This is possibly the longest blog break of all time, I took an actual summer break from the internet… and I missed it. So I am back. For the longest time I have wanted to update our introduction and our blog and get back to speed on the blogging bus.
This blog has always been about my journey as I raise my kids, from all the stories read on the couch, to getting up and getting out the door on another adventure… endless adventurous hikes and even more open water swims…
The kids have grown over the years, from a collection of little hoods to a wonderful gang… they appear to have survived homeschooling. While the three youngest hoods are finishing up with high school, two of the gang are in college, one is in university and one is completing his Master’s Degree. We have a pastor, a lawyer, two kids in retail and a volunteer fireman. We have an ultra runner, a trail runner, in fact a load of runners, a cyclist and a hockey player… and I would never have imagined any of these for my kids. You cannot know the future, but faithful parenting and buckets of prayer seems to gather them from a collection of little people underfoot to really nice adults to be around…
For the last two years I have been raising funds for the I Am Water Foundation, a local organisation that gives children from Cape Town and surrounds a two day ocean experience, with snorkelling and rock pooling… and a load of ocean learning and love. These children wouldn’t normally have access to an experience like this and it is life-changing for many of them.
I Am Water
We have always used our blog for the greater good, we have raised libraries for under privileged children in Cape town and surrounds. Volunteering is a way of life and have attended hundreds of beach cleanups and planted loads of trees. Recently, I have been swimming to raise funds for ocean loving non-profit organisations. I can only imagine swimming my heart out, for a great cause.
Brand Ambassador for One Life Swim It.
Previously Brand Ambassador for the Best Balega Socks (Balega Impi 2019, 2020, 2021) and the Sport Science Institute of South Africa, who trained me from sedentary to the Two Oceans Half Marathon.
Write For Several Publications
Over the years I have written for several publications and lately contribute Book Reviews and loads of fun ideas to
Wild Kids Digital Magazine.
Books, Books, Books
Review books for several publishers including:
Penguin Random House, Penguin Kids, and Penguin Young Adults.
As well as:
Struik Nature, Lapa Uitgewers and Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Years ago, when we began blogging, our se7en kids were small and life was busy, very busy. We added just one more kid to the gang to make it se7en + 1 and then settled in to living our very best lives. Just a blink and the kids are all grown.
Thousands of arts and crafts… at our Complete Craft Collection. As well asMasses of Recipes…and Quick Kitchen Ideas!!! AND Loads of Adventures with and without Kids Around Cape Town and Beyond. Not to mention raising eight kids, means quite a few blog posts on parenting!!!
Scroll Down Here to See More Welcome Pages… Stepping Back in time…
We are an environmentally friendly, homeschooling family with se7en+1 kids and we blog from our seaside town, Fish Hoek, just south of Cape Town in South Africa. We are a lifestyle blog and we write about our life and times as a family with a gang of kids. We blog about fun things to do in Cape Town, the environment, hiking and the great outdoors. We blog about green living, volunteering and environmental issues. We read tons of books together and we love sharing our latest reads with our followers.
Let’s Meet the Gang
We have been blogging away since 2008, when we had only se7en kids. This post is an update to our previous home pages, feel free to scroll down and see the children grow up.
We are a family with se7en + 1 kids living in the seaside town of Fish Hoek just south of Cape Town, South Africa. We blog about our life and times – the things we get up to and the projects that we are involved in. We are a Bible believing family and we blog about parenting and how we get things done with our crew. We also blog about food, we love trying new tastes and flavors, plenty of recipes and cookbook reviews. We love everything to do with traveling, but the reality is that we are mostly tourists in our own town. We love visiting restaurants and sites, not to mention some of the hidden secrets of Cape Town.
And let’s meet the gang:
Hood #1: Is se7enteen and an avid book lover. He also loves photography, trumpeting and filling sketchbooks with drawings and obscure factoids. He enjoys writing and creating worlds for his characters to live in. And need I say LEGO.
