Hang Out with This Homeschool Mom of 8 ║ School Week 1 │ ACE Curriculum

This is our first weekly vlog of some of our homeschool activities. We have 6 school age children and 2 little ones. We've used ACE (School of Tomorrow) curriculum since our 9th grade son started preschool.
www.andreamills.tv
Our Privilege System: • Our Privilege System f...
Race Track: • Book Club Race Track [...

[@elygale2001]

I loved when you said "you could put it on the other foot but it won't feel as nice!" when you were working with Solomon with his shoes. Giving kids information to make choices that feel good to them gives them a healthy kind of autonomy that I think is important. You seem really good at finding ways to teach your kids ways they have options and give them information to make good choices. I'm sure I'm not saying anything new, but your a pretty awesome mom and teacher.

[@theoriginaledi]

I agree about the shoe thing (and about offering information and choices in general). I thought that was fantastic!

[@lacristina85]

As a person who attended public school growing up, I was always skeptical about homeschooling. However, watching this video has opened my eyes to the wonderful opportunities kids get through homeschooling. It was beautiful seeing a family learning together. Thank you!

[@ericagrooms5744]

I love how your older boys children look after the little ones with genuine care and kindness. Great job on raising sweet kids!

[@meberoxanne]

As someone who has been in public school my entire life (currently a senior), this is so interesting to watch! It looks fun to have school with your fam. Thanks for sharing! :)

[@Sy-cs3mg]

Roxanne Stockton I am in the exact same boat as you. Currently a senior and have attended a public school all of my life so I don't know anything different! Very interesting!!!!!:)

[@harajukulover321]

Roxanne Stockton Fellow senior here too lol I would have loved to have been homeschooled so this is indeed very interesting! Beautiful family here

[@erincooper2553]

"What the heck is algebra?" Same Thomas, same 😂😂😂

[@kelsieautumn5024]

Erin Cooper, Ugh. Algebra sucks. As a 7th grader doing an advanced algebra class, it sucks.

[@errianfears534]

I'm in seventh doing advanced algebra and I'm like what us this like no honey sixth grade was so much easier

[@unicornsims7044]

Advanced algebra gets easier I promise. At the end of the year you will PRAY for the beginning of the year stuff.

[@abigailmadsen448]

All these 7 graders thinkin they're smart doin algebra. I do algebra AND geometry and I'm in the same grade😂😂

[@thebudderdiamond6783]

Abigail Madsen I do algebra and I'm in grade 6

[@rebekahcarley941]

Can't remember you eldest one's name. But his faces when he first looks through the curriculum are killing me. I know that feeling, dude. #same

[@emmajo8365]

Rebekah Carley same looking at my school books

[@maymay6057]

I love the relationship that is shown between Asher and Claudia. It's very sweet.

[@nataliebarnett7900]

I know you were worried that this video was too long but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it :)

[@samanthagiggles3215]

I love the baby getting a coloring book so she can do school too :) My youngest always wanted to do that too.

[@Naamy19X9]

Asher seems like the studious kid in the family. I love how close he and Judah are, despite the obvious differences in personalities.Truly enjoyed this vlog.

[@lou-annlaurin1608]

good job! I can tell you worked really hard on the video. I liked that we got to see how the kids interacted together but also how they handled school work individually. I feel like each segment was just long enough so that it wasn't boring or repetitive. I liked that we got to see some fun activities like the nature notebooks and coloring mixed in with more tedious work like writing and reading. I feel like overall the video was well balanced and very informative. Keep up the good work!

[@dragonflyneb]

Growing up we made a lot of taffy, after you cut it in pieces roll it in powdered sugar, it keep it from sticking together. As to last comment I homeschooled 3 children and all grow up well mannered adults. Who treat theirs wives and husband with the highest respect. All have great jobs, honest and caring adults! Great video.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

I'll have to remember that trick for next time!

[@diamondbluesky2350]

dragonflyneb m

[@laurac56]

This brought back fond memories. I homeschooled my 22 year old son (just got his bachelor degree) for grades 1-8, and my 25 year old daughter for grades 5-8. I miss those days, especially the read-alouds.

