I will never forget a sweet family I once knew. The mom, dad and four kids were living in an 800 square ft home. The parents slept in the living room so that the children could share the two bedrooms. The place was tiny. Yet, it was spotless. It was organized. And, it was a comfortable place to visit.
I loved going to visit and being in the happy family’s home didn’t feel uncomfortable, it was a true blessing. I admired the mother for keeping her chin up under her circumstance. But, I never pitied her because I knew she took pride in what she was able to do with her surroundings.
As my family grew, I would call her and ask her how to keep things organized. She would encourage me to get rid of what we didn’t need or use. She also had great storage ideas.
Our house started out not too much bigger then hers and the babies just kept coming. Whenever I felt upset with my circumstance I would think of her and it would keep me going. We’ve managed to add on a few more square feet, but we still have a small home for seven people.
These are the things that I have learned about living in a small home with five children:
Teach my children to love each other rather then stuff
We all know that we can’t take “it” with us. Why do we insist on cluttering our homes with stuff and plastic junk? I want to instill good character in my children. I want to teach them how to love one another and serve each other. None of this requires the use of plastic stuff. Life is about personal relationships with others.
Does this mean I don’t own any plastic junk? No! But, I question every item that enters my house.
Sharing is essential to life
The best way to learn how to cooperate with someone is having to share something with them. We share one bathroom with seven people. Let me tell you, it is tough. But, I honestly think that our family is as close as it is because of the kind of cooperation that we have to have with each other.
Our children share rooms with each other too. They don’t have the same interests so we have to carefully think over new hobbies. One of my children has an interest in astronomy. Before I bought him a telescope for Christmas I had to ask, ” Where are we going to put it?”. Usually, if something comes in then something needs to go out too.
Since they share space, I have to consider everyone involoved. It’s often a family decision about what comes into the house and what goes out.
Stuff is a hinderance
Too much stuff hinders creativity. Children will find many ways to play with anything that is available. If left outside for long periods of time they build shelters and forts. And, they will come up with a myriad of games using sticks, leaves and nuts.
Children that have everything get bored quickly. They say they have “nothing to do”. Since they may not get a chance to use their creativity if they are always given new things, they think they are bored. If children are given too much, they will value none of it.
My new attitude about stuff
We have developed a certain attitude about stuff. I know it is because we were forced to examine everything that comes through our door by asking:
- Do we need this?
- Does this add value to our lives?
- Where will we keep this when we are not using it?
- Does this develop creativity or hinder it?
I once had a friend ask me if I missed being able to have more stuff. Did I feel like I couldn’t give everything that I wanted to give to my children? I realized that she was coming from a different mind set. She wanted to provide more, but not in the way that I wanted to provide more. I wanted to provide more time to be together forming relationships. All that is required is shelter, food and clothing. (And, books for us homeschoolers.)
Really! That’s it. The rest is a distraction. It may seem extreme to think about it this way, but it helps keep my focus on what really matters.
Brenda blogs at The Tie That Binds Us about her homeschooling journey with five children in a small-ish home.
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A favorite school activity in my house is making cookies. Baking and cooking are a wonderful way to demonstrate several lessons.
- following directions
- science
- math, more specifically fractions
- home economics
- reading skills for younger children
- kitchen safety
- importance of washing hands and cleanliness
- organization
On today’s baking menu: chocolate chip cookies
Today’s helper: Alyssa, my preschooler.
Letter of the day: C
Math extension: counting and discovering fractions
The first step before thinking about touching anything kitchen related is washing your hands. Pink Lady scrubbed in like a surgeon! She learned about how germs like to hide on your hands waiting to jump onto other surfaces to seek, invade and destroy…oh…sorry…we get a little dramatic at times for fun.
Our second step is getting all of our supplies and ingredients ready. This is a very important step when working with children. Be sure to allow your child to have a hand in getting out and organizing the supplies as well. If you have an early reader, point out the words on your recipe. My preschooler identified “C” on our recipe card and on the chocolate chips bag.
Here’s Alyssa going over all the items in the Curious Chef Measure and Prep set and all the ingredients. She counted the eggs, measured the chocolate chips, and helped me determine that two sticks of butter equaled on cup for our recipe. I briefly explained in simple terms how the 1 Cup scoop represented the whole and the others were part of the whole. I demonstrated that 1/2 meant we needed 2 scoops to equal 1 whole. She then helped determine the number of scoops needed to make 1 whole from the rest of the scoops.
Once you have all your supplies ready, it’s important to read the instructions to your child. At this point you can ask her what comes first, next, and last. Be sure to repeat each instruction and have her carry it out only correcting if she forgets something or does not understand. This will encourage listening and following directions.
Alyssa measured the ingredients and got to work! The recipe called for dissolving 1 tsp baking soda in 2 tsp.of hot water. This called for a preschool sized science lesson water and making solutions.
Allow your child to participate as much as she is able. This is not about neatness or the perfect sized cookie. This is a time to explore fun through cooking which will in turn instill valuable lessons. You also encourage motor skills by allowing your child to scoop the cookies.
When all is finished and you both enjoy cookies and milk, be sure your child is also enjoying a sense of pride and accomplishment. Those are also important lessons to instill in a child. A confident child will feel the freedom and curiosity to explore the more of the world around her. Hands on lessons also teach a child there are more ways than one to solve problems so you build critical thinkers. All that an a cookie? Who can resist?
To further enhance the letter “C” and counting lesson, I used the C is for Cookies printables from Itty Bitty Bookworm to enhance the lesson. Here are the printables for you to print off. C is for Cookie. This a an adorable way to practice counting!
Another point I would like to highlight is giving your child her own kitchen tools. My children all love to bake and cook. Instead of providing them with unusable kitchen toys, I love to give them kitchen tools that are safe and can be used to make real food. A child who has her own cooking tools tends to participate more in the kitchen and extends those lessons to her own play kitchen later on. Alyssa is often repeating the fractions lesson while playing fantasy kitchen.
Do you see that adorable set of measuring cups, spoons, bowls, and lids? That was graciously provided by Curious Chef. The set shown is the 17 piece measure and prep set which includes measuring cups, measuring spoons, kitchen timer, mixing spoon, 3 piece bowl prep set, shopping list pad and stickers. This isn’t play kitchen stuff. This is real solid, as good as it gets, kitchen stuff. Since I was reviewing this product, I decided to put it to the test.
Written by Richele, classical and Charlotte Mason inspired, homeschooling mom, to four reflections of God’s love. She blogs at www.underthegoldenappletree.blogspot.com.
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