Large families....what are you using that works?

[heidip2p]

Just wondering what other large families are using that is working. This year has been a bit crazy for us schoolwise. I am not sure if we will use the same curriculum for next year or not. So I would love to see what is working in other families. :)

[Stellalarella]

coffee. for me, that is. Late nights reading. Long days teaching.

 

I don't think there's a way around it--it is just a lot of work to adequately school a large family.

I keep my joy up by constantly reminding myself of the good things. Keeping the end in mind helps me enjoy the work.

The curriculum we use is in my signature.

[mandymom]

Tapestry of Grace is working very well for our family. We do a writing class (no particular curriculum) for the 4 older classes together, as well as Latin. The 2 oldest do science together and the 2 middle kids do science together. The youngest is so much younger that he has his own work that isn't shared, but I still try to keep him on the same science topic as the olders and TOG keeps him on the same history/literature/Bible topics as the others as well. Everyone does their own math (level and curriculum), as all of my kids have different learning styles and it shows up most in math...one does Saxon, one does LoF, and 3 do Horizons at different levels.

[rieshy]

coffee. for me, that is. Late nights reading. Long days teaching.

 

:iagree:

 

The following curiculums require very little input from me other than scheduling structure and library time.

Science tasks cards, Geography Trails this year with my youngest 3 school aged kiddos.

 

OSU German for 12 yo.

 

Notgrass World History for my 15 yo.

 

Saxon 5/4 and 7/6.

 

That's it for the purchased curriculums.

[Bloggermom]

CLE for Math and Language Arts is our foundation. The kids can do it independently and since baby # 6 is due in April that is a big plus for me!

 

I have both DS10 and DD9 doing First Language Lessons 3 (FLL3). If I teach them together is streamlines things. DS6 is doing First Language Lessons 1 (FLL1).

 

DS10 is doing Writing With Ease 3 (WWE3) and DD9 is doing Writing With Ease 2 (WWE2). I also have DS6 doing Writing With Ease 1 (WWE1) They take more time from me, but it is worth it. They are skills I don't want to give up.

 

For Latin DS10 does Latin Alive Book One and Lively Latin BB1. DD9 is doing Lively Latin BB1. The Latin Alive is through an online class, but I think the DVDs would be just as effective. Lively Latin also has videos, which is a HUGE plus!

 

DS10 is also doing Elementary Greek 1 and I plan to start DD9 when she enters 5th grade.

[butterflymommy]

I encourage the kids to be self taught wherever possible. You can look at my sig to see what curricula they're using. I "sit down" with my 1rst grader every day for reading, but she does math & handwriting on her own. The other kids only come to me when they're stuck on something.

 

We tried doing various levels of hand holding, from "school at home" to individual tutoring, and I just couldn't keep up and we were all stressed and overwhelmed. I slowly realized that just making them study and focus on their own yielded better results and was far less stressful for me.

 

HTH!

[M&M]

Tapestry of Grace, Math U See, Writing with Ease/Writing with Skill, Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, Spelling Power , Spelling Workout, Rod and Staff Grammar, FLL, and Story of the World are staples in our house. Visual Latin, BJU Spanish, Analytical Grammar are new for us this year and are working well.

 

Most of what works for us is things I can pick up and do the next thing, TOG is the only subject that takes more time and it takes me less time to read teacher's notes than to read all of dc's books.

 

What works best in our house is TOG's mantra of "plan your work and work your plan", teaching my older children to work independantly and to plan out their work and be resposible has been the most valuable thing I have done in our homeschool.

Edited January 23, 2012 by M&M

[melmichigan]

I'm not sure that it can get much easier and still meet the needs of my children as individuals, so it can be long days juggling children. I continue to use Tapestry of Grace, Phonics Road, and Writing with Ease/Writing with Skill as my base and work out from there. Math really varies by child so we use multiple programs depending on the need. My oldest does her own science and the others are together by topic, tailored to their level.

 

For my sanity we have manditory quiet time/nap time/reading time seven days a week where I can take a short break.

[AngelBee]

We are using TOG with SOTW as core reading. Science Brainpop videos and task cards.

MUS math. PR, FLL, and WWE for la. Plus literature from multiple sources.

[heidip2p]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I think I keep trying to make things work that just don't work in our house. There are some things like CLE that are just so amazing for us. Then there are others that while I love.....just don't fit. I think I need to just let a few things go and revamp a little.

