Homeschooling your kids?

[Squirrel669]

Hi my name is Sheryl, I am still pretty new to the sailing community. Nowell and I are in the process of restoring our Albin Vega. We want to live aboard the boat. I am posting today to see if their is any other parents out here that could give me a few pointers in raising your kid (s) aboard as for homeschooling. My son is 11 yrs old and currently in the 5th grade, by the time we get everything up and on the boat he will be a 6th grader.  I have never homeschooled before so this will surely be a new adventure for me as well as Kain. I would just like to know others input as to what helped your kids in the transition and maybe what avenue you approached in home school programs. Doing alot of research into this there seems to be so many to choice from that at times seems abit overwhelming as to which is what. I know it will all come down to as to what is best schedule, program and routine for him, but it is always encouraging to hear how other parents have done this and how their kids have done.

Thanks a Million
Sheryl

[skylark]

I have heard that many cruisers use the Calvert Academy program.

[Captain Smollett]

Hi  Sheryl,

I homeschool our children.

Calvert is a popular choice, but I don't like "canned" programs like that.  In my observation, it generally seems to be chosen by homeschooling parents that want everything done 'for them,' so they are essentially administer the education rather than provide it.

We used A Beka initially, then rejected it.  A Beka comes highly touted, but it is mind-numbingly repetitive and full of busy-work.  My daughter hated it and each day, math lessons were met with about 2 hours of screaming and crying.  That's NOT an exaggeration.

We also tried Alpha Omega Horizons, which is the more 'advanced' AO curriculum.  Pretty much had the same result as with A Beka.

Where are we now?

Our First rule:  no canned curriculum, or 'one size fits all.'  That defeats most of the key, BIG advantages of homeschooling....flexibility.

Our Second Rule:  Forget "Grades" and go with whatever level/interests Kain and keeps him 'engaged.'  If that's 5th grade, fine.  If not, well, that's cool, too.

Our Third Rule:  Do NOT, under any circumstances, think you have to 'mimic' the institutional schooling model.  You can do SO MUCH MORE and SO MUCH BETTER than sitting at a desk, regurgitation of rotely memorized material.  In fact, you might consider out-an-out rejecting that model completely.

For language, we are using Learning Language Arts Through LIterature published by Common Sense Press.  This was recommended to me by a boating mom (of SIX children), and both my children LOVE the program.

One very nice thing about this series is that it integrates all the language subjects into one...you don't have Spelling, Reading, Writing, Grammar.  They are all done simultaneously.

The books are "color coded" by level rather than 'grade.'  If you go to the web page, I think you can look at some sample lessons.

We also mix in a various lessons for Veritas Press.  I like the ones that are books and 'comprehension guides."  These use a lot of 'classics' from literature.  

For math, we are having GREAT results with Singapore Math.  One of the big "fights" is Singapore vs Saxon.  In my opinion, Singapore is so far superior that the comparison is weak.  Singapore tends to result in students that understand problem solving, whereas Saxon has been criticized by some parents as teaching children only to solve "model" problems (ie, procedural approach without understanding).

That two hours of screaming over math?  History.  My daughter digs Singapore Math.

Singapore does not go through High School, so at that, level, you'll have to explore other options.  I've heard great things about Jacobs.

For the rest, we take what is termed an "unschooling" approach.  Don't let the term fool you.  It's really a misnomer.

Unschooling means "student interest led" rather than "teacher led."   I think I can best explain it with an example.  For social studies and geography, my daughter has a book called "Children Like Me."  Each page has a child from a different country and information about that child (what they like to do, what they eat, about their family, etc).

So, she goes through the book to find one she's interested in, South Africa for example, and that's what we study basically until she gets tired of it.  She draws maps of the country of interest, gets recipes and cooks dinner for the family, makes crafts from that region and whatever else we can do.

For example, when she was studying South Africa, we were in a marina with a South African family (the Mom is who recommended Singapore Math to me, by the way).  My daughter interviewed the mom as part of her lesson...the interview went on about an hour!  Not bad for a fourth grader.

Another time, she interviewed a Vietnam Vet in our marina during her study of Vietnam.

We get a lot of yummy ethnic meals from this approach, too.   ;)

It really is up to your imagination (and his) how far you can go with this stuff.  Curricula are too limiting.  The best approach, in my not-so-humble opinion as a former college teacher, is just to learn.  The structure of "education" suits the institution, not the children.

Here's a quick story to illustrate the contrast between Calvert and "Unschooling."  When I was at your stage, researching my options, I found a story on one of the cruising sites (I cannot remember which, but I could probably dig it up if you want to see the source material):

This is the story of two boats, both with 'boatschooled' children aboard, and both crossing the Panama Canal.  On one boat, the children were doing "Calvert School," and on the other, they were 'unschooled.'

The children aboard the Calvert School boat were studying Greek Mythology.  Every day during the crossing, they were below doing lessons, learning about Hercules and the like.  They missed a lot of the essence of the canal...the local history, the magnificence of the canal construction, the beauty of the rain forest and mountains, etc.

On the other boat, the children applied the canal itself to the lesson of the day.  For example, math problems consisted of things like "how much water passes through each lock in a day" or "what speed must you run to make the next lock opening," etc.  History was the history of Panama and the canal, social studies was going on around them (talking with the Panamanian line handlers, for example), etc.

