I must admit, Summer is not my favorite season.  I don’t know if I became this way due to marrying a man who would rather vacation in Alaska in February than head to the beach any time of year or if pregnancy in the summertime pretty much ruined my taste for the heat.  No matter the reason, from the moment the temps head over 90, our family is ready to lay around the house drinking lemonade and panting like dogs while we dream of vacationing in the mountains.

Unlike many American families, summer around here is a time when we slow down.  Sure, we have our fair share of Boy Scout Camps and horse riding lessons and such, but we do not run a break-neck pace through the summer.  We sort of simmer through summer.  Slow-cook, if you will.

Here are a few more facts about my slow summer style…

*I like to get up earlier in the summer – Back when Ty was deployed, I would get up early on those summer mornings and read my Bible and watch the sun come up on my front porch before my two little ones would rise for the day.  Those are precious memories for me.  Since early morning is the only time of day that is not hot in the summer months (for the most part), I like to drink it in!

*I keep my little ones out of the sun – We typically do not head outside for the day until after 5pm.  We do occasionally go out in the morning (especially to do school), but for the most part, we stay out of the direct sunlight.  I have fair-haired, fair-skinned babies, so no sun-bathing here.

*Meals become what I like to call Amish Lunch.  In my early married years, I read a syndicated newspaper column called The Amish Cook.  She would write about what they had for meals and I was struck by how often lunch would consist of assorted garden produce (some pickled, some not), cheese, bread, jams and butter.  In the summer months I adopt this Amish Lunch with our own flair!  We’ll often be found snacking on cheese and crackers, carrot sticks and pickles.  We’ll eat tortillas rolled up with whatever I can find in the refrigerator or crackers and dip.  Cold, practical and so-not-fancy!

*We school year round. It just makes sense for our family since our major vacation of the year is not in the summer months (off-season is a beautiful thing for a large family!) and I never know when the next baby might be joining our family or we might need to loan a big kid out to a grandparent.

*Running through the sprinklers beat public swimming pools any day.  Public swimming pools and beaches can be a nightmare for a large family with more littles than bigs.  (Not to mention the rather scantily-clad young ladies you see there), so we prefer to stick close to home and play in the sprinklers.  We also have a hot tub at our new house that has the ability to be a “cool” tub in the summer, so we turn it down and use it as a pool of sorts.

*I like my skirts and sandals in the summer.  There is just something lovely about a long-flowing skirt and a cute pair of sandals in the summertime. I feel as if I’ve stepped out of a painting of ladies walking in a flower garden in England.

If you are looking for more skirt ideas, check out the She Wears Skirts series I did with Caroline from The Modest Mom and also see her store for lovely summer skirts like this Ruffled Skirt.  You get 10% off your entire order when you use the code

raisingarrows

So, what kind of Summer Mother are you?  Slow-paced or super-busy?  I’d love to hear about what makes your summer tick!

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I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1

Years ago, when I wrote The Me Time Myth, I never expected the backlash I received.  I felt the ones who gave me a good tongue-lashing (even going so far as to suggest my children will hate me one day) truly did not hear my heart in the matter.  I felt terribly misunderstood, but chose to avoid strife and stand quietly by my message.  So, bringing up this topic again is something I do with trepidation and trembling before the Lord.

As I see it, most homeschooling moms of many fall into 3 camps when it comes to the all-encompassing term “Me Time”.  They either live for it, piously deny themselves of it, or feel guilty if they get it.  Very few seem to have a healthy view of this hotly debated issue.

Today, I hope to shed some light on my original intentions with The Me Time Myth as well what I see from Scripture as the way we should approach this topic.

Me Time shouldn’t be the air we breathe.

I once overheard a woman tell her friends she could not live without her daily excursions to the gym where she could be without children and in her own space with her own thoughts.  Suggesting you cannot live without Me Time is absurd and altogether frightening.

As mothers, we are called to love our husband and love our children. (Titus 2:4)  Some suggest you cannot truly love these people if you are not first loving yourself.  They talk of filling yourself first so you can fill others.  But nowhere do I see that precedent in the Bible.  In fact, I see the opposite.  I see Scriptures about giving of yourself and caring for others ahead of your own needs.

Me Time should never be our life line.  It should never be something we live for or try to get more of.  It isn’t commanded by Scripture and should not be taught as such.

Me Time martyrs

However, there are those who staunchly proclaim their superiority because they have NEVER done anything that even remotely resembles Me Time.  They decry anyone who goes to women’s retreats or on vacations sans children.  They rail against everything from bubble baths to curling irons to Starbucks coffee.

