Money-Saving Tips for Large Families

It’s a common school of thought that raising a large family automatically means big $$$. As homeschoolers,  it’s imperative for us to cut costs wherever we can. Today, I’m sharing this video from the Patreon archives of how we do what we do.

What I’ve Learned About Housekeeping While Homeschooling

Before we started homeschooling, I was a complete neat freak, and I prided myself on it. Making the transition to having my kids home all the time meant making some changes not only to my routine, but to my expectation of perfection.

Today on my channel, I shared a video from my Patreon archives: What I’ve Learned About Housekeeping While Homeschooling.

Grandparents of Homeschoolers…Let’s Have a Chat

Today’s post is going to be a little different than the norm. While I’m usually addressing homeschool parents (or at least, parents, in general) here on my blog or on my YouTube channel, I’m searching for a different audience just this once, an audience you won’t find much content for:

Grandparents of Homeschoolers.

And it’s long overdue.

25 Traditional Toys to Buy This Christmas Season

Although it’s 2018, lately I’ve been reminiscing about older American traditions. Whether this has been brought on by the now common spectacle of  kids as young as 2 staring at screens all day instead of playing with toys or always feeling like I’m going to multi-task myself into exhaustion, I don’t know, but I’m certainly convinced that something has got to change. 

What If Public Education Never Existed?

As a homeschool mom, I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about school – public school, to be exact.

No, I haven’t been thinking of sending my kids back – perish the thought! What I have been thinking about is what life today would be like if the public education system never existed.

Ever.

To be sure, proponents of government schooling would claim that society wouldn’t be where it is today without it, and I’d have to agree with them.

But that isn’t a good thing. 

How to Keep Your Sanity When You’re a Mom of Many

I love being a mom of many. It’s that simple. The funny thing is, when I try to tell someone that, they often look at me like I have a third eye. Inevitably, this question always comes up sooner rather than later:

How can you have that many children without going a little insane?

I can’t blame them. Our oldest was an only child for 5 1/2 years, and I remember what used to run through my mind whenever I saw a family with a large number of children. 

How to Get Your Large Family Out the Door on Time

I’m one of those people who hates to be late for anything. Anything. I would rather be an hour early than five minutes late.

As a mom of many, getting somewhere on time honestly isn’t something I have to think much about. It just happens. Very often- usually at church- other moms will ask me how I’m able to get my huge crew out the door and actually show up early, especially considering the fact that my husband isn’t usually with me.

In case you’re wondering, I don’t have a magic formula. I don’t have a foolproof trick. What I do have is a routine that is simple and consistently helps us to get where we’re going without a problem.

So for all you moms of many out there… 

Homeschool Mom Confession: I Haven’t Dusted in 2 Months!!

It’s about time I come “clean” about something I’m not very proud of:

I’m terrible at keeping house. Really, really terrible.

Admitting this isn’t something that comes easy to me. In fact, before I started homeschooling, I was a total neat freak. I remember one of my kids bringing home a paper asking about what her parents like to do, and she wrote that her mom likes to clean. Sigh. I was so proud of that. 

How to Tell the Difference Between Wants and Needs: A Lesson for Today’s Adults

In this age of neverending consumerism, one question I hear over and over again is how our family of 12 manages to live on one income. I’m going to tell you that it’s not easy, but it isn’t impossible.

I can’t begin to count how many times someone has expressed to me how much they’d love to stay home with their kids to homeschool but simply can’t afford it. I honestly think that most of their concerns are an illusion brought on by a society that highlights possessions over “less glamorous” things, like family. 

A Word to the Wise- You Can’t Have It All

The past few decades, an insidious lie has been repeated over and over again to women in our society- You can have it all!

I don’t know when this falsehood started, or why, but I’m pretty sure it began somewhere in the 1970s when women, en masse, decided to forego homemaking in order to work outside the home.

Don’t worry. This is not going to be a diatribe against working women. I myself have worked outside the home off and on, and, because of that, I know how hard it is.