Today was the day. Our boys woke up before the crack of dawn, beds were made, brekky was gone, they were dressed and ready to go. Yet it wasnt even 7.30 in the morning! They were smiling from ear to ear, and they even had their teeth brushed.
I guess you could say they were super keen and super excited. They have been asking to go to school since I can’t remember when….its been weeks of “When Are We Going To Enrol In School” nearly every day since we got to the Mackay area.
We are parked next to a little creek which is just perfect for our family who love to be outside! Well most of our boys do. It’s also perfect because I can keep an eye on Kyle playing while I am still able to get the washing up done, sweep the floors, wash the clothes, and keep them quiet so David can sleep. Even our 16-year-old son has joined in on the fun.
Zachery was watching his brothers trying to build a bridge. He was listening to them all talking about it yesterday afternoon. Before I could say anything he was into working out How To Build A Strong Bridge so that all of his brothers could easily climb over it without falling into the little creek.
Instead of explaining what he was doing, I thought I would show you in photos….
We are trying so hard to get used to our new lifestyle! David is Working night-shift while we are trying to see the sights of Mackay and still trying to do homeschooling! Does Travelling, Homeschooling and Night shift work hand in hand together?
We are only going into week two of Dave doing night-shift, travelling and homeschooling all in one. Then there is housework, cooking meals, trying to blog (which I am still trying to catch up on!)….so far I have snapped once during the week! It was the other day – I was trying to get the washing up to date (which I can’t do while Dave is asleep because the washing machine is in our boot of the bus – under our bed!), make lunches, clean the bus up and think about dinner.
For the past few weeks Zachery, Nicholas, Cameron and Kyle have been using Skwirk Interactive Schooling program. There are many reasons why our boys are enjoying the Online Education.
They are learning without realising it, and having fun – they even bug me to get onto the computer so that they can have “Their Turn”!
When we are out and about our boys love learning from life. If we go to Boondall Wetlands, then they are learning from being there. If we go to the beach then they are learning about their environment. They are even learning when we are going shopping! (no eyes rolling here)
We get lots of questions about Homeschooling all of the time – from comments on our facebook fan page, to even emails that are sent regards what to do for Homeschooling, how many hours it takes us to homeschooling to even what system we like to use.
Instead of re-answering questions we thought we would ask a fellow traveller who was homeschooled while travelling with her Mum many years ago about her ideas/thoughts and share Children Their World Their Education!
What about their education?
By Sarah Pye
“Schooling and education are not synonymous,” schoolteacher, Margaret Pye wrote in an article published in 1981 in a sailing magazine. She should know after ‘boat schooling’ two teenagers. Margaret is my mother and I was one of those children. In 1979 our family set out from England on a journey of discovery.
Yesterday I wanted to keep away from text books for the morning as the boys needed a break! So we decided to get the art supplies out of the cupboard and concentrate on Homeschool Art Lessons.
As the boys are very crafty (not sure where they get that from!) I have a big supply of Art and Craft items. If they could spend their whole week doing Art Lessons then they would be over the moon. Anything to do with glue, cutting, sticky tape and paper then they are able to make the most amazing creations. Maybe they get their talent for art and craft from Davids side of the family, sure isn’t from me as I am not into painting or drawing!
When we started Homeschooling with Nicholas and Cameron about four years ago, we looked at all the different homeschooling styles. We decided to homeschool both boys for a year, taking them out of school to give them a year at home. At first I was really worried about what style of homeschooling system to choose – do we go with a full support program that included hours of text book work or do we go with the style of Homeschooling Unschooling?
Luckily for our family I found a great support system that meet up at least once a month on the Sunshine coast, and also a great leader who I was able to ring and speak to when ever I had questions. At first we tried to fit (every day) all of the text book work that we could. Plus join sports activities, monthly meetings at Mary Cairncross Park with other homeschooling groups and also drive to Maleny once a month to a wonderful Archery expert who taught the boys how to use a bow/arrow from his home. There was so many different homeschooling groups out there, that we ended up having to choose what activities to join, and what days we needed to say “No” so that we could have a day at home! That is where we discovered the beauty of Homeschooling Unschooling Style.
The other day the post arrived and it was so exciting for our boys!! They waited around the box like it was Christmas time…itching to get the box open! They were super excited to get their hands on all of their Homeschooling Books.
As we are getting “Rose The Lifestyle Challenge Bus” ready to travel around Australia I am getting the boys Homeschooling Books organised. I ordered all of the books that they needed in one big order so that when they are finished with each book I am able to order little bits here and there. Some of these text books will last for about 12 months – others will last for about 6 months! Here is our crazy boys waiting for me to open the box…..
Its important when starting out with Homeschooling to find a support system. It is not an easy task by any means but with Homeschool Resources, support, team work and the right attitude anything is possible!
As I have talked about in How To Homeschool and discussed in Homeschooling In Australia we are homeschooling our five boys and they all have different needs, different levels of books and different styles of learning. My oldest is crazy about sport, while my second boy loves reading. So to encourage Hayden to read I make sure we have sports books in the house, or visit the library so he can check out the sport section.
The Library is a fantastice resource for homeschooling children and their parents. It is a great way to spend the day, looking at books that will relate to their school work as well as keep you sane when you need a day out of the house. Due to the limited amount of storage space that I will have on our bus we will not have a huge collection of books on hand, but will be visiting many libraries as possible along the way.
Last time I talked about Homeschooling In Australia as I was getting a lot of questions about how we were going to teach our boys while on the road traveling in our Motorhome. The next thing people say to me after they find out that we are homeschooling our boys is “Are you a teacher?” So here goes….this is what we do for homeschooling.
There are many different methods to Homeschooling and a lot of different ways/system that are out there in Australia and overseas. It depends on your religion, your beliefs and the way you want to Homeschool your children. But here is How To Homeschool our boys….as they are very active hands on children I am working out which style of homeschooling suits each boy. The beauty of Homeschooling is the flexibility to cater for each of their skills, their strengths and what they prefer to do. Because they are not in a school room setting they do not have to “Do The Work Like You Have Been Told”!!!
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