Large Families
Homeschooling in a large family is both a joy and a challenge. Learn how to manage those challenges, while meeting the needs of everyone in the family. Here you'll find information on keeping your home running smoothly, tending to toddlers while homeschooling, teaching many different grade levels at once, and avoid burnout.
Homeschooling a Large Family
How I Teach a Large Family in a Relaxed, Classical Way: Language Arts
Tips for teaching language arts (writing, grammar, handwriting) in a large family.
How Do I Teach with So Many Kids?
This series includes a look at schedules, schooling year round, busy bags, teamwork, and surrendering to God.
Field Trips in a Large Family
There are lots of things to love about a large family, but being agile and moving about quickly isn’t really one of them. Learning in action and experiencing something first hand is one of the best things about homeschooling. It’s often what really sets apart our education from that of a traditional brick and mortar school. It is worth it to make the effort for field trips, though it doesn’t necessarily make them any easier!
Tips for Homeschooling Multiple Ages in a Large Family
Heather Bowen shares some tips, tricks, and shortcuts for homeschooling multiple ages within a large family.
Affording the Large Family Homeschool
For any family seeking a private Christian education in the home, money quickly becomes an issue. While programs like K12 and other public-school umbrellas exist, they do not offer the freedom of choice so many homeschoolers are looking for. Nor do they offer a Christian education.
Most homeschooling families opt to buy their own curriculum so they can truly be in charge of their child’s education. When a homeschooling family has many children, curriculum buying becomes an exercise in creative frugality.
Here are a few ways you can save and stretch money in your homeschool.
Multilevel Homeschooling
Most moms of several children become experts at multitasking with experience. We often are asked how we manage homeschooling multiple learning levels and I find it difficult to explain. It's like preparing a seven course dinner--how do you tell someone exactly how to prepare everything in such a way that it's all ready at the proper time and stays the proper temperature? I suppose you could lead them step-by-step through all the directions and it would be easier, but still experience is the best teacher.
Homeschooling the Large Family
Sometimes, raising and homeschooling 8 kids (ages 21 to 2) seems totally manageable--even easy--especially when compared to other, larger families made up primarily of younger kids. At other times, homeschooling our brood proves to be the hardest thing ever.
Homeschooling a Large Family: Keeping Sane, Simple, and Scholarly in the Stresses of Life with a Handful
This is an audio recording of a presentation by Amy Beckstead Leonard. Amy gives strategies and ideas for large families that are homeschooling.
Large Family Homeschool Lesson Planning
Lesson planning for a larger than average size family can be a bit tricky. This sample planning sheet offers an easy approach to planning out schooling for a large family.
How to Homeschool During the Post Partum Period
If you are going to be a homeschooler and continue to grow your class size, then you need to be prepared and you need to be flexible. Adding a new family member during the school year can be a smooth transition. Explore these ideas and tips to help during this time.
How to Live on One Income
Some practical solution and ideas to manage a large family on one income. A positive look at making things work out when there are limited funds.
Must Have Homeschooling Items for a Large Family
This list of practical items and virtues are great for a large homeschooling family.
How I Teach a Large Family in a Relaxed, Classical Way: History
A look at teaching history across several grades using the classical method of education and a rotation of history every four years.
Homeschooling and the Large Family
What do you do when you have older children who need your help, while the younger ones need your attention too. How do you get it all done and keep your sanity? The key is finding what works for your family and doing it.
Catholic Homeschooling Multiple Ages in a Large & Busy Family
It's daunting to think about schooling many children, all different age ranges, in a busy house. These tips and tricks can give you smooth sailing days when homeschooling a large family.
Large family finds a way to homeschool
This youtube video gives a look into a large successful homeschooling family. This African-American family of seven children has had all children go to college, starting while still in high school.
How I Home-School my 3 Children in 3 Different Grades
These tips and tricks will help you get individual time with each of your kids while everyone is engaged in learning.
How I Teach a Large Family in a Relaxed, Classical Way: Math
A look at a tag team approach to teaching math in a large homeschool family.
Homeschooling the Large Family: How to Get It All Done
Regardless of how many children you have, there will always be more on your to-do list than time will allow in any one day. Wise homeschool parents will recognize this early on and take steps to maintain their sanity by practicing these tips to enhance their homeschool productivity.
Multi-age Homeschool: Older Teaches Younger
In a large family, it is inevitable that the older children will help guide the younger ones. Here are ideas on how to capitalize on that system.
Large Homeschool Family Blogs
One Thankful Mom
This mom of 12 children shares her challenges and blessings at this blog. She shares about adoption, attachment, Sensory Processing Disorder, homeschooling, marriage, life with a large family, and more.