[justamouse]

I love Connecting with History (Catholic) for history for the kids, because it's ONE spine and all of the kids are at different levels, so it's streamlined. I use SOTW with it (can't beat those activity books!).

 

ETA, I keep a WTM history schedule, too.

Edited January 24, 2012 by justamouse

[Sue G in PA]

I've just recently had to get used to the idea that no matter what curriculum I use, my days are going to be long, exhausting and sometimes down-right impossible. Encouraging, huh? :D I am teaching 7. We have used so many different "programs" and books and such trying to find that "perfect fit". I don't think it exists. I think it is a pie in the sky. I've had to settle for what GETS DONE! Around here, HOD gets done. I've yet to find my "groove" running 3 guides, keeping up with my 10th grader using MFW WHL and giving enough attention to my 3yo who, bless his heart, doesn't ask for much at all. HOD gets done b/c it is very open and go. I've used MFW and there were things I liked about it and things I didn't like. I still adore MFW K and will use it for ds3 sometime next year...probably starting in the summer to get into a good "rhythm" before everyone else starts up again. Do I recall correctly that you were asking about HOD in another thread? There have been so many HOD threads recently! Are there things I would change about HOD? Sure. Do I still tweak? Yep. Do we get to everything in the guides? Nope, not a chance. :tongue_smilie: But, HOD is the 1st curriculum that we have used where 90% of it gets done consistently. I'm tired of researching, planning, implementing, failing, revamping, reimplementing, researching again, planning again, etc. So, while HOD is not the "perfect fit" it is good enough. And I'm surrendering to "good enough". :D Oh, and I simply adore MFW for high school. If your dc is a reader...MFW for high school rocks!

[lotsofpumpkins]

In our house, CLE works wonderfully for math. My oldest two do their lessons mostly independently. I do check all of their work and have them fix mistakes. My 1st grader needs me for most of his math lesson each day, but that is to be expected at that age. R&S English is wonderful too. My oldest does hers independently; if there is a worksheet for that lesson, she knows to do that after reading the text. If there isn't a worksheet, I assign her some of the lesson from the book. I still allow my 3rd grader to do much of his English orally (if there isn't a worksheet). Yes, this requires my time, but it only takes about 10 minutes. My dc that are still learning to read are using PP and ETC. PP is done in short chunks of time. With ETC, I can get them started and they can do much of the work on their own. (I am in the same room to answer questions when needed.)

 

I've also found that giving myself permission to tweak programs makes a huge difference for our family. We have a lot going on and long days; if an activity in one of the HOD guides doesn't sound interesting or useful, I will skip it. I've also learned that I need to go back to combining my dc for content subjects next year. Running more than one HOD guide takes a lot of time, especially considering my dc want to listen in on the others' read-alouds!

 

We are using Apologia Botany all together, and that has been fun. Plus, my oldest two dc are painlessly learning about the states using Highlights magazine's Which Way USA puzzle books (there's a book and a map for each state). It doesn't require much of my time, and they are having a lot of fun.

[Homeschooling6]

Some of the things that help:

• Anayltical Grammar with the DVDs
  
• Teaching Textbook 3 and 5 with two kids
  
• Math-U-See with two kids. I sit with them when they don't understand something, otherwise they watch the dvd and do the worksheets.
  
• HOD I recently made the switch with four of my dc (using two guides) I dropped all but AAS, so I'm not adding anything else (I am using Shurley English with my Preparing boys instead of R&S)
  

I also have a block schedule that looks something like this;

 

• Latin with Josh, Annette, Caleb and Brent
  
• Math with Josh
  
• HOD Preparing with Caleb and Brent which included, History~Poetry~Storytime~and a rotating box which means once a week we do either research, geography, vocab. or timeline.
  
• Phonics with Lance
  
• Beyond Scool with Ethan and Lance which includes history~science~storytime and Bible
  
• All About Spelling or Rod and Staff Grammar with Ethan
  
• Math with Lance
  
• Lunch
  
• All About Spelling and Shurley English with Caleb and Brent.
  

Looks hectic but it keeps me on track. There are days when another child needs help with math or writing and I figure out a way to squeeze them in (it's not a daily thing).

 

A good strong cup of coffee in the morning helps as well as a hearty breakfast.

I try to get to bed before midnight :001_huh: and sleep at least 6.5-7hours.