[@PotawatomiProud]

So nice how your children are so happy and Asher and Claudia vacuuming , you are such great parents and a great teacher even little Sophia is coloring 👍🏽👍🏽❤️😊. Do not let the negative comments bother you it happens to everyone . I wish I could of had their childhood, they are very lucky , their children will be lucky. Some people must of not had any love growing up and feel better trying to hurt people, you know how much you are loved by the way your channel is growing and we THANK YOU!!!! For sharing. 🙏🏽❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Sophia and Claudia sure had a good day too!

[@tarynbarstow5685]

the kids should be in your usual videos more! It was really nice to see so much more of each individual kid in this video, I think you should put them more in your usual videos too!

[@LifeByJen]

I loved how the little one pushed his chair in when he went to get a drink during his lesson! So cute!!

[@ladydrell83]

I'm playing catch-up on your videos as I was out of the KZbin loop for a while. I LOVE your long videos like this, and thanks for showing so much of ACE curriculum. I really enjoy seeing how it works and can be used. I can't wait to get caught up on all of the Mills happenings!

[@saraludwick3097]

I've seen some of the newer ones but just starting at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school ones and it's been fun to see how much Sophia and Solomon especially have grown up since these videos. And love the idea of "most humble" award!

[@enoughtogrowaround613]

Thanks for all your lovely videos. My son (4 years old) just started Kindergarten with Ace and Christi a couple of weeks ago and he loved seeing Solomon working on the same things he has just done. 😀

[@laurendelahousaye9153]

Andrea, you are such an amazing mom! So patient and kind no matter the circumstance. I admire how you treat your children and I truly look up to you!! Keep doing what you're doing. YOU are a blessing from jesus!!

[@PotawatomiProud]

Definitely a blessing from Jesus and so glad she found me, I really needed her.🙏🏽😊❤️

[@CookieCrumbFun]

I really enjoyed this one. see it all in action was helpful to this homeschool mom. the way you explain things to your children so they understand it, is a gift. algebra, ugh! Solomon seems so precious as he does his work. i love the extra video you nade about Abbie Antelope. you did that for all the animals? so smart! Eden reads so well. my children enjoyed seeing how others do what we do. thank you!

[@jyssikarussell742]

Another great video, Andrea! The way Solomon says "yes!" cracks me up :) such a sweetie!

[@christinag7971]

So fun to watch those old Homeschool videos back and see how much they have grown :)

[@theoriginaledi]

What a great video! Thank you for taking the time to make it. My younger brothers and I attended private schools using the ACE curriculum for 7th through 12 grades. (We would have done it sooner, I'm sure, but ACE was just starting to become well-known at that time.) (Yes, I am old. :-) ) Also, I don't have any children but I'm a big fan of homeshooling and would have done it if I'd had kids, and both of my younger brothers homeschooled their kids (4 each) using ACE from preschool through high school. So for all those reasons this video brought back lots of memories and good feelings for me. I'm looking forward to watching your children make their way through the year and see how you do all of your things. All very interesting!

[@aliwaugh5033]

Hi Andrea, I have only only recently stumbled across your videos and have been really enjoying them. My family leads a very different life to yours but I appreciate the way you and your husband are bringing your kids up. I just wanted to say you are doing a fabulous job. Best wishes from Australia!

[@maayanburroughs5424]

It reminds me our great time homeschooling our sons! I miss that time so much! It was a real privilege to homeschool them. They grow too fast.

[@paulhubis1118]

What the heck is algebra?! -thomas keeps giving his mom a (just A LITTLE BIT) of a hard time the 1st day of school lol just like any other newer"ish" teen highschooler and mom just keeps gently encouraging him and gives him hugs and pats on back. She is such an amazing mom ♡ . It's nice to see how Thomas and all the other children have matured over the years

[@alymi4066]

That was a wonderful video! I truly enjoyed watching each of your children, they each have beautiful souls, you and Tom are doing such an amazing job raising them! If the rest of the world was more like your family, the world would be a much better place to live. Your children are learning so much more than just arithmetic, grammar, science and etc....they are learning to be the people that God wants and knows that they can and should be. Watching your children(your whole family) is such a blessing and I will be patiently(or not!) waiting for another video like this!! :)

[@PotawatomiProud]

My thought exactly and you put it exactly how I wanted to, but had a hard time writing it so beautiful . Thanks!! ❤️😊

[@PotawatomiProud]

+Potawatomi I really love their nature journals.

