Spring Break
McCaughey septuplets celebrate their sixth birthday
Issue date: 11/17/03 Section: People In The News
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - As the McCaughey septuplets turn 6 on Wednesday, they're meeting new friends in kindergarten, developing their own likes and dislikes and following their own minds, the Ladies' Home Journal reports in its December issue.
''The kids do challenge us more now,'' Kenny McCaughey, 33, of Carlisle, father of the world's first surviving septuplets, told the magazine. ''Sometimes, they're downright
defiant,'' added their mother, Bobbi.
Independent thinking is something the McCaugheys sought to encourage when they enrolled the seven children this fall at the local elementary school, which offers six kindergarten classes.
''That meant only two, Natalie and Joel, ended up sharing a classroom and a teacher,'' Bobbi McCaughey said. ''It was just too good to pass up.''
Next year, the seven will be home-schooled along with their older sister, Mikayla, 7.
''We want to pass on our religious and ethical values as part of their studies,'' Kenny McCaughey said.
The septuplets - Kenny, Alexis, Natalie, Kelsey, Brandon, Nathan and Joel - were born on Nov. 19, 1997.
Alexis and Nathan have weakened muscles because of cerebral palsy. Alexis uses a walker, while Nathan can walk a dozen steps without one. Kenny, nicknamed Bert for his middle name, Robert, helps Nathan dress and gets him things he can't reach. Nathan dotes on Alexis, the magazine reports.
''The kids do challenge us more now,'' Kenny McCaughey, 33, of Carlisle, father of the world's first surviving septuplets, told the magazine. ''Sometimes, they're downright
defiant,'' added their mother, Bobbi.
Independent thinking is something the McCaugheys sought to encourage when they enrolled the seven children this fall at the local elementary school, which offers six kindergarten classes.
''That meant only two, Natalie and Joel, ended up sharing a classroom and a teacher,'' Bobbi McCaughey said. ''It was just too good to pass up.''
Next year, the seven will be home-schooled along with their older sister, Mikayla, 7.
''We want to pass on our religious and ethical values as part of their studies,'' Kenny McCaughey said.
The septuplets - Kenny, Alexis, Natalie, Kelsey, Brandon, Nathan and Joel - were born on Nov. 19, 1997.
Alexis and Nathan have weakened muscles because of cerebral palsy. Alexis uses a walker, while Nathan can walk a dozen steps without one. Kenny, nicknamed Bert for his middle name, Robert, helps Nathan dress and gets him things he can't reach. Nathan dotes on Alexis, the magazine reports.
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