Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 The MIT cours could work for a range of ages. Mine will be middle school when we do it, but the course was written as a fun mini course for college students. You might want to look at the UCCP college prep courses and see what you can use from that. Writing with Skill is the level 5 writing program by SWB. We have been beta testing it but the PDF should be out by fall. I think it gives a lot of legs to the wtm advice to read, outline and write. (I was never able to get IEW to work well for me.) May we ask where you might be traveling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 I thought you would be, like (:tongue_smilie:), in a shelter without electricity somewhere in the middle of the desert for months at a time, in her crucial growing period, most or all of high school (you did not specify exact time period), communicate with the rest of the world via pidgeons... She will be fine, things would probably be easily recuperable, organize the transcript by subjects rather than by years and maybe cram some things in summer after 11th if you feel like you missed out on too much, and no problems. Colleges will accept, AND she will stand out with this adventure. Sorry for the lack of complete picture! No, we are not attempting "Family vs. Wild" :lol: I would just die if I had to eat snake. That I just killed. We don't even do roadkill. Thanks for the laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I was an exchange student in high school. It was not uncommon for exchange students to have to spend an extra year doing high school. So if they went abroad for their junior year, they might still do both junior and senior year upon returning. This was often the case for European students going to a year of school in the US. I don't think that an extra year of high school time (or a final year of something like prep) is necessarily bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) I've thought about this, since we are a sailing family and naturally dream about sailing around the world. Too bad I get so seasick. Or maybe it is a good thing? I would bring some sort of reusable writing system. A largish whiteboard (something that could be leaned up against a wall and drawn on so that several people could see) and several smaller, lap-sized whiteboards and lots of pens and a few rags would be ideal, but if that isn't practical, I'd at least bring lots of chalk and a small chalkboard for each person. All but the essays could be done on those. Several laps-sized ones per child would be better, so I didn't have to correct things before they could move on to doing something else. I would bring Singapore Primary Math books 3-6 (and not have them write in the workbooks), old Dolciani Algebra 1+2, a geometry book, old Larson's precalc (the old versions are small books, unlike the new versions), and a calc book. I'd also bring a solar powered scientific calculator. Those would be about a one foot stack. I would teach basic arithmetic myself using fingers and toes for manipulatives. I would bring foreign language teaching materials for a foreign language that we had a chance of using. Pimsleur tapes, a grammar book, a dictionary, and some books to read using the dictionary, if I couldn't find anything better. One of my priorities anywhere we were would be to find ways to practise the language. I would bring Ecce Romani and we would all do it. This would be our grammar and vocabulary. I would bring a high school bio textbook, nature journals, lab notebooks (graph paper composition books work well), and field guides for our area and concentrate on getting my older children to do real experiments properly and learn the contents of the nature guides. I would put a priority on finding natural historians or other scientists where ever we were in order to try to get my children more science. I would bring Conceptual Physics and Conceptual Chemistry with me and take all of the children, from youngest to oldest, through them. There would be lots the young ones didn't get, but there would be some that they would. (Or I would look at the new integrated science that Hewitt and company has put out. That would be better.) I would also warn my older ones that the trip was going to mean a grueling year at the local community college upon return taking chemistry and physics at the same time. I would bring Spielvogel's Western Civ and have the older ones go through that. I would bring the old Usborne comic strip world history book for the younger ones. This would serve as reading practice and as entertainment. I would bring one notebook per child for essay writing. I would bring Draw Squad and for the older ones, a sketch pad. This would serve as entertainment as well. I would bring recorders and the Sweet Pipes older learner books 1 and 2 (these have duets in them). This would serve as entertainment as well as school. And I would bring Rise Up Singing if I couldn't find a better source of words for the songs I know. I would bring a shoebox of legos, jack knives to carve with, sewing materials, crochet hooks, yarn, and a couple of rolls of string. (Things to keep my builders happy while we read aloud and things to build hand skills for the littles.) I would bring absolutely as many classics as possible, things we could read aloud as a family. I would especially concentrate on the ancients and medievals because those would be more suitable for all ages and more re-readable. I would bring TWEM. I wouldn't bother with children's books. I would retell those stories, or make up new ones. I would write easy reader books out for the little one's on their slates. I don't need a reading program. I taught one to read without one just by what I remember of phonics from learning to read myself. I would have everyone do copywork, dictation, narration, and outlining from the books we had. I would work hard on storytelling, which is an art and would later help with writing. I wouldn't bring a writing program. I would either make up essay topics or I would have them make them up. I would try to pick a consistent time to do school every single day and forget about the weekends. That way, doing school for mornings only (or afternoons or evenings or whatever we chose) would work. I would not try to fit everything in one suitcase. Each child would have a school bag. A suitcase of books is too heavy to be practical. I would rather put all the clothes into one big container and split up the