home you’re probably not surprised!).
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Samuel and Elsie helped me make some baked goods for an afternoon snack. We made muffins for the majority of the crowd, and some almond flour cookies for the few people who are still avoiding grains. After they were baked I quickly put away half of them so we have a snack for tomorrow! With seven boys in the house any visible food gets devoured!
After this everyone spent some time quietly reading books (or looking at the pictures!) in their beds. This is the time that I catch my breath and soak in the quiet, no matter how short the time may be!
In the late afternoon I headed to the garden and didn’t pay much attention to what the boys were up to. It turns out they decided they wanted to play ping pong, so they put together two 8 foot tables with a giant piece of plywood on top. They found our old ping pong net and balls, but couldn’t find the paddles, so they cut and sanded their own from scraps of wood. They never cease to amaze me.
I’m often asked by homeschooling moms for resources that they can share with their kids to encourage them to learn the skills that some of mine have developed. My advice is to let your kids take the lead. Provide whatever tools they need to accomplish their goals (we buy lots of used tools from Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace) and then step out of the way and trust that they’ll learn best through trial and error as they have the freedom to learn and grow.
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When do your older 2 do their “schoolwork” or does working take the place of that on days like this?
Since they’re only working a couple days a week right now they just do their schoolwork checklist on the days they’re not working.
Hello! I am a mom to 7! Our oldest being almost 13 and our youngest only 2 weeks. We aren’t quite to the highschool years but will be soon and I’m trying to get a plan for what we will do for those years curriculum wise. I see you use TGATB for language arts for some kids. I have used it for a few of my younger kids and love the curriculum but I see it only goes up to highschool 3. Have you used it for the highschool years? If so what did you use for your 4th English credit? Assuming you need 4. Do you have any videos talking about how you prepare transcripts for your highschool kids? Thank you so much.
Hi Whitney! I have shared several posts on how we view the high school years. I myself was homeschooled through the high school years and went on to graduate from a university. Although it seems counterintuitive, I was actually unschooled during my high school years. I never completed a language arts course and only dabbled my way through an algebra book. Instead, I read a variety of books, wrote creatively, and pursued whatever interest got my attention.
With my own teenagers, delight-directed learning comes first. We use formal academic curriculums To support their goals and passions. All children do not need to be good at all things. Depending on the vision they have for their own future, they will need to master different skills, so we design their high school years according to that.
On my website, I have shared a video series that I did with a small group I led. It will take you step-by-step through making a high school transcript while still allowing you to follow a delight directed plan for your child.
You can find it under the “high school years” tab.