It’s not the denying yourself I have a hard time stomaching.  It’s the pride.  (Galatians 6:4)  If you have to tell everyone how noble you are, are you really noble?

The Guilty Moms Club

My heart goes out to these moms. They are trying to do the right thing. They truly love their families, but they are weary and need encouragement and strength to keep going. At the very heart of the matter, they love homeschooling, they love being around their children, but they have off-days, off-weeks, and yes, sometimes even off-years. They long for a better life. They long for a peaceful home surrounded by happy faces and cheerful hearts, but they just cannot seem to make it work.

So, they hide.

They escape into Me Time every chance they get.  But they know it doesn’t satisfy and they feel guilty…oh so guilty.

A healthy view of me

The Christian mother has an opportunity to die to self daily as she learns to love her husband and children.  The Christian homeschooling mother of many often finds this opportunity amplified.  She may even feel as though she is forced to die to self because of all the needs that cry out for her every moment.

The answer to her struggle for more time, more energy, more joy is not to have less children or to stop homeschooling or to immerse herself in Me Time.

The answer is worship.

Romans 12:1 – the verse at the top of this post – sums up why Me Time is a myth.  The sacrifices I make should never be about me.  The time I spend away from my family should never be about me.  The causes I support, the blog posts I write, the friendships I make should never be about me.  They should always be about Him.

I can carve out time away from my children for a coffee with my husband because I am there to rejoice in a marriage that daily shows the goodness of the Lord.  I can spend a weekend at a conference with friends because I’m there to proclaim the glory and honor of Jesus Christ.  I can even take a bubble bath with candles and soft music because I am there to pray.

In the Subscriber Pack is a daily checklist I call Mom’s Sacrifice List.  It is a list of things you can do to take care of yourself so that you are presenting to God a sacrifice that isn’t merely hanging on by a thread, but rather is a LIVING sacrifice.

Moms, I want you to know it is okay to take care of yourself.  It is okay to stay at home and it is okay to go out.  It is okay to exercise and okay to take a break.  The thing you must always keep at the forefront of whatever it is you do is that this is NOT about YOU.

This is worship.

*************************************************

To subscribe to Raising Arrows and receive your 10 Days of Large Family Homeschooling Subscriber Pack, simply fill in your email address below, verify via the email that comes to your inbox and tomorrow morning you’ll find an email with a link and code at the bottom.  May the words of this blog be a blessing to you.

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One thing I have found to be challenging as a large family homeschool mom is feeding 3 meals a day plus snacks day in and day out to a rather large and diverse group of people.  At any given time, I have teenagers, toddlers, and babies – all with different palates and needs.

Many of you already know breakfast is not my forte.  I like to eat it, I hate to cook it.  I’ve never been real awake in the mornings.  I can remember as a youngster never feeling as if I had fully awakened until about 10:30 am.  I always wondered why teachers thought math needed to be taught first thing in the morning when I was so very tired.  I am most on top of my game starting late morning and again at about 4:00 pm.  I try to have things on hand that can easily become breakfast, but rare is the occasion that I actually cook a hot breakfast.

*GASP*  Now, you know my secret!

So, now that you know, here’s a list of breakfast ideas – Roberts family style!

• cereal
• fruit
• toast with peanut butter
• hard boiled eggs
• muffins
• breakfast cookies
• yogurt
• baked oatmeal
• pancakes with real maple syrup
• fried eggs

Next is lunch.  By this point, we have been going strong with school and I almost hate to stop for nourishment!  Lunch happens here between 12 and 1 pm – or whenever there is a natural lull in our school day.  Occasionally, Daddy joins us, but most often, it is me and the 6 children.  We typically have a light lunch rather than something heavy for two reasons:

1. Our big meal is at night.
2. It is better and simpler to make something that takes less preparation when in the middle of a school day.

Here are some of our favorite lunch ideas:

• pizza or lunch loaf using homemade quick and easy pizza dough
• bagel sandwiches
• quesadillas
• taco salad
• cheese slices, crackers, & fruit
• sandwiches
• nachos
• egg salad

After we’ve cleaned up from lunch, we head back into our school day.  If I were pregnant, this would be Rest Time, but as it stands right now, only the 18 month old is taking a nap right after lunch.

Our school day is usually finished around 2:30, but this is not a good time to go outside since our road becomes quite busy at that time of day due to the high school down the road.  So, at about 3:00 pm we have a snack and then head outside.