books. Basically, I would do high school literature, science, foreign language, and history and leave the younger ones to pick up what they could from those, and I would have everyone do their proper level of math and basic language arts skills. I've been thinking more permanently than a few years of travel and I've been assuming you wouldn't have access to a supply of paper. Now that I think about it, if you have electricity, you probably can get paper. I'd still bring a whiteboard or chalk board, though. If I were just going for a few years and I was very very space limited, I would probably skip history and do natural history (something they could DO) and physics. I would give some thought to how much of how desirable (temptation to steal) our electronics were going to be before I chose to bring ipods and tablets and even calculators. The old Dolciani books have trig tables in the back. You can do them without a calculator. Whenever we have traveled, I have needed drawing materials and musical instruments as entertainment for my children, so I would bring those almost no matter what. Once your children know how to play the recorders and how to draw, they can entertain themselves for hours. Drawing is like TV for them. I would have my doubts about how much local history my children could pick up because of the language barrier. Many of the out-of-the-box things one could do if traveling in one's home country would not work. I would hesitate to give up Ecce Romani because I found that that one book served to cover so many other things. It included writing, textbook learning, study skills, memorizing, history, art, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. I would really really think twice before giving up the skill based subjects like math and foreign languages, and things with developmental windows like foriegn languages and music. It was fun thinking about this. -Nan Edited June 20, 2011 by Nan in Mass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) Yes, this topic has me daydreaming a little as well. Here's a book that might be helpful as you plan, The Global Student. I've not read it, but it could be helpful. Some books I would make sure I had available: Complete Shakespeare, including sonnets. Could be lit and writing. Boorstin's The Discoverers, The Creators, and The Seekers. Literature from the areas you'll be visiting. I would also make a first aid course a priority before leaving Edited June 20, 2011 by elegantlion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Many, many classics are available free for e-readers. I would definitely do what the others are suggesting and buy Kindles for each person and load them up. I would take my hard copy of the Bible, and WTM ; ). I would do almost whatever it would take to get internet access for my Mac laptop, if humanly possible, up to getting some kind of satellite capability. I would rely on this for reference materials (encyclopedia, dictionary, etc.) I would also probably buy iPod touches for each person and load them up with quality audiobooks of classics, logic games, and educational aids (like flashcard apps). I would bring math, science, Latin, and Greek texts (because these are the languages we study). I would bring Analytical Grammar. This should fit in one suitcase. I wouldn't change the texts we use unless I chose a DVD curriculum to save space--but in that case I'd have to buy a laptop for each person or give mine up all the time--blech. Technology can save you tons of space. I would go technology-rich in this kind of scenario. This is an interesting scenario to think upon. It helps me boil down what I think are the bare necessities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Hi Lisa, Do you have a favorite teacher-education resource that teaches socratic questioning? Lit analysis? I have WEM and How to Read a Book. Do those count? I forgot about WEM. That would be worth bringing a hardcopy of, or I would type out the suggested questions into a computer file and bring that, at the very least. How to Read a Book is good but too deep, IMO, for that kind of purpose. I would leave it home. BUT, I am a fan of Teaching the Classics and would consider either bringing it with me or study it at home before I go and type in the question list into a computer file to take with me. I'm starting to feel jealous of this opportunity! I love studying the logistics of something like this and how it would be best to do things. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Honestly, I wouldn't load down a suitcase with encyclopedias or classics. And I'm big on preferring print. I would seriously go with at least a CD encyclopedia for my laptop or an online subscription if I can wangle internet access. For the classics, I would definitely go with Kindles. I would save the book space for things I can't get easily in electronic form, such as math, science, Latin, and Greek. And WTM and WEM, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Technology is very stealable and makes you stand out, also. I think it would depend on the trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Sigh. Large swaths of the US don't meet your requirements. People do think twice about schooling when moving there, but lots do, all the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 If, when she returns, she does community college courses, she can make up most of high school in the time she has left. I would do math, geography, Shakespeare with TWEM (good suggestion!) (or I would bring some Greek plays, The Iliad, and The Odyssey), writing, and foreign languages on the road. I would try to do a history survey before I left and just look for history opportunities along the way. I would leave science for community college when we came back and tell her she was going to have to do a summer semester there as well as fall and spring. I suspect that doing school while one is actually traveling is going to be very hard. If you are stationary, it might turn out to be a necessity to keep everyone from becoming bored and you might find yourself doing extra. