September 7, 2015
Tomorrow Journey starts her freshman year of High School, class of 2019! We have gone from boat schooling to road schooling and will bounce back to boat schooling in another month or so. There are many people traveling in different capacities with their children and I am always intrigued to the choices they make regarding school. Unschooling, online curriculum, traditional curriculum, and do it yourself curriculum are just some of the choices available. There are plenty of "named brands" to be had for homeschooling such as Calvert, Keystone, Switched on Schoolhouse, and Time 4 Learning to name a few. We have used Calvert (Grades 2-6) and enjoyed most of it. It is traditional, classical education at home. Calvert sends a huge box of supplies including lesson manuals for the teacher. This felt good to me when we were on terra firma, working, and living a more traditional lifestyle.
When we left on our trip, we mostly unschooled for 8th grade and opted for more experiential learning. We did have Journey do math (Calvert) everyday, she picked out a science book which she read, she read many books and wrote in her journal. I wish she would have written more on her blog but some battles just went to bed. At the end of the year, she told us that she felt like she wanted more structure. Great-we loved the fact that she chose her learning style.
John and I tend to be type A people in many ways-education is one of them. We both have multiple college degrees and we are believers in education. Knowing that Journey would transition to high school on land so we wanted to make sure we had a curriculum that would meet/exceed a typical land based education. We reviewed many and found one that checked most the boxes for us as there is compromise in everything.
For us, online education is not an option due to internet connectivity is moderate to poor in the areas of Mexico that we travel. We wanted a curriculum that would take me out of the equation as teacher and foster independent learning. The curriculum we have is a cd based curriculum that auto corrects about 85% of her work (tests and quizzes). It provides a portal for the teacher so that monitoring can exist as well as provide rubrics to grade the other 15%.
With that said, we shall see how it goes!
Monday, September 7, 2015
Is it the Journey or the Destination?
September 7, 2015
Since June we have travelled over 8,000 miles in the RV and 3,000 in the car. We have been to 25 states, over 10 National Parks, many national monuments and forests. We have spent time with family and friends and have enjoyed it all.
When we left last year on our sailboat, headed for Mexico and beyond, we didn't quite know what beyond meant. At the time, I would have said either the South Pacific or Panama Canal. Now I know it does not include those things, at least not for a while if ever. I love sailing and our boat but I am able to safely say that crossing an ocean is just not for me. I am in awe of my many friends that have adventured towards those destinations and a hint of envy creeps into my soul when reading their blogs.
For me there are just too many forces that I cannot resist that prevent me from going any further than Mexico. Here is a list and it is not in any order.
1. Fear of storms.
2. Fear of things going wrong and not being able to deal with it.
3. Family-the thought of not seeing our families for years is just not an option.
4. Having a teenager that is desperately wanting to have a steady peer group.
5. Wanting to have other travel experiences other than "the boat".
I am proud of our accomplishment of sailing the miles we have sailed from Washington to Mexico and look forward to another year of cruising. I also look forward to being open to the possibilities of traveling to more places in other capacities which remain to be unknown.
Namaste at anchor in Bahia de Los Muertos, Baja
Matt on the side of the road somewhere in Wyoming
Since June we have travelled over 8,000 miles in the RV and 3,000 in the car. We have been to 25 states, over 10 National Parks, many national monuments and forests. We have spent time with family and friends and have enjoyed it all.
When we left last year on our sailboat, headed for Mexico and beyond, we didn't quite know what beyond meant. At the time, I would have said either the South Pacific or Panama Canal. Now I know it does not include those things, at least not for a while if ever. I love sailing and our boat but I am able to safely say that crossing an ocean is just not for me. I am in awe of my many friends that have adventured towards those destinations and a hint of envy creeps into my soul when reading their blogs.
For me there are just too many forces that I cannot resist that prevent me from going any further than Mexico. Here is a list and it is not in any order.
1. Fear of storms.
2. Fear of things going wrong and not being able to deal with it.
3. Family-the thought of not seeing our families for years is just not an option.
4. Having a teenager that is desperately wanting to have a steady peer group.
5. Wanting to have other travel experiences other than "the boat".
I am proud of our accomplishment of sailing the miles we have sailed from Washington to Mexico and look forward to another year of cruising. I also look forward to being open to the possibilities of traveling to more places in other capacities which remain to be unknown.
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