Snack ideas:

• cheese & crackers
• fruit
• foldover peanut butter sandwich
• veggie sticks
• smoothies
• cookies – yes, cookies

After we have played outside for a while, I head inside (usually with a helper) to prepare for supper/dinner.

We eat supper between 6 and 7 pm due to Daddy’s schedule.  This is typically our biggest meal of the day since Daddy is home.  This is also the meal I am most creative with.  I like to go through cookbooks and my index box full of recipes I’ve been collecting for over half my life and pull interesting recipes I would like to try or family favorites.

Some recent meals have been:

• Italian Pot Pie
• Winter Soup
• Large Family Style Pot Pie
• Bierocks
• Egg Rolls & Rice

Now, we all know you can’t feed your crew without either buying or growing your own food (or a mix of both), so here are a few of my favorite shopping posts:

Once a Month Shopping Series (how we shop once a month and save!)

One Store Shopping Method

The Subscriber Pack contains a One Store Shopping Planner and the Bulk Grocery List from our OAMS trips!  To get yours, subscribe to Raising Arrows here:

Other Resources:

• Affording Kids Series
• Mega-size family recipes from A Baker’s Dozen
• Large Family Cooking blog
• MOMYS cookbook – My favorite large family cookbook – only 2 in stock at the time of this writing!

Don’t miss the other blogs participating in the 10 Days Series! Click the button below to find a listing of all the blogs and topics!

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Welcome back to 10 Days of Large Family Homeschooling
Start at the Beginning of the Series

Click here to enter the Moore Family Films Giveaway!

If you have been a reader of Raising Arrows for very long, you know how our family tends to put outside-the-box homeschooling far in front of traditional schooling methods.  We choose to make the extracurricular intra-curricular and we are typically rather creative with our schooling.

This kind of methodology stems from our theology.  We believe a child’s education is not meant to make them rich so they can retire happy.  We believe true wisdom comes from knowing the Lord and all aspects of a child’s education must be subject to the Lord’s leading.

At the Midwest Parent Educator’s Homeschool Conference in Kansas City this past weekend, my husband and I had the express pleasure of spending time with convention speaker, Israel Wayne.  My husband interviewed Israel on his stance on homeschooling and I want to share with you this vision in the video below (if you cannot view this video, please click here.)

In the near future, I will be doing posts on what an education based on this understanding of Scripture looks like, but for now, I want to offer you some quick out-of-the-box ideas for what school looks like when it doesn’t look like school…

Working alongside Mom & Dad

So much can be learned by working WITH someone on a project or even in everyday duties.  Our children will all run households of their own someday and will need to know what it means to live life as a man or woman who seeks after Christ in all they do.

This requires patience on the parent’s part because children are not always going to live up to your dreams and expectations, but what God calls you to, He will equip you for and you can LEARN patience.  So, take the time to mentor your own children because all the book-learning in the world cannot take the place of a truly interested and loving parent walking alongside their child.

Real Life Learning

Kevin Swanson of Generations with Vision made some really great points this weekend about taking knowledge and “plugging it in to something.”  He said we often approach education as the be all end all sort of like learning to ride a bike by taking Bike for 12 years and never getting on one.  Our children need to know WHY they are learning what they are learning and how it fits with the ultimate goal of knowing, loving, and serving God and loving and serving others (again, a hearty thank you to Israel Wayne for bringing this Truth to our family!).

Entrepreneurships

In the spirit of plugging a child’s knowledge into a real life scenario, entrepreneurships are a lost method that must be brought back!  Our children need real life application in a career field before they commit to years of study and work for that field.  I’m not an advocate of wasting time and money, so I would much rather waste a little bit of time and money giving my children opportunities to make informed decisions.  A quick note here:  do not for a moment think a college counselor or someone at a career fair is a good representative of what a career field is truly like.  They are there to tell you what you want to hear.  You need to meet real people doing the real job and find ways to get your children working with them in real situations if possible.  Many young people see glamour in a job and totally miss the truth.

Field Trips & Vacations

I grew up going on vacations that were edu-cations so this has been something that has come naturally.  Even when Ty and I go places without the children, we tend to visit museums and other historical and informative sites.

When you have a large family, it is often much nicer and easier to go on field trips without a huge group of people along, so years ago, I quit going on organized field trips with homeschool support groups because it just seemed like utter chaos.  I’d rather take my time with my own children, guiding them through the field trip and not have to compete with their friends and a lot of extra noise.  I am sure they learn much more when we do this as a family.

Delight-Directed Extras

I have been a HUGE fan of delight-directed homeschooling ever since I read Gregg Harris’ book The Christian Homeschool.