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Technology is very stealable and makes you stand out, also. I think it would depend on the trip. True, true. But I wouldn't recommend flashing it everywhere, either. :lol: I'm thinking in the privacy of a hotel room or something--getting the kindles out to study a classic work together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) Hi Lisa, Do you have a favorite teacher-education resource that teaches socratic questioning? Lit analysis? I have WEM and How to Read a Book. Do those count? Windows to the World and Teaching the Classics Socratic Questioning I haven't even looked at WEM. I'm afraid I'll feel guilty about avoiding the classics as I read through the year -lol! And How to Read a Book- yes! Gotta re-purchase a copy! Edited June 20, 2011 by laughing lioness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Reading Strands is short. It has sample conversations with different ages and a short list of literary terms. You could read a few of the examples before you go and xerox the list of terms to take with you. We love TWEM. You can use the questions in it with any sort of book, even children's books. Of course, not all the questions are going to apply every time, but even seeing which ones apply and which ones don't is interesting and tells you something about the book. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I dream over The Global Student, too. I want to second those first aid courses. My family, unfortunately, have used a lot of what they learned in those boy scout first aid classes. I love your Shakespeare idea, too. That would be nice and space efficient and you could do some much with it - copywork, dictation, memory work, literary analysis, readings, performances, costume design, set design, fun thinkng about who you would cast for whom, rewriting modern versions, retelling the stories, learning some Elizabethan songs, trying to write sonnets, trying to write in the same style, fun trying to use Shakespearian English for a day, ... You could do that for your schoolwork and then just bring as many classics as possible for family read-alouds. I can't wait for the school year to end LOL. Thank you for the fun dreams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 I should never complain about designing a plan for homeschooling two years in Bankok. There is a small, but real, possibility dh may take a two year position there. I am trying not to get my hopes up. But, dh won't explore this option at work until I have a working plan for homeschooling there or homeschooling half-day and half-day at an international school in place. So, I'm doing a lot of work on this just so that he'll know if he feels comfortable carting us off to Thailand (I hope, I hope, I hope) because we already have a 9th grader and will add another high schooler while there and a middle schooler who is accelerated in math and science. You definitely have more and harder planning to do than I do. So, if I ever come on here moaning and groaning, you have my permission to give me a virtual bump in my rump! :biggrinjester: Faith We should definitely keep in touch through PMing! I am excited to have so many others' input and even other families with whom to share similar experiences! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 If you want the name of a few textbooks that are FULL of data for the basic subjects these come to mind: For Grammar: The Harbrace Handbook of English I have one from my college days that is small and light but covers everything you could ever want to know about grammar. Be sure to get one of the 1955-1968 vintage, because after that they took out the sentence diagramming. For Logic: Socratic Logic by Peter Kreeft. Again a very engaging, average sized text with everything you could ever want to know about logic, about all sorts of logic. For History: A paperback Western Civilization (Brief edition) by Spielvogel ... The "Brief" version is just slightly edited down so it's not so big, but has all the important information. For Latin: Wheelock's Latin, everything you could ever want to know about Latin, plus a lifetime supply of translation practice. Take the Key with you on your computer. My dd is learning (mostly) on her own with Henle right now and its going well because of her go-getter personality. I am light-years behind her in LC 1 still... I'm concerned unless I hire her as a private tutor for my 3 other boys, they might not fare as well with learning Latin. Do you think I might have a chance of teaching Latin myself through Wheelock's? Someone else mentioned Ecce Romani. I have not seen this in person. Do you have opinions on how to use these together, or if they are compatible? For Literature to have in tangible form: Bible, Fagles translations of Homer & Virgil, The Divine Comedy. Hopefully you can load up a Kindle, of course. And for everything else, how about Barron's The Easy Way? They are great for subjects like arithmetic, algebra, biology, etc; they are comprehensive, lightweight, and provide plenty of exercises. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the suggestions-I'm saving all the ideas... you are saving me much research time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 Organize the transcript by subject - they won't know. Plus. you can always explain your unique situation in the homeschool philosophy/counselor's letter. We used Campbell/Reece Concepts and Connections for DD's biology in 8th. It is rather challenging. Miller/Levine is often used for highschool bio, as is Campbell's Exploring Life. Just took a quick glance at Campbell's at Amazon. Are labs included in the text, or do you use something separate for labs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 May we ask where you might be traveling? Most likely Europe and Asia.... if we get real adventurous, Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) I would bring a high school bio textbook, nature journals, lab notebooks (graph paper composition books work well), and field guides for our area and concentrate on getting my older children to do real experiments properly and learn the contents of the nature guides. I would put a priority on finding natural historians or other scientists where ever we were in order to try to get my children more science. I would bring Conceptual Physics and Conceptual Chemistry with me and take all of the children, from youngest to oldest, through them. There would be lots the young ones didn't get, but there would be some that they would. (Or I would look at the new integrated science that Hewitt and company has put out. That would be better.) I would also warn my older ones that the trip was going to mean a grueling year at the local community college upon return taking chemistry and physics at the same time. There seems to be the consensus - take community college classes for physics and