large families

[chefwife8]

How do you do it all? I have 8 kids only 6 are home I only homeschool the 4 youngest. How do you get school, housework, and meals done? Some days I feel like I'm drowing this is also my first year homeschooling

[PrincessMommy]

I didn't.... If I was doing homeschooling, then housework and laundry suffered.  Vise versa.  It's the new normal.  It does help to have older kids who can (in theory) help out a bit more.  :grouphug:   Hang in there, you'll find your groove.

[blondeviolin]

Kids help out. A lot. By keeping things going, and keeping chores happening regularly, I can feel like I'm keeping my head above water.

 

Laundry gets folded right of the dryer and put into kids' buckets. In the morning, kids clean their rooms, which includes putting their laundry away. After meals, each kid has their chores to help clean. It's a lot of directing.

 

When things get overwhelming, I often drop one of my balls. For lack of a better explanation, I triage and take care of the most important bits. Sometimes we eat out more often, sometimes we skip laundry folding, sometimes we focus on just the 3 Rs for school.

[Starr]

This is an ongoing issue for most of us , no matter how many kids we have. :D

[VeritasMama]

Hugs, it never gets "easy" but if I force myself to stay organized and keep up with the laundry it does go "smoothly" most of the time :).

 

How old are your children?

 

Most of the things I am going to mention are common sense things you probably already do, but they work for me.

 

Training my children to clean up after themselves is the most important aspect of keeping the house clean, obviously with the toddlers this isn't gonna happen. But my older kids all know to put their things away and to clean up dishes, put away shoes, etc.

 

I put a load of laundry in first thing in the morning and I do two loads of laundry a day. I have one child a hose job it is to switch loads for me.

 

I always make sure to empty out the dishwasher right away, so the dirty dishes can always go straight into the dishwasher. My kids help unload, one puts away the silverware, one puts away the glasses, etc. I put away whatever they can't reach and the sharp knives. My kids are all trained to put their dishes directly into the dishwasher after meals and snacks. I try to make sure all the dishes are always done at the end of the day, my oldest kids take turns scrubbing the pots and pans. We also make sure the table is clean and ready to go and the living room is picked up.

 

My kids are all expected to make their beds, pick up their rooms, brush their teeth, get dressed, eat and clean up their breakfast dishes before school starts. If they get done early they get free time, it is a big motivator for my kids. Obviously I help the youngest with this process, but the oldest are well trained and self sufficient.

 

I wake up about an hour before my kids and shower an go over plans for the day. Then I make breakfast if we are having hot breakfast, but we eat cereal quite a bit.

 

My kids all take turns performing the big chores. I have a list and they take turns sweeping, vacuuming, dusting and mopping. They are getting more reliable, so I can have the littles help the big kids or help me while I do my chores. I have a swiffer mop they use that is nice for touch ups, but I scrub the floor myself to get it nice and clean. I also scrub the bathrooms, I do one bathroom a day (we have 4 bathrooms). Since they get cleaned more often it is faster to clean them. I also fold/hang up the clean clothes and then the kids put them away.

 

We combine as many subjects as we can, "Morning Time" has also helped us get focused and keeps are days on track. The littles usually play quietly during this time.

http://edsnapshots.com/oh-what-beautiful-day-morning-time-for/

 

The kids all have a laminated checklist schedule of the subjects they need to get done every morning, we do our combined subjects during morning time or during nap time in the afternoon. I stagger the kids checklist so that one kid is working with me at a time while others are doing independent work.

 

For lunch we eat a lot of leftovers or leftovers that have been repurposed. I like to use leftovers to make soups in the crockpot. The crockpot is also a life saver for dinners.

 

I like Stephanie O'Dea's site, it has helped me organize and has some great crock pot recipes:

 

http://totallytogetherjournal.com/the-daily-7-for-a-highly-successful-household/

 

I hope that helps you, like I said these are probably all "tips" you already knew about. If you have some more specific questions or issues, I'd be happy to respond.

[milovany]

I lowered my expectations!  Worked like a charm.  ;)

 

We have six kids still at home.  My house isn't tidy like the house I grew up in.  It's clean, but there are things everywhere.  I decided I'd rather not be barking at the kids all the time to keep it picked up.  For example, right now there's a blanket "house" taking over the living room, a Goodwill pile stacked up against the couch, and shoes here there and everywhere.  The kitchen table pretty much always has piles of miscellany on it.  They're rooms are theirs -- I don't require them to keep them all the way picked up, so they tend to be messy a little bit too.  Oh, well! 