[@wildwoodsandhomestead]

I don't usually comment on anything I read or watch:) but I wanted you to know how encouraged I feel after watching your videos! I grew up home-schooled (my dad was military so it made this life a little easier). When dating my husband he mentioned homeschooling. We never really had a moment where we decided for certain this is what we are doing, we kind of just started having kids and teaching them. I'm pregnant with our fifth and homeschooling my two eldest, 3rd and 1st grade. I ran across your youtube channel and find it feels like I'm sitting to chat with a friend?:) If that makes sense?:) Especially on the days I need to regroup and gather some kind of encouragement for this lifestyle. I love how organized you are. Keep up the videos, they help a mama like me out more than you know;)

[@tammiecollins9791]

Thank you for sharing.. We are starting year 22 of homeschooling on 10/17. It is our only son and last child. He is in 7th grade. Ace all the way!

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

That's amazing! 22 years! I bet you'v got all sorts of things you could teach us!

[@2plus2by2]

I love that you include home ec, shop and acts of service; all things included when my husband and I were in school. They are really overlooked in our school system so we make sure we do it at home. We have a kid helping me make rolls for dinner and another helping with an oil change on the tractor.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

I agree. So many skills that are highly valued in school are almost irrelevant in daily life and so many skills that make up the bulk of daily life aren't touched on in the average education.

[@SashaSteelQueenie]

awe such a lovely family ,thank you for sharing portions of your schooling days with us,i specially loved watching them all hard at work , Knowlage is power , God bless you

[@PotawatomiProud]

Ya I was watching everyday and you were really climbing on subscriptions and all of a sudden it took forever for you to hit 17,000. Something definitely fishey here. Your channel is the best and people may not notice if they got unsubscribed.

[@Amadorcrew]

Love watching your videos 💜 its like going back on time having tea with an old freind. Sure do miss you

[@nicoles7628]

So happy to see a new video!

[@2013aghaa]

May God bless you and your beautiful family :) You are doing amazing by them! Please do keep up these incredible and insightful videos! Much love and support :)

[@jaketrevor3260]

This was great! I'm glad you didn't shorten it any :). Sophia looks so cute with her hair braided!

[@ciarasanderson3513]

I love this family they are so humble and loving :)

[@jordansmom143]

I really wish I was part of a family like this.

[@JustSewTrish]

so love that you are doing this! thank you.

[@ArielKaten]

Justus and Eden look and sound like twins. Too cute.

[@bookofcamille2402]

I love your family. I watch all the time.

[@calebshipley9831]

I am just soaking this all up. This is the first year I am officially homeschooling, and it doesn't look anything like that, but that is what I wish it looked like. How you got those little ones to just sit there and watch while you worked with others is amazing! Loved how Asher was holding Claudia on his shoulders while vacuuming. So sweet. Did you ever did a video on how you put your binders together? I know you use the ACE system, but I like the idea of the order of it even if it was just our own curriculum. It was so fun to see your home and life. I also like how you showed a clip of that cooking class. I was just going to ask you to show a video of your kitchen. I know you have a small kitchen, but how do you keep it orderly and functioning with all the cooking you do. I am always trying to pare down on my kitchen stuff, but have no idea what I really need (slow cooker and mixer) vs. what is just a nice idea (like my bread machine I never use). ~Sara

[@calebshipley9831]

Just as I posted this I saw the window on the side pop up of a clip for your homeschool binders. ha ha! will watch next. Thanks Dear.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

Hi Sara, I haven't done a kitchen tour yet. I know what you mean about those appliances that seem nice, but never get used! We keep our bread machine plugged in down in the pantry. I never use it, but Tom likes to once in awhile. It was a good compromise to have it read, but not taking up daily work space. One of the basic methods I use in organizing our kitchen is- generally speaking- to keep things in "centers." Baking ingredients, cake pans, Kitchenaid mixer, etc. are stored in the same area. When I started trying to store things as close as possible to where I used them, it made it more obvious which things I really don't need. New stuff creeps in, though, so it's a never ending process!

[@BeautyAndBrainsGirls]

I have been watching a lot of homeschooling postings-so fun! I like to make handmade learning resources for my little girl. I just created a reading comprehension journal for her and composing and decomposing math journal! Thanks for posting and thumbs up from beauty and brains girls. I will be posting some of the activities we have been working on very soon. I liked and subscribed to your channel !!!

[@r.wagner5142]

You want to make me want to homeschool my children when I grow up!!!

