How to Choose Curriculum!

Curriculum??? AHHH???
     "So and so" has this and "so and so" has that and "so and so" is teaching Latin and "so and so" ect.  Want the low down on curric?  Here is is..... There is a crap ton and its all good, depending on who you are and who your kids are!!!  So, how do you sort through all of it and make a decision?   I have two suggestions for you:

1. START SLOW.  Don't spend a lot of money, be very very simplistic.  Get into a good rhythm.  If you are starting with your oldest being kindy, even just a Costco work book is fine while you get into the swing of things.  Read a lot, play a lot and don't do more than 40 minutes of school everyday.  INFACT, 3 days a week is even better for "sit down stuff".  If not, you will burn out and feel like a failure.  If you are starting with older kids and multiple grades, combine as much as you can (read my post on block schedules and on 4 day school weeks.)  Keep it pretty simple, your kids need to defrag from public school and all of you need to learn how to be homeschoolers.
2. Figure out who you are.  Everyones main decision making falls into 1 of 4 categories (you actually are a primary and have a secondary and we will focus this into curriculum choices only).  This means when you are face with a decision, lets say "homeschooling you think either: 1 is fun!  Homeschooling sounds fun and bright and like sunny days and field trips, 2 I need a clue. I can not move in that direction unless I can research it to death, with lots of lists and make sure I have everything I need to even consider it.  In fact this might sound so overwhelming that I don't do it at all and sit around instead.  3 let's get it done.  You make a decision and you move on it, go go go anything can be accomplished and you can drive it through, including homeschooling. 4 is right or wrong.  Is homeschooling right, is it wrong?  You go through every aspect weighing out each thing and if its right you do it.

     What does personality actually have to do with any of this.  I will tell you.  

1 is fun: You will think it is very, very fun to look at and shop for curric.  You will think its fun to get all the crafts and sparkly things and games.  You will think every field study and field trip and tid bit is fun!  Sounds great huh?!  Sounds fun?!
     You will not think it's very fun when all of that takes up so much time that you can not accomplish much.  You will not think it is fun when you have to write your own lesson plans.  You will not think it is fun when no one is learning and the babies are crying and you feel like you are failing.  If your secondary is a 2 you might even get so stuck in researching (slowly) that you can't even use 

     1 is fun Mom, you need to pick easy curric.  Stuff that thinks for you.  Little to no lesson planning.  You need things you can combine grade levels on, working kids in groups and, well, like a party.  You need flexibility to throw caution to the wind and march to your own beat but also on the days when you are not so inspired, that you know what to fall back on.  

     DO NOT pick curriculum that is too "involved", requires a lot of prep work, or has too many elements.  You might be able to "grow into" that spot (especially if you are a secondary 3 or 4) but not starting off.  Don't get fancy and add too much to your plate.  Your kids know you are "One Fun Mom" and if you try to teach differently then who you are... they will not like you as their teacher.

2 gets a clue: Heres the deal 2's.  You take your time, you research, you have lists and notes and paper (I hate paper).  You love google.  You like to beat a dead horse, you just can't stop making sure you have all the info.  Sometimes you may even get paralyzed in it all.  2's move slowly for the most part.  Once you have the info though your secondary number will kick in:  1 Now lets have fun, 3 let's get it done or 4 this is right/wrong!  You really need to utilize your secondary thought to move forward.
     If you are a secondary 1 then please for the love of everyone, pick things the 1 picks.  You need too or you will never enjoy what you are doing.  You can however pick things that have a little more "check off the list" then the 1 does.  You like lists and you like to be able to check things off.

     If your secondary is a 3 then you will probably be fine.  Your 3 will "get it done".  Just don't pick things that need additional research.  Do your research first, pick the curric and have it not require you to continue looking for things like... like books.  You need a built in list so you don't get caught up in more googling.

     If your secondary is a 4 then you need to remember to be flexible.

3's Get it done!: The great thing with you is that you get things done.  The problem will be that you might not think outside the box or to stop a while and smell the homeschool roses.  When picking curric, you will really rely on your secondary to help you choose and then you will drive it through.       Your kids might think your choices are not that great or that they are bland (unless your secondary is a 1), this is because you are very practical.  Be sensitive to them and pick curric with your secondary number in mind in order to not get stuck in only serving what seems practical!  BE CAREFUL IF you are a secondary 4 who thinks homeschool should look like public school you may just "get it done" all the way to the homeschool graveyard.  Be very careful you don't push whats not working.

Right/Wrong 4:  Oh 4's.  You really could go one way or the other.  It depends on what your 4 thinks is right or wrong.  If your 4 says that a loose, unschooling approach is best you will stand in that corner for life, unless your paradigm shifts and you think that a strict classical approach is the way to breed a child genius, then to that side you will run and stand firm!  See the problem 4's?
     When picking curriculum you base everything out of "right and wrong", "black and white", "good and bad".  Most homeschool 4's tend to be more on the scholastic side and often a little too "public schooly at home" (Although all personalities usually hit this at some point in their journey).
     You do very well with complicated curriculum with lots of checks and balances.  You like having curriculum that includes many subjects and goes by the grade.  You like doing things "by the book".
By nature, you will most likely want to stay away from things that are too whimsical, open ended and... imaginative.  You won't think you are actually getting enough done if you do (unless your secondary is a 1, then have at it!).  Your biggest issue will really be overload.  Overloading your life with this very strict school while trying to keep your house clean and organic, homecooked meals on the table 3x a day!  You need to keep in mind for yourself and your children that your children are children and not college students.  Don't overwhelm them with too much AND..... don't think you are a failure either.  Re look at what you picked, make changes, pare down and tell yourself it's RIGHT to be more relaxed and not do "as much" school work!

