HelP! I have four small children ages 4, 2, 1 and baby. I would love some info from older women who have large families (5 or more) and whose children are very close together. Any and all advice about cooking, housekeeping, gardening, overall organizing, and homeschooling would be great!

-- Paula (coyotpam@gpcom.net), December 15, 2001

Answers

Paula, I have six children. We homeschooled all six. Four of them have graduated and one more will graduate next spring. Two are in college now, one is in construction and the other is attempting to farm. I learned a great deal from the women in my area. One gal had 18 kids. When gardening, I learned to raise vegetables that cost the most in the grocery store. For example, we always raise cauliflower,broccoli, lettuce,etc. I didn't bother to raise things like peas that were too time consuming considering the amount of nutrition in them. The more children we had, the less time I had to can. We always had fresh stuff to eat in the summer but stopped trying to raise everything as more children arrived. I learned to cook the evening meals in the oven. I haven't found a crock pot large enough. For example, I browned pork chops and drained the fat. Then in a large pan, I would put the chops on the bottom. Then I put potatoe halves and whole carrots. I mix a large can of mushroom soup with milk and pour over the chops,etc.Bake in 350 oven until vegetables are tender. One gal told me she always lined up the food in the morning for the day because by the evening she was too tired to cook. When a family is not well fed everyone gets crabby. If you need to you can email me Paula. I need to go. I hope this helps. Cindy

-- Cindy Herbek (dh40203@navix.net), December 17, 2001.

Hi Paula, I dont' have a large family close in age like that but I know one. They have 10 kids. I think they range from 3 to 18, close enough. They home school and can hundreds of jars of food a year and raise a huge garden. She's the most devout Christian I have ever met, her children are everything to her.

They don't watch t.v. rarely a video and have no computer. The mother takes care of the schooling of the younger kids and they all work at chores and life together. A few years back, the mom taught a vegetarian class to people in her church that were interested. She's not a vegetarian, but they were looking for healthier recipes. When one of the girls was 7, she could make a loaf of bread by herself, it was an easy recipe but...

She still finds time to jog. The kids play creatively, instead of in front of the tube or computer. The oldest girl is in college in another state.

She says having a routine is the answer-for nursing too. And I've known a couple of women that baby sit for 10 or more kids at a time and they have very clean houses and they say the same thing. Get a routine and stick to it.

-- Cindy (SE. IN) (atilrthehony@hotmail.com), December 17, 2001.

Hi Paula, I have 4 children. The oldest was 6 when the youngest was born, and having 4 kids under 6 is no picnic!!! My husband worked out of town, so most of the time I was 100% on my own. I had to deal with everything, horses, broken pipes, illnesses, cars breaking down, you name it!! Certainly makes you grow up quick, as I was only 25 when the youngest was born. I had my kids when I was 19, 21, 23, and 25. The best advice I can give, is total organization!! I used to get a lot done in the evenings when the kids would go to bed. They were generally in bed by 8 or 8:30 in the evening, and I would really gear up and race around the house getting everything done. I would do laundry and hang it up at night. Scrub the floors, straighten up, whatever needed done. It was always so nice when I got up and everything was clean and nice. I would can in the evenings too. This way I could spend the days playing with the kids, teaching them, and just doing little odds and ends around the house. When they took a nap in the afternoon, I would lay down too. This gave me the energy to stay up and do chores in the evening!!! My daughter asked me one time if I ever slept!!!! I will try to think up some more later.

-- Melissa (me@home.net), December 17, 2001.

I have 6 children, ages 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, and 13. I agree with what everyone says about organization and routine. Just don't leave the children out of it. They can learn to help Mommy at an earlier age than most people give them credit for. By the time I was five I was doing most of the laundry, standing on a chair to reach the clothesline. I LOVED it. To this day, laundry is my favourite chore.

Spray some old socks with dusting spray and put them on your children's hands so they can help you dust. Let them count out the silverware and help set the table. Your 4-year-old should be able to do this alone, unless your dishes are on a high shelf.

You may be already doing these things; my point is to get the children on your team so they are not "in your way". Make a list of what they need to do, tape it to the fridge, and let them check it off. Use pictures to represent the chores, like a bed for "make bed", etc. Put the word there too, and they will pick up a little reading on the way.

I made it easy for my children to make their beds by tucking in the covers well on one side. In the morning all they had to do was pull up the other side.

Make sure to take time with the children that is not all work. Take walks, play in the snow (I have no idea where you live), read books, go to the library, play games, etc. One activity that is loads of fun for children (but not always so for moms) is making cookie cutter cookies. It makes a mess, and we usually save it for special occasions, but it's much more fun than play dough.

If you are looking for help in specific areas that have not been covered here, please come back on and ask more questions. We'll help you all we can:o)

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), December 18, 2001.

I agree wholeheartedly on chores for children. They can do astounding amounts of work, but don't make it drudgery. I always made it into a game. We would have races, do some chores then something fun afterwards. My kids automatically do their chores now, because they have been trained from the time they were little. I do not function well in chaos. So a clean house was vital for my mental health!!! Plus it really does save time to have everything in its place.

In my laundry room I kept a basket for each child to put their dirty clothes. As soon as they could walk, they knew which basket was theirs and could put it in the proper basket.

Another tip is to clean as you go. I remember when my sister would bath her baby, she would have the whole bathroom a mess!!! Everything left everywhere! Dirty clothes, bathwater left, cap off of soap etc... What I did was bath the baby, replace caps etc... wrap the baby in thick towel, hold baby and then wipe out the sink (I have a big sink!) dress the baby on the counter (with towel as padding) carry dirty items to laundry. The room was left spotless and the baby was clean. No mess to come back to and no time wasted!!

If you multiply this times a hundred things you do each day, you can eliminate a LOT of messes!!!!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), December 18, 2001.