Think about how you learn as an adult.  Aren’t you more apt to study and research and grow and learn when wanting to know more about a subject that truly interests you?  Your children are the same way!  And since God has wired each and every one of them differently, it is so very important we study our children and learn who they are and what makes them tick.  This is one of the beauties of the homeschooling environment!  Don’t squander it trying to fit into the box.

Multimedia

This is the section where I tell you not all media is bad.  In fact, it can be an awesome learning tool, especially for children who are visual learners.  My children have learned so much about Ancient Egypt and the Crusades and even how to make maple syrup from multimedia sources.  We listen to CDs, watch DVDs, and use computer software like World Book on CD-ROM on a daily basis.  The technological age does not have to be something that warps our young people’s minds.  It can be harnessed and used for good if we are always diligent to keep it in check.

That is exactly why our family has chosen to invest money in family films that give our children more than just entertainment.  And this is the reason I am pleased to offer my readers an opportunity to win a family film from Moore Family Films!

Please click here to enter to win!

And thank you for thinking outside the box!
{to discover if you are thinking inside or outside the box, click here!}

The 10 Days Series is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutually beneficial projects. Visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Click the image below to visit all the 10 Days posts!

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An answer to that prayer came from the Moore Family Films!

“I felt after watching the movie that WE could go out and tap a maple tree and have maple syrup.”
~Ty (my husband)

***************

“Can we have pancakes with real maple syrup in the morning for breakfast, Mom?!”
The Roberts children

More Than Maple Syrup is such a wonderful film.  We have watched it over and over!  We love how the entire Moore family has a part in making the syrup and the humor and fun they have throughout the film is refreshing.

I sat down with my oldest daughter for a Mother/Daughter night to watch It’s Your Life: The Moss Family.  We really enjoyed the film and I found myself thinking how much mom’s facing repeat c-sections needed to see this film!

The final film in the set is Children are a Blessing.  I sat and watched this film for the first time by myself.  I wept as I felt renewed in my calling as a mother.  I wanted to wake all my children up and kiss each and every one of them and tell them right then and there how precious they are to me.  Edee Moore looked absolutely radiant as she spoke of the difficulties of pregnancy, but the rewards and blessings that come from allowing the Lord control of the womb.  (By the way, Edee gave birth to baby #11 a little over a week ago!  Congratulations!)  The Bonus Features on this film are a must-see as well – I loved the interview with Shane & Edee – so real and open and honest!

**ATTENTION**  The Moore Family is offering free online viewing of Children are a Blessing through the month of April as well as a sale price of $10, so you can stock up and hand this out to others who might need to hear this important message!  Click here to watch!

The Moore Family is graciously giving away 1 DVD each to 3 different winners here on Raising Arrows!  Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win!  (Email readers, please click over to the giveaway here.)

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Welcome back to 10 Days of Large Family Homeschooling
Start at the Beginning of the Series

I am fascinated by old schoolhouses.  Perhaps it is because I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie or because my own father was schooled in a one-room schoolhouse in rural Kansas.  Whenever we pass by one of these dilapidated old buildings, I stare and wonder at who might have gone to school there so many years ago, trudging through thick snow in black boots and prairie dresses, lunch pail in hand.

I now have my own one-room schoolhouse of sorts.  No, we don’t trudge through snow to get here or wear prairie dresses (except when we are pretending) or eat our lunch from pails (except when we are pretending), but I do teach in a way that is rather reminiscent of days gone by.

Why a One Room Schoolhouse?

Some of you may be scratching your heads wondering why I feel so strongly about this, especially considering the one room schoolhouses were NOT homeschools.  While I do believe taking education out of the parent’s hands and making it the government’s responsibility was not a good move, I do believe many of the one room schoolhouses based their design on what was already happening in many homes of the day.

In fact, homeschooling used to be the norm in which most children learned alongside their siblings whatever it was their parents deemed necessary for them to “make it” in this world.  I believe it is imperative we find our roots in this way of educating.

In the Subscriber Pack (free for the taking if you sign up for email updates from Raising Arrows – see blue box below this post or my sidebar to sign up!), I’ve included 12 Ideas for Creating a One-Room Schoolhouse.  I won’t be going through all those ideas here, but rather choosing a few I feel are the most integral to the task of turning your homeschool into a one room schoolhouse.  As I go through these ideas, I believe you will begin to see why I like this model of education.

1.  Start with the Bible.

Before every bit of Christianity was removed from the public school system, the Bible was the book by which all things were judged and measured.  While I do not believe the one room schoolhouses executed this in a manner befitting of Deuteronomy 6 where the Israelites were exhorted to teach the Lord’s ways to their children day and night and everywhere in between, I do believe the rural schools, like where my father attended, did acknowledge God as the ultimate authority.  My homeschool must reflect this as well.