Large Family Mothering
Sherry writes her blog and shares her experiences as a mom of 15 homeschooled children.
Gigi's Place
Gigi is a 30-something large family homeschooling mom to seven kids. Being a large family homeschooler has its challenges and joys, which Gigi shares here.
The Bates Family
This beautiful family of 19 children shares their journey with this blog.
My Blessed Home
This blog shares homeschooling help and encouragement, parenting tips and insights, organizational tips, and more, all while chronicling the joys and challenges of raising a large family.
Get Along Home
This blog follows Cindy and her family as she talks about homeschooling, large families, and parenting.
Our Busy Homeschool: Large Family Learning at Home
Tristan is mom to eight children whom they homeschool.
Little Earthling Blog
This beautiful family has grown through adoption and birth. With fourteen children, they homeschool and share their adventures on their blog.
Peace Creek on the Prairie: Large Family Homeschool
This site offers articles, resources, free homeschool printable, and curriculum information.
There's No Place Like Home: Homeschooling my large, crazy family
Shelly is the mom of eleven children and is homeschooling. Share in her journey.
Support for Homeschooling Large Families
K12 Large Families
This group is for large families using the K-12 curriculum created by Dr. William Bennett. Both homeschooling families and Virtual School families are welcome. It is particularly intended for families with more than 3 children in K-12 as well as additional teens, toddlers and babies. Discussions include both the curriculum and the challenges of implementing it in a large family.
Large Families Home School
This list is to encourage and support those who homeschool many children. How many? To some 3 is a lot! If you have a large family (whether natural, adopted, foster or blended) and homeschool, you know that there are a lot of unique challenges ranging from orchestrating family harmony, dealing with multiple ages, trying to homeschool in a sometimes chaotic environment, keeping up with the never-ending laundry, transportation, cooking, chores, and more. This is a Christian list.
CM for Moms of Many
An email group for homeschooling moms using Charlotte Mason's methods. Focuses on homeschooling larger families.
Magnum Opus
Raising a large, Catholic, homeschooling family is a great work (Magnum Opus) and a great deal of work!
Hopefully this email discussion group will be a place for parents of four or more to help each other with the nitty-gritty details of raising and educating a large, Catholic family.
Large Family Logistics
The purpose of Large Family Logistics is to help Christian homeschooling mothers with the daily tasks of home management.
Lots of Kids
A place where families with four or more children can find friendship, fun, and support.
Large Family Logistics
This group offers a discussion of Kim Brenneman's book Large Family Logistics.
Large Families Forum at BabyCenter
Do you come from a large family? Are you planning one? Share the challenges and joys a big family can bring.
Large families are amazing, and I have one
This Facebook page is a big support group of large family supporters who talk on a regular basis.
Large Families Forum at Just Mommies
This forum is for families with four or more kids.
Featured Resources
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The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child: Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start
An increasing number of parents are turning to homeschooling. This guide helps those parents to determine what are the best first steps to take, how to define your educational philosophy, and the best approach for your children. Included is a discussion of how to choose curriculum, assess progress, and stay within the legalities of your state.
The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home
This book will instruct you, step by step, on how to give your child an academically rigorous, comprehensive education from preschool through high school. Two veteran home educators outline the classical pattern of education—the trivium—which organizes learning around the maturing capacity of the child's mind: the elementary school "grammar stage," the middle school "logic stage," and the high school "rhetoric stage." Using the trivium as your model, you'll be able to instruct your child in all ...
The Letter Factory Game
Teaches Phonics! The race is on! With two games in one, children play together and learn letter names and sounds with actions and music. Wacky Professor Quigley guides players every step of the way so no reading is required! Games automatically adjust to skill level, to keep children learning at just the right pace! 2 Games in 1: Counting Colors & Letters: Learn letter names and sounds by matching color cards to move around the board. Leaping Letters: Listen to the name or sound and then find th...
Black Books Galore's Guide to Great African American Children's Books
"This is a great resource that fills a tremendous need. It should be on parents' shelves at home as well as in every school." —Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D. Harvard Medical School These are exciting times for African American children's literature. Never before have there been so many titles available. Now the three mothers who founded Black Books Galore! —the nation's leading organizer of festivals of African American children's books —share their expert advice on how to find a...
Happy Phonics
Happy Phonics uses games to teach early reading skills. Simple yet entertaining and educational, these phonics games are printed on colorful, sturdy cardstock ready to cut out. Included is a mother-friendly guidebook which contains details on how to teach phonics and reading, how to pronounce and teach the phonics sounds, how to make your own simple beginning readers, and step-by-step teaching information for each phonics sound. Happy Phonics covers beginning to advanced phonics.