How We Afford Large Family Travel

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November 5, 2015 By Jennifer Lambert 2 Comments

We have four kids. I’m a stay at home mom.

I realize I am not a budget traveler.

We like to take as many opportunities as we can to travel and explore, tying it into our homeschool studies whenever we can.

We cut our household budget in order to feed our travel bug.

We seldom eat out. We eat at home for almost every single meal. It sometimes gets boring and isn’t always convenient, but we realize it affords us the ability to dine out when we travel.
We purchase less clothing. We try to make do with hand-me-downs or secondhand items, mixing and matching with new ideas.
We have fewer entertainment items. When we feel the itch to purchase a new toy or electronic, we think about whether we want to spend that money or save it for our next trip.
Holidays are travel experiences. Birthdays and Christmas and other special days are more interesting when we travel rather than just receiving toys or other presents. We’re making memories rather than collecting junk we won’t use very long.
Our goal is to be debt-free. We have no car payments. We have paid off one credit card this year. Two more to go! We have a separate banking account for household bills. All bills and investments are on autopay so I never even see that money to reallocate it. We have $1000 in savings. I have a separate bank account for my business. Being debt-free will mean financial independence and more freedom to travel!

How Can We Afford Large Family Travel?

How We Get There:

I often plan trips months in advance and use incognito windows to do my research for airfare, accommodations, etc.

For airfare, I mostly use Skyscanner, Airhint, and Airfarewatchdog to find deals.

I have to be somewhat flexible with dates and times to get the best deals. When searching, I sometimes know when I want to travel, but not necessarily where. I’m also a member of many local travel groups where deals and tips are generously shared.

Sometimes, I just have to bite the cost, like flying to Rome for Christmas. I didn’t get the greatest deal, but it’s offset by the amazing deals I got to Portugal for Thanksgiving and the good deals I got for Greece and London.

Traveling in autumn is cheaper than summer and the weather is usually much nicer. Winter and spring are a bit chilly for us and we have to pack more layered clothing, but the prices are better then too. Summer is usually too hot!

Where We Stay:

I almost exclusively use Booking.com for hotels and apartments.

We like to rent apartments with kitchens so we can cook meals, or at least breakfasts, ourselves.

We sometimes stay in two hotel rooms in larger cities we’ve traveled. I like the hotels that include breakfast. The girls love having their own room and Alex stays with us on a sofa bed or rollaway.

We tend to rent places farther away from the main attractions or the downtown areas. It’s often cheaper and quieter. We walk or occasionally take public transportation to get around.

What We Eat:

We try to limit eating out to save money.

It’s healthier, cheaper, and familiar to prepare our own food. Having a picky child or husband can be a damper on eating out anyway!

Breakfast

We often cook breakfast in our apartments or eat at the hotel. We encourage the kids to stuff themselves to last until a late lunch! Often, apples are provided for guests and we grab a few of those to hold us over.

Snacks

We don’t do snacks at home and we seldom do snacks when we travel. It’s amazing how distracted kids aren’t nearly as hungry as bored kids!

If we have a car, we often have coolers and bags of food for the ride.

Like I mentioned above, we will get or buy fresh fruit to hold us over during the day since we use so much energy walking.

We bring our own water bottles to refill or purchase snacks at stores, which is way cheaper than at vending machines or restaurants or inside tourist places.

I sometimes reward the kids (and me!) with yummy treats after especially grueling sites – like, we spent almost ‎€25 on five delicious cold granitas after touring the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

Lunch

We often dine out at lunchtime, which is cheaper than dinnertime.

We usually get several dishes to share which is cheaper and easier than everyone ordering six adult dishes and nowhere to put leftovers!

This encourages the kids to try new tastes and textures.

Dinner

If kids get hungry before bedtime, we buy them street food or snacks at a grocery store.

My husband and I have made it a fun tradition to walk out for date nights for drinks and a light dinner after settling the kids in our hotel room or in their beds in the apartment.

It’s worth every penny to be alone after walking all over a city with four kids.

What We Do:

We focus on history, culture, and art rather than entertainment.

You will never see us at a Disney park. I know many others like that, but it’s not for us.