Hood #2: Is fifteen and an avid book lover. He loves everything to do with computers, gadgets and science. He is our resident technology guru and loves a good discussion.
Hood #3: Is fourteen and an avid book lover. She is also an avid photographer and loves baking and journaling. Mostly you will find her reading… reading, reading, reading.
Hood #4: Is eleven and an avid book lover. He is wild about the great outdoors and fitness and loves trail running. He enjoys creating comics and is always making things from recycling. He is also our champion player of all things imaginary and lives for LEGO.
Hood #5: Is ten and an avid book lover. He loves making things and projects and he also really enjoys the great outdoors and every thing to do with our local nature reserve. He spends a lot of his free time swimming and reading.
Hood #6: Is eight and an avid book lover. She is all about friends, and lots of them. She also loves making and creating things. Arts and crafts are her first love.
Hood #7: Is se7en and and avid book lover. She is all about construction and homemaking. She loves building houses and homes and everything to do with them… houses big enough to play in and small enough for LEGO mini figures.
Hood #8: Is five and an avid book lover. He is our busiest kid by miles. He absolutely loves hiking and the great outdoors. Everything to do with pirates and LEGO of course.
I am the mom behind the kids, the writer behind the blogger and I am an avid book lover too. I am somewhat of a dreamer and firmly believe that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. I love blogging, and I love doing stuff with my kids. My perfect day would be spent hiking in the great outdoors or an amble on the beach, not to mention reading through a pile of books with my kids.
Is also an avid lover of books. He is the technician behind the blog… and the one that keeps all our wild and imaginative projects within the realm of reality. He is also a great encourager, the one that puts some of our crazy plans into practice and the one that supports us when we do launch a project that seems so much bigger than something we can hope to achieve.
We have been blogging away since 2008, when we had only se7en kids. This post is an update to our previous home pages, feel free to scroll down and see the children grow up.
Hood #7: Is five years old and loves being busy… she is always off setting up something to do: Be it a cooking project in the garden or an art project at the table… paper dolls and stationary. She loves joining us for school and spends a good part of each morning creating “school projects” for herself. She fills her notebooks with pictures of the most incredible dashing and daring princesses. She absolutely loves reading and reads her way through piles of books every day.
Hood #8: Is three and a half. And busy. VERY busy. He leaps from bed in the morning to set up a new world of play… he packs it up for lunch because after lunch he climbs into bed with a mountain of books to devour… then he leaps up again to create a new world. He recently discovered gardening and there is indeed truth in the saying: “They eat what they grow…” A pinch of lettuce from his garden and he will pile his way through an entire bowl of salad to get it!!! I cannot share what he has in his notebooks apart from: eclectic!!! He has always loved mountains of books and especially books with animals in them, did I say dogs!!!
And I don’t normally include the parents in our about pages… but these are the parents…
This post is an update to our “About page” if you would like to step back in time and meet the kids when we began our blog… in the days when there were just se7en kids then scroll on down!!! I can’t believe how they have grown myself!!!
We are a family of “Se7en + 1” kids living in Fish Hoek, a seaside town just south of Cape Town in South Africa. We blog about the heaps of arts and crafts we get up to, as well recipes and homeschooling… We love sharing our weekly outings and showing you spots around our home. On the left hand side of our blog you can find collections of our posts – all our crafts, homeschool posts and outings in one spot. On the right hand side we have special features like our Keyhole Garden and our River Cottage Project. We also have our calendar, highlighting events and celebrations around the world for each day of the year. We love folk to stop by our blog and say hi and if you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
Meanwhile our blog is mostly about our kids and what they get up to do let me introduce them:
Hood #1: He is thirteen and mad about dragons and trumpeting. He loves writing and illustrating… and creating weird and wonderful artworks from the recycle basket. He is avid about reading and loves Shakespeare and Roald Dahl.
Hood #2: Is twelve and all about gadgets and spying… electronics and computers. He loves figuring out how things work and is my resident technology guru. He ia a wild reader and reads anything he can lay his hands on.