We start school at 8:00 and finish by 2:00 or at least I'm done teaching (unless I need to do math with Lance after super). The kids may need to finish something up.

 

My 8th grader is using Bob Jones dvds for history~science~literature~Bible and it does free me up from being the teacher, although I still help when needed and grade. I do math with him for about 10-20 minutes a day, when needed for Writing with Skill. He too is using Analytical Grammar with dvds.

 

 

With using HOD Preparing with my two middle boys Caleb 11 and Brent 12 they do science, some history, copywork and Bible memorization on their own and Math (one using TT and the other MUS)

 

My dd 12 years old does most of her work on her own. She is using America the Beautiful for history, A Nature Walk with Aunt Besse for Science, Analytical Grammar, Writing with Skill, Copywork for Girls, Soaring with Spelling and Math-U-See.

 

Ethan 9yrs. does ETC, copwork, penmanship, and math on his own.

 

Lance 7yrs. old doesn't really do anything on his own. Maybe penmanship :001_smile:

 

Sorry it got long but wanted to give you an idea of what we use, what works and what our school day looks like.

[Homeschooling6]

I've just recently had to get used to the idea that no matter what curriculum I use, my days are going to be long, exhausting and sometimes down-right impossible. Encouraging, huh? :D I am teaching 7. We have used so many different "programs" and books and such trying to find that "perfect fit". I don't think it exists. I think it is a pie in the sky. I've had to settle for what GETS DONE! Around here, HOD gets done. I've yet to find my "groove" running 3 guides, keeping up with my 10th grader using MFW WHL and giving enough attention to my 3yo who, bless his heart, doesn't ask for much at all. HOD gets done b/c it is very open and go. I've used MFW and there were things I liked about it and things I didn't like. I still adore MFW K and will use it for ds3 sometime next year...probably starting in the summer to get into a good "rhythm" before everyone else starts up again. Do I recall correctly that you were asking about HOD in another thread? There have been so many HOD threads recently! Are there things I would change about HOD? Sure. Do I still tweak? Yep. Do we get to everything in the guides? Nope, not a chance. :tongue_smilie: But, HOD is the 1st curriculum that we have used where 90% of it gets done consistently. I'm tired of researching, planning, implementing, failing, revamping, reimplementing, researching again, planning again, etc. So, while HOD is not the "perfect fit" it is good enough. And I'm surrendering to "good enough". :D Oh, and I simply adore MFW for high school. If your dc is a reader...MFW for high school rocks!

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree: with the bolded. This took me half my homeschool life to realize what Sue wrote.

 

Like I mentioned in my previous post, the block schedule this year really helped. By just listing things and moving on to the next child has helped. I have what I call a 'hot seat' once done with one child I call the next. I stand in front of a whiteboard for most of our school hours.

 

I noticed you have toddlers, I don't know if you can do this but when I had lots of toddlers running around I had a living room that I was able to gate (gates were my friend) it was like a big playpen. I did my morning round of making sure the area was safe, no little choking toys etc. From the kitchen I could see in, so they weren't far.

 

Some ideas, playdough is your friend, I repeat, playdough is your friend. I know it can get messy but it kept the little ones busy for a long time. Water is another one. My kids loved water. Cutting and pasting. They just loved to cut paper and paste it one on top of the other.

Rotating what they can do. Mon. fingerpaint, Tue. play with water, Wed. is playdough day etc.

Edited January 23, 2012 by Homeschooling6

[kidsnbooks8]

What is working for us is keeping all of our subjects seperate. Things like MFW, HOD, .... were just driving us crazy. I find it easier to have do the next thing but all seperate programs. So SOTW w/AG, Apologia Elementary Science, Saxon math,Latina Christiana w/DVD's and Bible for Bible. Language Arts right now is our suject that we are looking to figure out what we like best. So we are trying Easy Grammar, Rod and Staff, PLL, ILL, WWE, Spelling Power, Spelling Plus, Simply English, Writing Strands, Apples Spelling, Wordly Wise ... I am trying to come up with a plan that will allow us to have a nice combination of independent and work with Mom. The other thing I am finding in OUR home is that I am better off to have seperate groups, rather that try to have a 4, 6, 9 and 11 work together it is better to have 4 and 6, and a 9 and 11. So it is a little more planning for History, Science, Bible, Art, but we are definately enjoying it more and I am not trying to make every lesson to fit a 6yob and an 11yog(there is just a world of difference there!!)