SO WHEN ACTUALLY BUYING:
     It is okay to mix and match between sources.  Just try and still pick things according to your curric personality.  Google reviews on things and try and get a good feel for what you are going to buy.  Homeschool conferences/fairs/and friends are a good source to see lots of curric and get to know it.  Cathy Duffys  homeschool reviews are a good place to start to get a feel for things.
     I wish I had something more concrete to give you but the truth is still the same: There is a crap ton and its all good, depending on who you are and who your kids are.

My favorite all-around great curriculum:

Queens!

Mystery Of History

                      KHAN (free online math)

                                                                                         TEACHING TEXTBOOKS

 DO IT YOURSELF HOMESCHOOL JOURNALS

BRIMWOOD PRESS

#10 FREAK OUT: in 10 TRICKS OF THE TRADE when Teaching School with a crap ton of kids everywhere- lol =)

This is the 10th in a series about teaching school with lots of kids, multiple ages and grades and little ones about.  These 10 things would have revolutionized my life, had I done them all from the beginning.  Enjoy and hopefully they help you a bit too!

#10 FREAK OUT!!!!

photo credit "robmcnealy.com

     This is probably less of a blog post and more of a letter of encouragement.  When I started off homeschooling, I had such visions of grandeur.  Images flashed through my head of all these fun and exciting things we would do and learn!  How my children would be ahead in everything, know Latin, music, and excel in all the arts!  I didn't think it would be so hard to "do kindy" and take care of 2 littles at the same time.  I never dreamed that I would feel like throwing in the towel and sending them to public school because I WAS A FAILURE as a teacher, as evidenced by the fact that I had 2 babies/toddlers and 3 school age kids and our entire week of "school was watching leap frog... again, and doing some costco workbooks.  I questioned.  I toiled.  I struggled.  I doubted.
     The truth is I WAS NOT FAILING but I had placed higher expectations on my life, and my children, than were necessary.  I kept soldiering on, tweaking our school days, tweaking our curriculum.  Some days I was a HUGE SUCCESS and others MEH-NOT SO MUCH.  Through it all though, I was in it!  I was committed!  I was willing to let God continue to change and mold me into the Mom HE wanted me to be and you know what, it totally got better!
   
   In my 12 years being a homeschool Mom, I have learned some very valuable things; some of those only recently!  These are all things I used to
FREAK OUT about and now I am sailing that beautiful sea of
"NOW I KNOW BETTER".  To end out this series, I would like to share some "gems" with you that I have learned.  Beautiful tid-bits to help you realize all this "freaking out" is really not needed.  Satan tells us lies people!  Lies that we are failing, that we aren't smart enough, that we are ruining our children, that we can't do it, that we are not able to do it.  (if your lips are move'n, if your lips are move'n, then you lie, lie, lie!)  It's time for  us all to STOP BELIEVING THE LIES!  The truth, the truth, the truth is that we CAN DO IT, WE WILL DO IT, WE WILL SUCCEED!!!  So what are these "FREAK OUT" things???  Here's 5, knock yourself out!!


FREAK OUT #1:  I'm totally freaking out because we haven't done school at all this year!
     Okay, so how old are your kids?  Hmm not in highschool.  You will be fine.  The more I homeschool, the more I think that you really can cover just about everything you need to between grades 7th and up... and thats if you want to be done with highschool in the 10th grade so that grades 11th-12th are at a college.  Now, I am not an "unschooler" but I am starting to see a method to some of the madness ;)  (saying that with love).  What I have realized though is that if all you did was teach them to read and work on math, you really arent going to miss anything else if you saved all the rest for the upper grades.
     Filling your days with lots of learning through reading, games, videos, songs, going places, talking, talking, talking, have I mentioned talking?  Your kids will learn so very much!!! Talk about anything and everything.  Give them things to make their own books, and posters, and flip books, and lapbooks, and pop ups, and comics and, and and and and!!!  they will learn.  They will learn about maps and places and cities and countries and animals and insects and the commas I am not using because I don't feel like it right now ;)  THEY WILL LEARN!  Despite you and BECAUSE OF YOU!!  If you never touched on formal history and science until the last 4 years of their school life... they will be just fine!  SO DON"T FREAK OUT!!!

FREAK OUT #2:  WE ARE SO TOTALLY BEHIND AND I DON'T THINK WE CAN CATCH UP!!!!
     So here's the thing: If you do feel like you are "behind" the first thing you need to do is look at what you are "behind in".  (Read "freak out #1 again) If its NOT math and reading... stop freaking out.  History, science, ect can be taught more formally later or on a slower progressive curve.  If, for instance, you are using a curric like Mystery of History, it's perfectly fine to stretch the volume you are in out to encompass more than one school year.  It really is okay.
      If you are really "behind" in stuff, take a look at why.  Is it because you need to prioritize school better?  Is it curric? Do you need to carve out some one-on-one time?   Is the child not ready to be moved ahead?
     My son A9 was in 4th grade this last year.  He has a summer birthday so he is a "young grade level" kid.  Technically he could actually be in the grade below him.  These are good things to keep in mind.  So, reading has not been his thing.  He is still "behind" but he is progressing for him and it gets better and better every day.  And we did implement some things this year to keep encouraging him in his reading.  However, in MATH, he started the year off about 1/4 of the way through 4th grade math.  He ended the year a little more than 1/4 of the way into his 6th grade math (teaching textbooks).  Did you compute that?  My "behind in reading" kid did over 2 years of math in one year!  His brain was there, in math land, not in reading land!  So I didn't freak out.  He's progressing just fine with reading.  My outlook needed to change....  he's not "behind", he is just on a different schedule =)  If you really are behind in stuff though- chuck everything off your plate except what really counts.  set some goals and work on those.  Put back in the other things as the "behind stuff" get stable and are in an uphill progression.

