Could YOU homeschool K-8 out of one carry-on suitcase?

[Hunter]

I just thought I'd start this thread, as a spin off from another thread where a poster mentioned moving overseas soon. Threads on this topic often come up and people seem to enjoy them. I think it's time to start a fresh thread.

 

I'm pretty certain I could do it, especially with a couple Kindles, a netbook, and a smart phone that I could tether to the netbook.

 

What would you put in YOUR suitcase? Lets imagine this is real for YOU. Come up with your own reason WHY and where you are GOING.

[Parrothead]

An algebra book, an ipad, a kindle, pencils, paper, a box of tea and a cup.

[Crimson Wife]

Assuming I had access to the Internet, a good library, and some place like Kinko's to print stuff as needed, yes. It wouldn't be my ideal situation, but I could do it.

 

Math I'd probably do MM on the iPad or perhaps MEP. Higher levels I'd do something online. I'd still want the Right Start abacus but probably the mini one.

 

LA I'd use KISS and vintage stuff.

 

Science I'd do Mr. Q on the iPad for lower levels then maybe Plato for middle school & up.

 

History I'd maybe get the SOTW e-books for elementary and use library resources.

[Farrar]

I thought about this a lot when homeschooling friends of ours moved onto a boat with their kids.

 

Yes. I think so, assuming that I could replace paper and basic supplies like pencils. If I had regular internet access, then it would easy. If not, harder, but still doable. If I had access to a library regularly, then I could do it without question. If not, again, I think I could manage, but it would be harder.

 

What I put in there would change every year a bit, but right now, I'd want the ipad and kindles and iPad styluses, Miquon, C-rods in a cloth bag, pencils and handheld sharpener, comp books for each kid, final ETC books, The Complete Book of World History and something for science... something narrative... From there, I think we'd manage.

[SorrelZG]

If we imagine Internet, no library, and a home printer ... those are some ideas I could personally use (along with a paper bag and some deep breathing).

 

Thankfully we're still only in lower elementary and I'll have more than a carry-on ...

 

A cloth bag for the C-rods is genius! I was thinking of putting our geography puzzles in bags and cutting out the picture on the lid. I don't want to part with those.

[Wheres Toto]

Yes, but I would have to have my laptop, a library (or tons of $$ to buy ebooks), and internet access. Either a tablet or a Kindle for reading, paper to do curriculum from a screen (like MM).

[Hunter]

If we imagine Internet, no library, and a home printer ... those are some ideas I could personally use (along with a paper bag and some deep breathing).

 

Thankfully we're still only in lower elementary and I'll have more than a carry-on ...

 

A cloth bag for the C-rods is genius! I was thinking of putting our geography puzzles in bags and cutting out the picture on the lid. I don't want to part with those.

 

 

Oh good SCGS. You found the thread. I could picture your avatar in my head, but couldn't remember your screen-name, and was too lazy to go back and look. I don't know if these forums or my tethered phone are so slow, or both, but clicking through these pages is torture.

[RoundAbout]

I can imagine having that little at any one time but don't think I could do all the stuff necessary for K-8 in one suitcase. Maybe if there was an exceptional library on the other end. Having an iPad and Kindle help tremendously but there is just not enough stuff available on PDF to make it possible for me.

[Hunter]

I'm still thinking about this a lot. I think I would lug all 6 of the older version What Your Grader Needs to Know books, since they don't come as ebooks like the revised series does, and I write so many notes in them, and... I just would want them.

 

I think I would bring a full size laptop after I thought about it, instead of a little netbook. If I was relying on a screen so much, I'd need it big.

 

As I said in the other thread, I think I would pack the Magic School Bus series.

 

I would pack the World Book Encyclopedia CD-ROM.

 

Math is hard, but I think I would lug the Professor B Teacher Manuals. They are much smaller than most math curricula and require less paper use, as a lot of the lessons are mostly oral recitations. I'd probably scan the PB student workbooks though, and bring the little Strayer-Upton books instead.

