Five at five: 'Little Chips' preparing to enter kindergarten in the fall
Raising a big family can be a handful, but for Malessa and Rex Wing, it is two handfuls and then some.
Together they raise a family of eight children, Allyson, 19, Nicholas, 16, Charlie, 7, and 5-year-olds Matthew, Lillian, Jason, Kassidy and Madison, along with a 1-year-old grandson, Jackson. The quintuplets were offered a four-year scholarship to Central Michigan University by former President Mike Rao in 2006 after they were born.
Now at five, the quintuplets are preparing to begin kindergarten at Shepherd Elementary School, 168 E. Maple St. in Shepherd in the fall.
"We've been going over ABCs and 123s and practicing writing their names," Malessa said. "They all need one-on-one time, so it's a little hard sometimes, but we find ways."
She said she has been raising them almost on her own for the past few years because Rex works more than 40 hours per week as a mechanic. She still would not trade it for anything, she said.
Malessa said the average day is "sometimes hectic, but it's always wonderful. There will always be one to make you smile when you need it."
She has utilized a star chart as a reward system to help motivate the quintuplets to stay clean and organized. Those rewards range from a Nerf gun, which Jason is working toward, to a movie or a Happy Meal, Malessa said.
She said the rewards system has helped make her busy life a little easier to manage because it allows to her focus on other things as the children learn to be independent.
Malessa's mother, Patty Parks of Shepherd, said the independence the children are learning is crucial for their development.
"I think (the independence) is great," Parks said. "They have learned that they need to help out around the house."
Parks also said the children are extremely well-mannered and rarely misbehave in public.
"We can take them out to eat, all five of them and more, and you can tell the (restaurant staff) is a little skeptical when they see how many there are, but almost always they compliment how well they behaved," she said.
Parks said she is confident the independence Malessa is teaching them now will benefit them later in life, especially they begin kindergarten.
Shepherd Elementary School Principal Tom Ryan said he has known the Wing family for years and is excited for the children to join their older brother Charlie at school.
"They seem to be a great family," Ryan said. "We're confident (they quintuplets) will do well here"