FREAK OUT #3:  THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE TEACHING WAYYYYYY MORE STUFF THAN I AM!!!
     No, no they are not.  How do I know this?  Why because up until this past February (2015) I had 3 kids still in the public school system.  Let me share a few things with you: 1)I actually had to teach them the story about the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving,;  I still can't believe that.  2)The public schools aren't teaching everything either!!!  (go on, get out your shock face!)  They do math and language arts every day.  That is the only thing they are doing every day.  They have units they do here and there, throughout the year, on science and history/social studies and if they do not get the math and LA done, they ditch the other stuff.  (No wonder they had no clue about the pilgrims!). PE and ARTS are hit and miss as well.  This is kinda the way their world turns until about 7th grade.  So, if the public school isn't even doing all 9 billion subjects, why are you stressing out about it?!?!?!  Teach your child to read and to love reading and keep on a progressive level with math.  Anything else that you missed along the way- assign it to them from junior high on up!

FREAK OUT #4:  But this other homeschool family in our circle, well their kids know Latin and there's all this stuff about the different phases of learning and they all play the violin!  We don't measure up =(
     Measure up to who?  The Jones's?  Stop comparing yourself to other people!  They don't have the same life/kids/family/worries/joys as you do.  I admit, my kids would prolly be a lot more "highly educated" had some of the other families I know have been theirs.  But you know what?  They aren't theirs, they are mine!  Being the "smartest homeschool family ever" should not be your aim in life and I am sure it's not all it's cracked up to be.  It really will be okay.  Do they love and follow Jesus?  Are you teaching them to live a life for Gods glory and not their gain?  Then KEEP GOING!!!  You are doing just fine!!  It really is okay if we don't all school the same way and with the same scholastic goals.  It really is alright.  IT REALLY IS!

FREAK OUT #5:  I WON'T BE ABLE TO TEACH MATH... OR MIDDLE SCHOOL... OR HIGHSCHOOL!  
     Yes you can and yes you will!  First of all, there are so many amazing programs and curriculum's out there.  Anyone can do it and that includes you.  Secondly, just because your child is getting older, that does not make you dumber.  Besides, even if it did (but it doesn't- not even "placenta brain"), by the time they get to highschool, they should be pretty independent.  They hopefully got the hang of using the math computer program, learned how to research and even if you only required ONE essay a year, if it was a good one then they know how to do that too.  They can read, they can write, they can move through curriculum.  It really will be okay and you really can do it!  And you really are smart enough too =)

     My friends, keep fighting the good fight.  Keep pouring into your kids.  Keep putting one foot in front of the other.  Don't give up!!  Don't freak out!!  Take it one day at a time and be encouraged, YOU'VE GOT THIS!

That concludes this blog post (and this series!).   I hope you have enjoyed this overview on "FREAK OUT!"  Other topics to come in this series, in no particular order, are:

1. One Room School House Teaching
2. block scheduling/4 day school week
3. 3 hour limit
4. schooling when they are ready- don't stress until then
5. sickness in the house and new babies
6. utilize your team (aka older kids)
7. schooling with toddlers and babies
8. FEED the people
9. Making an "unschedule" for your home
10. FREAK OUT!

#9 Making an "un-schedule": In 10 TRICKS OF THE TRADE when Teaching School with a crap ton of kids everywhere- lol =)

This is the 9th in a series about teaching school with lots of kids, multiple ages and grades and little ones about.  These 10 things would have revolutionized my life, had I done them all from the beginning.  Enjoy and hopefully they help you a bit too!

#9:  Making an "Un-Schedule"

     So I have talked A LOT about chore charts and ORSH/block scheduling and having a routine and plan your food and those things are all well and good, but what happens when.... well, when the poo-poo hits the fan?
     "Mama said there'd be days like this" and Mama was RIGHT!  Bad days, busy days, and all consuming days, will find you more often than not.  Making an 'Un-schedule" is 80% attitude, 10% scheduling and 10% fall back.

The fall back!

     The "fall back" is the normative estate.  What is NORMAL IN YOUR HOME.  My fall back is really my chore system.  Because that system is worked around meals, it acts as a natural "reset".  If the day "gets weird" we can fall right back into gear by hitting the next meal and going with it.  Another great thing, is in anticipation of a disruption like.... leaving the house for a field trip; I can gather the crew, tell them to "check their jurisdictions", my house gets a once over before we leave and we come back to bliss instead of mess.  If you do not have a PLEASANT NORMATIVE ESTATE, then you will have nothing to FALLBACK ON!  Or (even worse!) if your fallback is a disorganized one,  it will be a source of contention and will breed chaos in your home.

Attitude!

     Now, really pay attention... attitude.  It makes a word of difference.  IT REALLY DOES!  Now I am not talking about attitude in the sense of "good day/bad day" but more in an "out look" sort of way.  Do you have an attitude that allows your home to be flexible without putting guilt on yourself?  (WHOA!)  Too often we Moms put unwarranted guilt on ourselves for not having everything done:
   
     We didn't get to that pile of laundry, we didn't do all 4 application that went with one lessons.  We didn't think about dinner until 4 p.m., we didn't get to all the parts of language arts we should have today...