 

We are just finally starting to feel like we are getting the hang of things, after many, many, many, trial and errors.:tongue_smilie:The other reason I think we are gaining some speed is that my baby is 4 and that is making a huge difference. Hang in there and keep looking for YOUR grove for YOUR family, you will find it:) Also, it will probably not look like any of the suggestions you have received:D

[kidsnbooks8]

I also wanted to add that I am making my large family "work" for my large family. My family dynamic is way different than yours, but maybe it will give you an idea, so I thought that I would share. I have a 21yod that is married and lives one town over. She works full time, but on Monday afternoon on her way home from work she picks up her 14yo sister and they go to the gym, have dinner and go over 14yod's work for the week. This has been amazing for all of us. The girls are really enjoying the time together and it has been a tremendous weight lifted for me(she is much better about getting her work done for her sister than she ever was with me;)) So during the week I am there for her so if she has a question or whatever we take care of that, but the rest is on the 2 of them. She is using all textbooks and prefers it this way so she is not tied to our timetable and dealing with younger siblings. It took me a long time to accept that all people are different(my older girls love working with younger children), I thought we should do all things together(you know one big happy family:001_huh:) or that she should just get over it and deal, but letting go has actually made things better for all of us and our relationships. Sometimes we hear all these wonderful things about how homeschooling should be or how we should do it, or what style WE( as Moms) prefer, but these things are not always what will work for our family.

 

Another thing that worked for us is we purchased a put together Pre-school (Preschool in a Box) and since it was so nicely laid out and gave specific instructions, my 11yod was the teacher and her 9yo sister was the helper and they had a blast daily "playing" school with their younger brothers:D So guess what I actually had some free time while all 4 of them were busy "playing" (learning many valuable lessons!!!)

[TracyR]

After all these years I've finally gave in and am using a workbook style curriculum this year. Using Christian Light for math and LA. I'd love to be able to use it all really. Honestly I'd love it if someone would actually come up with a workbook style curriculum for Catholic families. But I'm using what we have right now because it works for me and my girls much prefer working in the smaller workbooks. They seem to thrive off of it. It honestly has made the work load a lot less for me as well.

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

A few years ago we started using CC - Memory work

one day a week and Math- reading

We read History lessons together and alternate read aloud books for different ages. After years of SOW: I am using CHOW this year.

I try to work with 3 of our youngest in the morning since we have a struggling learner.

Also, after reading "The Read Aloud Handbook" several years ago, I stick to the SSR in the afternoons, with myself or an older child reading aloud before Nap time.

I was losing my gumption for the 2 hour nap/ SSR time until I listened to Susan Wise Bauer at a conference and that is one thing she enforces everyday in her home school. But, I do allow math work to be done after 1 hour of reading.

We alternate Prima Latina and Latina Christiana dvd's and workbooks.

It is a real juggling act. And after being in a few group class settings, being ill, having surgery, and flying by last year, I am re vamping things now. I still need to fit in IEW lessons at home. We do First Language Lessons and work with 2 or 3 at a time when possible.

 

I also am trying to do science lessons together, some reading and some experiments.

I have to be " available" for whatever subject is hard for each child and take inventory daily of who got my time and who needs some, and sometimes they let me know.

And above all, I am trying to put my God, and husband up at the top.:grouphug:

 

I also ask my husband to read aloud some, and he has Devotions at the supper table. He works long hours so I don't ask too much of him anymore. He did have some Logic Lessons with our oldest two last year.

[hmschooling]

Heart of Dakota, Math Mammoth, Rod & Staff English done mostly orally or independently in upper years with 1/3 written, ...HOD just works for us b/c I have no planning at all, the guide is so easy to follow, it helps get my kids working right on their levels without me having to tweak up or down, and it helps guide them gently to master skills and become more independent learners. I've used 3 levels at once and it went very well...and those were parent intensive levels!

[oraetstudia]

After all these years I've finally gave in and am using a workbook style curriculum this year. Using Christian Light for math and LA. I'd love to be able to use it all really. Honestly I'd love it if someone would actually come up with a workbook style curriculum for Catholic families. But I'm using what we have right now because it works for me and my girls much prefer working in the smaller workbooks. They seem to thrive off of it. It honestly has made the work load a lot less for me as well.