2.  Work from youngest to oldest.

This is one of those classic one room schoolhouse paradigms.  The younger children, whose attention spans were considerably shorter, had the teacher’s focus at the beginning of class.  It wasn’t until about a year ago, I began to follow this model.  I had always set my school up with the intent that I would school the littles in the afternoon after all the bigs had finished their work.  However, more often than not, I never got around to schooling the littles.  Once I started making them the first thing on my list for the day, it was amazing how much we accomplished!

3.  The trickle-down effect.

One room schoolhouses were conducive to exposing younger children to what they would be learning in upcoming years.  By the time they were being taught in the upper levels, they had more than likely heard all the material several times.

The way we capture this in our homeschool is through something I call the trickle-down effect.  I encourage the younger children to stay in the room and play quietly while I read to or have discussions with the older children.  While they may not catch everything that is being said, I am always surprised by how attentive they are and how much they do manage to absorb.  (If you are looking for ways to engage your children in meaningful and educational conversation, read this!)

We also have our older children give verbal reports and plan activities for the littles based on what they are learning in school.  Typically, our younger children end up joining in with their own impromptu reports, repeating what their older siblings just said.  I couldn’t ask for a better teaching opportunity!

4.  Plan school around the needs of the family.

Back in the one room schoolhouse days, the family was still in charge.  School was secondary.  If there was work on the farm, school could wait.  If it was time for harvest, school let out.

We are not a homeschooling family…we are a family who homeschools.  If we are constantly trying to make our lives fit into the confines of a traditional school day, we will quite possibly miss out on some awesome opportunities that have value far beyond what a textbook can teach.  Don’t let school rule your family or ruin your family.

{You might also be interested in my post – Does That Count As School?}

5.  Seek mastery.

Years ago, the standard of the one room schoolhouse was the standard held by parents at home.  That standard was mastery.  Somewhere along the way, we lost the drive to master a subject and became complacent and willing to substitute “good enough” for “well done.”

I have high expectations for my children.  I am not wanting to make round pegs fit in square holes, nor frustrate my children, but I do expect them to do everything “as unto the Lord.”

We don’t go by grade levels, we don’t push through textbooks so we can get to the other side, and we don’t consider a C to be average.

As I look through this list, perhaps it isn’t the one room schoolhouse model I am truly after,  but rather he Deuteronomy 6 schoolhouse I am after.  For one room schoolhouses, despite my imaginations, were not perfect; however, Scripture always is.  And maybe, just maybe, what the one room schoolhouse tried to do had already been done.

So, while I look to the one room schoolhouse as a model, it is not because I believe it was the epitome of proper education.  It is simply because I believe the one room schoolhouse of yesteryear in rural Kansas can teach this public-schooled mama trying-to-make-her-way-as-a-homeschooler a thing or two.

Looking for more on homeschooling a large family, check out these tips!

And have you snagged your FREE Homeschooling with Purpose eBook yet?  Like the Raising Arrows facebook page, click on the Only Likers button and download your book today!  This ebook is free for a limited time only, so don’t miss it!

The 10 Days Series is organized by iHomeschool Network, a collaboration of outstanding homeschool bloggers who connect with each other and with family-friendly companies in mutually beneficial projects. Visit us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Click the image below to visit all the 10 Days posts!

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Me sitting in my hotel room after a long, exhausting, but fun day at the MPE Conference.

I’m at the Midwest Parent Educator’s Homeschool Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. We’ve really enjoyed hearing Israel Wayne and Kevin Swanson speak this weekend. I’ve been handing out DrinkBands to people along with a coupon code for 15% off.

You can get this same 15% off your order through May 31 using coupon code:
DISCOUNT

And take a look at the new Party Pack!

These are great for adding on to the traditional DrinkBands for those who have more than 8 people in their family.  They are also just fun!

And shipping is FREE!  This is the perfect time to get a whole stash!

We’ll be back next week with the second half of 10 Days of Large Family Homeschooling!

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 Welcome back to 10 Days of Large Family Homeschooling!
Start at the beginning of the series.

If I could choose the one homeschooling conversation I tend to have over and over with other homeschooling moms, it would hands-down be the “homeschool record-keeping” conversation.  Frankly, it is not my favorite conversation, but it sure does keep a lot of moms up at night.

Tonight, I hope you rest easy…

What are your homeschooling laws?

