All About Us

Welcome to se7en + 1, and we hope you enjoy your visit:

We are a family of Se7en + 1 kids, we live in Fish Hoek, which is a beach town in Cape Town, South Africa. We homeschool and do lots of arts and crafts, and reading. We blog snapshots of our life that will hopefully provide some encouragement and ideas for families with young kids. I don’t blog about the nitty gritty daily grumbles, there are enough blogs about that, we try and keep our blog fun and positive and a bit of a haven to come to for some family fun inspiration.

Our blog has a weekly rhythm:

Monday Munchies: Recipes and cook book reviews that our family have enjoyed.
Tuesday Art Tasks: We do a weekly craft that is usually suitable for all ages since I can’t imagine any of my kids being willing to not participate!!!
Working Wednesdays: On Wednesdays I usually blog about school stuff or organizing life with kids.
Thoughtful Thursdays: On Thursdays we usually blog about parenting and life with more than a few kids.
Fabulous Fridays: We have a Fun Carnival going where we link to a couple of great posts around the blog world.
Saturday Spots: On Saturdays we post reviews of places we visit or show you spots around our house that we thank you would like to see.
Sunday Snippets: Sundays we review and link to resources that would be useful for Sunday School and Family Bible Study.

Since I blog late at night once the kidlets are in bed our posts often lag behind their relevant days… but don’t worry if you hang on a while the post you are waiting for will come around!!! Meanwhile a lot of our posts are question driven so if you have homeschool questions or “life with little kids” questions please feel free to ask away on our contact page. I will respond given time!!! I don’t claim to be an expert but I do promise to share, straight from the trenches, our experiences and what works for us.

Otherwise apart from our Weekly rhythm we have a couple of feature posts:

Celebrity Calendar: We blog a list of events and days to celebrate in the week ahead.
GiveAways and Swaps: We love these, look out for them, we usually have one on the go.
Practical Parties: We have a lot of parties round here and we have covered heaps of party themes and are building up a party resource list over time.
The Week That Was: Is a weekly post that summarizes the things we have been getting up to.
Home Truths: These are bits and pieces about us and life with a whole bunch of kids.

Since our blog is all about our family, lets meet the kids:

Hood #1: Age 12 and Avid Reader. Lover of Shakespeare and trumpeting. Spends his time writing and illustrating epics.

Hood #2: Age 10 and Avid Reader. Inventor of note and lover of gadgets. He is mad about electronics and kitchen science.

Hood #3: Age 8 and Avid Reader. Crafter of note. Loves stitching and sewing and anything pretty.

Hood #4: Age 6 and Avid Reader. Mad about sports. Player of note, without him we wouldn’t need toys!!! With a wild imagination he generates a whole new world every day!!!

Hood #5: Age 5 and Avid book lover, especially cook books. He is our resident chef and active partaker in meal preparation – and there is a lot of that around here.

Hood #6: Age 3 and Avid Book Lover. Mad about animals, the wilder the better. And you have never met anyone who can snip with a pair of scissors like this one… she has been snipping madly for two years straight!!!

Hood #7: Just 2 and Avid Book Lover. Has a great way of speaking, that I don’t want to forget: Whatever you say she responds with No, “and the last word you said.” Would you like something to drink? “No, drink.” Did you have a good sleep? “No, sleep” and so on… positive or negative it all starts with a no!!!

Hood #7 + 1: Almost four months and is not too familiar with books, though he does sit through a lot of stories. He is mad about arm waving and totally smothered in love!!! He has a brilliant laugh and it is well worth provoking!!!

That’s us!!! Really we hope you enjoy your visit and take the time to say “hi.” We would love to hear from you.

This is the end of our About update, and the start of our previous About page. You are welcome to scroll down and see the Hoods when they were a whole lot shorter!!!