 

Even though I have a digital version, I would want a copy of Karen Newell's Write On! to take notes on. And I don't like to be totally dependent on technology for critical subjects.

 

The handwriting pages ripped out of WRTR 6th edition.

 

The Drawing Textbook is hardly bigger than a pamphlet.

 

Without actually seeing how this fits in a carry-on, I'm not sure how much room I'd have left for hard copies. If I get bored enough I might check. :lol:

 

I'll talk about ebooks later.

[Gentlemommy]

Definitely. If I had iPads and kindles for each kid, a family desktop that I could print from, and basic school supplies (paper, pencils, ect), I could definitely do it. There is just SO much available on the Internet and via PDF now a days.

[stripe]

No! I couldn't!

 

But could I swap out my stuff periodically, or I have to use the same stuff for 9 years?

 

If my total on hand was a suitcase, maybe I could! :)

[stm4him]

Leigh Bortins says you should be able to homeschool with a stick in the sand. I'm not there yet but hope to be some day after I've given myself a complete education....lol.

 

It would have to be a BIG suitcase in the meantime. And I'm gonna stick with K-6.

 

1. All Saxon Math books from Intermediate to 7/6 (this is 4 books) and a full set of flashcards and/or speed drills.

2. A complete set of LOE cards and a copy of the spelling list (if the book won't fit)

3. Essentials charts and Trivium Tables and Essentials guide

4. Complete set of Latin's Not So Tough and Hey Andrew Full Text Answer Keys and Test booklets , the Vulgate and a Greek Interlinear

5. Building Thinking Skills software for books 1-3

6. IEW TWSS

7. Some sort of chart showing me letter formation and script for teaching letters

8. WTM, Teaching the Trivium, and the Core (Echo in Celebration for motivation

9. Veritas Press catalog to use for a book list and Read for the Heart

10. Set of McGuffey Eclectic Readers (and Bob Books if they'd fit)

11. A Bible and Story Bible if possible

12. Foundations guide and sets of Timeline and Science Acts and Facts Cards (total of 8 decks)

13. SOTW books and VP Bible and History cards sets (10 decks) (maybe teacher's manuals on cd)

14. It Couldn't Just Happen and 201 Van Cleave Experiments book for science

15. Achieving True Success (character training) and a book of manners

16. Memory Work Notebook (this is small and has catechism and verses)

17. A book of poetry for memorizing poems

18. Drawing Textbook (or Drawing with Children), Classical Music for Dummies, Discovering Great Artists and a tin whistle for Fine Arts

19. A good atlas

 

I think the main problem here would be lack of science but I doubt a full set of Apologia would fit. Like I said....a BIG suitcase.

 

But when I think of this I think that back in the day they would have used an 1828 Dictionary, McGuffey Readers, a Speller, and a New England Primer and set of Ray's and a Bible I think (plus hornbook which is just the alphabet. I think they had Harvey's Grammars. I don't know about history and science. I bet one COULD do a complete education with these but you'd already have to be well educated yourself.

[Tarreymere]

We are splurging on 7" Android tablets for everyone (including the five year old) for Christmas and I'm already looking at putting nearly all of our actual curriculum on those. I DO have some picks that aren't available in a form I can use on a tablet, but if I HAD to I do have some second choices that are available in an ebook form that I can substitute. I'd also like a small whiteboard or chalkboard, please. And covers for the tablets that have those little keyboards in them. I think that would do it, except for piano..........anyone ever try one of those roll-up music keyboards? Should I add one of those?

[stm4him]

Maybe I would want Hake grammar teacher packets and keys as well.......I heard these are small.....

 

The thing is if you have teacher books/answer keys you can make any worksheet on paper.

[skeeterbug]

Didn't someone on these boards scan hundreds of books into pdfs before moving overseas? Loaded them all on their ipad and voila, they could take as many books as they needed. That's definitely what I'd do.