[@Naamy19X9]

I am definitely homeschooling if my husband and budget allows me to.

[@allywilliams9338]

I couldn't help but notice the "you make it we skate it" series from Braille playing in the back. I've never even owned a skateboard in my life and I'm addicted to that channel haha

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

Tom and Thomas are watching it right now! They discovered it a few weeks ago and have been enjoying it.

[@allywilliams9338]

Andrea Mills it's a very interesting series!

[@freshbloominclothing]

You have a lovely family.

[@aubreemeyer2017]

Your 6th and 7th Grader are cute lol 😂 I love your home schooling ways!!

[@Sammyrox1989]

hi Andrea love your vlogs i think u do a wonderful job i have a daughter who is nearly 2 u inspire me into doing things from ur videos love ur ideas 😄

[@lostraziel]

This video was so fun, your kids are so adorable.

[@amandalong3500]

I love on day 3 when Judah is holding Claudia while doing his school work

[@tanianava1768]

Some are so quick to judge, you're an amazing mommy. I would never even question if you left them alone for a shopping trip. You would never do that

[@TheMoyersFamily]

I have a 3 and 1 yr old.. What curriculum are you using for them.. The matching game? Where did you find this?

[@brielynn]

Andrea, have you tried the triangular crayons? They are great at promoting correct holding position of the crayon/pencil, etc. also how many hours a day do you typically spend on schooling?

[@Jessbensarah]

Hi Andrea, loving the video. I did want to ask (I think ace is down right now)are the paces available online? Only if you know off the top of your head, thanks. My daughter is doing great with the traditional paces but my son, I have experienced (with a free online and 1month free with another curr but too expensive ) he does well with plugging the answers in after the info is read to him. He reads at his level but has other things thatwe are working on.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

I know for a time they had a computer version of the curriculum, but I don't know if they still do. I am going to lean toward the idea that they don't, but I'm not certain.

[@Johlsh]

I'm so stuck between wanting to homeschool my 5 year old or not. Right now he's in part-time public school, 3 hours a day, 4 days a week. He really struggles. We are finding out he has sensory issues, adhd, and might be on the spectrum for autism. I'm not claiming anything though, he is starting to see a behavioral specialist to help with his troubles. Thanks for sharing! Your family inspires me in so many ways :-)

[@hant679]

Johlsh Two of my sons have issues like this (one with autism, one with ADHD, both with sensory processing problems). Homeschooling has been wonderful for them! They can go at their own pace in an environment that helps their learning rather than hinders it. I love it!

[@tonyameadows9042]

LOL "What the heck is Algebra?" Tell him I asked the same thing when I was introduced to it way back in 1982 or 1983 in my 9th grade year in public hs. He just sent me back a few yrs. 😃

[@djhoannaprojo2865]

i see that all the paces are placed in the binder? is it per term you put or is the current paces they are doing? Do u have DVD how u organize in the binder.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

We have their current PACEs in the binders. Here's a video about our binders last year: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYPRnWaLgtZjb9U . Here's a link to my playlist of ACE videos: kzbin.info/aero/PLd2pt5YWp66BBBm4S-t4cnkZrMBuGgKM1

[@brielynn]

OMG, I love Solomons reaction. That face is priceless!!! Do you find that some of your children proceed quicker through lessons and grade levels? Or do you stick with an age to grade equivalent?

[@MIKAMIKALL]

Hi Andrea. There is so much I want to say, meaning to talk to you, for me to learn and not have missconceptions 😄. In a good way, with a good heart, is just that I want to learn. I have seen so many videos of large families were children have to take roles that do not correspond to their age. Were mom and dad decide to have a large family and then they have to take care of the children and the household. That breaks my heart, since those roles are hard as adults imagine as a child. Watching your videos I love how organize you are (since I am like that jaja), but with flexibility and taking into consideration their age, opinion and learning process, and without forgeting thet you are the mom and the adult. Those birthdays are great!! Also that even when you are home centered, you have children, friends and other people that interact with your children even when they seem to have a different system in their home. I was not given the opportunity to have children, which breaks my heart, but its great to watch your videos. Regarding the pace system. Is a pace a unit? A discussion of a concept? If the do several in a day, do you think they understand those concepts in depht or it is just memorization in order to advance in the priviledge system? I know it varies with children, but wanted to know your experience. Also, do they keep improving their writing skills (handwriting) thruout the curriculum? Love watching you kiss Thomas, as said in other large family videos there are so many children and so much to do that moms sometimes can't have those moments. Thank you and sorry for the looong comment! Buen día!