     We get so caught up in this train of thinking though that we will sometimes disregard what we DID DO:

     We helped the oldest get passes a hard concept in math while the laundry waited patiently.  We were caught up in fantastical discussion on the slave trade and the kids were so into it that we schooled past 3!  In language arts, the one little bit on poetry stanzas turned into a hilarious sort of "whose line is it anyway" with the kids making up their own couplets, triplets and quatrains! 

     It's all perspective friends and when you count all the little things you see that they all add up to very big things!  Sometimes days just "get off track" and that is PERFECTLY FINE!!!!  Just have those safe guards in place, those fall backs, so that when it does, you know how to get back on track!

THE UN-SCHEDULE
 
     With that said, we have to look at the schedule now and ask some very important things.

1. Are the expectations reasonable?
2. Are you willing to "chuck what doesn't work" or "pause on it until a later time?
3. Is it flexible enough to bend and shift with your family?
4. Are you willing to "call it" at any given moment when the day is just not working?

    PSSST:::::   The last one is the hardest- just say'n.  Go ahead, re-read the 4 questions one more time.  Okay maybe 2 more times ;)  There is no way to schedule an un-schedule.  You just have to be able to stay fluid enough that you can shift, but strong enough that you can carry the vessel on.  

At the beach on a school day in April with friends.

     I spent a lot of years not being fluid enough and my vessel just sat in the water.  We couldn't more forward because I was stuck in what we didn't do in the past!  Once I worked on being fluid, things started moving, kids were learning even more and we were accomplishing so much.  

     Now I'm like "psht, let's just go to the beach because its sunny today!" because I know in a few days it will rain for a week and we can "catch up" without a problem, or maybe we will need a few "tweaks" to the scholastic line up, but we CAN DO THAT!   I have also learned what I really needed (and could actually accomplish) within schooling.  Geography is perfectly fine being taught as a highschool course, we don't need a full course in it at 4th grade.  We can touch base on those things as part of history!  It's okay if a child progresses more OR LESS in an area that is not atypical.  It will all round out in the end.  I have even learned that it was really okay that we hardly did school for my oldest daughter's 2nd grade year.  There was a lot going on, let's leave it at that.  And you know what!!!  She is not scarred for life, shes super smart and has no scholastic set backs from playing most of the year when she was 8.  Guilt-GONE.  Be willing to take your best laid plans and chuck them for the sake of loving your family.  

     Besides, look at what you are teaching the kids!  Be flexible, be willing to critically look at plans, be willing to admit you "bit off more than you can chew", be the person who is wise enough to "call it" when it's just not working, be the one to accomplish much with a good attitude.  Be willing to HAVE FUN, be appreciative of what you do school wise, be willing.  BE WILLING!  BE the person who knows, when all is said and done, how to get back to the "normative estate" and be okay with it all.  You are teaching them how to navigate the ups and downs of life.  An un-schedule is really just flexibility in action!

That concludes this blog post.   I hope you have enjoyed this overview on "Making an un-schedule"!  Other topics to come in this series, in no particular order, are:

One Room School House Teaching

block scheduling/4 day school week

3 hour limit

schooling when they are ready- don't stress until then

sickness in the house and new babies

utilize your team (aka older kids)

schooling with toddlers and babies

FEED the people

Making an "unschedule" for your home

FREAK OUT!

#8 FEED the People: in 10 TRICKS OF THE TRADE when Teaching School with a crap ton of kids everywhere- lol:

This is the 8th in a series about teaching school with lots of kids, multiple ages and grades and little ones about.  These 10 things would have revolutionized my life, had I done them all from the beginning.  Enjoy and hopefully they help you a bit too!

#8 FEED the people

     One of the things I get asked about a lot is food.  It's a valid question for sure!  With a family of 12, we go through a lot of food.  For some reason, all these children want to eat!  3 meals a day at that!  This becomes very time consuming when thrown into the daily grind of house and school.

     We spend about $750 a month on just food.  I keep cost down by making as much as I can by hand.  This means our food budget can stay lower but we have to put more time into these things.

sour dough bread

   We make pretty much all bread items from scratch (no bread machine and many of the items are sourdough), yogurt, many broths, some meals to put in the freezer... sometimes (honestly I don't have time for a ton of that and most freezer meals don't reheat well when made in the quantities I need).  We freeze berries we collect all summer and harvest tons from our garden and fruit trees in order to can and freeze.  These things keep our cost way down, but it does mean that we do a lot of "home ec." September and October, and we have to have at least one day a week set aside for bread baking.  I will talk more about these things in a future post.  The point of THIS POST is in how we actually feed all these kids in an orderly fashion, without too much mess, 3 times a day.

cinnamon rolls

     We begin: it helps to have as much as I can already made... like bread items.  It also helps to use my crock pot as much as I can.  For hot meals in the morning, I'd rather go the crock pot route the night before.  We do eat a lot of eggs but only because we have chickens.  We do not do boxed anything.  Not cereals, not dinner items, no pre made rice or packaged mac and cheese.  About the only thing we buy "pre-made" is handy items like spaghetti sauce, noodles,  pancake batter (and that is only because my husband prefers in (currently) as he makes pancakes on the weekends), sometimes granola bars, you know... that kind of stuff.

finger veggie mix for the fridge

     I will take some time to cut up finger veggies and put them in a large tupperware container so that we have cut veggies for lunches all week.  My two older girls make a HUGE amount of muffins 1x a week or so that we freeze and pull out as needed (along with the other bread items).  If we have a lot of eggs, hardboil and peel a bunch!   You know, just think about what you go to the most and pre-make as much as you can to make things easier!