[AimeeM]

Do I have access to electricity? My math choice depends on it. Lol. Assuming I do, I would take Math Mammoth 1-6 downloaded.

History - SOTW or CHOW

Science - SYRTLS book 2

English (grammar and writing) - I think Hake 6 covers a ton and I would probably forego any elementary formal grammar program until Hake; using Hake for both grammar and writing

Religion - St. Joseph's Baltimore Catechism 1 and 2

[Crimson Wife]

But when I think of this I think that back in the day they would have used an 1828 Dictionary, McGuffey Readers, a Speller, and a New England Primer and set of Ray's and a Bible I think (plus hornbook which is just the alphabet. I think they had Harvey's Grammars. I don't know about history and science. I bet one COULD do a complete education with these but you'd already have to be well educated yourself.

 

This kind of education would be strong in the humanities but decidedly lacking IMHO when it comes to STEM. Ray's is a solid basic arithmetic program but I don't think it is as strong conceptually as the modern Asian-based programs (or similar European ones like MEP). I want a 21st century education for my children because they will be living in an economy where strong STEM skills are a prerequisite for most decent-paying jobs.

[AimeeM]

Do I have access to electricity? My math choice depends on it. Lol. Assuming I do, I would take Math Mammoth 1-6 downloaded.

History - SOTW or CHOW

Science - SYRTLS book 2

English (grammar and writing) - I think Hake 6 covers a ton and I would probably forego any elementary formal grammar program until Hake; using Hake for both grammar and writing

Religion - St. Joseph's Baltimore Catechism 1 and 2

[Susie in MS]

Oh gosh! I could. But I must say I am very grateful that I don't have to. Let's see.

 

Pocket size KJV

Math--Strayor Uptom 1-3

LA-- PLL and ILL

CHOW

My flash drive that has Magic School bus vids and about 100 books or so on there. Mostly AO stuff (hist, sci, lit).

An e-reader--loaded

Usual supplies (paper, pencils, etc)

 

I don't care for electronics, and I have a lot of really good books that I can't get on my flash drive, so I think I would cry. LOL But I could do it.

[shinyhappypeople]

I just thought I'd start this thread, as a spin off from another thread where a poster mentioned moving overseas soon. Threads on this topic often come up and people seem to enjoy them. I think it's time to start a fresh thread.

 

I'm pretty certain I could do it, especially with a couple Kindles, a netbook, and a smart phone that I could tether to the netbook.

 

What would you put in YOUR suitcase? Lets imagine this is real for YOU. Come up with your own reason WHY and where you are GOING.

 

 

Piece of cake :) I'll assume that I have internet/printer, but internet is spotty so I won't want to rely on it for everything. Also, I think there's value in being able to hold a physical book at least some of the time.

 

(1) What Your X Grader Needs to Know 1-6 (older version, since that set has one less book)

(2) Usborne Science Encyclopedia

(3) Kingfisher History Encyclopedia

(4) Math Mammoth on CD

(5) solar calculator

(6) ruler

(7) small AL Abacus

(8) set of C-rods

(9) The Complete Writer

(10) Natural Speller

(11) Phonics book (OPGTR, PhPathways, etc.)

(12) Kindle loaded with our read-alouds, Word Mastery, Primary Language Lessons, Intermediate Language Lessons, classic poetry, etc.

[stripe]

Didn't someone on these boards scan hundreds of books into pdfs before moving overseas? Loaded them all on their ipad and voila, they could take as many books as they needed. That's definitely what I'd do.

 

Amira did it.

 

http://amiralace.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-scan-lot-of-books.html

[Amira]

 

Amira did it.

 

http://amiralace.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-scan-lot-of-books.html

 

Yes, and I still have zero regrets about doing it even though we're back in the US for now. It's easy to homeschool with very little stuff, although I really like having a library right now. And a great Internet connection. The year we homeschooled with just the ebooks and a few physical books was a little hard, but far from impossible.

