Just Toss It!

A common issue among big families is how to deal with all the STUFF! It starts with this:

And quickly leads to this:

A friend, who also has a big family, asked me:

How do you manage toys and things they get for birthdays? The toy wars are driving me crazy, and I put them all away because no one could play nicely.

I said:

By "put them all away," I hope you mean "give them all away". Toys are a dime a dozen. They are so easy to obtain in my opinion that it isn't worth the stress they cause to hang onto them.
We have a rule that helps a lot: If it isn't put away, I get to do with it whatever I want. That means either giving it to charity or throwing it away.
Speaking of that, for all their gobs of papers: I gave each of the kids a notebook. If I find coloring pages lying around (not in the notebook), I toss em. They know I will do this. Same rule as the toys.

I absolutely love throwing stuff out (for charity or for trash) --fastest way to clean up!

Not to say that we don't have toys. We have plenty. Although not near as many as several families I know who have half as many kids. But I only keep the toys that are manageable. If they become a burden, I toss 'em with no regrets.

When Do You Start?

A lot of homeschoolers start their school year in September and end in May, so they can have the summer off, same as the public schools. One of the big reasons I love homeschooling is the freedom to vacation when everyone else is in school. We like to take our vacations in September or April. Right after school starts and after all the Spring Breaks have ended.

We school year-round. I don't really know when it will end. The school year is over when we've finished everything, whenever that happens to be. So some school years are longer than others. We do the majority of our work in the summer and winter, so that we can relax and really enjoy the spring and fall.

I'm curious: If you homeschool according to the public school schedule, please tell me why.

Namecalling By the Teacher

Watch this video about a Texas school teacher caught yelling at 4 and 5 year olds by Texas parents who were told their daughter had behavior problems.
Despite the fact that this teacher is an educational "expert", that doesn't qualify her to teach children. Nobody loves your child like you do.

Multi-Tasking

Women multi-task. Men compartmentalize. There's a book I've heard good things about but never read called Men are Waffles, Women are Spaghetti. Humorous title but accurate analogy. Sometimes I wish I could close windows in my mind, but I'm generally thinking about 5-6 things at a time. It can be a real curse come bedtime.

Here, Elena is stirring pasta with her left hand and quickly shaking the pot of popcorn with her right hand. "Look at me, Mom, I'm cooking just like the mom in Love Comes Softly when she learns how to cook well, " she exclaimed.

She's a mommy in training and she knows it. She's so proud of herself!

Team Tidy

I took the kids to a Homeschool Park Day a few days ago with a friend of mine and her kids. I met several other moms that are in the same homeschool association. One of the moms recognized my name from the newsletter articles she had read of mine. She told her friend: She's the Delegator Mom!
Oh my! Is that really the legacy I want to leave? HA!
When it comes to getting the house tidied up before hubby comes home from work, this Delegator Mom gets down to business. I give everybody their own specific job:

Chloe, you're in charge of books. Make sure all the library books are in the crate and all our books are on the shelf.

Isaac, you're in charge of shoes. Get all these shoes out of the den and in their closets.

Maya, I need you to tidy up the dining room. You're so good at the details.

Daniel, you help Maya. You're the pencil man. Look for all the pencils and crayons and put them away.

Elena, you're in charge of the dishes. Empty the dish drainer and make sure there's no dirty dishes anywhere.

Lydia, you come with me and we'll pretty ourselves up for Daddy. I'll fix your hair after I get myself looking better.

When we get home from the grocery store (and no, I don't take everyone. This is quality time. One kid comes with me), everybody gets their own job to get all the groceries put away in record time. (Not that I'm timing it or anything, but I'm not above it!)
Isaac is the can man. He puts away all the stuff that belongs in the "big pantry". Maya puts away the produce, because I can trust her with it. Chloe puts away the meats and cheeses. Daniel puts away all the grocery bags. Elena puts away anything that goes in the "little pantry". I put away the snack foods because they don't need to know where I store that stuff.

By the way, when I only had two kids, I used this method to teach them how to clean up their rooms. I would sit on their bed and say: First, put away all the books. Now, put away all the shoes. Ad nauseum until it's all tidied up. This taught the kids how to break down an overwhelming task into manageable bits.

Stroller-Less

For the past year and a half, I've gone everywhere with at least one stroller: a double stroller, or two strollers. Partly because I didn't trust Daniel and Lydia to behave without the restraint of my beloved strollers and partly because I'm a control freak. (Was that actually two different reasons??)

In the last several months, the double stroller got too bulky to push with two heavy toddler in tow. Then I discovered the joys of two single strollers, both pushed by an older sibling. I got to walk hands-free! What joy! What freedom!

Well, yesterday, I took the six to the library and I didn't use the strollers. Everybody held someone's hands- their buddy. Lydia was my buddy, as she is still learning the value of not letting go. Daniel was holding hands with Elena and Isaac.

No strollers! It was amazing, I tell you. I can't believe I can go places without a stroller. What a day! I had a big smile on my face walking through the library. You should have been there.

Front Seat Parenting

So, I'm driving along, singing to the music while the kids chit-chat in the back seats. Someone takes something away from Lydia (or doesn't, but does something to irritate her in some manner) and she starts wailing. I make sure it wasn't intentional, which it wasn't, and attempt to calm Lydia down from the front seat. It's ineffective. I tell her in a firm voice that she needs to be quiet. She keeps wailing. She knows I'm in the front seat and she's in the back seat. She's smart. I have to pull over. But there's nowhere to pull over for awhile, so we all have to listen to her wail until there's a place to stop.

About 6 months ago, I was questioning why Lydia was whined so much. I was so consistent! I never gave her what she wanted when she whined! I always told her: "You don't get what you want when you whine. You get what you want by asking nicely." So what's the deal with this whiney brat? Then I realized that her siblings were giving her what she wanted whenever she whined. AHAH! So, I need to train the siblings to do what I'm doing! Duh!

So, the other day when we were in the car and Lydia started wailing, I said: "Lydia, why are you throwing a fit?"
She replied in a lower tone wail, "My book is on the floor."
Immediately, Chloe and Maya bent to pick up the book. I practically screamed: "Don't pick it up!" Then calmly said, "Don't give it to her until she can ask nicely."
Front seat parenting is hard!

I'm curious: How do you handle front seat parenting?