Homeschooling, Cleaning and Nurturing, how I do it all: Part 3

Nurturing

Now that you have seen How we clean and how we home school you are probably thinking I run my family like a military school.  That is definitely not the case even though we are pretty strict.

What does it even mean to nurture?  The conversation I talked about in this post left me feeling as if people thought I couldn't possibly nurture my children as well as clean and home school.  At the time I thought Nurture just meant to hold them , to hug them, to kiss them. If you know me well you know that I am not touchy feely.  So with that definition of nurture in my mind I felt like a great big loser.  Now don't get me wrong I hug, kiss, and hold my babies but sometimes it takes a lot of pushing myself aside.  Anyway on with the real meaning of nurture.

Nurture-verb

1. care for and encourage the growth or development of

1. help or encourage the development of

1. cherish (a hope, belief, or ambition).

Nurture-Noun

1. the process of caring for and encouraging the growth or development of someone or something.

1. upbringing, education, and environment, contrasted with inborn characteristics as an influence on or determinant of personality

Synonyms- upbringing, rearing, raising, child care; training, education
So Now that I have the real definition of nurture I feel so much better.  Nurturing isn't really a separate area of life.  Nurturing is homeschooling, It is cleaning and teaching chores. So because I love lists I am going to give you a list of what nurturing is to me.

• Nurturing is raising your kids to be a functional beneficial part of society

• Nurturing is giving them an education whether public, private or home school

• Nurturing is encouraging them to do good and to press on when things get tough

• Nurturing is providing a safe place for them

• Nurturing is believing in  them

• Nurturing is letting them fail sometimes

• Nurturing is letting them explore

I could go on forever with this list but I think you get it.  So I am not sure how to share how I nurture all five of my children.  I believe it is a God given desire for me.  I believe it comes naturally.  I don't believe nurturing has gotten harder as we have added to our family.   So how do I nurture five kids?  I live life.  I teach them.  I discipline them.   I let them grow.  I let them make choices.  I let them think, but most importantly I cherish them.

Homeschooling, Cleaning and Nurturing, how I do it all: Part 2

How I home school five kids at the same time 

Just like cleaning we use a strict schedule for school.  A friend of mine suggested that I get a planner called The Well Planned Day.  It has been wonderful!  I highly suggest it.

 Above is an example of the planner.  It is designed  for up to four students.  Each of my children have a schedule in it that tells what they should be working on at what time.  I am going to make a list of things that help us get it all accomplished.

1. We do Bible every morning.  What better way to start school than to learn about Jesus.
2. We only spend 30 minutes per subject.  I mean I set a timer for 30 minutes.  When the timer rings we move on.
3. We are not running a public school.  We don't have to do school for 8 hours a day, we don't have to stick to text books and we don't have to have school desks. 
4. I try to find curriculum that is multi-level so I can teach multiple kids at once.
5. School is supposed to be fun!  I want my kids to love learning!
6. Fill the littlest kids cups first.
7. Give yourself grace
8. Be Flexible(this is hard for me)

Here is my schedule.  Take a deep breathe it is crazy!!

7 am Bible
7:30 cook breakfast while kids clean rooms
8:00 Eat breakfast
8:30 Before Five in a Row and Foundations A with Malachi while the older kids do morning chores
9:30 Math with David while the other kids do Signing Time on Netflix
10:00 Math with Evanny David does Spanish and the others play in the playroom
10:30 History Mondays and Wednesdays Science Thursdays and Fridays Everyone is included
11:00 Morning snack/break
11:30 Teach English to Evanny and David,  Malachi and Jericho play, Alexis does homework
12:00 Teach Malachi and Alexis Math David and Evanny do homework
12:30 I cook lunch and Teach Alexis Foundations B. During this time Evanny does workbooks with Malachi and David works with Jericho or plays with her.
1:00 Eat Lunch
1:30 I get Jericho down for a nap and we do afternoon chores
2:00 I fold laundry on normal days on Mondays a friend and I sew dresses with our girls for Dress a Girl Around The World.
2:30 FREEDOM!!! Everyone else must read quietly I get to do what ever I need or want to do
3:30 Room of The Day
4:00 Snack
5:00 Cook Dinner
6:00 Eat Dinner
6:30 Evening Chores I leave for the gym at this time on Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
7:00 Read aloud and baths for kids
8:00 younger three go to bed older two read
9:00 All kids in bed.



So You see my schedule.  It is crazy and this doesn't include gymnastics, AWANA, Bible Study, Dance, Library Day, or swimming.

I never said it was easy!  and Many days I look at my schedule and say How do I do all of this and my answer is....

By The Grace of God.  

Homeschooling, Cleaning and Nurturing, how I do it all: Part 1

So awhile back I blogged about an experience that made me feel judged.  It wasn't taken how I had hoped it would be so I decided to make a post about How I do everything from nurturing to homeschooling to keeping my house clean.

I started this thinking I could fit it in one post but I cant so I will do a series in the next few days. :)


How I Keep the House Clean( The Hardest Part)


First I keep a very strict schedule for my family. Here is a photo of our Daily Chore Chart.

Every kid has a chart that is divided into morning, afternoon and evening chores.  Each chart has 6 or 7 chores divided up between the three times.  They are also color coded  by time of day.  Each child also has a detailed list of their day for each day of the week.  It tells them everything from chores, to school and it even includes shower times.

On the far right side of our chart is a Room of the day chart.  It lists what room we will be cleaning that day with a list of what needs to be done in each room.  

Here is a list of what our chores are each day

1. 2 loads of laundry. washed, dried, folded and put away
   I fold all of the laundry and put mine, Jericho's and David's away, the kids put their own away.
2. Wash dishes after every meal
   I wash evening dishes and I put all of the dishes away but the girls do all of the washing for lunch and breakfast.  
3. Clean rooms every morning before breakfast
   This includes making beds and bringing dirty laundry down stairs they do not have toys in their rooms.
4. Take out the trash
   This is Little Davids job everyday
5. Vacuum after lunch and dinner
   David and Evanny take turns doing this job
6. Quickly pick up all toys and school supplies once school is done.
   Everyone does this including Jericho and I.
7. Wash table after every meal
   This job rotates between Malachi and Alexis
8. Feed and water the cat
   This is Malachi's Chore
9. Sweep kitchen after dinner
   Malachi helps me do this every evening unless I am gone then he helps his dad sweep.
10. Room of the Day
    We all do this job together

We also do evening chores which includes a lot of things from the list above as well as a quick pick up of toys and making sure everything is in there place. 

It probably seems overwhelming reading all of this in a list but it really isn't, well not all of the time!  Sometimes I am overwhelmed but who isn't?  I feel more at peace with a schedule. We probably spend 1 1/2 hours cleaning broken up throughout the day

The biggest thing that helps is that our family is a team. I am not everyone's maid.