[Oakblossoms]

I would order stuff and pick it up when I got there :tongue_smilie:

 

I have five kids. Can they each get their own carry on?

 

I would take some blank journals and lined paper.

Ferby Colored pencils

watercolor paints and two brushes

Math Curriculum because I am no good at teaching that.

A couple of those grade level workbooks from Costco.

Kid size scissors.

Story of the World on audio or iphone or something

I would miss the library. If there was no access, I would really hope I could order from Sonlight or Rainbow. Not for the IG's but just for packs of books.

[Bearcat]

I often think about this. My husband and I dream about getting an RV and living life on the road. If that were to ever happen we would, obviously, have to downsize a lot. Homeschool materials and books would be the first thing downsized. I think I could do it. It would take a whole change of mindset about what I really need to have on hand to teach with but it could be done.

Mostly, I would need an ipad, my laptop and lots of e-books. I think the bulk of the space would be filled with paper and art supplies. Those are very important elements of our day to day life and can't be done on an ipad or with PDFs. :)

[Amira]

In some ways, the hardest part about being in this sort of situation isn't so much the limited supplies, but that everything else is limited. If you're literally stuck with just a carry-on and no way to get more stuff, it's very unlikely that you'd have a library or a decent Internet connection available. It's also quite possible that you wouldn't have reliable utilities and that keeping the house going would take up a huge amount of time. I never spent as much time on housework as I did when we didn't have any plumbing in the kitchen, no appliances, and I spent at least an hour every day just buying the food we needed. What I most needed was time, not more books.

[Farrar]

In my friends' case, they do have access to getting more materials and libraries and Internet and so forth - just really unevenly. And they have extremely limited space physically to keep things. So think there are lots of one suitcase homeschool situations.

[Oakblossoms]

I would totally fill up a few kindles if I could access internet and electricity regularly. We have friends who went to sea on a boat when kindle was just coming out. They bought a few readers and filled them up. When they had electricity they could, also, download from the library in the city the left. Most library systems do this now.

[Hunter]

I'm realizing that you cannot fit BOTH a full sized laptop AND enough hardcopy core books to school without electricity, into a carry-on. Either you need a bigger suitcase or to CHOOSE between a full sized laptop and a complete set of core books.

 

Everyone gets to choose their scenario. The point of these exercises is to help us become more efficient now, and to be prepared if something unusual happens. And to just have fun. Make up whatever rules keep the exercise fun and useful to YOU. Just state YOUR chosen scenario and rules and tell us all about it.

 

I love having digital backups of core curricula, and for supplements, but I get nervous not having a hardcopy core. If I had to do a carry-on, I'd pack my hardcopy core, and then go with less technology no matter what the cost.

 

And as Amira said, time is limited anyway. I too have learned that when I've been living my more unusual moments.

 

As for the Core Knowledge What Your Grader Needs to Know books, not only are there more revised books (preschool-6), but the series is not finished. The topics still needing to be covered in 7-8 are in the scope and sequence, but there are no published resources to help teach them. The older series is COMPLETE in 6 books. It's a narrower scope, but it's FINISHED. If the revised series was finished, there would be 10 books instead of 6.

 

I think I'm making my rules include a slightly bigger suitcase. I want that full sized laptop and by core hardcopy books, or this stops being fun and useful to me right NOW, in trying to be a bit more efficient in how I do things. I've got too many books and am too scattered between them, and am not reaping any rewards big enough to justify continuing this way.

 

My imaginary scenario is going to be living on a boat. I've done that before as a kid, and saw how some other families were doing it too. I had a flushable toilet and most of them did not. But they had other better things that I didn't, especially a mom and all the things moms do. My mom was in another county at the time. Everyone had books though. :lol: Sea-sprayed and toppling piles of books.

Yes, and I still have zero regrets about doing it even though we're back in the US for now. It's easy to homeschool with very little stuff, although I really like having a library right now. And a great Internet connection. The year we homeschooled with just the ebooks and a few physical books was a little hard, but far from impossible.

