Guest Post: Homeschooling multiple children!

I'm so excited for this article by Courtney over at Ordinary, Happily Ever After. I have been following her blog for several years now and she doesn't know this, but I was first drawn in by a political article she wrote. I was truly impressed by how well written it was- intelligent, articulate, and right on point. She inspired me to be more involved in educating myself about issues rather than just hiding behind the "I'm just a mother" shield. She seems to be able to write exactly what I am thinking but cannot put to words.

Now that I have a new baby, the thought of teaching four children over the next 18 years is extremely overwhelming. She was the first person I went to to ask HOW can I homeschool more than one child when they are all at different levels??? As a veteran homeschooling mother of five, she has some great words of wisdom. Take it away Courtney!

First of all I want to say a big THANK YOU to Cari for asking me to write today! I've been a fan of hers for a while and now I feel like I'm playin' with the big dogs :)

As a homeschooling mom, one of the questions am often asked (after the obligatory "Oh, I could never do that" comment) is, "How do you teach so many different ages/grades at the same time?" In a five minute conversation it's difficult to convey what homeschooling even IS, let alone how I manage to juggle the educational needs of each of my five children and myself. More often than not I give them my rehearsed answer of how I do A, B, and C; and while I'm sure they can sort of understand what I'm saying, they don't really get it. I'm assuming though, that if you are reading this you are interested in more than the 10 second sound byte. So here it goes...

Bern, Switzerland LDS Temple Pictures

The protectors

The little princess at four months old, and her protectors. Just look at those chubby little legs!

Maison Cailler chocolate factory & Gruyère factory and castle tours

This day was definitely the highlight of our trip. I was excited to take the boys on a tour of the cheese and chocolate factory but did not anticipate how awesome it would really be. First of all, the way to reach these towns from Interlaken was through a seasonal mountain pass (very narrow and winding!) which had THE most amazing views.

This was taken with my iPhone, yes it really is THAT green here

Interlaken, Brienz wood carvers, Jungfraujoch and Paragliding

Switzerland has moved up on my list of most amazing places on earth. I had been to Zurich several years ago but it gave me no preparation for the beauty I would behold driving across the country. Unfortunately the drive from Zurich to Interlaken is a series of tunnels with just a few glimpses of the countryside, however those few glimpses are completely breathtaking. I wish I could have taken photos of the first tunnel we came out of, it was the kind of scenery movies are made of, incredible mountain cliffs and green valleys. I'm convinced that a person could drive every day for a month in Switzerland and see something totally magnificent each day.

Zurich, Switzerland a taste of local culture

We had so much fun in Zurich. There really aren't many tourist sites and that's what made it so fun. We took a few pictures of the churches and the beautiful river then wandered through the town to see what locals do. 

Neuschwanstein Castle and Iron Kids Switzerland

Part 2: Salzburg, Austria

I'm not sure which was more enjoyable, touring around Salzburg or the beautiful drive there. Here are some photos I took from the car on the drive over.

Garmish and Nördlingen {and photographs for sale}

My husband's parents came to visit us for several weeks and we hit the road on another trip to one of our favorite places- Garmisch-Partenkirchen. On our way we visited the medieval town of Nördlingen which sits near the impact point of a meteorite that hit the earth 15 million years ago. The boys climbed the treacherously old steps to the top of the cathedral for a bird's eye view of the town.

Organizing a homeschool schedule

Once you know what you want to study and you have a growing number of books filling up your table (or kindle/amazon queue) you have to figure out what to do with them. For me, it's easiest to digest all these books when I break them up by term. I divide the year into seasons then choose which books to study during each season. The fun literature books I usually save for our bedtime and leisure reading. The others I try to rotate once or twice a week. Before I had my fourth child I was pretty good about planning out what we would do each day, now I just keep a box full of the books we use next to me on the couch and I grab whatever I'm feeling in the mood for. I make sure we work from at least three books a day, anything after that is a bonus.

Here is a breakdown of our reading schedule for next year (for details on each book, see our 2013-2014 curriculum)

Did you know?

Alexander Graham Bell

Thomas Edison

Albert Einstein

Benjamin Franklin

Patrick Henry

Eli Whitney

Orville & Wilbur Wright

John Adams

Thomas Jefferson

George Wythe

Alexander Hamilton

George Washington

Abraham Lincoln

Theodore Roosevelt

Louisa May Alcott

Robert Frost

C.S. Lewis

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Leonardo da Vinci

Claude Monet

Isaac Newton

Johann Sebastian Bach

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Winston Churchill

What do these well-known people all have in common? Besides creative genius or exceptional leadership...  

Each received a large part, if not all, of their education at home. That's right folks, these people were homeschooled! Through reading, discovering and exploring. There are many, many more people who have left their mark in the world and were educated in their own home. (There is a great list of famous homeschoolers at http://www.famoushomeschoolers.net )

Whenever you feel challenged or discouraged, just take a peek at these names and realize the potential those little people in your home have if you only give them the tools to unleash it! Many of these incredibly intelligent people were poor public school students and felt like failures, yet thrived when allowed to pursue knowledge in their own way and time. 

Food in Germany

I just have to say that after living in Europe, I feel really sorry for Americans (and for the food I will have to go home to). European food is so much tastier and healthier.

Joshua's German School

Joshua heading off to his "private German school"...

Nature Study, the Charlotte Mason way

We don't take school off during the summer, but our primary focus is on literature and nature study. We do math as much as they want to, I don't put pressure on them to complete things. One of our favorite discoveries here is a nature park on the military base. It has a dozen or so of these signs with great information about local species of plants, animals, birds, etc. and has them in both German and English.

First sewing lessons

My in-laws are in town for the next few weeks. We are so excited to see them. We're headed for a two week trip to Garmisch, Austria and Switzerland. I have a few scheduled posts while I'm gone and I'll share some pictures of our trip on facebook from time to time.

The other day Ethan's button came off his shorts and provided us with the perfect opportunity to learn to sew on a button! It took a few tries for his needle to find the button hole, but he was so proud of himself when he finally got it.