I know the latter approach works VERY well for us.  It is more work for the teacher(s), though, and that's why some choose Calvert.

[Squirrel669]

Wow that was very informative and just what I needed a little detail on comparison's and personal experience from some one that has tried various types. Thanks so much, although it still baffles me a little as to if there is no grades or grading periods then how do they ever graduate and move onto college? Does college's now a days look at homeschooling with just as much respect as going to public/private schooling?

I love the idea and theory behind that it is not a one size fits all in the world of education. That it should be on levels that suits each particular child. That is an awesome concept.

I appreciate all the helpful insight on this as it will become a very big part of our lives in raising Kain on the boat. My biggest concern is that we make learning for him fun, exciting and memorable, that he enjoys learning. That's all I want is for him to get a good education but have so much fun getting it. I honestly can not think of a better way for him to get this then for him to experience it and see it first hand.

Thanks again for all the wonderful advise and insight. This helped tremendously!

[Captain Smollett]

it still baffles me a little as to if there is no grades or grading periods then how do they ever graduate and move onto college? Does college's now a days look at homeschooling with just as much respect as going to public/private schooling?

Homeschooled children are in high demand by colleges.  It's not "just as much respect" but in general, much more so.  There are exceptions; some people that homeschool don't do ANYTHING...even "unschooling."  These get on the news, and paint a "popular" image of homeschooling.  But the majority of homeschools are producing students with exceptional educations and the colleges recognize this.

Different states have different homeschooling laws, so you need to understand the laws in your state.  Here, one of the criteria we have to meet is from age 7 and up, they have to take an annual nationally standardized test.

The "theory" is that this test will show if we are "doing our job."  Most of my homeschooling acquaintances find this a bit funny, since our students typically, and on the whole, blow the top off most of those tests.

My biggest concern is that we make learning for him fun, exciting and memorable, that he enjoys learning. That's all I want is for him to get a good education but have so much fun getting it. I honestly can not think of a better way for him to get this then for him to experience it and see it first hand.

Learning (or teaching) is not always "fun," but on the whole it is.  I try to take a "big picture" view of it.

It's hard.  Some days, it seems like insanity.  There will be times you ask yourself "why" and wonder if you can keep doing it.

But the rewards are tremendous.  When both of my children first learned to read, or first did their own addition problem, or when my daughter wrote her first essay, etc, it was ME that was there experiencing it with her.  It was not some third party telling me about it after the fact.

If you ask cruisers about the cruising children they've met, you will get answers like "very mature," "extremely well mannered and polite," etc.  Boatschooling is/can be the most profound education possible, and not just "the three r's."  The life lessons are priceless as well.

And you sure don't get those sitting in a classroom.

I'm very excited for you and your family as you begin this journey.

[Captain Smollett]

Sorry for the double post, but..

Couple more points.

If he doesn't already have one, get Kain a journal.  As you are working on the boat, have him write journal entries.  Writing is active (as opposed to listening, which is mostly passive). 

Also, if he does not already have one, could you consider getting him his own camera?  As you get the boat ready and begin to travel, part of his 'education' will be/can be to write reports about where he is and things he's done and seen, then email them with pictures to friends and family.

This is VERY effective.

My daughter puts her pictures in her journal.

Does he have assigned jobs on the boat for when you are underway?  If you have not considered this yet, he'll want to be an active part of the crew with responsibilities at his level of experience sailing.  This can be part of his more "formal" education as well.  For example, a few years ago, when she was in "third grade" if I recall correctly, we took a 'day cruise' 20 miles down and 20 miles back.  Before we left, my daughter used a course protractor and paper chart to shape our courses and waypoints, converted from True North to Magnetic North, and listed those in a table for us to follow underway (we don't navigate by GPS/Chartplotter).  She had some help, of course, but it was a good project.

Underway, she steered some of those legs.

Each of my children have a "duty station" for when we come into a dock; that is, they each have a dock line they are responsible for holding/throwing to whoever is on the dock.  We practice throwing lines so they can hit a sideways outstretched arm.

You can get him his own (plastic) sextant.  A Davis Mark 15 is around $220 (wow, they've gone up).  He'll have a ball with that and learning to use it.  Teaching him celestial navigation encompasses all manners of good lessons - astronomy, physics, geography, math and history.

If you do delve into celestial navigation with him, teach him several methods of sight reduction (sight reduction computer, tables, direct calculation).

While stationary, say while fixing up the boat, if he uses an artificial horizon to take lunar sights over a period of a month or so, he can fix position without accurate time.  There is lots of history: have him read up on Commodore Anson's famous voyage and why it was significant and John Harrison's contribution to modern navigation.

Two good books on this subject:  Patric O'Brian's The Golden Ocean which is a fictionalized account of Anson's voyage and Longitude: The True Story of the Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel.

In other words...TONS AND TONS of possibilities... ;D  No curriculum needed...every day is "schoolwork," and the world itself is the laboratory.

[JWalker]

I cant offer any advice on home schooling on a boat, however I can indeed offer you encouragement in your decision!

I was home schooled from 6th grade on, and I am very happy my parents decided to home school me.

I wouldnt be heading off on a boat now if it wasnt for the difference in education I got because of home schooling.

Great choice!  ;D