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
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.
Avoiding Chaos in a Large Family Homeschool
Every child is unique and homeschooling a large group of children with varying interests and aptitudes can be just as chaotic as it is rewarding. This article shares some tips and tricks for avoiding the chaos.
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.
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.
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!
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 Teach a Large Family in a Relaxed, Classical Way: Language Arts
Tips for teaching language arts (writing, grammar, handwriting) in a large family.
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: Math
A look at a tag team approach to teaching math in a large homeschool family.
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.
Planning for the Large Family Homeschool
There is nothing like the summer break to step back from the madness and take a good, long {and honest} look at your previous year of homeschooling. It can be difficult in a large family to accommodate everyone’s individual desires, but you can at least listen to them and try!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Large Homeschool Family Blogs
Raising Olives
This blog shares tips, ideas and some of the ups and downs of managing a home with lots of kids and raising children for the glory of God.
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.
Peace Creek on the Prairie: Large Family Homeschool
This site offers articles, resources, free homeschool printable, and curriculum information.
The Bates Family
This beautiful family of 19 children shares their journey with this blog.
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.
Little Earthling Blog
This beautiful family has grown through adoption and birth. With fourteen children, they homeschool and share their adventures on their blog.
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.
Get Along Home
This blog follows Cindy and her family as she talks about homeschooling, large families, and parenting.
Our Full House
Carrie shares life with her 14 blessings, offering a glimpse into the daily life of their family.
Large Family Mothering
Sherry writes her blog and shares her experiences as a mom of 15 homeschooled children.
Support for Homeschooling Large Families
Lots of Kids
A place where families with four or more children can find friendship, fun, and support.
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.
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 Forum at Just Mommies
This forum is for families with four or more kids.
CM for Moms of Many
An email group for homeschooling moms using Charlotte Mason's methods. Focuses on homeschooling larger families.
Large Family Logistics
The purpose of Large Family Logistics is to help Christian homeschooling mothers with the daily tasks of home management.
Large Family Logistics
This group offers a discussion of Kim Brenneman's book Large Family Logistics.
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.
Tons of Kids
This mailing list is set up for parents of large families. Large for this list is defined as having five or more kids. They welcome everybody who has at least that many of any religion, or even no religion.
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.
Featured Resources
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We get commissions for purchases made through links on this site.
Homeschooling on a Shoestring : A Jam-packed Guide
So you want to homeschool but don't think you can afford it. This book is a compendium of ideas for the family that wants to start or continue homeschooling on a tight budget.
Includes ideas for making money as a stay-at-home mom, sources for inexpensive curriculum, affordable teaching tools, and ideas for low-cost field trips. Also discusses ways to run your household more efficiently and with less cost.
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.
Taking Charge of Your Child's Education: A Guide to Becoming the Primary Influence in Your Child's Life
Every parent wants to give their child the best start in life. The best way to do that is to get fully involved in their educational process as their primary influence. This book is full of helpful information, resources, and tools that will lead you to home education success. Erica Arndt recognizes that the most important factor is the family unit relationships. This book will help you as you make your decision to homeschool.
Waldorf Education: A Family Guide
Waldorf Education finds itself catapulted from its humble beginnings 80 years ago into the midst of the central educational and social issues of this decade.What draws parents and educators toward Waldorf Education today? "Waldorf Education - A Family Guide" offers a "first look" for parents and educators into the history, philosophy, curriculum, and traditions of this unique education. This comprehensive book is a collection of articles describing the world of Waldorf Education - the fastest gr...
Learn and Do Unit Studies
Hands on unit studies on a variety of subjects, including science, life skills, arts and crafts, and animals and insects. Also offers free mini units available for download.