 

Anyone who writes the following:

I hadn't really bought many books in the last 5-10 years because we move so often and nearly always had an excellent public library, but we still had over 1000 books.

 

Is all-right by me.

[Roadrunner]

I have thought about this a lot, since I am planning on it next year. Both my kids are getting rolling carry-on bags for the airplane. Each will have their set of SM books and MCT. I am also taking SOTW (thay aren't bulky). The only missing part of English is going to be lit and that's on Kindles and Beast. Foreign language books I can get upon arrival and I can swing science. Now my kids are young. If I had to do this in middle school, I would probably ship a container :)

[Hunter]

I have thought about this a lot, since I am planning on it next year. Both my kids are getting rolling carry-on bags for the airplane. Each will have their set of SM books and MCT. I am also taking SOTW (thay aren't bulky). The only missing part of English is going to be lit and that's on Kindles and Beast. Foreign language books I can get upon arrival and I can swing science. Now my kids are young. If I had to do this in middle school, I would probably ship a container :)

 

 

If you are walking any distance, make sure the wheels on the carry-ons are as big as possible. When wheels are small, you are dragging, not rolling a suitcase.

 

When traveling my bus or trains, rolling shopping carts, especially premium brands like Rolser allow you to transport heavy loads over a longer distance without strain, because the wheels are so big.

[stm4him]

I go back and forth about all the stuff I have. I have 8 boxes of books that aren't on shelves after we moved because I ran out of them and don't have an IKEA near me. Actually, its not the books I'm considering getting rid of but more of the curriculum that I'm no longer using. I have 2 or 3 bins in my garage I need to sell or give away but just missed all that last year b/c of the timing of our move. But I seem to hang on to things because I get curious and want to compare things. I do seem to be keeping more of the curriculum from classical companies and more able to part with things that don't use the methods I now strongly believe in.

 

The other stuff I have that takes up a lot of space is things like educational games and puzzles and science experiment kits that I wonder if we'll ever use because unless it goes with a specific curriculum and lesson I'm just unlikely to truly pull it out and do it. But then just when I think I will NEVER use something my kids get old enough to think it is cool and want to do it and are actually able to do something cool with it. Or a toy my older kids never touched will become a favorite of a younger one. And I have WAY too many math manipulatives between Saxon, Right Start, and Shiller math (although I like most of them and have used most of them at one point or another).

 

All I know is I am running out of room and I have 9 more grade levels of materials to collect (and all the living books that go with them)!!

[Roadrunner]

 

 

If you are walking any distance, make sure the wheels on the carry-ons are as big as possible. When wheels are small, you are dragging, not rolling a suitcase.

 

When traveling my bus or trains, rolling shopping carts, especially premium brands like Rolser allow you to transport heavy loads over a longer distance without strain, because the wheels are so big.

Those are stylish! That's another thread though :)

[mumto2]

We have done this sort of. We checked the supplies in the luggage and knew we had a library that we could use. Very spotty computer access for quit a while--more because we did not want to pay the cost of setting it up then availability. Our first housing was temporary. I mainly brought math supplies and the HWT paper because that was what they were used to. I had a blow up globe and a Sonlight foldable map. Not much else that I can remember. I bought a copy of Our Island Story for British history upon arrival. The rest came off the shelves of the library. If it looked good we used it. We found some great things. The dc's liked picking out their own curriculum. Nothing really matched or flowed but we had a really productive year and a half. At some point I stocked up with a huge Rainbow order that had things like MP latin and Christian Studies, Shirley English, and more math. This was before kindles. I think it would be much easier with e readers. Also using the online resources would have made things so much less stressful.

 

I always buy far in advance when we return to the US for a couple of months. Our luggage is mainly books. Apologia cd roms are a easy way to lighten our luggage. Sonlight is an extra bag but the books are hard to resist.

