How We Make it Work

 ( View of Mt. St. Helens from our yard. )
It seems quite often lately and over the years I hear people expressing a fear of not doing all that they can for their children.  From people who have already raised their kids and the kids are now adults to people who's first child is still in the womb.  They feel they aren't using every moment to give their kids every opportunity out there, like they missed out on teaching them something, letting them experience something, should they homeschool, should every weekend be spent going on extravagant outings, is life passing them by and they're letting their children down and are causing or have caused their children to lack something.  I think everyone who loves their child feels this way at some point in time because you do want your kids to have every opportunity to better themselves and experience what's out there to become responsible, stable adults.  The truth of the matter is - even a child given no opportunities in childhood, poor parenting ( or no parenting at all ) can turn out to be a driven, successful, intelligent, responsible adult.  Every child is different and every parent parents differently.  We've seen children from the same family, same parents, same opportunities, grow up to view life completely different from each other and react completely differently to situations they're faced with.  When your child is 2 or 3 years old - there's no need to worry that they might not learn how to drive a car or pay their bills properly - take it day by day and let them help with the tasks they're physically able to help with while providing a safe and encouraging - yet disciplined environment.  What type of adult do you want your child to grow up to be?  My #1 goal for my children is that they grow up to want to serve the Lord - however they can do that - be selfless, kind and loving to everyone, know that they are not 'owed' anything but have much they can contribute and give to help others.
Here ( for my own records - to remind myself what the days were like at this stage in life ) I'll show how our house is run on a daily basis:

 I am not a morning person.  My husband is up and off to work by 5:30 am. I'm more of a 9:30 am sort of person. The kids know that while 'Mommy' is still asleep they may make their own breakfasts and have been doing this since the oldest was 5yrs old.  They may play video games, read or play toys until I get up.  Usually, by the time I get up, they've already completed their math assignments and tidied their room because they like to get that out of the way.  Once I'm up, chores start.  CT is in charge of the chickens.  He greatly enjoys raising, breeding and selling his poultry, does lots of studying and note taking on everything poultry related and they provide us with eggs.  Too many eggs!

 KN is in charge of getting the dogs out in the morning, feeding, watering and cleaning the kennels.  She didn't start off liking this chore when her father told her this is something he'd like her to do but she's grown to love it and enjoys getting the dogs out to run in the field.
MN has the chore of unloading the dishwasher every morning or whenever needed.   Both girls help dust weekly, KN cleans their bathroom when needed and sweeps the porch.  CT hauls in firewood, takes out the garbage and all of the kids help with food prep and cooking.  The 3 oldest( ages 13, 11 and 9 yrs. ) are able to run the house, make the meals, watch over the dogs and their younger brother, keep the wood stove going and keep things tidy whenever I ask them to.  They have proven to be trustworthy and responsible.
While they're doing their chores, I'm tidying my room, washing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen, starting the laundry, vacuuming the house, making any necessary phone calls and overseeing their work.

 After the chores are done we make lunch, usually the kids argue over who 'gets' to make lunch which of course I don't mind!  We do our history lesson and Bible lesson.  We're currently using a New World History and Geography book from ABeka and are studying Abraham Lincoln.  For Bible we're going through a 'Studying God's Word ' book, the kids take turns reading the chapters in the Bible and then we go over the story lesson and questions and have discussion.  This lasts around an hour or so, once a week.  On a different day of the week we'll do our Science lesson and another day of the week the kids have a separate Bible lesson using a video series. 

 Math, reading and writing are done everyday.  We've been using Math U See for our math curriculum for the past 3 years.  I've found this to be the best for us.  The kids are understanding it very easily and if they don't grasp something, there is an instructional DVD they can turn on and it is explained to them.  ( If I can't seem to explain it very well. )

They each have different interests and find projects to occupy themselves. We go to the library often and they check out books and love to read.  KN and CT have been using a wood carving set given to them by my Grandma and have been carving fun things out of wood.  KN recently made a fairy boat to go along with her fairy garden.  Today we  re-stacked the wood shed to get ready for a new load of firewood and I let the two oldest kids practice driving the pickup truck around the field.  Never too early to learn to drive!  I've also been having them help me pump gas whenever we go to the gas station.  Just one of those things they'll need to do when they're older and can learn to do now.  Anything they can help with now to prepare them for their future - if I have the ability and resources to teach them - I try. 
Around 4:00 pm I start getting dinner ready and the kids may turn on a cartoon, nature or cooking program.  We eat around 5:30pm, I usually clear the table and do the dishes, tidy the kitchen and make my husband's lunch for work the next day.  The kids may play a video game or watch something on tv or read.  At 8:30 pm the kids brush their teeth, get into pj's and into bed.  I tuck them in and pray with them.  Then I go about tidying up from the day's mess, make myself a snack ( usually a bowl of cereal ) and then SIT DOWN!  I've been reading murder mysteries and may watch some program I've recorded.  Maybe do some blogging or reading online and then go to bed between midnight and 1:00 am.