I can vividly recall a handful of times that I literally “cried out” to the Lord for help. One of those was the first day I was home with all four of my children. It was about two weeks after Abbey’s birthday. Karl had taken time off from work to be home with us to enjoy the first week of her life and to help give me some extra recovery time.

I hardly slept that night for thinking about how I wanted to day to move, what the routine would be like, and how in the world I would manage the three “big” kids and breastfeed the newborn. I think now I can understand why God allowed us to have four children within four years: He wanted me to learn to depend on Him. Having four children aged four and under completely broke my confidence in myself.

A more recent sense of panic and fresh dependence on God has come with this new school year. My goal for the year is to teach all four of these precious children. I wonder how in the world I am going to get it all done. Of course, I am going to pray and pray and pray some more. But I also have to work. I have to get organized. I have to plan. I have to buy curriculum. I have to buy supplies. I have to make lists upon lists. I have to make schedules. Then comes the hardest part: I have to implement the plan.

Where the prayers leave off is where Home Schooling More Than One Child: A Practical Guide for Families comes in.

Carren Joye has put together one of the most helpful resources I’ve found for the home schooling family. She covers everything from deciding to home school to teaching your 12th grader.

Chapter 1. Getting Started: Jumping in with Both Feet
Chapter 2. For the Record: Organizing the Paperwork
Chapter 3. The Right Curriculum to Suit Each Child
Chapter 4. The Penny-Pinching Homeschooler: Affording Materials on One Income
Chapter 5. Storage and Supplies: What You Need and What You Can Get by Without
Chapter 6. Secrets of the One-Room Schoolhouse
Chapter 7. Plans and Schedules: Making the Most of Your Time
Chapter 8. Homeschooling with Little Ones Underfoot
Chapter 9. If You Have Elementary and Middle Schoolers
Chapter 10. Handling Junior High and High Schoolers
Chapter 11. Single Parents and Working Parents
Chapter 12. The Juggling Act: Housework and Homeschool
Chapter 13. Staying Motivated and Preventing Burnout
Chapter 14. Socialization: Finding Something for Everyone

We’ve been home schooling for a while now, so I only skimmed the chapters on deciding to home school, organizing the paperwork, and choosing curriculum, so that I could get to the reasons I bought the book, namely, chapters 6-8, 12, and 13.

Joye’s first bit of advice is to share subjects. For the last two years, our kids have shared history and science, while reading, spelling, grammar, and math have been taught separately. This year, however, in an effort to create more time for everyone, I am using her second bit of advice, skipping grades.

Did you realize that many second grade math programs are simply a review of everything taught in first grade. It’s true! I didn’t notice it until I had a second and a first grader doing the same work. What a waste of time!! If your child has a solid grasp of everything learned in first grade, why spend a year reviewing all of that information?

Benjamin finished Saxon 1 mid-way through last year, so we started Saxon 2. MOST days, he complained that he already knew how to do it and he was bored. Well. Karl suggested that I let him try to teach me instead, just to make sure that he did in fact have a good grasp on the subject. This worked well for Benjamin once I convinced him that I wasn’t joking about him getting to be the teacher. We finished the year doing that and this year Hannah and Benjamin are both doing Saxon 3. Benjamin is skipping 2nd grade math. And he couldn’t be happier about it.

I’m happy, too, because that means the kids are sharing one more subject and I have a little more time to work one-on-one with Abbey and Noah, who need me more than the older kids.

Joye’s third bit of advice I’m using is “stagger their schedules.” This is the first year I’ve really had to create a strict schedule for everyone. It’s the only way I’m going to make sure that we do everything we’re supposed to do. Everyone needs some kind of one-on-one instruction, and I can’t be in four places at once. Joye writes, “Set aside a certain time for each child. To ensure that this works smoothly with several students, give each one a to-do list or set up a chart in a central location. At the beginning of the day, make sure that each child understands what to do that day and how to do his first lesson. Then start with the youngest and progress to the oldest. While you work with one, the others can work on independent assignments. Then switch to the next student.”

One thing that is definitely true is that it is very important to teach the youngest children first!

I am using our Microsoft Outlook (the 2007 version allows you to COLOR CODE each person on the schedule and allows for MORE THAN ONE schedule) program to create a detailed schedule for each child. Since Abbey and Noah can’t read yet, I only print out schedules for Hannah, Benjamin, and myself. That way, the older kids know what they’re supposed to be doing and when. They are responsible for doing what’s on the schedule or they are in t-r-o-u-b-l-e (Joye also provides some good ideas for consequences). The whole day can get “off” if they do not stay on task. Fortunately the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: They love checking items off their to-do lists.

A fourth bit of advice I’m using is having the older children do activities with the younger ones. For example, today when I was teaching Abbey, Hannah was reading a book to Noah. Then, while Hannah was practicing piano and I was teaching Noah, Benjamin was doing something with Abbey.

For those moments I have to work only with Hannah and Benjamin, Joye suggests using school boxes for the younger ones. These are boxes that can only be used on certain days and only during school. This keeps the younger kids from getting too bored with whatever I decide to put in them. Kim (LifeSong) is doing this, too, and she has shared her box ideas for her son. I haven’t put ours together yet, but I’ll let you know what I put in them when I do.

Joye has a whole chapter on plans and schedules which is very helpful, though not as detailed as Terri Maxwell’s Managers of Their Homes and Managers of Their Chores. I used the best of those books to create our own plan and schedule.

I am glad I bought this book. I think I will go back to it over and over again, just to remind myself (I used a highlighter) of some things when the days don’t go as planned or when I am needing some encouragement and/or motivation. If you’re new to home schooling, then don’t hesitate to get it. You’ll benefit from everything in this book. If you’re not-so-new to home schooling, then you’ll probably do what I did and just read those parts that most interest you. I still say it’s worth it.