Hood #3: Is ten years old. She loves friends and anything pretty. She loves sewing and clothes. And she is an avid reader. Her favorite author is Enid Blyton and she returns to her again and again!!!
Hood #4: Has just turned eight and he is the king of dressing up and really does wear a suit and tie everyday, no matter what!!! He loves history and reading books packed with facts.
Hood #5: Is six years old and our resident celebrity chef… I tell you we need one!!! He is passionate about everything to do with food and cooking and spends hours of his life reading through cookbooks!!!
Hood #6: Is five and a flittery twirly whirly butterfly girl who loves arting and crafting… and wild beasts, which she avidly collects from the garden… always bringing in stray bugs, spiders and snakes… She loves reading “How to…” books.
Hood #7: She is three years old and loves, loves, loves reading and loves reading any number of books every single day!!! There are not enough stories in the world for this girl.
Hood #8: Is twenty one months old. He is our champion player, he loves playing with cars, he loves playing with trucks and he loves dogs!!! He will read anything and everything especially books about farms and especially books that have a dog in them!!!
This post is an update to our “About page” if you would like to step back in time and meet the kids when we began our blog… in the days when there were just se7en kids then scroll on down!!! I can’t believe how they have grown myself!!!
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).
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!
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
Hi there, pleased to meet you too – glad you like our blog!
Been blog hopping… and… PHEW! Amazing little … or big I should say family! Keep it up and God Bless!
Nice to meet you! Glad you enjoyed your visit!!!
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!!
Hi M, Your pinata’s sound fantastic, I hope you all have a great birthday together. So glad you are enjoying our blog!
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..
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.
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
Hi glad you enjoyed our site and thanks for the invite to visit yours!
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 8)
PS who are you using for blogging?
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”?
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!
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!
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
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!
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…..
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!
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.
Hi there D, Nice to meet you too! I am so glad you like some of the things we get up to!!! Take Care!
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
Hi V, Nice to meet you!
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.
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!!!
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!
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!!!
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.
HI Trudie, So nice to meet you!!! Someone who understands “local is lekker” without any explanation!!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!!
what a lovely family you have! love finding other homeschool families whereever they may be in the world. We are in the UK and just wanted to say hi and blessings
jade and family
x
Hi Jade, How nice to meet you – I am so glad you stopped by to say hi!!!
Just found your site and wanted to thank you for creating it and putting so much energy, creativity and love into bringing up your beautiful kids. we have two at the moment, but you make me want to have more and home school them all 🙂
Hi Julie, So good of you to stop by!!! Thanks for visiting, I am just so glad you felt welcome!!! Hope you have a great visit!!!
Hey, I too live in the valley and am friends with many of the homeschooling moms in our area. I am sure our paths will cross someday. I am enjoying discovering your blog. 🙂
Hi M, I am sure we will bump into each other!!! Though it does surprise how few people that we meet on our blog we ever actually meet in person!!! Even so, it is a small world please say hi if you see us!!! Kind of hard to miss a mother with eight kids trailing off in every direction!!! Hope you have a lovely week!!!
I stumbled on your blog and well am decidedly jaw-dropping-ago at it all. I tried to troll around for the how and the why – I am sure that seven kids do not just happen, one has one, and then thinks, mmm, nice idea, and then has another.
At a point then one goes okay we have three/four or what ever and goes, well we cannot actually fit into a normal car anymore, or go to the Spur without getting two tables … and then life takes a bit of a different route.
I am always interested in they why … if there is a a blog post like that, can you drop me a note with it, as I would love to read it.