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

Instead of using a conventional textbook, ACE publishes each chapter as a booklet (PACE stands for Packet of Accelerated Christian Education.) Depending on the grade, one PACE may be from 27-65 pages long. There are 3 sections within the PACE followed by a quiz. At the end, there is a practice test. After the PACE is done, there is a test to complete. It would be very unlikely that someone could finish more than one in a day! Even though Asher and Judah finished one on the first day, they've only finished 4 total now that we're 2 1/2 weeks into school. We hope to test on 2 PACEs per week. (Each subject has 12 PACEs per year.) Handwriting isn't taught as a separate subject, but is covered in Word Building (Spelling) and English. Judah and Justus are both still getting the hang of cursive, so it's not exactly beautiful yet. Asher can write very lovely cursive, but he thinks it isn't efficient so he only does it if he absolutely has to. :) Thomas has very nice cursive writing and almost always writes neatly. He's got a bit of a Type A personality!

[@UrbanHomesteadMomma]

Hi Andrea... I just found your videos... what a lovely family :) I'm only just watching your week 1 homeschool video so this might be explained in a future video... but I'm wondering if you can explain more about the binder system your using for your homeschooling? I'm curious to see what you have in them for the different ages and how you decide what to include? Thanks and God bless

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

Here are videos I've done for our first grade binder and one for the binders. (I haven't done a Kindergarten binder video, but it has the least amount of things in it, so not really anything additional to what I already show.) If you still have questions after the videos, let me know! kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYPRnWaLgtZjb9U and kzbin.info/www/bejne/lae9oYGFepl6iJI

[@TheMoyersFamily]

Please explain your privilege system too. I am loving seeing this in action. I have been so discouraged lately.. and I really need to get back on track.

[@rebecamiauca3263]

how do you know what you have to teach them? if you already say that , i am sorry that i lose that part.

[@noahquiles3997]

I love your channel so much

[@TheMoyersFamily]

Please explain the cards you give the children? Do you have an example of these?

[@djhoannaprojo2865]

Hi Andrea. Ive started already my grade 4 child. What are the priviledge A B CD E. The goal card if its done in the morning the goals it can be a homework in the afternoon? She is doing grade 4 subjects english ,word building, science math, social studies , 1037-1048 she is not doing literature because the literature in grade 4 10-25 to 1036 which she have done in grade 3. 6 paces can be done in 3 weeks?

[@MIKAMIKALL]

Thank you!😄

[@bytheway.family7362]

What's the name of the cooking video you are doing in Mom school? Can you post a link? Thanks!!! Love all your videos. I am learning so much! Thank you!!

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

This is a link for it. I didn't pay this price for it. They often have things on sale for 70%-80% off and that's when I bought it. www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/the-everyday-gourmet-rediscovering-the-lost-art-of-cooking.html

[@amybeth2379]

Hi Andrea. Danette West told me about your channel. I love it! I have used ACE for 19 years and love it. Where did you get the video for the animal sounds? I didn't know that existed.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

We made it ourselves. If it wasn't a copyright issue, I'd love to share it. Tom scanned our flashcards and made a video out of them using the audio CD for the music. He also made an animated number train. We did it several years ago when we no longer had room for a big bulletin board. We call it our Video Bulletin Board.

[@rebecamiauca3263]

hello,Andrea, how you make the homeschooling to be oficial?i think that you are a very smart person since you are teaching them, sorry for my english because is not my native language.

[@brenna5045]

as they get older do the boys have to tuck in their shirts and the girls have to wear skirts or is it optional? (I'm just curious, sorry if it came across as rude!)

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

No, the girls wear jeans a lot of the time. (I think they were wearing jeans on the 4th school day in this video.) We do encourage the boys to tuck in their shirts to look "put together" but we don't have a rule about it.

[@brenna5045]

Andrea Mills ah that makes sense. Thanks :)

[@djhoannaprojo2865]

with grade 4 how did u let them memorize the multiplication table. It seems theres a lot of struggle. For now i tried the shool of rock multiplication table try to watch it. but im waiting for the The Vaughn Cube™ for Multiplication i order in america it will come by January

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

We did something similar. Tom got a cd of multiplication songs that helped him as a child and we play it sometimes while the kids work.