 

Since my dh works full time and I work 25 or more hours a week, I do have the older children doing quite a bit of some of the "bigger" chores. One daughter does 95% of the cooking (she wants to; if she didn't want to, I'd do about half and have the others do about half), another daughter does all the laundry, and another does the goat-milking and cheese-making.  A son does most of the yard care. We found the things that are somewhat natural fits for them.   The older kids take turn with dishes.  I shop, plan and do the homeschooling, and help keep things picked up.  At various times of the year, we all pitch in extra, like right now it's apple-sauce and jam making time, as well as fruit dehydrating time.  I just ask them to jump in to help.

 

There's not a lot of organization to this.  We just do what we can do each day and say "Lord have mercy!"

[gaillardia]

I hope you read SWB's book, The Well Trained Mind.

(((hugs))) and welcome to the hive. :hurray:

You will find ways to minimize the housework or the clutter.

I didn't want to recreate public school at home; I knew I needed to let the kids de-school to a certain extent (actually I only had one who had ever been to school).

You don't do it all. Remember to take time for yourself and to take time for your relationship with your spouse.

 

Chore charts are a great idea, but I have always had a hard time keeping up with it. Some moms are just very organized and can keep a good schedule. I finally dropped time frames and just have it so that things are done in wisdom and order. :grouphug:

[chefwife8]

My kids at home are 15,13,10,7,5,3 I have the youngest for at hine for school.

 

Love the morning time idea and the 7 daily.

 

Thanks for all the advice I am a slight perfectionist and the thought of faliure really stresses me out.

[VeritasMama]

My kids at home are 15,13,10,7,5,3 I have the youngest for at hine for school.

 

Love the morning time idea and the 7 daily.

 

Thanks for all the advice I am a slight perfectionist and the thought of faliure really stresses me out.

This is my problem as well, and as soon as things aren't going perfectly my tendency is to panic. I fight the urge by keeping my expectations realistic and my goals manageable. Try not to be too hard on yourself :).

[BlsdMama]

How do you do it all? I have 8 kids only 6 are home I only homeschool the 4 youngest. How do you get school, housework, and meals done? Some days I feel like I'm drowing this is also my first year homeschooling

Some days you are drowning.

 

The truth is that caring for kids is a full time job. Cooking and cleaning foot a tribe is certainly a full time job. Teaching is it's own full time job. You, one woman, is doing enough work for the adult women. Some days will be overwhelming. I'm kind of over denying that it's a lot of work, lol. I've done that for fourteen years and I'm ready to be honest.

 

BUT you can be in over your head, totally stretched, and still enjoyit. Part of the solution is adjusting expectations too.

[HS Mom in NC]

Search the forums for threads about chores, homeschooling multi ages, meal planning, planning systems, etc.

[chefwife8]

Search the forums for threads about chores, homeschooling multi ages, meal planning, planning systems, etc.

 

 

Where in Az are you? I am in Chandler :) 

[chefwife8]

Search the forums for threads about chores, homeschooling multi ages, meal planning, planning systems, etc.

 

 

Where in Az are you? I am in Chandler :) 

[HS Mom in NC]

Where in Az are you? I am in Chandler :)

 

Me too.

 

Private message me if you want to get together.

[momto10blessings]

Lower expectations. A lot!

 

Chores!

 

Declutter. Then Declutter some more. If you haven't used it in a year then you probably never will.

 

Only buy what you need. Kids don't need 2 pairs of sneakers or 3 jackets.

 

Meal plan.

 

Utilize your crockpot. Teach kids to cook.

 

Teach your kids to put their stuff away, take care of their stuff and throw trash in the trash can. I'm still working on this. One day they'll get it.

[HS Mom in NC]

Here's a recent thread about juggling lots of littles close together:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/528229-anyone-give-up-on-the-classical-style-of-homeschooling/

[LindaOz]

I have 8 at home. I have certain morning chores that HAVE to be done between breakfast and our 'meeting' time which is at 8:15. They are: beds made, hair done, laundry on, bathroom/toilet wiped down, floor vacuumed (living area and stairs), kitchen cleaned, dishes done, floor swept, table wiped. The kids do all this (other than laundry on). They have a week-about system where they rotate the chores to get proficient at them all.

 

One of my older girls makes lunch every day. After lunch there is a different bunch of chores before reading. This keeps things in order and helps us keep on top of the essentials. I can't function in mess and clutter so this is all great for me as well as for them :) . I can give more details about the chore roster system if you like....

[chefwife8]

I have 8 at home. I have certain morning chores that HAVE to be done between breakfast and our 'meeting' time which is at 8:15. They are: beds made, hair done, laundry on, bathroom/toilet wiped down, floor vacuumed (living area and stairs), kitchen cleaned, dishes done, floor swept, table wiped. The kids do all this (other than laundry on). They have a week-about system where they rotate the chores to get proficient at them all.