 

I haven't used either for more than a subject or two and never used CLE, but I've always thought of Seton and CHC as primarily workbook based. They sure offer a lot of their books as workbooks. What is the difference between their style workbooks and CLE?

[krisperry]

Teaching 7 days a week rather than 5. I never have more then 3 of my kids to work with on any given day. Some days, those kids who are off with me still have their own independant work. Each kid had a different day off. Love it!

[Oakblossoms]

teaching textbooks

Using SOTW with my third son and using his narrations for reading practice, grammar instruction, and handwriting practice

Usborne science and History Encyclopedia for the Middle Schoolers...I find it so boring but now my second son is using them. They read, lok at links, and do a written narration of the topic. They have totoally different learning styles but both enjoyed doing this. My second child has always loved science experiments and kits, too. he still does occasionally. But, he is really enjoying the encyclopedia at this point:tongue_smilie:

 

Meetings with each child. I rotate through them and help them at their time. I cannot seem to teach everyone together. I used to, but I think my 3rd son and his delays messed things up. I am hoping once he starts reading on his own, we can do more stuff together again.

[stm4him]

I agree with coffee, late night reading, and long days teaching. I would also add that lowering expectations of what the house has to look like on school days is important too (unless your husband really can't stand that). I recommend having a specific start time that you stick to every day and a specific order of subjects. Block scheduling works best for us (everyone on the same subject at the same time). For us we start at 8:30 and go until 12:30 and then start again at 1:30 and go until 4:30. Then I work with the preschoolers from 4:30-5:30 while the olders practice their instruments. And we do family devotions and read alouds at night. Chores, dinner, and family time/free time is from 5:30-8:00. We have a later bed time than most families (8:30 for K and under, 9:30 for olders) but I don't like to get up early so we rise around 7:00ish. This is the order of our subjects

 

Math and Logic

Grammar and Writing

Spelling and Languages (right now just Latin)

Memory Work

Break

Reading/Phonics/Literature

History or Science or Bible for the last 2 hours

Preschool and Music Practice

 

As far as curricula go I don't think I'll list what we do b/c I just happen to love things that are teacher intensive (though I've tried to fall in love with other things). The one that came the closest to working for us that wasn't my dream curriculum but still had really wonderful things about it was Christian Liberty Press. If I really needed to go back to that I would just add in CC and living books from Veritas Press and Memoria Press plus Latin and Greek. But what i did want to suggest is Classical Conversations. Here's why:

 

1. All kids Preschool-6th grade can learn the memory work together in the car w/ flashcards and the cd. Daily everyone can work with maps and review the timeline cards together in about a half an hour.

 

2. All kids in grades 4-6 can be working on the same grammar assignment, spelling assignment, and writing assignment as well as math fact drill games. There is probably enough grammar in the lower grades with just the grammar they memorize and the new Pre-Script copybooks that are coming out which go into more detail on the grammar.

 

3. All kids in grades 7-12 are working mostly independently on their Challenge assignments. One could also add online classes from Memoria Press or Veritas Press if there was a need to supplement.

 

4. Saxon Math is mostly independent from 5/4 on from what I've heard. The lower grades can take between 10 minutes (K) to 40 minutes at most (2nd). I haven't ever taught 3rd yet but they now have Saxon 3 Intermediate which is much more independent.

 

5. Phonics can be done while the other kids are reading, or drawing maps and reviewing the timeline. A Spalding program can often be done with more than one child for parts of it b/c the phonogram drill is the same.

 

6. Latin's Not So Tough only takes a few minutes and is very independent. Many other Latin programs also have DVDs like Latin for Children and Memoria Press if you wanted to add more.

 

Leigh Bortins said her schedule is like this:

 

8:00 Bible study (includes Scripture memory work and catechisms)

8:30 Saxon Math

9:30 Language Arts - copywork for youngers (Pre-Scripts), Essentials assignments for olders (including spelling, writing, and grammar) and I'm guessing this is where she sticks Latin

11:00 Review timeline and draw maps; phonics/oral reading w/ younger students

11:30 Break

In the afternoons they read books or listen to audios (like SOTW) about Science or History. VP Self-paced History is another good independent option. And I'm hoping they'll come out with Self-paced Bible soon. They do read alouds at night.

 

This sounds pretty simple to me. I would add in poetry memorization somewhere (could also be done in the car) and Greek using Hey Andrew b/c it is also independent.

 

stm4him