Welcome to our blog. I hope you enjoy your visit…

Our blog is all about the life and times of a se7en kid family. And covers the things we love the most:

reading
cooking
crafting
arting
schooling
surviving

We have a weekly rhythm to our blog:

Monday Munchies
Tuesday Art Tasks
Wednesday Practical Parties
Thursday Se7en do School or Organizing Se7en or Home Truths
Friday The Week That Was
Saturday Spot
Sunday Snippet

But since there are Se7en Little Hoods, all blogging occurs in the early hours of the morning and often a post gets posted the day following the event… Probably the easiest way to explore past posts is to click on the sitemap button where all the posts are listed according to category.

Let’s meet the se7en hoods all over again:

Hood 1. Dragon Boy: 11 years old and avid reader. He is still mad about Shakespeare and Roald Dahl, and is busy writing and illustrating heaps of his own books at the moment. He loves making crafty goodies and blogs about them at Owl Books.

Hood 2. Gadget Boy: 9 years old and avid reader. Still inventing all sorts of gadgets. And is very handy to have around because he knows more about computers than I could ever dream.

Hood 3. Fairy Girl: 7 years old and avid reader. Loves all friends and dancing and girly girly stuff! She is very good at packing for picnics and any spot is a good one for her.

Hood 4. Artist Boy: 5 years old and avid reader. Wild, passionate artist who creates more cut-out paper-scapes in a day than you can ever imagine.

Hood 5. Celebrity Chef: 4 years old and avid reader of cook books. Loves cooking and being a chef. You can find all his posts on his own Celebrity Chef Page.

Hood 6. Wild Child: 2 years old and avid reader. Loves drawing and chopping with scissors more than most. Crazy for real live animals and since we don’t have pets she finds her own.

Hood 7, Surfer Girl: Almost one and avid page turner. Loves her siblings and anything anyone else is doing. Her favorite things are whistles and balls, not to mention surfing on the kitchen tray. She just discovered she can make it up and down the front stairs and suddenly the great outdoors is part of her every day world.

This is the end of our about update, and the start of our first about page.

This is the reason for our name: We are a family with seven kids…

Who will be referred to here as the se7en little hoodies.

And here are seven facts about us: * We live in Cape Town. * We Homeschool using Sonlight. * We are Bible believing Christians. * We have all our kids born at home. * We drive an ancient VW kombi. * We eat organic vegetables. * We live in a Blue House.

As a mom of se7en little hoods I get asked a LOT of questions: so this is where I plan to present the answers… Indeed I would like to answer all questions with: “Check out the answer on my blog…” just so I don’t have to keep repeating myself… over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Questions like: * How to homeschool 7 kids… * How to get 7 kids to bed on time… * How to parent 7 kids… * How to travel with 7 kids… * How to feed 7 kids… * How to keep 7 kids busy all day… * How to keep 7 kids quiet during the sermon on a Sunday morning…

Here are 7 things we love: * Reading * Cooking * Arting * Crafting * Traveling * Music * Chilling

Hopefully you will enjoy following the escapades of the se7en little hoods as we travel along the journey of life. Meet the Hoods:

#1. DRAGON BOY: Avid reader… Loves Shakespeare and Roald Dahl and trumpeting. Mad about dragons. Published author and artist. Inventor of “draw pets”, crafter of miniature homes and owner of his own “Owl Books Inc.” – an extremely prolific publishing company!!! He is 10 and in grade 5.

#2. GADGET BOY: Avid reader… Passionate about electronics and all things gadgety. Invented the iphone long before it was invented. Can do anything on a computer – never let him loose near your machine, it will never be the same again. A great plotter and schemer of plans. He is 9 and in grade 3.

#3. FAIRY GIRL: Avid reader… Adores Felicity Wishes, paper dolls, paper crafts and dancing. Definitely not shy and loves being around people – all people and any people. Brilliant at soccer. She is 7 and in grade 1.

#4. LOUD BOY: Avid reader… Play champion, from the moment he stirs till the moment he sleeps everyday he plays and plays and plays. Scenario builder and chief unpacker of anything and everything. Loves arting and is our potential painter. Super Action man loves riding his bike and swimming. He is just 5 and doing Pre-K.

#5. STEALTH BOY: Avid reader… Quiet and shy… but like any stealth bomber can create a whole lot of havoc before anyone notices. A chef in the making – he has never eaten a meal he didn’t help prepare. He is 3.