Hay Reluctant Mom, Always good to meet a fellow South African Blogger, where you can say howzit and lekker in the same sentence and still be understood!!! We always knew we wanted kids and we eventually had our number 1 and from there we knew we were having se7en. When number se7en arrived we knew we still had a #8 between us. Now if we had more I wouldn’t mind!!! You are so right it doesn’t happen overnight… it takes years to grow a family child by little child, they are all unique and marvelous and yes there are a few things we don’t do – trips to the Spur are indeed out (not our favorite dining experience)!!! But we do love eating out and restauranteering (http://www.se7en.org.za/category/saturday-spot/cape-town-saturday-spot/restaurants) is one of our favorite pastimes!!! I think our blog is not so much about the why we are a larger than your average 2.5 kids family, but more about how we live and get through our days… I hope this at least vaguely answers your question, at two in the morning it feels distinctly higher grade!!! Hope you have a fun weekend… and I loved your “Throwing the baby out with the bathwater” post!!!
Hi there, I came across your blog a little while back while searching for a koeksisters recipe. I’m from the Bluff in Durban, but moved to Ireland 5 years ago. Got married, had kids etc etc. My husband is Irish and very rarely understands the odd South African comment or saying, but just nods and smiles. The same tends to happen when I make a traditional South African dish, but he does eat it and even though he wouldn’t be a big fan of koeksisters, he did love your milktart recipe. It has definitely become a favourite dessert in this house. I haven’t managed to convince many of the Irish, but it is their loss 🙂
I admire the fact that you have 8 children and home-school them all. I’m also surprised to see how many South Africans are home-schooling now. I did my final two years of schooling through ACE, and even though the curriculum isn’t accepted by a lot of universities, I definitely preferred it to the government curriculum. I can easily study from home because of it. I don’t need a lecturer in front of me telling how to do an assignment.
My question is (out of curiosity), what made you home-school your children in the first place? I have considered it myself, but home-schooling isn’t something that is done over here in Ireland.
Kind regards
PS: I’m trying your scones recipe next week 😉
Hi there Durban Mom in Ireland… Great to meet a reader from so far away!!! And I hope you feel welcome and enjoy a little South African flavor over here!!! Why we homeschool? Well after endless reading and researching we came to the conclusion that by homeschooling we were providing our kids with the very best education we possibly could and the best life-skills necessary for whatever paths they take in their adult lives. It is possible here to sign up and take part in any “end of secondary school” examination… and all tertiary institutions require an entrance examination regardless of which school leavers certificate your child may have. Hope that answers your question and hope you have a happy baking week!!!
Thanks for a wonderful and encouraging blog. We live in Table View, have 6 children and also use Sonlight. Was just wondering if you have any outside help with the house work? I’m struggling to keep up with the laundry and dishes . . . a never ending pile! Yolande xx
Hi Yolande, Sorry this has taken so long – it might be the lack of help!!! I am just catching up with my New Year/Christmas comments… And I wanted to say hi and welcome it is always nice to meet local moms!!! Help: Yes, I have a lady once a week on a Thursday morning… she comes mops all the floors, puts fresh sheets on the bed and leaves!!! It is simply wonderful. Otherwise my kids and I do lots of chores together – always have!!! Usually first thing un the morning and last thing before dinner we have a bit of a rush on chores and get things back to a comfortable level. I never think of getting things done so much as long as we are making progress!!! This post may help you: Se7en chores and life skills we do. Hope you have a great day!!!
Hey, it was good to have met you all and shared the Passover with you on Wednesday night – the Lord bless and keep you
Hay, Michael… It was great to meet you and thank-you so much for sharing… Our kids have been talking about their Passover meal for days, I think you had a great impact on them. Thanks again.
I am so inspired by your blog. I came across it by accident while goggling about worm farm composting. Lovely little garden you have! I am wowed by you and your family, the fact that at this ages you have already identified the special gifts each of your children posses is wonderful. This just goes to show that with homeschooling, children are not just put in a mould and expected to be same as is the case with normal schooling (public and private). What a special gift this seems to be! I have 3 kids and have been toying with the idea of homeschooling but my oldest is 11 and doing grade 5, I wonder if he can easily be changed to homeschooling. Please advise if you have any idea. My younger 2 are not at school yet so I will be going that route. Thank you for sharing your family with us.