Before you ever begin to try to keep track of homeschooling, you need to know what exactly you are required to keep track of.  States vary from super strict to super lenient, so be sure to check out your state laws on HSLDA.

By the way, a lot of states have laws that say something like:

Student attendance must be equivalent to the public school’s (i.e. 186 days per year, 1116 hours per year).

If that is the case with your state, then please, read my post on How Many Hours it Takes to Homeschool.

Decide how you want to keep track.

I live in a state where the laws are not very strict, so my keeping track will look quite different from say, homeschool moms living in Pennsylvania.  Once you know your state’s law, you can make a more informed decision about HOW you are going to keep track of your school year.  From one mom to another, my biggest piece of advice is

Don’t make it harder than you have to.

Here are some ideas to choose from:

• Attendance record – Similar to public school, you keep track of every day school is in session, assuming your day is similar in hours to a public school day.
• Homeschool Planner or software – These can be in the form of paper files or computer files.  The best ones are the ones that can be used over and over.  Here is an extensive list of planner pages and software.
• School Binder or notebook – This is an easy way to keep track that doesn’t require any forethought.  After your school day, you simply write down all you’ve done that day that constitutes school.  You WILL be surprised!
• Assignment sheets – Another easy way to keep track is to let your assignment sheets serve as your record.  Put them all into a folder and call it good.

{Note:  If you are looking for help in creating a transcript for your child or for simply understanding how to keep track of it all in high school, I HIGHLY recommend The Total Transcript Solution from The HomeScholar.  Phenomenal product and very easy to understand and implement!}

Now, that we’ve established how you are going to keep track of your year, let’s figure out the day-to-day stuff.

As I mentioned in my Organizing the Large Family Homeschool post, I have adapted over the years, so let me give you some posts from here at Raising Arrows that reflect some of the things we have done in the past to track the day to day homeschool assignments.

1.  Large Family Workboxes – I used a modified workbox method for years, but as my methods of homeschooling began to change, I realized my workboxes sat fairly empty and were taking up more space than I wanted to allow them.

2.  Assignment Binders – These were super helpful when I was pregnant.  One of the best parts was they were color-coded by child – oh, how I love my color-coded children!  However, once they wore out, I did not replace them because my oldest was no longer doing any worksheets and again, my methods of homeschooling had changed to more of a lifestyle of learning rather than textbook oriented.  However, at the time, they were a lifesaver!

3.  Markable Assignment Cards – I only used these for a short time, but thought they deserved a mention anyway.

4.  Quick and Easy Assignment Cards – When my 7th born had colic, this was how we rolled.  Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.  This is a great method for the morning sickness days as well.

Currently, I do a full-blown planning session on Saturday or Sunday night using planning pages I printed off the internet.  These are also how I keep record of our days.  I’m trying to be a more intentional planner while I can be.

A word to the wise: when you aren’t in the throes of morning sickness or a new baby, it’s a good idea to do a chunk of planning so that when that time does come, you can avoid the Mommy-Guilt and Shame On Me Syndrome.

And now for the Grand Finale…

What do I keep?

Short answer:  Only keep the really important stuff.

Large families often struggle with the issue of how much to keep when it comes to school things.  It would be easy to end up with boxes and boxes of papers by the end of your homeschooling career if you don’t choose now to take the minimalist approach.

Here are my guidelines as to what makes it into that precious “School Box”:

• Was it a momentous occasion? – Was it the first time Junior wrote his name?  Was it the first essay Susie wrote that actually made sense?  Was it a project that had been slaved over and finally accomplished?  Those things are box-worthy.
• Does it show progress? – I try to keep papers and worksheets that show definite progress from one year to the next or from one task to the next.
• Will I be sorry I didn’t include it? – The shapes book my 6 year old made isn’t nearly as important to me as the All About Me book he made the same year.  I won’t miss the shapes book, but I would be very sorry to not have the book that tells me all about his likes and dislikes, dreams and aspirations as a 6 year old.

Another large family tip pertaining to the School Box -
Label everything with a name, age, and date.  I put everything in one box, but even if you separate out into individual boxes, you will want to remember exactly what age they were.

Now, I hope you have a blessed day and restful night!

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Welcome back to 10 Days of Large Family Homeschooling!
Start at the beginning of the series.

I love the concept of cutesy color-coordinated and labeled organizing, but putting it into practice confounds me and feels rather time consuming.  I want quick and simple homeschool organizational methods that will work for the large family household.

So, in this post you will find a smattering of simple ideas based on what we do to keep our homeschooling materials organized.