[@somerscott8315]

Your son (the oldest) was me when had to do algebra and my Dad (he my teacher) said that same this! (I'm homeschooled)

[@dlmudge1]

Hi Andrea, I am wondering if you would be able to do a walk through the high school ace? roughly how many hours is needed to be put aside for this grade? Thanks from Australia ;)

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

ACE is very self-paced so it's extremely variable. Thomas has always tended to have a wandering mind and it has taken him about 5-6 hours a day to get his work done throughout every grade and this year seems to be about the same. (He's doing Algebra I, English I, World History, World Geography, Biology and Etymology from ACE. He's also reading from the Great Books series, doing Greek lessons and working on a few other elective classes of our own making.) Asher has always had a "let's get this done" attitude and he accomplishes his work in about half that time. I graduated from an ACE school and I was usually done with my school work by early afternoon following a regular school schedule. I also graduated at 16 because I worked ahead. Classroom learning is efficient for teachers, but ACE's method is very efficient for students. No one gets held up by slower learners and no one gets pushed too fast by quicker learners.

[@Hannah123605]

Andrea Mills what do you do for biology in terms of evolution?

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

It's a theory that is covered in the curriculum.

[@dlmudge1]

Thank you Andrea. Love your video's ;)

[@Asigedge]

i know a few friends who are homeschooling their children (military families) and theyve express concerns about social skills. do you have any pointers i could give them? they both have 2 children.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

I think that they probably shouldn't worry too much. Sharing, cooperation, politeness, etc. should be encouraged within the family just like it would be with people outside the family. Social skills are social skills and families are the ideal place to practice them. That being said, we all enjoy expanding our community and belonging to something bigger than us. The skill of friendliness and hospitality is really important for parents to model for their children. For us, regular activities like our weekly trip to the library, grocery store, etc. make us part of the community. We try to establish relationships with the people we see regularly and purposely invite them into our home so we can really create that community that we need. Our kids play with other children almost on a daily basis because we invite people in, we take part in neighborhood life and we regularly engage in community activities. A library card, a local newspaper that tells about local events and a willingness to invite acquaintances in and make them friends are great ways to be social! It takes time and repetition (two things that might be hard for military families) to build a community, but it's worth the effort!

[@HeartlessBiatchXxX]

You have the patience of a saint.... I would've gone crazy after hearing 'Mum! mum!' that many times 😂

[@galady8632]

Jayde Xo ... After an injury I was unable to have children. I would have loved to hear someone call me Mom. Although at times I imagine it could be a bit much I would have preferred that to my reality.

[@HeartlessBiatchXxX]

faye austin I feel sorry for you but I also can not have kids yet I dont feel the need to bring that up whenever someone mentions children. It is hard to know you can't have them but that doesn't mean its a personal attack on you everytime someone speaks the slightest bit ill of the experience of having children

[@galady8632]

Jayde Xo ... I never felt I was being attacked. Nor do I expect pity. This is the life I have. My life is good and everything happens for a reason. I would not have been able to devote myself to caring for my awesome late parents if I had children. Being an only child I was happy to care for them as they cared for me. If you took offense that was not my intent. During my 20s I made 2 attempts to adopt but it was almost impossible at that time. Both young ladies had special needs and were awesome individuals. My parents and I discussed it and decided everything happens for a reason. I ceased all adoption research after the second failed attempt to adopt. Shortly after that my focus became caring for my parents. I am not ashamed of or embarrassed by my life. If my remarks offended you it was not intentional. My truth is simply that. And I did not interpret your comment as 'speaking ill' of having children. I interpreted it as you speaking your truth, same as I did in my response. I volunteer to work with special needs children with art projects and such. We always have a great time. Several are noncommunicative. All are wonderful individuals. Sometimes I think I enjoy our time together as much or more than they do.

[@kendra6834]

Do you have to be certified to homeschool your kids? And I think you takes about it before, but what made you chooses Homeschool?