Hi Zikhona, Thanks for stopping by… I think the transition to changing to from school to homeschool or homeschool to school is a tricky one but it can be done if that is your dream. I have heard folks say it takes at least a month per year of school for the transition. I can’t really advise you, homeschooling is a very personal thing and one of the great things about homeschooling is that every homeschool is quite unique… See what your eleven year old has to say about it often my kids blow me away with their insights. Otherwise do as much as you can to learn about homeschooling, read about homeschooling, meet homeschoolers and mingle with homeschoolers. And can I say the most amazing thing about homeschooling, for me, that I never expected, was just how much I would learn!!! I wish you all the best on your educational journey!!!
Hi,
I am from India and has been following your blog for a couple of months. Came across it on the Crafty Crow.
It’s so heartening to see your lovely family and the fact that you homeschool all your kids. I was thinking of taking this path for a long time and finally did a few months back. But, here in India, homeschooling is at a very very nascent stage and very few families in this hugely populated country homeschool. Hence, though I have taken this path, I still carry apprehensions about the aspects of socializing etc for the lack of homeschooling children in the vicinity.
Besides that, I would like to share that we recently visited South Africa and were there for 3 weeks. We did a self-drive expedition starting Cape Town, over Garden Route and all the way to Kruger. Incidentally, we also stopped by in Fish Hoek for a meal – on the way to The Top Stone Factory (Scrath Patch) in Simons Town. 🙂
Now that I know you live in Fish Hoek, it makes the blog look so familiar all of a sudden!!
I will be sharing my South Africa memories soon on my blog.
Great to ‘meet’ you and your family! 🙂 All the very best.
Hi Rashmie, How exciting to know you were just here!!! I am so glad you have been to our town, thank you so much for stopping by and telling us about your trip!!! Fantastic!!! I love your crafty, arty blog so fun and colorful. And I wrote a post on socialization for homeschoolers and you might want to take a look… but seriously our children meet so many people and probably the smallest group are other homeschoolers, and they have so much more time to interact with other children that socialization is the great non-issue in the world of homeschooling!!! All the best with your creative school and have a fabulous day!!!
Thanks for your reply and for sharing that link about socialization for homeschoolers. I will go through it sometime tomorrow at leisure. 🙂
Just wanted to let you know that I shared our South Africa trip through a photo essay on my blog today and also shared your lovely blog with my readers. 🙂
Have a look here:
http://mommylabs.gorgeouskarma.com/learning-by-traveling/the-mommy-lab-teams-south-africa-adventure/
Hi Rashmie… I love your visit to South Africa post, what an adventure… I have so enjoyed exploring your blog, if you are ever ever ever in Cape Town again please stop and say hi!!! Meanwhile have a lovely weekend!!!
Hello 🙂
I just want to say how much I enjoyed reading your blog, and have marked it as my favourite 🙂
I am a mom with a little boy (32 months) whom I intend to homeschool (or unschool) and am really happy to know that you’re so close to me *waves from Noordhoek*
Looking forward to return to your wonderful blog again and again.
Have a blessed weekend 🙂
Hi Jade, Good to meet you – sorry for the delay in replying… we have been away fro a little while but we are back!!! So good to “meet you” and thanks so much for stopping by to say hi and introducing yourself… I love getting to know our readers better. Hope you have a great day!!!
you totally need a ‘scroll to the top’ button for this page!!
Hay Domestic Goddesque – Happy Saturday to you!!! You are totally right of course, and that is totally beyond my capabilities – so now I will have to learn something new this weekend!!! Thanks for the project!!! Have a fab weekend!!!
Such an incredibly beautiful family! They are growing up – I so want to visit you all one day. Did you take the kids’ photos? You’re good at that.
Hay Annabel Candy – So thrilled to have you stop by!!! Yup they grow up!!! And you can only begin to imagine what it is like to take a photograph of a gang of kids!!! All in one spot let alone looking at the camera!!! Would love to have you and your family visit Cape Town one day!!! Have a great week!!!
