This is probably the closest to how I play. I like playing large families and try to set up routines for them on the weekdays. On the weekends, I let them do their own thing, sleep in late, eat on their own time (separately rather than as a family.) I usually wait until all the kids age up into Young Adults, then I'll choose one or two to stay with the main house and move the rest out. I might play the others for a day or so, but mostly just stick with the main household. Sometimes if I feel like it, I might send them all to University too, but keeping up with that many sims in Uni is stressful and I usually just end up sending one 'heir' and one 'spare'.