  Another thing I do to save on monthly cost and to make things faster is I "flip" a lot of meals.  I can make 2 roast chickens from costco give me 3-4 meals... for 12 people! (with stuff added to it of course)

     I digress... back to the main point:  I have learned that if I do not keep the meals simple for breakfast and lunch, then our homeschool day can quickly be swallowed up in food prep, cooking, and cleaning.  We keep things pretty healthy, my kids eat all their "greens" (veggies) and they eat what they are served... period!

     For this post, I have tried to include our more predominate meals and my hope is to come through and do some picture tutorials on some of them as well.  Hope you all enjoy!



  Lets start with breakfast.  Now remember, all bread items are already made and just have to be pulled from the cupboard or freezer.  All meals include fruit and are usually on napkins or paper plates, unless they need "real dishes":

Morning "kitchen helper's" on
the chore chart, making breakfast.

This Guy is happy to eat!

Here is a list of breakfast items we have often.

1. Overnight crock pot oatmeal (tons of different "kinds")
2. Overnight crock pot french toast
3. Overnight crock pot sweet bread
4. Muffins/fruit/nuts
5. Yogurt/fruit/nuts
6. Eggs: scrambled, in burritos, fried, on english muffins, hard boiled etc.
7. Cinnamon rolls/fruit/nuts
8. Banana bread
9. Raisin bread
10. Pumpkin bread
11. Pie.  Yes pie!  It is not below me to pull out a pie crust and fill it with canned fruit with a topping of crushed nuts.  I might even layer it with some yogurt.  Don't judge me, it's delish!
12. Smoothies with some type of bread/muffin
13. Every once in a blue moon, home made "cereal" and milk.
14. Rice cereal
15. Toast with something on it, with fruit/nuts
16. Yogurt parfaits
17. Pancakes
18. Waffles
19. Muffin Quiche 
20. bagles
21. breakfast pizza
22. Breakfast salad.  Usually chopped up cabbage and other greens mixed into a happy greek yogurt.  Very yum!

b-fast salad

pumpkin muffins

Whew!  Most of this stuff can be made ahead of time and frozen, can go in the crock pot over night, or be whipped together within 20 minutes or less in the morning.  Clean up is pretty easy and with kids using the chore system, clean up goes fast.  Even if I didn't have an older kid cleaning crew, all of this stuff would be easy for me to whip out right before I got littles out of bed and I could clean up pretty quickly, by myself.

Lunches ;)  everything includes fruits and veggies even if they are not mentioned.  And yes, my kids eat all their "greens" (this is all veggies).  I still only use paper plates or napkins unless I need real dishes:

parfait cups for lunch

Pizza rolls

1. Tortillia roll ups: this might be like pb and J but rolled into a tortillia, peanut butter/banana/celery,  or a sandwhich wrap.
2. "Lunch boats".  This is like home made chicken salad scooped into romaine leaves.
3. Parfait lunch cups.  Ummm...anything that goes in a cup
4. Open face sandwiches.  Could be pb and j or meat and cheese stuff.
5. Popcorn lunch:  popcorn, slice cheese, lunch meat, fruit, veggies, spoon with peanut butter on it, nuts ect, ect,... like a "lunchable"; it has a little bit of everything!
6. Soup.  Man alive but I can feed these kids for days on different soups and bread!
7. Bean and cheesers.
8. Nachos
9. Home made pizza on pizza crust or sliced bread or "pizza casserole" and we make many different "kinds" of pizza.
10. Tuna melts
11. Pasta salad
12. pasta in general
13. Ummm... bread anything.  Meat and cheese drop biscuits, bread with stuff spread on it, bread with stuff melted on it, bread baked with things in it (think calzone).  Did I mention bread?
14. Corn dogs (ok, this one I buy and don't make from scratch)
15. Hotdog rolled up in a tortillia
16. Anything from the breakfast list =)
17. Dinner leftovers
18. Salads
19. Anything I can throw in a large cup and send them outside with.... kinda like #4
20. Stir fry stuff (this is usually a left over thing that gets flipped into a stir fry)
21. Rice and beans... beans and rice =)

Dinner time now!

I will list just a few since dinners are usually more involved and its after school hours.  Plus, eventually I will write a more informative food post =)  I use bread as a "filler" with most dinners and always have a side veggie or salad as well.

personal pizzas for dinner

1. Pasta of various kinds both as hot and cold dishes.
2. Tacos.  
3. Salads with meat on them.
4. Soups
5. Stews
6. Pizza
7. Chicken that gets turned into 3 or more meals
8. Ham that then gets turned into another 3 or more meals
9. Baked potatoes with stuff
10. Every meal is a main "something something" with salad or side veggies and bread (usually sourdough sliced)

  What about snacks??? 

     Yah... we just don't.  The only exception wold be if we are having a really active day like swimming or hiking or... a beach day.  That constitutes NEEDING a snack.  When we are at home though, we just do not snack.  I can't afford it and they really do not need it!  If I had kids 3 and under in my home I would give them a snack between getting up from naps and dinner.  I have found if kids snack all day long they 1)eat you out of house and home BUT only on the "goodies" and 2) they don't eat their dinner.  They do have access to their water bottles all day long =)  When we do have snacks, its stuff like fruits, veggies, trail mix, muffins,  bread (lol).  Every now and then I  might have pretzels.  Like I have stated, we don't do boxed things.

Dishes?

