We are really fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants kind of people. While we generally have routines for our days, we haven’t been strict at all. If there was something fun to go do, we did it. School for the kids was pretty loose and flexible. Some days we did a lot, some days we did none. This type of…
To get excited for the Halloween season, we decided to pause our regular before bedtime story, and pull out some Halloween books instead. I had my mother go through her collection, and she included 7 or 8 when she sent us our mail and the rest we’ve been able to get through our library overdrive or from the…
We added Crankenstein (https://www.amazon.com/dp/031612656X/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_PJuuub17G35JD) to our collection this year. It’s hilarious and so spot in descriptions of grumpy kids (and adults!) We just got it and I have already heard a few times, “Are you being a Crankenstein?”ReplyCancel
We love listening to audio books as we drive. We’ve worked our way through the Percy Jackson Series, the Enchanted Forest Series, and now we are on book 4 of the Heroes of Olympus. Even though we don’t drive 10 hours days (ever) listening to a book is an easy way to keep kids entertained…
Have you guys checked out Libravox? It takes a bit of exploration to find titles and then get used to some of the (non-professional) readers – but we’ve been mining their library for a couple of years. More for MsBoyink and I to fall asleep to at night. But they have some Nesbitt, Prisoner of Zenda, the Greek Classics, etc.ReplyCancel
I was so skeptical. You have what? A Quest thing? What’s that? Oh – you have a SCHEDULE for your ranger programs? And to earn the badge they have to attend at a certain time? That’s lame. Only its not. At all. I’m now a believer. Coming from the National Park system which has all…
[…] There are A LOT of opportunities in the area to earn Jr. Ranger Badges and Patches! Not only is there the National Park Jr. Ranger booklet (which, as always, is a self-guided program), but during the summer there is also a California State Park program and it is AMAZING. So amazing in fact, that I detailed a post about it HERE. […]ReplyCancel
With the “start” of another school year I thought I’d update the far reaches of the universe with our current road school curriculum. After a harrowing, first ever experience putting together a curriculum on my own last year I feel that this year has been pretty low key. We’ve moved ahead in most of their…
We got Spectrum Test Practice Grade 3 from Amazon. It was good test practice and also helped us see what we still needed to work on!ReplyCancel
You are very organized! I have not found it easy to be organized with our road schooling. We have not purchased a curriculum though each girl has a grade appropriate multi-subject workbook. We end up doing a lot of online learning games mixed with library time, and of course field trips! I need to probably add a bit more structure though.ReplyCancel
You are very organized! I have not found it easy to be organized with our road schooling. We have not purchased a curriculum though each girl has a grade appropriate multi-subject workbook. We end up doing a lot of online learning games mixed with library time, and of course field trips! I need to probably add a bit more structure though.ReplyCancel
This is great! We have to follow a schedule in order to keep up with brick and mortar public school but so much of that schedule is just in my head. On the rare occasion that I am sick and Tim has to take a day off work and be the stay at home Dad, he feels helpless and it is because i don’t do a good job of writing anything down. We have a big wipe board to help with some things but other things should be written down too. Looks like I now have a reason to swing by Target before school pick up!
nice! I’m amazed at how liberated I feel just writing things down on PAPER and not having to have everything in my phone. I seriously get less headaches!
Jess – You are so inspiring! It really is hard to manage a schedule with this lifestyle, or at least that’s how I’ve been feeling since we’ve started. We’ve done such little school that it’s ridiculous. Granted, we’ve only been on the road for 2 months and there have been so many things other than school that have been on our minds – settling in, repairs, a dramatic change in lifestyle, balancing work and play…
My husband and I have been talking about trying to get some sort of schedule together and this post is PERFECT! I love that you still have flexibility, which you need, with having Saturday designated as a makeup day.
I also love that you scheduled in some YOU time!
Thanks Leesa!! It definitely is an ongoing battle. We did about a week of this schedule and then everyone rebelled and we took a day off! lol! Slowly, but surely we are getting into our routines though. It also helps to take a day off to earn a Jr. Ranger Badge, visit a museum or take a tour and count that as “school” for the day. It breaks things up!
When we first became a full-time RVing family, we enrolled our boys in a traditional curriculum for an online school called “Connections Academy. They have one for nearly every state. The problem was I spent 12-14 hours a day trying to keep up with their curriculum which was not accommodated for my special needs boys. And then, one afternoon after about eight weeks. I was exhausted and spent Saturday also in school–making my husband help two boys get caught up while I focused on tutoring my oldest son. I finally told my husband, “I have a Master’s in Education and I can see that this is not working any better for our boys than it did when they were in public school. Plus, the school does not account for a parent’s education level!” We were literally being blocked from continuing assignments until our paperwork was mailed to the school to be graded by their teachers or specialists. Also, they set our schedule requiring us to log in at this time or that for therapy, group lessons, chatting with their teacher etc. It was frustrating that we chose this lifestyle and school was hindering us from getting outside and enjoying the environment. I did a thorough search of parents who homeschooled and found a blog from a mother that made a very enlightening comment; “If the traditional did not work before, why would it work now!” I found Time4Learning.com. You have to pay for it but it’s affordable and it is designed to work around your schedule and the kids’ progress. I supplement with lessons a few times a week to account for writing and teaching things like cursive and typing. We also work on more reading because if they cannot read, they cannot progress themselves in life. Though space is limited, they get a brand new book of their choice to work on reading strategies and reading and they get to buy their replacement when they have “graduated” from their previous selection. I love this alternative and though I moved my oldest back two grades to get his skills and strategies where I felt they needed to be for him to be successful, in four months he has finished Sicence, Social Studies, Language Arts, Language Extensions, and Math curriculum for one whole grade and we “graduated” him this weekend. He is now returning to his 3rd grade curriculum today and said, “I’m so excited Mom! Because I know I can do this! I’m ready!” This from a boy who I tested to be below Kindergarten level when we first started in September. I’m proud of him.
I admire That you have all found time for exercising. This is where I struggle the most. But I do find “me” time in writing late at night and that is going to have to be enough for a while. We did just buy a trike/stroller for our toddler to help with this and the weather is just clearing up enough for us to arrange to go back to storage for our bikes!
You are truly all inspiring to us.
Thanks Melanie! I think the freedom to choose curriculum based on our kids’ needs is one of the BEST parts about home school! I’m glad you found something that has worked for you. Exercise for me is almost non-negotiable. I’m such a cranky person when I don’t take care of myself first!