A dear friend of mine, a mother of eight, has over 20 years of homeschooling experience. Following please find her tips on planning and organizing homeschooling with multiple children. You will also learn what she considers to be the greatest reward as a homeschooling mother.
How to Homeschool with Multiple Children
Written by Stacy
Q: How do you start your new school year? How do you plan it?
A: Just about the time that we finish up our school year, I start planning for the next. Throughout our summer break I will spend time looking through homeschool catalogs and reading reviews by other people to get an idea of what we would like to do. For the most part I have certain things that I have been doing for years such as reading, math, grammar, and handwriting that I simply get the next grade for each child.
However, as our older children have entered high school, I am tailoring their schooling to fit their individual needs and interests. For example, our oldest daughter is in her final year of high school and has an interest in learning more about business math. Our oldest son is in 10th grade and he is interested in pursuing more advanced mathematics such as geometry and calculus.
As far as planning goes, at the beginning of the school year I sit down with each child’s books and I go through them to see how many lessons are in that subject and then figure out how often they will need to do the subject in order to finish the class on time. Some of the main subjects like math and reading require daily work, whereas French is something that is done three times a week. For example, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday my high school daughter would take French and then on Tuesday and Thursday she would have her astronomy class. I try to even out the classes as much as possible so that each day carries about the same weight and isn’t more taxing than another.
Q: How do you teach a number of children of different ages at the same time? How do you organize your teaching sessions in terms of subject, activities, etc. in order to be effective and maintain order?
A: This year we have seven of our eight children in our homeschool and they range from kindergarten to 12th grade. The only way we have found that I can successfully teach all those grades at one time has been that we have to work together. At any given point in time all of the children can need me at once; at that moment we have to determine which is the most crucial. If I am already with one child then they are first. Then I will pair up an older child with one of the younger ones to help them while they are waiting. Hopefully by the time they have finished helping their sibling I am available to help them.
In terms of organizing teaching subjects there are a couple things that we do. We always start off our school day with Bible time. For us, we have found this to be the best thing to do to lay a good foundation for our day. For our younger children we do science and history together and I have found that it works best for us to do those classes right after Bible time before the children get into their own individual work.
Q: What is your secret with toddlers and preschool kids (what do they do when you teach the older ones?)
A: The one thing that I have always tried to do with my toddlers and preschoolers while the older children are doing school is to make them feel involved with us. I tell the child that they are in school, too, and over the years I have collected things specifically for this age such as:
- Wooden puzzles
- Beads with strings
- Magnetic books
- Playdough with cookie cutters
- Shapes with strings that the child “sews” or laces
- Stickers
- Coloring books and workbooks
All these items are for “school” use only. This is important as it makes the items special to the child specifically for the school time. I put these items in containers and most times I let the child pick the activity. We will then get the container down, they play with it, and then they must pick it up before they can go on to the next activity. When the child is preschool age they get their own school books in which they learn their numbers, letters, colors, etc. so then this becomes part of their activities to do.
I love to include the younger children in with the school age children in any classes that they can be involved in. Science and history are fun times for us when I read our lesson to the children and then they do activities together pertaining to the lesson.
Another great thing to do with the littler ones is to let them in on your daily activities. If you need to leave the school room for a few minutes to knead bread dough or put a load of laundry into the washing machine, let your little one help you. This way they get a few moments just with mommy and it helps to break up their time. We do have a few educational videos that teach ABC’s and numbers, but from my own personal perspective, these are things that I have used sparingly for two reasons:
- You don’t want the television to become the babysitter – homeschooling is a part of life and you want your little one to be involved in the family’s life.
- When the video is a “treat,” it is much more enjoyable to the child.
Q: How would you describe your “normal” school day?
A: I am not quite sure that we have “normal” school days – normal for us is that every day poses new challenges. Last year I sat down and made up the most beautiful schedule. Every detail of the day was thought of and planned out. When it came time to implement the schedule, it only sort of worked out… You see, the problem is that every day (sometimes even every moment!) has a new challenge that you can’t necessarily anticipate. Now we do have set things that we do at certain times such as everyone has to be dressed, have their beds made and their rooms picked up before breakfast time. Then after breakfast everyone has a certain chore that they do before we start school. We strive to be diligent in starting school and then staying on task throughout the day, however, we have had to learn to be flexible when any number of circumstances requires it of us.
Q: How do you deal with a situation when a child repeatedly performs below his known ability by being distracted, not focusing, not paying attention, being too slow with his tasks, etc.?
A: I was recently dealing with a situation like this as one of my children had been taking an extra-long time to get their school work done. This went on for about a week so when I saw the child procrastinate and take much longer on a certain task than was necessary, I would try to incentivize the time. First I would assess, let’s say, their handwriting page and how long it should take them to accomplish a set portion (especially at first, make sure that the time you estimate is very reasonable for the child to reach). Then I would say to the child, “I think you can finish this handwriting page in fifteen minutes. How many minutes do you think it will take you?” After both the child and I have guessed a time, I would start a stopwatch. When they have finished their work, whoever guessed the closest time “wins.” Of course the real focus isn’t upon which one of us wins in guessing the time as it is really about turning something that is dreaded into a challenge that they can obtain.
Another thing to consider is if the child is dreading doing a certain class, it is generally helpful to do that subject first and then we can move on to the next one.
Q: Do you have some secrets how to get and maintain energy for all the household and homeschooling?
A: Homeschooling is such a vital part of raising our children that it is like a thread that is woven into a cloth – it becomes a part of the fabric. Teaching my children at home is not the epitome of achievement, but rather it is a means to an end. My desire for my children is for them to walk in righteousness and to become everything that God has for them. Homeschooling doesn’t just keep your children from unrighteous environments or teachings although, for the most part, it does do that. But more importantly, it gives us as parents the opportunity to instruct our children in righteousness – on an almost moment by moment basis. This motivates me because I know that God counts it as my responsibility to raise my children up in a manner that will give glory unto the Lord. Our children truly are a blessing from the Lord. Raising and teaching them is an awesome responsibility and this is what continues to give me the strength and the energy I need to homeschool.
Q: Do you ever get discouraged with the homeschooling (too much effort and too little results… etc.)? What helps you in these times?
A: What discourages me the most in homeschooling is seeing my own shortcomings. These become apparent as I find that I need more patience, more love, and more sensitivity in the Spirit. The encouraging part is that the Lord is always there when I cry out to Him and He strengthens me so that I can overcome my shortcomings and minister to my family in His love and with His patience.
Q: What is your greatest challenge in homeschooling right now?
A: Currently my greatest challenge is finding time to take care of my older children’s schooling needs. As my two oldest children are now in high school, they are able to do many of their classes on their own. It still takes a fair amount of time to go over any difficulties they may be having in school, correcting their work, and overseeing their schedules. Later in the evening after the other children are in bed seems to be the best time to be able to sit down with them and go over things. On one hand you are tired at the end of the day and it takes an extra push through the tiredness to accomplish what you need to do, but the plus side is that it is a quiet time that you are able to have one-on-one time with the child and get caught up with where they are at in their schooling.
Q: What would be your greatest reward as a homeschooling mother one day after your children go out of school?
A: Last year the children and I read through the books of Chronicles and Kings and it is a marvelous thing to see that each time the Bible talks about the kings of Judah, it notes whether the king was good or evil and it also tells the name of the king’s mother. I think it is a word of encouragement to us as mothers to know that what we are doing today will have an impact on the lives of our children, both now and in their future. III John 1:4 best sums up for me what would be the greatest reward that I could receive when my children have moved on from homeschooling and from our family home. It says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. This is my prayer for them and my greatest desire.