#6. WILD GIRL: Avid reader… Hunter of animals… has brought five little wild ducklings, a mole and a frog into our home all in one day and happily talks to wild birds – small birds (not) like crows – in the garden. Mad about fresh air and rambling around in the outdoors. Loves drawing and is fairly frantic about anything with scissors. Just turned 2.

#7. HAPPY GIRL: Avid book eater… Smiles and giggles and gurgles and doesn’t really sleep a whole lot yet! Will not part with her frog. Loves watching the laundry dry in the wind… and loves being the center of the party. (Almost 6 months).

36 Comments

36 responses so far ↓

1 juicy tots // Oct 7, 2008 at 10:11 pm

WOW! what a lovely family and what great interesting little people. Well done you. I have 3 wonderful children myself and have the utmost admiration for you. It looks like such a happy home, I have bookmarked your blog!
2 Cassandra purshouse // Jan 21, 2009 at 4:18 pm

Hi, wow, your blog is awesome…and you live in SA. I’m Cassandra, a lucky mother of three amazing children, but we’re really hoping to have three more. We live in Randburg, Guateng and have just started homeschooling through CLASS.
I teach kiddies craft workshops, make pinatas and produce kiddies craft kits. The kids and I also grow and sell organic herbs. I am so glad I found your site, it’s absolutely wonderful. Be well and God Bless
3 se7en // Jan 21, 2009 at 5:15 pm

Hi there, pleased to meet you too – glad you like our blog!
4 Grace Lee // Jan 28, 2009 at 11:40 am

Been blog hopping… and… PHEW! Amazing little … or big I should say family! Keep it up and God Bless!
5 se7en // Jan 28, 2009 at 12:04 pm

Nice to meet you! Glad you enjoyed your visit!!!
6 Marina // Feb 2, 2009 at 6:29 pm

thanks for the pinata idea… i have 15 mini pinatas drying as we speak for Liam’s 7th birthday on Saturday!!

you have gorgeous kids and i really enjoyed browsing your blog!!
7 se7en // Feb 2, 2009 at 10:10 pm

Hi M, Your pinata’s sound fantastic, I hope you all have a great birthday together. So glad you are enjoying our blog!
8 Christelle // Feb 6, 2009 at 1:58 pm

Hi! So glad I found your blog(by accident as I was looking for a Fingerpaint recipe!) I live in Krugersdorp Gauteng, have 3 boys and is just starting to homeschool my eldest on a trial basis as he only turns 6 this year. I feel overwhelmed though by the huge amount of curriculum choices out there! How did you decide, and could you recommend any? Needs to be cost effective as well..
9 se7en // Feb 6, 2009 at 4:34 pm

Hi C, Glad you found us! I visited everyone I knew who home schooled and weighed up the pro’s and cons… The one that just fitted us right was Sonlight… we have used it always and loved it. People often say to me its pricey – but all the work is done for you. It comes in a box with all the directions – no preparation time for the already busy mom. And no spending ours trying to source materials. Otherwise do a google for homeschoolers in your area you should be able to find some local support groups in your area.
10 Shirley Ann Vels // Feb 7, 2009 at 1:50 pm

I love browzing your site. I am also a homeschool mom, I live just up the road in GlenCairn. I would like to invite you to visit my blog site as I blog on faith, family and home schooling. http://shirleyathome.blogspot.com
11 se7en // Feb 12, 2009 at 7:33 am

Hi glad you enjoyed our site and thanks for the invite to visit yours!
12 Joy Murry // Mar 6, 2009 at 12:13 am

Hi! “The father person: gave me your blog – it’s fantastic – how do you manage it! Well done! Your kids are gorgeous..I hope we get to meet them one day! Blessings to you from Joy (and Douglas and the PS who are you using for blogging?
13 se7en // Mar 6, 2009 at 2:16 pm

Hi J, glad you like it! We just started blogging for fun and it turns out we totally love it! Who are we using? I am not sure what you mean … wordpress is our “editor”?
14 Abby // Mar 12, 2009 at 2:16 am