[skeeterbug]

I often think about this. My husband and I dream about getting an RV and living life on the road. If that were to ever happen we would, obviously, have to downsize a lot. Homeschool materials and books would be the first thing downsized. I think I could do it. It would take a whole change of mindset about what I really need to have on hand to teach with but it could be done.

Mostly, I would need an ipad, my laptop and lots of e-books. I think the bulk of the space would be filled with paper and art supplies. Those are very important elements of our day to day life and can't be done on an ipad or with PDFs. :)

 

We've been thinking about doing this too. The other thing I would miss is games. I'd take our RightStart games and other card games, but it's all the board games I'd miss. I'd take some out of boxes and put them in large ziploc bags to save some room. Notebooking would be hard too.

[stripe]

In some ways, the hardest part about being in this sort of situation isn't so much the limited supplies, but that everything else is limited. If you're literally stuck with just a carry-on and no way to get more stuff, it's very unlikely that you'd have a library or a decent Internet connection available. It's also quite possible that you wouldn't have reliable utilities and that keeping the house going would take up a huge amount of time. I never spent as much time on housework as I did when we didn't have any plumbing in the kitchen, no appliances, and I spent at least an hour every day just buying the food we needed. What I most needed was time, not more books.

 

That is so true....plus if you can't get books, you'd be surprised how hard it is to find paper. For that matter, American toilet paper is whiter than most notebook pages. Electricity is also vastly higher in some other places.

 

I think I could only do it if I had a radical shift in my thinking. And I would have a hard time giving up a lot of books if I were moving to a place with no library or available books.

 

That being said, someone just emailed me a list of books to send. There are a lot of books floating around out there in the world.

[SorrelZG]

In some ways, the hardest part about being in this sort of situation isn't so much the limited supplies, but that everything else is limited. If you're literally stuck with just a carry-on and no way to get more stuff, it's very unlikely that you'd have a library or a decent Internet connection available. It's also quite possible that you wouldn't have reliable utilities and that keeping the house going would take up a huge amount of time. I never spent as much time on housework as I did when we didn't have any plumbing in the kitchen, no appliances, and I spent at least an hour every day just buying the food we needed. What I most needed was time, not more books.

 

This is a big concern for me. School will be interrupted for a while as I learn to shop daily for local food at the market and prepare it in my covered but outdoor kitchen. Now that you mention it, I don't recall kitchen plumbing. I will thankfully have at least a small fridge for what it will be worth. Add new language and customs and the attention you and your children draw just being obviously foreign and I just know that it will take quite some time to find and settle into an "efficient" routine. My current daily life is almost reclusive - that will abruptly change.

 

... And that's all supposing I survive the flight there in the first place with four young children. I could cry over that thought alone. lol

 

I have thought very seriously about what I'd pack and what I'd leave but it shocked me how quickly some things I found hard to part with when planning theoretically were tossed aside the moment planning became real.

 

In our situation we will have electricity but not as reliably as here. Outages are usually short, but extended periods are possible. That makes me think ... A decently sized solar powered charger needs to be on our list. We will have internet. I told DH that I need him to find a printer there that has air-print capability so I can print straight from the iPad. That will make things so much easier for me. Stationary shouldn't be an issue. Access to books will be. Our finances will be restricted more than I'm accustomed to. I dont think we will end up lacking much but we will need patience - no more instant book gratification. Reading aloud and audiobooks will take on all new priority to nurture proper English in my children.

 

I'm still thinking about what to pack. To help me decide I'm looking at Ambleside Online, my copy of LCC, the Living Books Curriculum book list, the VP catalog .. All I know is that I will be relying on more than a carry on although I don't like the idea of my books in checked luggage. Wouldn't it suck to go through all this planning and trouble only to lose your suitcase of books or to have it all shipped and then not have it make it through a questionable postal system? Thinking about what you could do with just a carry-on suddenly sounds like a prudent idea. lol

[SorrelZG]

 

 

Will any relatives or friends be coming to visit you any time soon(ish) after your arrival? You could persuade them to pack their suitcase full of your books and other things, and offer to provide them with clothes and anything else they need while they are with you. I've done this. I was glad to have some of my favorite books back, and my teenage cousin was over the moon to have lots of new clothes bought for her (they're much cheaper here, too).