 

One of my older girls makes lunch every day. After lunch there is a different bunch of chores before reading. This keeps things in order and helps us keep on top of the essentials. I can't function in mess and clutter so this is all great for me as well as for them :) . I can give more details about the chore roster system if you like....

Yes, please I would love more details about your chore system :)

[LindaOz]

Yes, please I would love more details about your chore system :)

Sure. I don't actually have this written down anywhere because we have done it for so long that it's kind of just memorized but hopefully it will make sense when typed out.

 

Before breakfast: Everyone get dressed, do hair (this is a biggie for us as we have lots of girls with very long hair...). Ds 10 unpacks dishwasher - has to be done before b'fast so we can repack as we go.

 

Breakfast: everyone prepares own breakfast. The rule is they can cook a hot brekkie if they start by 7:15. Otherwise it's cold cereal. Someone gets breakfast for the little two. They like cooking eggs, pancakes, oatmeal etc. Clean up own stuff afterwards and do chores as follows:

 

Child 1: Kitchen clean, wipe benches, dry up extra dishes.

Child 2: Vacuum living area and stairs.

Child 3: Wipe down and tidy bathroom and toilets.

Child 4: Hang out laundry (we don't use a drier, cllothes go out on clothesline.)

(These chores rotate week-about. For example: child 1 is on kitchen clean one week and then vacuuming the next etc).

 

Child 5: Clears and wipes dining table and sweeps kitchen floor.

Child 6: Washes extra dishes, finalizes and puts on dishwasher, takes out garbage.

(These two aren't in the main rotation yet because they can't quite reach the clothes line to hang out a load yet. My 12yo is hanging out to be able to do that...;) .

 

Child 7: Takes out recycling.

Child 8: Learning to pick up when required.

 

Child 2 makes lunch each day

 

Then after lunch...

 

C1: Hangs out another load of laundry.

C2: Minivac living area

C3: Kitchen floor and benches

C4 and C5: lunch dishes together.

C6: tidy living area

 

Most nights dinner is cooked by one of the kids. They love to cook and are very capable although if they were asked to cook a meal for 2 they would be at a loss 'cause they are used to big amounts. I do need to take more nights where I work with the younger kids in the kitchen so that they end up be as capable as the olders.

 

After dinner there are always two rostered on dishes, one on BBF (benches, bins and floor), one on table wipe, one on tidy floor and one on mini vac again. We seem to be always vacuuming this place ;) . This roster varies from night to night over the course of a week and is designed to give them opportunities to work in different combinations. It all flows well.

 

I hope that all makes sense. Let me know if it's unclear.

[tricia]

Take it day by day.  I have homeschooled/homeschooling all 12 of my kids.  What i found most helpful was having a basic dry schedule each day to shoot for.  It looks like this...

 

wake

chores

breakfast (sometimes these two are switched around)

lessons which look like this...

 

devotionals, latin, french, literature, math, and daily subject which may be geography, nature study, or history.  Or all if it's a good day.  

 

In between hitting the above schooling I am back and forth with "stuff" that goes with lots of kids.  Mostly trying to pool dinner together one piece at a time while assigning a child a task or two in the kitchen with me.

 

Basically, if I can pull a meal together then I can usually say my day went well.  We try each day, I do try really hard to make it a priority to have 'tea time' while I read aloud.  Even if the laundry, dinner, etc have to wait I really try to make that happen.  But it does help that out of my 12 kiddos nine were girls so getting household chores done wasn't too much of a fight as they seemed not to mind it too much.  

 

Our laundry room has double washer/dryer sets and right now my 16 year old twins have charge of that room.  Which by the way the laundry room is also home to everyones clothes.

 

It is KEY to ensure that everyone old enough has some daily job to do.  Otherwise things can go south in a hurry.  So as older kids grow out of a job it eventually gets passed down to the next.  Meal planning at the very least should be thought of the night before if possible.  During my preggo nursing years I would have older children cook up lots of hamburger and chicken and freeze for future meals and that was huge.  We also have a daughter assigned to be our bread maker/baker for meals each day.  Another job that needs filling if you don't buy the store bought stuff such as bread, waffles, etc.  Most of this information is on my blog as to some helps in running a large family.  Planning is key and making sure the home gets a good decluttering at least twice a year.

 

Hope this helps!

[chefwife8]

Sure. I don't actually have this written down anywhere because we have done it for so long that it's kind of just memorized but hopefully it will make sense when typed out.

 

Before breakfast: Everyone get dressed, do hair (this is a biggie for us as we have lots of girls with very long hair...). Ds 10 unpacks dishwasher - has to be done before b'fast so we can repack as we go.

 

Breakfast: everyone prepares own breakfast. The rule is they can cook a hot brekkie if they start by 7:15. Otherwise it's cold cereal. Someone gets breakfast for the little two. They like cooking eggs, pancakes, oatmeal etc. Clean up own stuff afterwards and do chores as follows:

 

Child 1: Kitchen clean, wipe benches, dry up extra dishes.