Most museums and many sites in Europe are free for kids under 18! And remember, they’re almost all closed on Sundays and Mondays.

I like to order tickets online in advance to save time (even if there are surcharges, it’s just worth it not to stand in line for hours!). We like combo tickets that allow us to see more than one attraction at a discounted price.

We really adore museums. The kids get so excited when they see something on a museum wall or platform that they’ve only seen in books or on a show.

I don’t understand people who don’t like art or science or history.

What do they talk about? What do they do?

I guess some people have different priorities and do different stuff. That’s cool.

What We Buy:

We don’t go shopping.

We don’t travel to go shopping. We even avoid the shopping districts if we can.

We buy few souvenirs. We never buy clothing. We don’t travel for shopping excursions. We’re not interested. We step quickly through the touristy areas where booths, shops, street vendors call out, hawking their wares.

It’s fun to see, but usually not worth the money. We often don’t have space to carry much home.

We prefer to carry memories.

We do buy food that we fall in love with – usually at an airport if we fly home, or at a local grocery store if we drive.

We like to buy local beer and wine that we can’t find here.

We brought home lots of olive products from Greece.

I brought home so much tea and Doctor Who stuff from London, I almost couldn’t close my suitcase!

We’ve been able to see many of Europe’s major cities and regions this last year and we have other trips planned. We love this life.

How do you save money when you travel?

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From Only Child to Large Family

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December 15, 2014 By Jennifer Lambert 2 Comments

I am an only child. Life is certainly focused differently in small families.

Dinners were small, quiet affairs and we always had leftovers.

Finding a table in a restaurant or a hotel room spontaneously in a busy city while traveling was no big deal.

I was often alone but I seldom felt lonely – until it was taught to me by society as I grew up.

We have four children.

Our home is noisy. There is little privacy. The dynamics are interesting.

There are SO MANY unexpected things that I never thought about growing up in a mere family of three.

I polled my friends and readers for some of the things they notice having a larger family.

Having a large family offers some challenges that small families don’t face.

Budgeting

Money is a big complaint. Few people with a small family seem to understand that even having three or four kids compared to one or two is a big game changer to a budget.

We simply don’t have any extra money left over to meet friends out for a meal or the movies. We have to be more creative and frugal for gatherings and get-togethers.

“We cannot afford to make random trips to dinner or the movies. It never fails we have friends with 1 or 2 kids that always want to go places that it is expensive for a large family to go.” ~Deanna

“It takes an act of God for me and my hubby and five kids to meet you and… whoever at the… whatever.” ~DaLynn

More money is needed for so many things with a large family. More food. More medical and dental care and/or insurance. More extracurricular activities. More clothing. More utilities. More More More. There never seems to be enough no matter how creative and frugal a mom is.

“The big purchases that you don’t really think about…bigger car, bigger table, more furniture in the living room. Glasses or shoes or braces or music lessons or sports fees…you just don’t think about the cost until you are paying for 4 or 5 at a time. Extra cost of housing, utilities…just imagine the water cost of 7 people showering everyday, or the constant running of the washer and dryer.” ~Erin

“I just don’t have the funds to buy gifts for everyone [for Christmas]. I purchase for the kids in the family, but they are low-cost gifts. Budgeting as a whole is something the smaller families within my larger extended family don’t understand…” ~Heather

Sharing

Kids in large families have to share.

Bedrooms, bathrooms, clothing, food, toys.

Handmedowns are expected for the younger kids and new items are a rare treat.

Nothing ever just belongs to someone. There is no privacy and nothing is sacred or personal. Including me. I never had to share anything, growing up. And that’s hard.

There are only two sides of me on the sofa during read aloud time. I make sure everyone can see the pictures, if there are any. Usually, Alex insists on sitting beside me and one of the little girls is on the other side. Recently, we had a sibling have a jealous fit about my lap. My kids are stocky and I’m not. There is only room enough for one kid to sit on my lap at a time. Maybe I should sell tickets.

Time is also at a premium. Most moms have to plan well and keep track of all the family activities, especially as kids grow older and develop interests that take them out of the house, often in many different directions at the same time.