Hi

Just seen you have updated the "about" section. It is great you kept the old one too so we can see how the kids have changed. Your littlest hood looks full of mischief!
15 se7en // Mar 12, 2009 at 7:12 am

Hay A, nice to have you back again… That littlest hood is definitely not one for just observing, she is in with the fray in every way!!! Hood #6 is the most mischief at the moment, my goodness she keeps me on the run… but then that would be “two” for you!
16 Wendi // Mar 26, 2009 at 7:49 pm

Hi, I smiled when I came upon your site. We, too, have 7 children and get and answer all of the same questions on a daily basis. As homeschoolers, we are out and about during the daytime hours sometimes and get tons of looks and questions. "No school today?", etc. We have 5 girls and 2 boys ages 14, 12, 9,8,7,5,3; pretty similar in ages to yours. We live in southwestern PA. LOVED your "se7en" logo-precious. You are an inspiration to us all! Wendi
17 se7en // Mar 26, 2009 at 9:07 pm

Hay W, How lovely to meet you! How funny that we are living the same life on the far side of the world! You sound about two years down the line from me! Thanks for stopping by!
18 Huisvrou // Jun 21, 2009 at 12:21 pm

Wish I could get “organized”!! Still wondering wether my children will ever be ready for “grown-up-world”?
Have 4…. but definitely feel the urge for 2 more (at least), but still waiting on dad to feel the need.
Came onto your site via our yahoo-group
Thanks a lot for sharing – will definitely peek in some more – just wish more material in the “relaxed” and “unschooling” way were available in Afrikaans…..
19 se7en // Jun 21, 2009 at 2:45 pm

Hi H, Glad you stopped by! I hope you find some fun stuff on our blog – it is always nice to find some local input! Take Care and Have a Good Week!
20 Dawn // Jun 28, 2009 at 2:45 pm

Just found your blog and I love it! I am a homeschooling mom (of just two little girls). Love the crafty things, the party things. Too bad you live on the other side of the world – sounds like we have a lot in common. Hard to find other moms around here that are into being crafty and homeschooling. I’m looking forward to following your blog.
21 se7en // Jun 28, 2009 at 2:53 pm

Hi there D, Nice to meet you too! I am so glad you like some of the things we get up to!!! Take Care!
22 vera // Sep 10, 2009 at 11:49 am

got your website via a fam member of yours and to my surprise when i went in found that my 13 yrl old has been on your site. hence the questions of home schooling ect what a lovely site im hooked. thanks
23 se7en // Sep 11, 2009 at 3:39 am

Hi V, Nice to meet you!
24 Southern Gal // Dec 27, 2009 at 6:25 am

OK. Obviously you don’t live near the beach that I do! I just found your about page. My daughter served on a summer mission trip with Global Expeditions to Botswana a few years ago. She had to fly to SA and then take a bus all the way to Maun. She loves that country.

And I homeschool(ed) my children. I am using Sonlight this year with my youngest who is in second grade. Love the reading aloud. Nice to ‘meet’ you.
25 se7en // Dec 27, 2009 at 8:22 am

Hi Southern Gal, We live a two minute walk from Fish Hoek beach in Cape Town… beautiful family beach where everyone needs to be in the Summer!!!
26 ruth browne // Jan 31, 2010 at 9:23 am

Hi again se7en+1 Haven’t seen you around much since we shared a church. Stumbled on your blog by accident, then started recognising faces This is a great site!
27 se7en // Jan 31, 2010 at 9:03 pm

Hay R, That’s a surprise!!! I so was not expecting to hear from you!! Say Hi to your family with love from all of us!!!
28 Trudie // Mar 30, 2010 at 9:28 pm

Just found your blog! Love it, I am also a Cape Town mommy who is planning to homeschool my little girl, we started already with Tot School. What a wonderful gift you are giving to your children! God Bless.
29 se7en // Mar 30, 2010 at 11:23 pm

HI Trudie, So nice to meet you!!! Someone who understands “local is lekker” without any explanation!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!!
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