I stumbled on your website this morning whilst googling for places to visit using my Blackberry in bed. I just had to get up and ‘see you’ on the big screen instead. what an amazing family you all are. you have filled my soul this morning. I am surprised that you even have time to think about writing a blog! I am waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past the children stage but I am going to pass your link on to some young woman with young children I know. I think mostly what I love is your attitude to life and pure love for your family. Thank you for a magic blog! Mwaah!!!! xx
Hi Mary, So good of you to stop by and comment!!! Sorry to get you out of bed, but I am so glad you enjoyed your visit over here!!! Hope you have a lovely week!!!
Hi — what a nice surprise to find a homeschooling family in Fish Hoek! I grew up in Muizenberg and am now living in Tennessee and homeschooling my littles. Mine are 10, 7, 5 and 2. Home to back for a visit next year — maybe we’ll bump into each other 🙂
Hi Helen, Good to “meet you” from the far side of the world!!! Hope you have a fantastic day!!!
Okay, so it brought to tears to my eyes to see the picture of the friend whom I love so dearly. You have so tenderly encouraged, helped to organize, and certainly enriched my life with your love and inspirations. You are a beloved friend and I so enjoyed seeing your beautiful face. Thank you for the many years of sharing your experiences and your family adventures. Give the family a hug from the Browns.
Thank you Amy, The sweetest comment ever… So glad that you enjoy following our journey through life and thrilled to hear from you!!! Wishing you all the best and a wonderful week away!!!
What a gorgeous family. We’re in England. I found my teen wasn’t being pushed with the local home-ed community, so started some on-line lit courses. Maybe your two older ones would be interested? You’re only 1 hour later than we are. Have a look: http://boyschooling.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/registration-time-for-cm-live-september.html
Hi there Boyschooling, Lovely to meet you and I love your idea and thank you for the invitation, unfortunately my older kids are immersed in their own projects at the moment and I don’t to want to disrupt the apple cart, so to speak. Thanks so much for stopping by and your kind comment, I do so appreciate it.
What an interesting life! Cannot wait to meet you this Saturday.
Thanks Trax, exciting times, I can’t wait either… hope you have a fab week!!!
Can anyone home school? I am relocating to Fish Hoek in December and am battling to find space in a school for my 11 year old daughter and wondered if home schooling might be an option? How do I look into this?
Hi Kirsti, Yes, in a nutshell, anyone can homeschool… The best place for you to start your journey on our blog would be: at this post here, about homeschooling in the South Peninsula.
And I wouldn’t hesitate to get your hands on this book, an invaluable reosurce: The third book in this post, by Shirley Erwee and I interviewed her in this post… Her books and her website (link in post) have heaps of information regarding the legalities and registration and such like. I really hope this helps, all the best finding the information you need!!!
A dear friend of mine is moving to fishoek. I referred her to your blog and trust you will meet some day. Vanessa;) she is an excellent aqua and swim teacher. Much love
Tanya
Hay Tanya, Thank you so so much… gotta love Fish Hoek!!! Hope you have a lovely evening!!!
Hi Mom, I have been following Se7en for a while. So cool to see the kiddos growing up.
Hello from the USA.
Could you tell me, are the reports of what is happening to the white farmers in SouthAfrica accurate, and is it still occurring?
Thanks so much for the work you put in to share your adventures with us worldwide!
MommyInTraining of 7
Hi Lynn, I am not sure what reports you have been reading or what you are referring to? Crime against farmers? Yes, there are some very real and horrific crimes against people in rural areas. Crime is a problem in South Africa in general, but I think just as we have to look at news reports out of the USA, and realize that there is an editorial bias, so one has to realize that news that emerges from any country, may not be the complete story. That being said, terrible crimes do occur here, across the country and it is a place where even being extra careful or vigilant, cannot protect you from the ever present threat of crime. That being said, most South Africans will not be held hostage to the threat, and continue to live their lives and most South Africans remain upbeat and proud of their rainbow nation. I hope this helps…