 

I don't know but if they do, I will definitely make the most of that! lol clothing appears a lot cheaper where we will be also but I don't have a grasp of our finances in relation to the local economy yet so I'm not sure how cheap they will seem once we're living there.

[Laura Corin]

I used to do pretty much this for a month or so at a time. Husband was working in Hong Kong whilst the rest of us lived in China. Most of the time he commuted, but we would go and stay with him for extended periods. I used to take our basic English and maths texts, and default to text books for history and science for that period. I would make a lot of use of local resources - libraries, museums etc.

 

Laura

[lailasmum]

I think I could manage but not easily. It toally depends where we were. I think it would be heavily technology dependent and require packing a solar charger and making sure there was some form of internet access even it was on via a mobile phone signal. I think it will get easier as more encyclopedias and similar books are available electronically.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

This is a really interesting thread! I think I could if I had to...

 

- printouts of the flow charts from Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding levels 1-3

- Scope and sequence printout for any good math curriculum, plus an abacus, C-rods, and some dice and counters, deck of cards, etc.

- SOTW audio CDs saved on an ipod or similar, along with several of the Great Courses saved on it (music and art, which I'm not comfortable teachign on my own)

- A grammar reference book for me

- McGuffrey Readrers and Webster's Speller

- A Kindle full of the classics for literature

- Beatrix Potter with illustrations and 4-5 younger aged picture books with great illustrations

 

I do a Charlotte Mason type of method. I think I could do math, writing, and science with a "stick in the sand", but I'd want to have a scope and sequence for them to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.

[SkateLeft]

When my girls were younger, we lived on our sailboat for extended periods of time. We used K12, which didn't have a ton of supplies. Some of the courses have been revised to have more online content in the lower grades now, so I don't know how practical this would be anymore. At the time, we'd take the math workbooks, LA books (Classics for Young Readers, vocab and analogies), the thin little hardcover books used in science and art, printed materials and the supplemental readers. I could pretty much fit everything into one box.

 

I'd save the instructor's guides offline to my laptop or PDA. For history, I'd print out the online story pages using an application that let me print multiple pages on one sheet of paper. I'd also bring SOTW, and we'd read from that. We'd read through the science labs, but usually skipped actually doing them on the boat. Sometimes I'd save up the science and history lessons for when we were staying at a marina and could access the internet. But math and LA could be done completely offline.

 

Now that I think of it, it was a lot of work! I don't think I could homeschool K-8 that way.

[Mommee & Baba]

Yes I think I could. We have iPad's for almost all the teacher materials used. There are a few things I'd need to pack book-wise and some teaching tools like our rods for math. But yes right now it would all fit into a suitcase.

[2_girls_mommy]

Nope couldn't do it. :)

[Amy M]

I've thought about this a lot, since we live in South Africa, and I'm coming back to the States next summer. I could do it, if needed, but we've decided that we will probably make a small shipment. If I did it, though, I'd thought of free online curricula, like Kiss grammar, AO, MEP; and curricula that comes in downloads and CDs, like Math Mammoth, WWE, etc.

[alisoncooks]

I often think about this. My husband and I dream about getting an RV and living life on the road. If that were to ever happen we would, obviously, have to downsize a lot. Homeschool materials and books would be the first thing downsized. I think I could do it. It would take a whole change of mindset about what I really need to have on hand to teach with but it could be done.

 

I have a friend who is homeschooling (or roadschooling) 3 kids in an RV. They've been on the road for 14 months now!