“Nothing is simple. What one person does often affects nine others.” ~Kendra

Traveling

A bigger vehicle. We had to get the minivan after our third child arrived. Three carseats couldn’t fit in the backseat of our Hyandai Santa Fe.

Two or more hotel rooms when traveling. It’s often easier and cheaper to rent an apartment or house when traveling. Then we can cook “at home” and not worry about who likes what or having enough or if there are leftovers, what to do with them.

Airfare is just ridiculous and not within most large family budgets at all. I can’t imagine flying all six of us anywhere. I listen to many families discuss their travel plans with one or two lap babies or just a couple children and it’s doable for them, but never for us.

“As a military family, the cost of getting us ALL somewhere is huge. It’s cheaper to have them come visit us, than to get all of us home to visit them.” ~Heather

Waiting forever for a table big enough at restaurants (and often having that gratuity added on despite potential poor service). It’s just stressful eating out. My food is often a gelatinous cold mess by the time I get everyone situated with their food cut up and all. Meals are chaotic and loud and I get embarrassed when people stare because I automatically think they are judging our manners and volume. They may just think we’re gorgeous and smell great, but I doubt it.

“It’s hard to imagine just how accidentally loud 7 people are.” ~Erin

Entertainment

I love how Europe has family tickets that actually do accommodate our family of two adults and four children (ages 4, 7, 8, and 14 at time of post). Many American museums and amusements have membership for a family of four and then you can tack on extra tickets but then the price sky rockets! Disney will probably never be an option for us (and I’m ok with that but my husband is not).

“I’d like businesses to be more flexible with their ‘family plans’ or deals. A membership or a coupon or a package is usually ‘2 adults and 2 children.’ Uh…? I have FOUR children! I’ll gladly pay MORE for my membership because I know I have more children. But I often don’t have the option.” ~Crystal

Huge blowout birthday parties like have become the norm in America are just not feasible when you have a large family. We have three spring birthdays and it would just drain us if we spent hundreds of dollars on presents, entertainment, those amusement parks, or whatever the trend is there days. We don’t even have the luxury to have a huge home party event with extended family since we always live so far away.

And I have felt like this SO MANY TIMES:

“I feel unable to really express frustrations with many of these things because… after all… I wanted them all, I asked for it. Yet families with just two children are free to complain about how hard it is.” DaLynn

No one needs more mommy guilt.

No matter what your family size, there are bad days.

“You can buy a jet ski when you’re 60 and use it every day for the rest of your life, but you only get a few years to be with your babies…So ‘no jet ski this year’ is kind of my mantra when the mommy guilt tries to take over.” ~Erin

Be a “No Jet Ski” kinda mom.

Really love your family, no matter the size. No guilt.

Linking up: Happy and Blessed Home

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Curriculum Planning with Multiple Kids

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June 13, 2013 By Jennifer Lambert 11 Comments

Welcome back to the How to Begin Homeschooling series!

Did you miss anything?

See Part 1: Getting started with homeschool or

Part 2: Determine your teaching method and your kids’ learning styles!

Here’s Part 3: Curriculum planning with multiple kids

Coming up! Part 4: Homeschooling as a lifestyle

My kids are 12, 7, 6, and 3.

When it was just Elizabeth for our first and second years of homeschooling, it was fun and new and we could do anything we wanted! I was pregnant with Victoria and then she was a great easy baby so we could take her anywhere anytime.

Having one or two kids is a piece of cake. After three or more kids, then they outnumber you and can plan an ambush. Therefore, you must be proactive and plan your attack or you will lose.

After having Kate, it all fell apart. I couldn’t keep the house spotless anymore {I’ll have to tell you about that phase!}. I struggled with schedules and I was late to everything.

Later, Alex came along, but by then, I had come to terms with our life.

We follow a classical school method.

It keeps me sane. We veered off a bit the last couple years, but we’re back to classical and it feels good.

So, where to begin with so many curriculum and scheduling options?

When Elizabeth was 4-going-on-15, I discovered The Well-Trained Mind. I read that book cover to cover and adored it. I thank God I found something so comprehensive right away and could latch onto that and run with it.