     Okay, so don't judge me for using paper!  My dishwasher can only run so many times a day and we can not be backed up in the kitchen; we would get nothing done!  Dinner is pretty much always on real dinnerware and we run a load in the DW after dinner at night.  Breakfast and lunches are normally paper plates or napkins.  If I need to use real stuff, like for oatmeal, then I do.  Between breakfast and lunch we usually run one more DW load.  It all depends on what we had for Bfast and lunch =)

CUPS?  I love the land of sippy cups so as my kids got older I got them water bottles!  Everyone has their own and that is what they use everyday, all day, and that's it.  If they knock it over, it doesn't spill.  If we are going somewhere I can grab the basket of water bottles and take it with.  I don't have to wash 2 million cups everyday.  It's a beautiful system!  Water bottle live in the basket.  Not on the counter, in their room, outside, you get the point.  In the summer I put the basket on the porch so they have easy access all day long =)  We pretty much ONLY DRINK WATER.  I don't give out juice or milk to drink unless it's a special treat.  When I do though, they get it in a regular cup ;)

Did you just say your kids do not drink milk (GASP!)

     Why yes, yes you did.  All the great stuff in milk is also found in other dairy and in other foods.  My kids eat plenty of yogurt and cheese.  They eat dino kale and other nutrient rich greens and plenty of other fruits and veggies.  Milk is not the end all to health and my kids are not lacking!  Besides, we can not afford to have everyone drinking milk all the day long.  

WHO DOES ALL THE WORK??

     Well..... At this point in my life, it's a real joint effort between the kids and I.  I do most of the dinners with help from various children.  The kids do most of the other meals.  We all pitch in on food prep stuff as needed.  The older girls do most of the bread baking items.

     Of course, before my oldest was 11, it was just me.  I did it all and I did it as I had time and I prolly did even more because my family was small enough that things like freezer meals still worked.

F was about 13 here.  Making muffins.

You JUST HAVE TO MAKE THE TIME TO DO IT!  There is no trick to getting it done, you just have to get it done!  Sometimes that meant not taking a nap, or staying up a little later, or taking a whole saturday to cook and food prep.
    Don't underestimate your childrens abilities either!  My oldest was 11 when she started doing breakfast on her own.  She would get up at 7 and make muffins and/or other breakfast items for everyone while I nursed the baby.  I really could have had her helping me in that way much younger.  I know my current 8 year old boy could totally do it right now!  I just didn't know that I could have her doing stuff then and I didn't know it was OKAY to have her doing stuff!  Remember this is part of training them to be adults!  Start young!!!!
     As far as clean up goes, well the kids do that thanks to my CHORE SYSTEM, and if you do not have older kids yet- read it anyway!  Training starts early!

QUESTIONS?????  Please ask in the comments so I can answer! =)



TO CLOSE:  OVERNIGHT OATS =)

So, this is pretty easy.  I will forewarn you though, I do not measure =)

YOU WILL NEED:

• crock pot
• oats
• applesauce or canned fruit (but you could skip this- it just makes it more yummy)
• raisins or craisins or berries or nuts, if you want
• spices like cinnamon,  pie spices, ect
• vanilla
• sugar if needed (if using applesauce or canned fruit you may not need any)

ASSEMBLE:

• Dump in your fruit, spices, and any other add ins, like nuts or raisins.
• If you are doing something like peaches, you will want to take some food scissors and cut them up smaller.
• pour in a dash of vanilla

NOW:

Dump in a bunch of oats.  You really can't go wrong here.  Just don't fill it all the way up!
(DO NOT add water before oats.  Always oats first)

NEXT:

ADD Water until the Oats are covered and then stir!

You want the  Oats "stew like"  if its too "soupy" add some more oats.  If too "chunky" add some more water =)

Taste the liquid and if its not sweet enough, add some sweetner =)

NOW COOK IT!

Before you go to bed, turn your crock pot on the lowest setting.  On my Crock Pot, That is WARM.

LAST:

Put the lid on it and let it do its thing.  You will be ready to eat this yumminess in the morning!

(I usually turn my CP on warm around 10 p.m.  we eat it when we are ready in the morning.  7 am if we have to be out of the house but more like 9 on a regular day)



That concludes this blog post.   I hope you have enjoyed this overview on "FEED the people"!  Other topics to come in this series, in no particular order, are:

One Room School House Teaching

block scheduling/4 day school week

3 hour limit

schooling when they are ready- don't stress until then

sickness in the house and new babies

utilize your team (aka older kids)

schooling with toddlers and babies

FEED the people

Making an "unschedule" for your home

FREAK OUT!

#7 schooling with toddlers and babies in 10 TRICKS OF THE TRADE when Teaching School with a crap ton of kids everywhere- lol:

This is the 7th in a series about teaching school with lots of kids, multiple ages and grades and little ones about.  These 10 things would have revolutionized my life, had I done them all from the beginning.  Enjoy and hopefully they help you a bit too!

#7 Schooling with babies and toddlers

The "Little Boy" brigade

     Schooling with little ones about is like trying to teach rocket science while having a seizure every 90 seconds.  No matter how small the lessons should be, it can effectively take all picking day!!!  So how do you actually get stuff done?
     I actually think there is a simple answer and a more complicated one.  The simple answer is: by being flexible and creative with how you use your time.  The complicated answer is: that if you are not utilizing your team, if your kids aren't doing chores, if your scholastic expectations are too high, if your curriculum is too time consuming, if you are not dealing with "heart issues" that are causing problems, then no matter how flexible you are, you will never actually get anything done.
     School will always be the thing you ditch because the kids must be fed, the laundry done and the house picked up.  So while this post will be full of helpful tips, making your day actually work involves getting many areas of your family life in order.  With that said, now we begin =)

An older kid doing her reading
with a younger kid doing his

     I really believe curriculum choice is HUGE when it comes to schooling with little ones.  For me I needed a mix between things that could be done "one room school house" and things that could be independent.  Picking curric that will allow some flexibility is really going to pay off in the long run.  my fave is, of course, Queens.
     Another thing is the rhythm of your school days are really going to change when you go from having all your school age kids in k-3 to having 4th plus grades.  The good thing is, by the time you get to the 4th/5th grades, your older children should be well trained and part of a good working family team.  If you are already there and they are not.... well.... get on it! =)  K-3rd really does not need more than 30-60 minutes a day; 90 if you have a kid who really like doing math, by 3-4 days a week.  4th and up you are getting into the 90 min plus a day 3-4 days a week.  4 days for sure if 6th and up.  This is that "expectation" part.  If you have a kindy kid and you are trying to school 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, you are going to go crazy.  Plus, it's really not needed.

