Schooling at Sea

[Airshac]

My wife and I hope to be cruising in the future, about 10 years from now. If that happens we will have our 10yo daughter with us. I know we aren't the only people considering homeschooling in the water and there are lots of people actually doing it so it seems like we should have a thread or even a forum dedicated to school life at sea. If you are already doing it please share ideas, stories, tips, tricks etc. And those not doing it yet can learn from others.
I was homeschooled through middle school and hated it. I have generally been against the idea since but I am very much in favor of cruising so we'll learn as much as we can in the next 10 ( or hopefully less) years.

[SV Sea Monkey]

We're heading out next August for a year and will be home schooling our son through 7th grade. I'll be watching this thread for advice since I know there are many on CF who have home schooled. I'm a teacher so am not intimidated by the thought of home schooling--I just don't want to miss any of the fantastic learning opportunities we will encounter. We have met other home schooling cruisers through SSCA as well: www.ssca.org.

[Teknav]

I am surprised at folks who have 5-10 year plans in advance. Realistically, I only plan for no more than 6 months in advance and adjust my plan as needed. Having said that, I also have a standby dream plan just in case the winning lotto ticket finds its way in my wallet; making sure not to leave a forwarding address.

Mauritz
Laugh and the world laughs with you...

[SV Sea Monkey]

Originally Posted by Teknav

I am surprised at folks who have 5-10 year plans in advance. Realistically, I only plan for no more than 6 months in advance and adjust my plan as needed. Having said that, I also have a standby dream plan just in case the winning lotto ticket finds its way in my wallet; making sure not to leave a forwarding address.

Mauritz
Laugh and the world laughs with you...

I guess it comes down to where you draw the line between dreaming and planning. We have been dreaming of our trip for about eight years, but only began planning when we started boat shopping in earnest less than a year ago. Before then we didn't know the details of where and when we could go, or for how long. Once we decided those details we could put a budget together and find the right boat.

Dreaming also served a purpose for us. Keeping the dream alive helped drive the discipline of saving.

[Hudson Force]

I'm all for long term plans and the ability to adjust!

It seems that the best possible success for homeschooling would be achieved by keeping an internet connection while cruising in order to take advantage of the many resources online.

[Airshac]

Originally Posted by SV Sea Monkey

I guess it comes down to where you draw the line between dreaming and planning. We have been dreaming of our trip for about eight years, but only began planning when we started boat shopping in earnest less than a year ago. Before then we didn't know the details of where and when we could go, or for how long. Once we decided those details we could put a budget together and find the right boat.

Dreaming also served a purpose for us. Keeping the dream alive helped drive the discipline of saving.

Yep dreaming keeps the goal alive and keeps you motivated to make the necessary sacrifices. If we didn't have school aged kids right now then we would be having shorter term plans.

As for school I know in NC they offer a program that is called NCK12 (I believe) that is free and follows the state curriculum. So I guess if you checked in with the state at the beginning if each year you could take advantage of that.

[rebel heart]

Some experiences with our three year old in La Paz, Mexico:

Rebel Heart - Charlotte's Blog - Cora Goes to School in La*Paz

And a picture of her and I a month ago "home scooling" which at this age is primarily going through workbooks to focus on letters, numbers, basic math, basic science, etc. It's really amazing how much of a headstart you can give your kids if you're motivated.

[bobconnie]

We educated 4 kids till 3 of them were ready for high school, with snail mail/ ssb Calvert system, 3 went to collage and graduated. Our son went to work in fishing industry, and currently is a mate on a large Yacht in Alaska. You can sure do it with your child, much easier with internet and e-mail thats available today !! Don't worry, the stuff she will see and do will help her thru life ! And if she can read spell and do math what else is needed???

[annsni]

I'm in my 17th year of homeschooling (land based) and the best advice I have for you is to find out when and where your state homeschool conference is and go! You can talk to the people who have the curriculums, take a good look at them and get an idea of what might work for your daughter. You will eventually need to understand your daughter's learning style so that you can pick a good curriculum.

[familycruisers]

We just started cruising and our daughter just turned five. We decided to do the Abeca program. Its structured, and the books are fun for our kindergartner. You are taking a ten year old though, so apples and oranges.
I think we might be ordering the first grade books before too long,

[annsni]

Originally Posted by familycruisers

We just started cruising and our daughter just turned five. We decided to do the Abeca program. Its structured, and the books are fun for our kindergartner. You are taking a ten year old though, so apples and oranges.
I think we might be ordering the first grade books before too long,

A Beka is a good curriculum (Christian-based, not sure if the OP is looking for that). I used it with my older girls but found Bob Jones to be a bit better, IMO. I don't like Bob Jones as an organization necessarily (although they've cleaned up their racism supposedly) but their homeschool materials are great. I especially love their English program. For the younger grades (through 6th grade), it's grammar for 2 weeks (10 lessons) and then writing for 2 weeks. It alternates so I find for when the writing is getting to be too much or the grammar is, it switches to the other soon enough.

BTW - My older two were homeschooled from 1st through 8th then went to the public high school. My oldest is now graduated from college with a degree in art education and is looking for a very rare job (LOL) and my second one is in her senior year of college and planning to go off to grad school for her doctorate in audiology. My next two are in 6th and 8th grades.

What I'm using for my kids now in purchased curriculum:

8th grade:
Sonlight history/reading (Core 200)
Saxon Algebra
Bob Jones English
Apologia Physical Science

6th grade:
Bob Jones history
Bob Jones reading
Bob Jones English
Apologia Anatomy and Physiology
Saxon 7/6 Math

If you are good with Christian curriculum, I can't recommend Apologia enough for higher elementary grades on up.