I don't see how they do it but hats off to them! I just like my *stuff* (books! art supplies! blocks!) too much. :D

[Amy Jo]

Hmmm - without electricity, I think the Bible (probably KJV), Beechick's K-3 and 4-8 books for a scope & sequence, Handbook of Nature Study, CHOW, and the Jr. Classics set. Fill the rest with paper and pencils. And the inflatable globe. Next priorities would be science (BFSU set, unless I could find something smaller) and maybe Practical Arithmetic for math work. The whole list would be 21 books (15 w/o BFSU & PA) and I'm not sure that would fit.

 

With electricity I'd probably just buy an iPad, and take my eReader. So the question isn't as fun if you have electricity, since you can get almost anything as a PDF. Even though I prefer hardcopies as well - I still don't trust computers.

[Hunter]

Technology is hard to rely on, especially when in unfamiliar environments, and with a reduced number of tech devices. When one multipurpose item gets used a lot, and then goes down, you are crippled. And if you used that device to support other devices that were dependent on it, then it gets even worse.

 

The electricity conserving kindles need to be supported by a laptop. The Kindle Fire is the most road hardy device, because it is self supporting in the vast majority of circumstances. It drains the battery fairly quickly though, compared to the other kindles. The screen is fine for reading Kindle books, but barely adequate for many pdfs. The solar charger is a good idea for the Kindles. Once loaded and IF nothing goes wrong, the energy conserving Kindles should be readable for years with no upkeep other charging.

 

Also when in certain environments, it's not always safe or polite to be flashing around expensive devices. This has been a big issue for me at times.

 

Also when it comes to traveling with critical bags. Do NOT pack by weight and type of items. Pack by how critical the items are to your survival and comfort. Rate the bags by priority. Place the most critical items in the bags you can protect the easiest. If you need to shift items from one bag to another and fear letting people see your expensive tech devices, take the bags into a bathroom stall. This sounds like I should have known this, but I got caught in a situation where I had packed wrong, had to think fast, and just couldn't. I froze, and there were nasty repercussions. If I had just packed differently or known to immediately flee to a bathroom to repack, things would have turned out differently. I don't think I would have even lost my least critical bag, but would have been free to put it at risk, giving me more options to secure myself and my more critical belongings.

 

Technology becomes quite unreliable when you are in a tight situation. And it becomes outdated and incompatible very quickly. The only tech I feel confident depending on is my cell phone that is insured with the carrier, and my Kindle ebooks that are stored at Amazon. I feel semi-confident depending on a Kindle Fire. My phone has card in it that I can save most critical pdfs on, that I can then email to my Kindle at a hot spot to reload it.

 

I traded my iPad away because It was too reliant on a well maintained and steady laptop with wifi hookup, which I can't seem to provide. Even not on the move, and in a fairly stable environment I struggled to maintain my iPad.

 

A few documents can be mailed to your Kindle, and then seem to be stored in your account, and available to then download to any of your devices. I don't know how dependable that is going to be long term.

 

Tech as a supplement is great, but it's risky as the core. And completely undoable with certain audiences present.

 

The hard thing about big moves is as much as you plan, you never know what is going to happen when you put it to the test. And the more interconnected things are, when one thing doesn't pan it out, it takes down the rest of the plan. Planning flexibility with backup plans, traveling light, and going as low tech as possible is safest. Unfortunately low tech and light contradict each other.

[Hunter]

The Bible, because of the paper some of them are printed on, is the best low tech but still ultra-light resource there is.

 

I'm looking through my "Bible as a Textbook" resources. Thank you to those who keep mentioning Bibles. It keeps slipping my mind, and whether I am a Christian anymore or not, I've never lost my appreciation of the Bible as a textbook.

[Monarch Room]

I'm basically trying to do this now, and I really don't like it. I'm housesitting for my folks for 6 weeks, and so I tried to bring as little as possible. I've had to drop a few things I would normally do (AAS and anything to do with math manipulatives.) I ended up ordering more c-rods just because I didn't know where they would be in storage. I guess I could simplify. I just really don't love giving up all my books :/ I really, really look forward to having a school room with bookshelves, and loads of games, and math doo-dads.