Heaps of laundry and a lot of togetherness: Inside the lives of a Winnipeg family of 9

Laura Gross thinks big families are underrated.

That's what motivated the SislerCreate filmmaking studentto make a video that shows how funlife is in a family of nine but that italso takes focus and organization.

That is thetheme behind Gross' short video, part ofProject POV: Sisler Create, a new storytelling project.

CBC Manitoba journalists started teaching a series of storytelling and journalism workshops to student filmmakers in September.The collaboration is culminating in nine short videos by students that will be published on CBC platforms, including this video.

Grossfocused her video project on life in a family of seven kids. She tapped her own family to offer tips for staying organized. Those tips can work for families of all sizes.

There's an amazing dynamic that we all have each other's backand support each other through everything.- Laura Gross

Laura said divvying up tasks helps not just to keep everyone's workload light, but builds team spirit, too.

"There's an amazing dynamic that we all have each other's backand support each other through everything."

Big family life can be busy, and there is endless work that needs to get done, said Tracy, Laura's mom.

There are hard parts about big family life, too. The Gross parents, including dad Patrick, make an effort to spend individual time with each of their kids, because they know that one-on-one time can be hard to come by.

For the Grosses, that time typically happens when one of the parents is running an errand.

But togetherness is part of Laura's family life that she thinks isa benefit, not a drawback.

"You can always find someone who is willing to join you at your level of enthusiasm or interest in an activity," Laura said. "It's amazing.You always feel so loved and cared for, and we are never lonely."

Meet the filmmakers

More on Project POV: Sisler Create

CBC Manitoba's Project POV: SislerCreate is a new storytelling collaboration that partners filmmaking students with CBC journalists to produce short videos.

During fall 2022, CBC journalists led storytelling and producing workshops over several weeks with filmmaking students in theCreate program at Sisler High School. The program focuses on education and career pathways into the creative industries. Students can take courses in animation, film, game design, visual effects, graphic design and interactive digital media.