I HAVE 3 THINGS THAT MADE IT WORK FOR ME

not too happy about sitting
there but he did it! 

1. Blanket training my toddlers.  We practiced this all the time so I could use it all the time.  I would put out a small blanket for each child and they would sit on it and play with the toys I gave them.  They needed to be content with the items I gave them to play with (and not covet other things) and stay on the blanket.  This is my NUMBER ONE life saving tool with toddlers!  I did have some things that were special items that came out "just during school time" for a while, but in the end they got whatever I pulled out of the toy bin.  If I needed to focus in on one kid or another or go over something or even tend to the baby, I could lay out a blanket for each toddler with some toys and know that they were now contained.   Often they would end up on their blanket because they were either fighting or getting into things and needed to be reigned in.



Me out with 5 kiddos on a field trip
It was either do this or be a hermit.

2. A really good baby carrier.  My favorites were my mei-tais I made and my wraps.  I could wear my baby or my toddler or both and still get things done.
3. Schedule the school things that needed my attention the most during naptime.  (yes I trained my kids to nap at the same time everyday)  Let's face it.  It is just plain easier to school older kids when littles are asleep.

Beyond those three things is the creativity bit.  Here are some ideas:

• school in weird places.  Alphabet and handwriting with shaving cream at bath time.  Math at the park with bugs and bark.  Science on your way to a playdate, talking about the trees you see, why the sky is blue.  Spread your schooling out and count everything... even sorting laundry is school!



7 1/2 and on baby duty

• keep lessons short- especially if you have the 3rd grade and under crowd.  Set your timmer if you must.  "Little Johnny, its time to practice handwriting"  give his his one or two page work sheet and set your timer.  If he does more that is fine too if he gets done sooner- great!  But limit yourself.  Looking at school as a 1 our block can be overwhelming but taking each subject in small chunks is so doable!

I covered my table with paper.
The tots colored for a long time!

  
• don't start school until the house/team is in order.  Clear the table, wipe down the counters, start the laundry!  Have every member working! (here is my chore system)  You can get a lot more done if you can touch the table without sticking to it!
• remember to play.  take walks, be silly!
• rotate some babies with older kids if you have them.  Set the timer!  9yr old Jane is on baby buddy duty for 30 min while Mama sits with 6yr old John to help him with Math.
• Have older kids help little kids.  Does Janey know how to add?  Have her help out John while you sit and nurse the baby and keep an eye on the toddlers on their blanket!
• circle time.  This sounds kinda lame but its really fun and they all love it!  If you have older kids, they can run it!  Take 20 minutes to do circle time everyday.  Make a circle time box so everything is ready..  hmm maybe I should blog how to do this!  Include songs, easy games and some learning stuff.  Voila!  school!  It also teaches kids from very little to respect "sit down time".  
• if they are bring really naughty, don't let it slide.  Deal with said child.  It will pay off in the long run if you don't quit in the short game.

• if you have older kids, schedule their independent work for the time of the day that the littles most need you.  Then when the littles go to bed, hit your "big kid stuff"
• food can be used.  sit the littles at the table with a snack while big kids sit there and do school.  
• its okay to "tag team" with another mom.  You take the littles and they "do school" and then switch.  
• having learning materials out that the older kids can do when they would like too.  Workbooks from the dollar tree, dice games, lego challenges!  This way your kids start to incorporate schooling into their play!
• dry erase pens.  OKay so heres the deal.  They wipe off of everything... even kids.  Everything from a coloring page to a worksheet can go into a clear page protector and be written on and then wiped off.  I have entertained littles for hours at the table with dry erase pens!
• if they must watch the TV make it educational.  Leap from, the magic school bus, one of the millions of nature science shows.  
• include them!  I know that often that can make things take forever but it will entertain them, you are training them and you can keep your eyes on them!  Plus... it can be super cute!

Cowboy, toddler baking?
Why yes, yes it is!

• make clean up fast!  many of the woes with schooling and having littles is the mess!  Minimize as much as you can and then when you do pick up- pick up by having the kids put "everything that doesnt belong" in that room into a laundry basket, then vacuum.  YEAH the room is clean!  you and the older kids can "put away the put away basket" later when there is time  
• if its just not working, call it quits for the day, pick it all back up tmw!

     Don't be afraid! (of all these little people).  You really are the sweet boss, training your kiddos!  School is life and school is scholastic!  School is teaching them how to be mommy's and daddy's.  School is not a workbook or the amount of hours you put in.  It's the quality of the time you have!

That concludes this blog post.   I hope you have enjoyed this overview on utilizing your team (aka older kids)!  Other topics to come in this series, in no particular order, are:

One Room School House Teaching

block scheduling/4 day school week

3 hour limit

schooling when they are ready- don't stress until then

sickness in the house and new babies

utilize your team (aka older kids)

schooling with toddlers and babies

FEED the people

Making an "unschedule" for your home

FREAK OUT!