I realize it might not work for everyone, but it’s a great launch point. It has recommended schedules so you can judge if you’re doing too much or too little for each age.

Obviously, after you’ve determined your favorite teaching methods and your children’s learning styles, you can search for resources that fit those.

I love reading lists. Since our homeschool is based on history and literature, I acquire lots and lots of books and request a gazillion at a time from our library.

And there will be loss and prayer and tears and searching until you find what exactly works for everyone. Just pray it through. It’s a journey. It’ll be ok.

My husband worried about all the tries and fails of our curriculum over the years. But if it doesn’t work, I won’t force the issue. Why should I when there are so many wonderful options out there? We’re at a time in such freedom of homeschooling and the wonders of technology that we literally have the world at our fingertips and we can and should utilize everything we can to educate our children to the best of our ability.

We’ve finally gotten to a point of comfort and confidence in our homeschool. I pray that you do too! {I fear Alex may throw a monkey wrench in the whole mess! His personality is very different from the girls’.}

How do we function with multiple age children?

Do you ever wonder about the little red school house idea? Remember the school in Little House on the Prairie? How did they do it?

Do school together as much as possible!

Bible, art, history, and science work well for this. And schedule, schedule, plan, and schedule! {But be flexible!}

What about subjects that aren’t so easy to do as a family? Schedule those in so you can work with a child while others are doing assignments on their own.

Here are some of our fails and successes. Of course, what doesn’t work for our family may be perfect for yours!

Bible

We really enjoy Studying God’s Word during her grammar years. They offer workbooks from pre-school to high school.

We loved Grapevine Studies and We Choose Virtues when the kids were young.

The girls liked the comic-book style activity pages in Bible Study Guide.

We’ve read through Hero Tales and The Dig for Kids. Copywork is great for these!
What is your favorite Bible study for your family or homeschool?>

History

See our detailed post about our history studies.

We love Story of the World for elementary ages. We’re now using Tapestry of Grace since we complete so much of the whole cycle the first time ’round.

I love the chronological study of history that our social studies and language arts centers around. It’s great. It takes lots of pressure off and the read alouds are perfect for the whole family. Even my husband loves it after dinner.

We’re flexible and don’t always keep to the weekly schedule {gasp!} Sometimes, we’ll take more or less time depending on interest. Especially since we cycle through several times, so it’s easy to move on if we’re not completely finished with the unit.

Liz really can’t stand to do the projects and the girls love those. They’re finally getting old enough that I can just advise and monitor and they can complete them on their own.

We use notebooking from Notebooking Pages or we make our own with Notebooking Publisher. Sometimes, I use the pages Tapestry of Grace provides.

Science

We especially love Apologia Science – and have never really used anything else since it suits all our needs perfectly. The elementary series is great for the whole family – and the junior high and high school books are comprehensive and fun too!

Math

See our detailed post about how we study math.

We do utilize math journals and notebooking. We focus on a math concept together periodically. We love Life of Fred and the whole family loves the stories. It’s sneaky math. Khan Academy is a good supplement. We’ve used and loved Singapore Math for elementary, but are currently facing a dilemma for upper level math.

Language Arts

See how I don’t teach English.

Following a classical method for English language study begins with First Language Lessons. There are multiple volumes that include all language arts you need!

All About Learning has great reading and spelling programs.

Logic of English is a great comprehensive ELA program. We reviewed IEW. I’m not a huge fan of workbooks, but there are some options that kids just love.

There are many great notebooking tools for grammar and writing. We just read LOTS and narrate it – orally, artistically, or in writing. Older kids reading to the younger ones cheers my heart.

Foreign Language

We focus on Latin ‘round here.

We also have ASL, Spanish, French, and German each week. The kids love it! It’s fun to learn language together. I am amazed by how they soak it up like sponges.

All Those Extras

How in the world do we fit in the extra things?

Music, art, nature study, exercise…

Liz took formal piano lessons from a wonderful teacher who lives down the street. Tori takes guitar and Katie takes piano. I’m sure Alex will eventually take some music lessons.

We love love love ARTistic Pursuits ! We love composer and artist studies and try to do something weekly. And we currently use art and music units from Harmony Fine Arts.

