TinyTraveler Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I was wondering if there was anyone on here that is homeschooling in Saudi Arabia as DH is considering taking a position there. Could you please inform me as to what problems you have faced? I understand we would have to bring our curriculum with us but is it difficult to find english reading books in Jeddah? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri in MI Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I don't have an answer for you, but I am curious - what is your dh going to be doing in Saudi Arabia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinyTraveler Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 He is in the IT field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 There is a poster with the user name Kate in Arabia. I'm not sure if she's in Saudi Arabia, but I'm sure she would be someone worth sending a PM to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 There is a poster with the user name Kate in Arabia. I'm not sure if she's in Saudi Arabia, but I'm sure she would be someone worth sending a PM to. :iagree: I believe Kate is resident in the UAE but I know she has traveled in Saudi Arabia and is likely to know the situation there. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) :iagree: I believe Kate is resident in the UAE but I know she has traveled in Saudi Arabia and is likely to know the situation there. Bill You are correct. Kate is in the UAE. To the OP, my husband has traveled on business to Saudi and there are bookstores where you can buy books but much like the UAE you would not find homeschool materials. You should be able to order though without any problems. I remember people homeschooling in Saudi while we were using Calvert's PK. The shipping costs would be one of your main concerns but if you do some research you can find what works best for you. I would be careful with religious content books though, if you are Christian. I did order Bible's and other books while in the UAE but they are not as strict there and have allowed Christian Churches since the 60's. Saudi is not the same though so if your things are searched religious content books may be seized. Edited June 1, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Off topic... not sure if you know this but you are required to wear an Abaya in public places while there (your daughters too, if you have girls). The Hijab is not necessary but you may be asked to wear one if you run across religious police so you need to have one with you at all times. This is how it was about four years ago at least and to my knowledge this has not changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmum Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I'm in the UAE where restrictions are far less than in Saudi. As for curriculum shipping costs are very high but if you can go back to your country once a year or so you can order online and have everything shipped to a friend's house and bring back with you in your suitcase. If you have friends visiting they can also help with this. I wouldn't worry so much about basic things like markers, and notebooks, but textbooks and science kits. Bibles and other religious materials may be seized though. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Off topic... not sure if you know this but you are required to wear an Abaya in public places while there (your daughters too, if you have girls)... Wow. Some of those are gorgeous. I wish I could wear something like that here without people looking at me like I had 2 heads. Of course I realize choosing to wear one and having to wear one are two different things. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I have a friend living there who has some home schooling friends. All are expats. I got the impression from her it would be better to bring material with you instead of counting on buying there. I think an e-reader type thing would make it easier to carry. You might want to have $ set aside for your kids whether they attend private school OR are homeschooled, as this would defray the costs. I saw a blog from a Christian lady ( not sure if American?) who was homeschooling in SA. I tried to find it just now and found this http://cindy-twoplustriplets.blogspot.com/ , which looks like it may be a different one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I am indeed in the UAE; my inlaws live in Saudi so we are regular visitors. The book situation is similar in the UAE. There are a couple of major chains where you can get reading books and workbooks; most of these are European imports, so you're more likely to find popular British children's authors on sale than American, kwim? And the workbooks and things generally have British spellings (colour vs color, eg). We get our books from the States. I order the bulk of what I need each summer and we pick it up on visits home. Usually there are a few things I forget or think of later and those I usually order from Amazon. Once you get into the expat community there it is often able to find people traveling back and forth who would be willing to bring a book or two for you. If you search arond locally you could find some really neat things. There are a couple of educational supply stores in Jeddah that are neat (manipulative and supplemental supplies, not books), that we don't have in UAE. So I always include a trip there when we're visiting. So some things may be harder, but you may find some other things, kwim? I do know a handful of homeschoolers there, I haven't looked deeply into connecting into the homeschooling groups there as I don't generally have a lot of free time when I'm there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Here's a link to the main bookstore chain, Jarir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) Wow. Some of those are gorgeous. I wish I could wear something like that here without people looking at me like I had 2 heads. Of course I realize choosing to wear one and having to wear one are two different things. :) I agree, you should see the intricate designs on some! Some have precious stones on them and can be very pricey but beautiful and of course there are the inexpensive ones too. I own one, bought by my hubby as a gift :). I have saved it to remind me of our time in the Middle East. Just to clarify though that the comment was just an FYI. From what my husband has shared, the ladies are supposed to wear an Abaya before leaving the airport so most will put one on before getting off the plane. I asked my hubby before he left for work this morning and he was saying that he has seen some (very few at the time) ladies go out in Jeddah without an Abaya (although it has to be worn at the airport from what he has seen) but in other cities they are a lot more strict, Riyadh (the capital) comes to mind. Edited June 1, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) --- Edited November 10, 2021 by prairiewindmomma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I don't know about Jeddah, but here my kids do some sports at the local British school, but only with those sports that have independent coaching/training. For example, the soccer coaches come in from Dubai and are an independent company, but they use the school's facilities. We would not be able to be part of the school soccer team, kwim? They also would not allow us to use their library. Fortunately my dh works for a college system here so we have access to their library, which has a fair spread of reading levels in their books since they have to focus a lot on improving the English skills of their students... And they do have a video library, which has been helpful. Point being, often there are ways around things, but you may need to think outside the box, kwim? I have noticed that if you are willing to put forth effort to organize something, especially for kids, it's pretty easy to find a group of expats interested in participating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cme Jamal Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Hello, I'm in Saudia Arab and home schooling and there are lots of other homeschooling families too... i live in riyadh and run a support group named as home school home :) ... i also know many families are homeschooling in jeddah also .u can easily find any type of books in KSA english, french, science, maths, just name it ... KSA is an amazing country as far as job is consider because my hubby has a total tax free job although women can't drive here but we can travel via taxi or with driver so its no big deal... homeschooling is very easy and fun here.. :) hope it helps Sieme Jamal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SEM2REM Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Hello,I'm in Saudia Arab and home schooling and there are lots of other homeschooling families too... i live in riyadh and run a support group named as home school home :) ... i also know many families are homeschooling in jeddah also .u can easily find any type of books in KSA english, french, science, maths, just name it ... KSA is an amazing country as far as job is consider because my hubby has a total tax free job although women can't drive here but we can travel via taxi or with driver so its no big deal... homeschooling is very easy and fun here.. :) hope it helps Sieme Jamal I'm homeschooling in Riyadh and would be interested in connecting with other homeschooling families. Please message me regards your support group. Thank you. -Stef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 (edited) A friend went for a year and homeschooled. She was Muslim American, but faced no issues. They brought stuff with them and relied on youtube/kindle a lot. I think they went to Dubai a few times for shopping. The one thing that bothered her the most was the lack of workout places for women. Edited July 14, 2012 by umsami Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 We are in UAE...the only thing I would add that hasn't already been mentioned is looking into book depository.com they have free shipping worldwide and deliver to Saudi Arabia. It's been a life saver for a lot of us here..also, many people have used better world books and have had some luck finding used/out of print books and they have free shipping as well... Are any of you in Abu dhabi?? Seema Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cagirlintexas Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Hi not in Saudia but we do homeschool in Qatar. At least in Qatar there are not really any libraries and we have to bring everything with us. A lot of homeschoolers use rainbow resources. I am about to try my first order with them so we will see how it goes. Shipping is expensive but most companies do pay you pretty well to be in the middle east so that helps balance it out. My husband's company pays school expenses and they will start paying home school expenses this year which is really nice. You might be able to work out a deal where they cover home school supplies which would be great. Anyway let me know if you have specific questions. We have enjoyed it in qatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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