BOOKSHELVES ARE MY FRIENDS.

I have yet to meet a homeschool mom who doesn’t like bookshelves.  They are an absolute necessity in a large family household!  I have my bookshelves divided up into 3 different sections.

1.  The main bookshelves.

This conglomeration of bookshelves is in our “sitting room”.  My mom and my older kids painted the long bookshelf brown to sort of match the other shelves so it doesn’t stand out as badly as it did when it was a dingy white.  Most of what is housed here are our family’s personal collection of books.  I do keep the Phonics curriculum in here and a few extras like that.  But, for the most part, these are just books that the children can get out any time they like.

2.  The Books of the Year.

This bookshelf sits in our dining room and houses all the books that will be used during a particular school year.  I also put any books I plan to read in this shelf as well.  This keeps everything for the year in one place so I don’t spend precious time hunting down that one book we need to finish our Ancient Egypt study.  This has been a huge time saver and probably ranks right up there as one of my favorite homeschool organizational tips.

3.  Corporate Studies bookshelf.

When I use the word “corporate” I mean anything we do together as a family during our homeschool day.  The corporate bookshelf is home to our Bibles, our devotionals, the read-aloud history books I have all the children listen to, our art curriculum, some audios and DVDs from Vision Forum, and a few of the series books we are working our way through. (Elsie Dinsmore, Little House on the Prairie, and The Boxcar Children)

 THE HOMESCHOOL CLOSET

I have had some type of homeschool closet since the very beginning of my homeschooling years.  In our new house, it literally is a shelved closet in the hallway.  Prior to that, it was a cheapie stand-alone storage closet with doors.  I consider this to be one of the essentials of homeschooling organization.  Homeschool books are not used every year, even when you have back to back to back children.  You have to have a way to store all the unused curriculum.

This is also a good place to put those items you use only occasionally that would be in the way if left out.  Since our new house had so much space in this closet, I decided to use a portion of it for workbooks we use every day as well as scratch paper for the kids to draw and write on.  {If you look closely on that bottom shelf, you will see the bulk box of crayons I bought from Discount School Supply }

MOM’S BASKET

This is the basket of curriculum and extras I am currently using.  The things in this basket are used nearly every day.  It sits beside my chair where I am most likely to be sitting while using these items.  It’s a handy place to put them so that all I have to do is reach down and grab the next thing.  I started doing this when I was pregnant with #6 and our school room was downstairs.  I was too worn out to make the trek down to that dingy, dark basement, so I hauled everything I needed upstairs and put it in a basket by my chair.  Since then, it has become a staple of our homeschool organization!

School Binder for Mom

Not long ago, I introduced you to my revamped household binders.  My school binder was one of these.  This is where I keep lesson plans, notebook paper, pens, any extras I want to use in our homeschooling, but haven’t quite figured out where to put it, etc.  I’ll talk more about planning in tomorrow’s post, so you can see a little better how I use this binder.

LIBRARY BAG

I used to use a Library Box, but it wasn’t very portable.  When my friend , Stacy, started selling Thirty-One Gifts, I got this large utility tote from her and it has been great!  We keep all the library books in here and then just grab the whole thing and go!  It’s tough and holds up to the massive amount of books we bring home from the library.  It’s also a gauge as to when to stop the children from bringing us more books while at the library.  If the bag is full, we leave!

Organizing Extras

Plastic tubs and totes – They make a size of plastic tote for everything!  Currently, I use 2 small pencil boxes to hold crayons for all the kids.  I used to have a box for each child, but decided this year that was a waste of space.  Two boxes have been plenty for all the children to use together.  Besides, they were dumping them all together anyway!

I also use a tub for paints and another for extra supplies like glue, brads, magnet tape, and such.

Metal containers – I don’t use a lot of these, but I do like them for pencils and paintbrushes (see the photo at the top of this post).  We also keep our mail in one and we used to keep our napkins in a couple, but have since started using a basket on the table.

Baskets – Oh, how I love baskets!  They make the ugliest of things look lovely.

Laminator – For a large family, it is imperative you take as many measures as you can to make things last.  A laminator helps with that.  Amazon runs specials on this laminator a couple of times a year or you can buy it at WalMart for a little better price than Amazon’s every day price.

Binders & Page protectors – I love the versatility of binders and page protectors.  Everything from ebooks to nature notebooks can be put in binders.  I even know some homeschool moms who use page protectors as a way to reuse workbook pages.  I actually keep a stash of page protectors and notebook tabs on hand because you just never know when you are going to need them!