We are very interested in this new music appreciation study: SQUILT.

As for nature study, we love Handbook of Nature Study. The End.

My kids love living books for nature and animals and biographies about musicians and artists.

Exercise or PE? Tori, Kate, and Alex take gymnastics classes each week. Tori is quite the little track star, running 2 5K’s with Dad this spring. Kate loves soccer in the fall. Liz is in Civil Air Patrol and must keep up with PT scores each month.

And get ’em outside to play! Schedule this into your day. Sunshine and fresh air are important! Go to parks. Go on hikes. Go to pools. Play ball. Organize a weekly homeschool play group with some of your friends. Our kids also join Dad in the gardening and yard work. It counts!

What About the Littles?

Babies are easy and older children are often very forgiving. But when they become toddlers and preschoolers, you have to get proactive and occupy those little monsters. And keep the older sibs’ history projects and science experiments well out of reach. {Who knew they could reach that far?!}

Check out my beginning homeschool post!

I’ve known families with littles who didn’t schedule or plan and just allowed for free play until school age, and that may work for you, but I think everyone misses out on so much in that environment. My kids are often bored or destructive if they don’t have some direction. Weekends are crazy for that very reason.

With so many wonderful Montessori and Tot School resources floating around on blogs and websites, you’re doing a disservice to your family if you leave that baby or toddler to him or herself. And you’ll have so many more messes to clean up. Also, schedule for older siblings to spend “baby time” as part of school time. Train your older children to be a “mama’s helper” and this will benefit all.

Organizing

Circle Time

We do “circle time” together most mornings. All of us together…we do our Bible lesson and read alouds, focusing on memorization, recitation, narration. The littles learn so much during this time. We also work on calendar notebooks, sing our morning songs, and love on each other. Sometimes we do yoga together. We learn facts together with occasional calendar themes. We discuss science, literature, and history we’re studying. This often just transitions into regular assigned work so smoothly. Liz has gotten to where she doesn’t participate as much with circle time. After Bible, she uses the time to get ’er done since they’re all occupied.

Workboxes

We have used several different workbox systems over the years. It’s great for planning, visualizing what needs to be accomplished, and what has been completed.

Sue set up the workboxes for her autistic son to visualize his work. Her system calls for 12 plastic shoeboxes on a wire rack, but why not beautify it? No space? I’ve seen work folders that follow the same concept. I’ve seen some gorgeous examples of shelving and bins that could work with any budget. Google “workboxes” because I can’t list them all here. Also, you can find great free cards for labeling if you so choose. We don’t really label anymore.

Right now, we have 9-cube units from Target that work as our “boxes.” I put baskets, trays, activities, or books into the cubes and that’s what the kids work on for each week. They choose the order they do their assignments. I monitor to make sure they do what they need to do. Otherwise, Kate would do all the science and Latin and Tori would do all that math and they wouldn’t ever get to history or writing.

This is what Tori’s and Kate’s cubes look like this week. They do the same work, so I just double up in the cubes. They’re the perfect size.

Top row: We have fractions. Then Spanish and Latin.

Middle row: I have some money cards and money math pages. Then I have a Montessori letter tray and activities. We’re finishing up Land Animals science.

Bottom row: Then our Harmony Fine Arts notebooks and art journals. We have Draw Write Now. Last, we have life cycles and Charlotte’s Web unit (review soon!).

The girls place any completed pages in the trays on top. The frames on the wall are to keep me on track with weekly themes. Their notebooks are propped on the floor beside the unit. We got through and place their pages in the notebooks when the trays are full.

Alex has a unit too with preschool activities. Toys are in the plastic bins and he lays out his Montessori rugs for his activities to stay contained.

I have a bigger red pocket chart now that we put up all our week’s work.

Liz has a 6-cube unit laid horizontally so she has a big shelf on top for her desk supplies. She has one cubby for every subject (science, math, history, language arts, Bible, Latin) and a big lovely thrifted basket beside it for art. Her notebooks are propped up beside her unit and she organizes her own now when her tray gets full. I give her a printable checklist each week.