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

No, you don't have to be certified. The principal is that you are responsible for raising your own children including teaching them math, reading, etc. You can choose to hire someone to teach them or do it yourself. Because of compulsory education laws, states have some level of requirement that you inform them that you are doing the work yourself rather than hiring it done. In our state, we send a yearly notification to the county school board. I'm not sure what other states do. I made my own wedding dress and wedding cake. We've fixed up our house from being the run-down sad, little place we bought. We have our own business that we started from home 11 years ago. In all areas of life we want to experience life ourselves. It's easy to buy something, but much more fulfilling to build it. That's how we approach parenting. It's really important to us; we homeschool because we're a family and we want to raise our children ourselves. Over the years as our family has grown there have been some things we've had to give up because we just don't have time to do it all. We'd rather give up the things that are less important so we can devote our money and energy to what truly matters to us.

[@amybeth2379]

When the boys get up and work early, do you let them score on their own?

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

Yes, they always score their own work. I look through everything on Wednesday evenings and spot check things.

[@homeschoolpower]

Hi, Andrea! I am a homeschool mommy to 3 kids, ages 10, 7, and 3! I am going to try ACE next year! You do an amazing job! I was curious about what you do for preschool? I may have missed it. Do you do it yourself or is it a curriculum that you purchase?

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

With ACE, preschool and Kindergarten are the same thing; you just repeat it if they're not ready to move on to first grade. We've started most of our kids at 4 in the Kindergarten program and they do great! I'm glad you're going to give ACE a try!

[@homeschoolpower]

Thank you so much! I was trying to decide if I wanted to purchase it for my almost 4 year old or not! I think that I will try it for him as well!

[@homeschoolpower]

Just got my first shipment of ACE for my 3rd and 6th grader! Currently waiting for the back orders! I am so excited to be homeschooling with ACE! Glad to be able to watch your videos as well! :-)

[@emmam.6568]

Such pretty little ones

[@mikayla407]

hi andrea! whenever you say they have to have a certain number of pages done, are those pages in the pace? how many pages are in a pace on average?

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

Yes, I'm talking about pages in the PACE. Eden is in 2nd grade and her PACEs have 31 pages per PACE. (There are 12 PACEs per subject per year.) Justus' 4th grade PACEs have 39 pages, Judah (6th) and Asher (7th) have 43. Thomas' 9th grade PACEs vary from 35-65 pages each.

[@mikayla407]

also, how will it work when thomas graduates? if he chooses to go to a college or university, will it be hard for him to adjust to the standard american public school system? or does ace use methods like public and private schools? love your videos, by the way!!

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

I didn't have any trouble and I graduated from an ACE school. In fact, I did better than the kids I knew from my town who went to public school. Not that it matters anyway, the world is swiftly moving away from brick and mortar education and that's fine by me!, I don't think there is anyone who steps out of one life into another without there being learning curve. Even public school kids have to learn some new skills when they go off to college. And thank goodness there are many great life options that don't require college in the first place!

[@mikayla407]

yeah definitely! i also didn't mean for my comment to sound rude, so I'm sorry if i came off that way. :) im currently a senior at a public school and i was just curious as to how all that works from a homeschool standpoint. im sure Thomas will do great, no matter what he does after graduation!! :)

[@Chocofries]

Just curious why wont you put then in public or charter schools?

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

We like raising our children ourselves and see no reason to hire the job out to someone else. It's a pleasure to be parents!

[@Cleanwithmepodcast]

Is there a video where you talk more about the privileges?

[@zoenalepa9817]

What happens if they finish their entire years work really early? Or what happened if they finish more than the weeks work in a week? Or finished all the weeks work in a day?

[@mallorycandace]

ZoZoMarie from my understanding it hasn't been too much of a problem. I do know her summer video she said some children had a little less work left than others

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

If they finish early, we either do extra elective work or they can begin on the next year's work. (I graduated at 16 because I worked ahead.) On any particular day, when they finish their work they go play or do what other projects they want to do.

[@emmapark8530]

hiya andrea and family,may i ask is it tricky to home school with your children when thomas is the oldest and is at a higher level and his brothers and sisters or that any of your children are not as strong at certain subjects then the others,best wishes from the uk x

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

The curriculum we use is "self-teaching" so the kids are able to work on their own. If they don't understand something, they come to me, but otherwise they are very independent. It's got built in check points so I can keep an eye on what they're doing without having to be super hands-on. One of my children tends to struggle more than the others, so I spend more time helping him. He's very creative and gets overwhelmed by new information. Once I go over it with him, he usually takes off and does fine.