Other organizing ideas we have used over the years

Things change and as homeschooling families, we learn to adapt.  Here are a few organizational tools we have used in the past.  Perhaps you find just what you need amongst them:

Workboxes for the Large Family
Assignment Binders
Our Homeschooling Spaces over the Years
How We {used to} Homeschool Preschool & Kindergarten

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Welcome back to 10 Days of Large Family Homeschooling!
Start at the beginning of the series.

For any family seeking a private Christian education in the home, money quickly becomes an issue.  While programs like K12 and other public-school umbrellas exist, they do not offer the freedom of choice so many homeschoolers are looking for.  Nor do they offer a Christian education.

Most homeschooling families opt to buy their own curriculum so they can truly be in charge of their child’s education.  When a homeschooling family has many children, curriculum buying becomes an exercise in creative frugality.

Here are a few ways you can save and stretch money in your homeschool:

1.  Buy supplies in bulk.

My absolute favorite place to get school supplies is Discount School Supply.  Every year, I order all the paper, pencils, crayons, paint, craft supplies, etc. we need for the year (and often, they will last longer than that).  I buy crayons in bulk, pencils in bulk, glue in bulk and whatever else I know we use a lot of.  Discount School Supply’s prices are amazing and the shipping is FREE if you have an order over $79.

Another place we buy from is Miller Pads and Paper.  I have never purchased from them online, but they go to a lot of conventions and I buy things from them like dry erase lapboards and specialty papers.  They are also a terrific source for higher level art supplies (I need to keep this in mind when getting extras for See the Light Art!)

2.  Utilize free sites.

There are entire websites devoted to offering free curriculum like Ambleside Online and Old Fashioned Education – there is a great list of free curriculum sites on Successful Homeschooling.  Free curriculum websites are amazing resources that often use public domain materials.  If you go this route, I would highly recommend investing in some type of eReader like a Kindle or Nook so your children are not confined to staring at a computer all day.  I also like Sherry’s (Large Family Mothering) idea of investing the money to print off free books and then bind them yourself.

There is also a new website, FreeHomeschoolDeals.com, that offers several freebies every day, including free Kindle ebooks.  And on Fridays at Gricefully Homeschooling and Kathy’s Cluttered Mind there is a FreeBee Friday with a link up where other homeschoolers can link up their freebies.

I also use places like Homeschool Share for free unit studies (like when we needed a Farmer Boy supplement for our Little House on the Prairie study).  And of course, never forget your local library!

You could easily pull together a full curriculum for all of your children with all the free stuff on the internet.  It would take a little diligence, perseverance and time, but it is definitely doable.

3.  Dream big and one at a time.

Most homeschool moms go into their school year with a budget in mind.  They say things like, “I have $500 to spend for the entire school year.  How can I get the biggest bang for my buck?”  I would like to encourage you to come at your budget in a little different way.

Rather than seeing your children as a collective, look at each child individually and their individual interests and needs.  Include the things most people consider “extras” and dream big.  You can always pare down from there.

For instance, we’ve decided our youngest children only need Phonics and Math.  The rest of their schooling can come from books we already own, library books, or just plain life.  We focus the bulk of our budget on our older children and increasing our own library of resources. (by the way, the numbers in the photo are random )

I start high with my homeschooling dreams and work my way down when deciding on a reasonable amount to spend each year.  I write down each child’s name and all the items I think they could use in a year and the price of each item.  From there, I start paring down and searching for online resources to replace some of the items until I land on a more reasonable number.

Dreaming big for each individual child teaches you to see each of your child’s strengths and weaknesses and interests in the context of education and discipleship.  You may find yourself very surprised and very excited by the prospects of budgeting this way because it gives such insight for each child.  In the Subscriber Pack, I’ve included a Budget by Child sheet where you can try this method of planning.

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4.  See your purchases as an investment.

This is the number one thing I tell homeschooling parents of many.  Your purchase today will be passed down from one child to the next.  If there is a curriculum you really think would benefit your homeschool, but the price feels too hefty, don’t always walk away from it.  Consider how many of your children will be able to use it and other places you can scrimp in order to purchase it.  The money you spend now will be well worth it in the long run.

And I want to urge you to realize your child’s education is not just about academic scores.  This is the very reason I wrote Homeschooling with Purpose.  Homeschool parents have to move beyond test scores and textbooks as their measure of success.  Get your free copy of Homeschooling with Purpose until the end of this month by liking the Raising Arrows facebook page and clicking on the Only Likers button!

And don’t miss the other blogs participating in the 10 Days Series!  Click the button below to find a listing of all the blogs and topics!

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Announcement!
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