Child 2: Vacuum living area and stairs.

Child 3: Wipe down and tidy bathroom and toilets.

Child 4: Hang out laundry (we don't use a drier, cllothes go out on clothesline.)

(These chores rotate week-about. For example: child 1 is on kitchen clean one week and then vacuuming the next etc).

 

Child 5: Clears and wipes dining table and sweeps kitchen floor.

Child 6: Washes extra dishes, finalizes and puts on dishwasher, takes out garbage.

(These two aren't in the main rotation yet because they can't quite reach the clothes line to hang out a load yet. My 12yo is hanging out to be able to do that...;) .

 

Child 7: Takes out recycling.

Child 8: Learning to pick up when required.

 

Child 2 makes lunch each day

 

Then after lunch...

 

C1: Hangs out another load of laundry.

C2: Minivac living area

C3: Kitchen floor and benches

C4 and C5: lunch dishes together.

C6: tidy living area

 

Most nights dinner is cooked by one of the kids. They love to cook and are very capable although if they were asked to cook a meal for 2 they would be at a loss 'cause they are used to big amounts. I do need to take more nights where I work with the younger kids in the kitchen so that they end up be as capable as the olders.

 

After dinner there are always two rostered on dishes, one on BBF (benches, bins and floor), one on table wipe, one on tidy floor and one on mini vac again. We seem to be always vacuuming this place ;) . This roster varies from night to night over the course of a week and is designed to give them opportunities to work in different combinations. It all flows well.

 

I hope that all makes sense. Let me know if it's unclear.

Makes perfect sense thank you so much for taking the time to write it down. I love the idea of weekly rotation of chores.

[Susan in TN]

I am not a super tidy person, so that doesn't help matters. Most helpful to me is to have a meal plan of some sort with a fairly regular rotation of meals. Also having severals meals/soups in the freezer.

[coffeegal]

We keep trying. Sometimes the house is super clean. Sometimes it's super messy. Usually it's somewhere in between. Right now we're switching to a Flylady approach where we tidy through the week and clean on Saturdays. We'll 'Bless the House' and then spend some time on the weekly zone. It worked really well today! ;)

 

Oh, and I use a crock-pot religiously. Sundays I cook. The rest of the week comes from the crock-pot. :001_smile:

[LMV]

How do you do it all? I have 8 kids only 6 are home I only homeschool the 4 youngest. How do you get school, housework, and meals done? Some days I feel like I'm drowing this is also my first year homeschooling

 

We have nine children with five still at home (twenty two months, four years, six years, ten years, and fourteen years) still at home.  We homeschool in conjunction with gifted programs through hybrid charter options so all but our youngest do have some on campus time each week. I also work somewhere between twenty and thirty hours weekly as a physician in the ED.  On the positive side:

1.)My DH is a wonderful, emotionally evolved, hands on dad.  He works as a corporate attorney but adjusts his account load based on what is happening at home and with our children.  He is an equal participant in homeschooling, child raising, and household maintenance.  

2.)DH and I both enjoy cooking so although meal preparation for a family of eight plus where most meals are prepared at home from ingredients requires time it is not viewed as a chore in a sense.  Our attitude seems to be contagious and we allow our children to start "helping" at a young age (and we channel patience when their "help" adds on time to the project because it is quality time spent with our children and in time the time invested often pays off as well).

3.)Many hands make light work.  Seriously when everyone pitches in we can have everything cleaned up, the dishwasher running, and kitchen counters and floors wiped and mopped in less than fifteen minutes after a meal.

4.)Our children have some age appropriate responsibilities that they do on a schedule usually while one parent is doing another task nearby and available to supervise, guide, and provide some camaraderie.

5.)We have hired cleaners which come in twice weekly to do certain deep cleaning tasks on a schedule.  Household cleanliness is not an area that we are able to skimp on because of one of our daughter's health issues and we probably deep clean more frequently than many for this reason.  Something had to give and we were in a financial position to make this happen so we did.

6.)I truly think it is much easier (and more comfortable and less stressful) to maintain a clean home than to clean a dirty home.

7.)We have a lot of storage space (we seem to add more built ins every time we remodel) so everything really does have a place and there really is not an excuse to not put things away.

8.)I have a lot of freezer space and double ovens so I will often make three or four meals worth of recipes at a time and freeze the extras.  This also comes in handy if I want to bring dinner to a family from church.

9.)Our kitchen is one of my favorite rooms of our home because the layout of the main work area makes so much sense and it also expands into a solarium extension where the family can hang out so if I need to cook without the kids involved I can still be in earshot and sight line of them.