[@emmapark8530]

thank u mrs mills,best wishes and take care

[@troyotatroyota4845]

hello Andrea i really enjoyed your video it brings back so many memories hey about the ants on your corn just like we herd cows and milk then ants herd aphids and milk them to get something sweet called honeydew enjoy

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

That's interesting. I could see that it looked like they had a bunch of little bugs there. I'm going to have to tell the kids!

[@emmajo8365]

What denomination are you guys?

[@chelc8373]

5:22 is when the vlog actually start, your welcome

[@tanianava1768]

I would love to watch a video in regards to your thoughts on disciplining methods. I am a mom of a 2year old and I have no idea how to discipline her. I feel like people tell me one thing and others tell me another. I'm some what lost here. lol

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

It can be hard no matter how much experience you have! To me, the rule of thumb is to try to teach my children to live by the Golden Rule- to treat others the way you want to be treated. That means setting boundaries with little ones that certain actions aren't acceptable, but at the same time treating them the way I would want my own mother to treat me. It's always a juggling act. I like to try to think of my children as very inexperienced little adults that are going to someday be my best friends. I'm their guide to understanding the world. I don't want to dominate them, but on the other hand I don't want them to get the idea that they dominate me or anyone else. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but if you can internalize that idea, the methods come to you as you need them. (I've done a few parenting videos, but they aren't specifically geared to the toddler age. The playlist is called Raising Adults. I do have many more planned in the future to add to it.)

[@ecmomma]

How come your baby is well behaved during school? Mine crawls and climbs on everything and gets into trouble, he just turned one. It's a challenge to devote time to my kids when my baby is naughty all morning.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

I think some babies just have that "get into everything" personality and others don't! Thomas was always doing naughty things, getting into things and climbing things when he was little. Eden was a real climber, too. It can be difficult! I have learned over the years to make good use of the high chair. When my babies get too busy I put them in it to keep them safe while I do what needs done. They might fuss a little, but they get used to it. (I'm not talking super long times here, but 15-20 minutes.) Once they get used to sitting for a length of time, I feel it helps increase their attention span in general and they tend to be more content to sit and play with blocks or sit and cuddle with one of the big kids during school time.

[@anikahorowitz4156]

👍🏼

[@jasminer7804]

Very uplifting. Thank you for posting this.

[@lovesskittles9]

do they have certain times that they watch Claudia or does Asher just like having her on his shoulder while vacuuming haha

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

She's afraid of the vacuum cleaner, so someone usually picks her up while it's running. Asher likes to carry her on his shoulders so I guess he decided to kill two birds with one stone!

[@CJ-kq4xo]

You might not reply because this was posted like 2 years ago, but what do you do instead of electives that are offered in public schools. Someone like me, who is interested in film and movie production, takes classes that the school provides that is taught by someone who has professional knowledge in that subject manor. I’m not saying you have no knowledge in their subjects; I know you have knowledge in the required subjects and other things that would go on in a school, but how would you do as I explained with their own personal interests in life. There are things like choir singers, acting, and journalism that someone would need credits for to get into colleges. I am just confused on how that would work out.

[@LemonSyrrup]

Im homeschooled and my homeschool pays for classes at places like my local theater, a kids quior clas, gymastics, journaling classes, etc. its different for everyone though so i can't speak for them but you can get the same extra cirriculum from public places outside of schools :D

[@kadytremblay9968]

Your house and the way you live life is old fashioned i love it can i just like live with you lol

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

You just made me smile! :)

[@sawyerhusain1669]

Or maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that right

[@aranzamonserratito]

Could somebody please tell me What a pace is ? Thank you.

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

ACE curriculum uses the acronym PACE for their work booklets. (Packet of Accelerated Christian Education) Instead of having a single text book for the year, the chapters are published as individual booklets, or PACEs. Each subject has 12 PACEs per year.

[@aranzamonserratito]

Andrea Mills ohh now it makes more sense thank you so much for replying love your videos! :) you have a beautiful family

[@AnnHope53]

5th.... hehe. Why not?

[@mallorycookman8648]

I love how organized you are. Can you explain the privilege system you were mentioning

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

Here's a link to a video I made about it during our last school year: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3jOiI2gad9_lc0

[@gabepatrick357]

Hi Andrea, is there any chance you can do this every week or every once and a while. I really enjoyed this video and I'm getting some neat ideas. Please consider this! Love you and your family!

[@TheMillsFamilyVlog]

My goal is to do it every week. I'm editing our second school week now.