#6 Utilize your team (aka older kids) in 10 TRICKS OF THE TRADE when Teaching School with a crap ton of kids everywhere- lol:

This is the 6th in a series about teaching school with lots of kids, multiple ages and grades and little ones about.  These 10 things would have revolutionized my life, had I done them all from th beginning.  Enjoy and hopefully they help you a bit too!

#6 Utilize your team (aka older kids)


  From a very early age, older siblings can and should help out in the home.  This is their training time for when they are moms and dads!  Kids can help in so many ways and schooling is no exception!  This is especially true as children get bigger and the family gets bigger.

  This does not mean you are shirking your own responsibility as parent and educator.  Letting your children participate in teaching and helping with school IS PART of THEIR SCHOOL!  It's  a huge part of learning and one that has mutual benefits for you all!  Everyone must learn to be a disciple and to be discipled!

  From a very early age I partnered up kids to do some school together.  This is before I was working with block schedules and one room school house teaching.  I didn't pair kids up because I thought it would be a great teaching opportunity, in truth I did it out of survival.  I had just had baby #6 and... well there was a lot going on in that period of my life.  I needed help.  My 7 year old (2nd daughter) was a very good reader but my 6 year old daughter was not (partially due to age and partially because

H was 7, helping M then 6 with school

she just wasn't going to be until she was older) anyway, the 7 year old thought it was a brilliant idea when I told her she would buddy up with a younger sister and do science together.  They read an ABEKA science reading book together and answered the questions.  It was a beautiful thing.  Big sister and Little sister loved doing school together and I often found them "playing school" but actually doing real work.
  I will admit that there was a certain amount of guilt that came in the beginning.  Feelings of shame that I was "stealing their childhood" or that I was "not doing my own responsibilities".  Quickly the Lord showed me how much the kids enjoyed it, how it strengthened their relationships and that they were learning a skill!  I wasn't stealing anything I was enriching!  Thank you Jesus!

  Utilizing your team isn't just about schooling though.  Its also there with everyday chores and food as well.  It's a complete picture where kids are helping and pitching in as needed because we are all a team... we are a family- it's what family does!

 Now lets utilize these little people!

  There is no "schedule" really to having kids help in school or with day to day stuff.  It just happens as its needed- don't be afraid to call on them on the fly!  Here are some ways and times I utilize my team:

H reading to the little boys

• I have to leave the house for some reason.  my M12g LOVES science and loves to teach the boys!  She will step into my place and "do science" with them.  Still One room school house, but the teacher has changed.  A9b says he loves when M12 teaches science because "she makes it fun.  She gets very excited about what is being learned and that makes me more excited.  She also is very encouraging."  
• Twice a week, on the same day, I have to bring my oldest to work and my A9b to physical therapy.  H13g and M12g will finish up any one on one school still left with the little boys and H13g usually plans a craft with them.  She loves littles and really enjoys being a teacher.  She will do a circle time, sing songs with them and do a learning craft.  This is all by her own initiative but I still count it as school!
• Something in the house has to get done.  A little one needs attention, a baby needs dealing with, important phone call that can't be skipped.  Things happen!  Things come up!  Sometimes in these moments I might change the assignment a little in order to make it easier for the older one I am putting in charge but usually its pretty smooth.

  

  M and A doing a gardening
  assignment together

• I need people to sit with new readers and let them read out loud.  Littles are always very ready to help with the listening!  Some of those littles are learning to read though and they too need practice.  I can buddy up older kids with younger kids in order to hit more than one bird with one stone.  With 4 boys learning to read and on different reading levels, it is nice to be able to split up that 20 min reading time over myself and 3 other big kids.  If I didn't do this I would be sitting for an hour or more just in listening to kids read and I do not always have that time.
• "long assignments sometimes need 2 brains working it".  This could also be titled, "I only have so many computers/tablets and you need to share so work together".  I 'spose this isn't really teaching but still buddies up kids to streamline the learning.  Also when you buddy up an older with a younger, they help keep the younger on task and the younger kid feels a lot of pride with doing a "bigger assignment".
• play games.  they usually need more than one person anyway.
• when I was gone for 5 days.  I assigned teachers and students.  All the schooling still got done when I was away. 

  

  F15 doing real swimming
  lessons with D5

• food: While I am working with a set of kids an older child can make lunch.
• laundry:  hello!  someone please go flip the laundry (all my kids know how to do that!)
• "I need some help"  this is heard often enough and often enough its said by more than one child.  I have "mini teachers" all over the place.  If you are a big kid and a little one needs help and you are close.. help out =)
• little ones need to be distracted so I can work with someone on something.  Often enough we "rotated" old kid helpers and saved our big kid school for when babies were sleeping.  More on that in a later post about schooling with babies and toddlers.

  I know a lot of these idea are simple and " a given".  I think a big thing for us homeschooling moms is in actually utilizing the team we have.  So many things can get in the way of that.  Satan often tells us "we are failing, our kids aren't mature enough, they will all need

The "Reds" doing school
with the little boys, just because
they all thought it would be fun!

therapy!" and so much more.  The Lord tells us  to "find our strength in him, to train our children up, to teach them diligently".  As I said earlier... everyone is both a disciple and needs to be discipled. 

That concludes this blog post.   I hope you have enjoyed this overview on utilizing your team (aka older kids)!  Other topics to come in this series, in no particular order, are:

One Room School House Teaching

block scheduling/4 day school week

3 hour limit

schooling when they are ready- don't stress until then

sickness in the house and new babies

utilize your team (aka older kids)

schooling with toddlers and babies

FEED the people

Making an "unschedule" for your home

FREAK OUT!