chemistry. Do very few homeschoolers successfully do high school lab science at home? It is the cost of materials, or advanced science that makes it difficult? Or other consideration? I'm a science major and have thought that I would do these classes at home... I would bring Spielvogel's Western Civ and have the older ones go through that. I would bring the old Usborne comic strip world history book for the younger ones. This would serve as reading practice and as entertainment. I would bring one notebook per child for essay writing. I would bring Draw Squad and for the older ones, a sketch pad. This would serve as entertainment as well. I would bring recorders and the Sweet Pipes older learner books 1 and 2 (these have duets in them). This would serve as entertainment as well as school. And I would bring Rise Up Singing if I couldn't find a better source of words for the songs I know. I would bring a shoebox of legos, jack knives to carve with, sewing materials, crochet hooks, yarn, and a couple of rolls of string. (Things to keep my builders happy while we read aloud and things to build hand skills for the littles.) I would bring absolutely as many classics as possible, things we could read aloud as a family. I would especially concentrate on the ancients and medievals because those would be more suitable for all ages and more re-readable. I would bring TWEM. I wouldn't bother with children's books. I would retell those stories, or make up new ones. I would write easy reader books out for the little one's on their slates. I don't need a reading program. I taught one to read without one just by what I remember of phonics from learning to read myself. I would have everyone do copywork, dictation, narration, and outlining from the books we had. I would work hard on storytelling, which is an art and would later help with writing. I wouldn't bring a writing program. I would either make up essay topics or I would have them make them up. I would try to pick a consistent time to do school every single day and forget about the weekends. That way, doing school for mornings only (or afternoons or evenings or whatever we chose) would work. I would not try to fit everything in one suitcase. Each child would have a school bag. A suitcase of books is too heavy to be practical. I would rather put all the clothes into one big container and split up the books. Basically, I would do high school literature, science, foreign language, and history and leave the younger ones to pick up what they could from those, and I would have everyone do their proper level of math and basic language arts skills. Yes, I think it will be freeing to no rely on curriculum so much, as I'll be forced to bring less stuff. I'm actually very excited to incorporate some of these ideas now, even before we leave. The steamlining and mom-centered approach really appeals to me, but I've been "chicken" to try multi-age teaching until now. But it's becoming a strain to teach 3 different kids grammar, writing, spelling, etc... and soon a 4th will be added to the mix. Storytelling sounds wonderful! And I'm sure we'll have time as the pace of life will slow down. I've been thinking more permanently than a few years of travel and I've been assuming you wouldn't have access to a supply of paper. Now that I think about it, if you have electricity, you probably can get paper. I'd still bring a whiteboard or chalk board, though. If I were just going for a few years and I was very very space limited, I would probably skip history and do natural history (something they could DO) and physics. I would give some thought to how much of how desirable (temptation to steal) our electronics were going to be before I chose to bring ipods and tablets and even calculators. The old Dolciani books have trig tables in the back. You can do them without a calculator. Whenever we have traveled, I have needed drawing materials and musical instruments as entertainment for my children, so I would bring those almost no matter what. Once your children know how to play the recorders and how to draw, they can entertain themselves for hours. Drawing is like TV for them. No more Wii, ipods.... oh, I'm getting excited. Awesome ideas... music, art, string.... I might not have though of these! How about a harmonica? And ukelele? Now you've really got me thinking... I would have my doubts about how much local history my children could pick up because of the language barrier. Many of the out-of-the-box things one could do if traveling in one's home country would not work. I would hesitate to give up Ecce Romani because I found that that one book served to cover so many other things. It included writing, textbook learning, study skills, memorizing, history, art, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. I just viewed this on Amazon. Not very familiar with the program. Do I want Level 1 or 2, and in English or Latin?? I find that confusing. Have you posted previously on how you use Ecce Romani? I'd love to learn more. I would really really think twice before giving up the skill based subjects like math and foreign languages, and things with developmental windows like foriegn languages and music. It was fun thinking about this. -Nan Thank you!!!! I feel like I should pay you a consulting fee. You have so much practical wisdom and creativity. Very very grateful over here! Edited June 20, 2011 by Jean in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Just took a quick glance at Campbell's at Amazon. Are labs included in the text, or do you use something separate for labs? No labs included. We did not do labs in 8th because we knew she would take another bio class later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) WTM Cassandra, Elegant Lion, Laughing lioness, thank you for your specific book suggestions. I'm going to get a copy of The Global Student. I feel a paradigm shift coming on... in how I view education and teach my kids! Even if we weren't travelling anywhere, I'd love to incorporate these great suggestions. Once you start thinking outside the box, the possibilities are endless, aren't they? What fun! Thank you, eveyone, who has contributed to this thread! Jean Edited June 20, 2011 by Jean in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Critical Lessons is another good book to show you what kind of outside-the-box teaching can be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Plenty of grammar, vocabulary, spelling, composition, science, latin, and history ebooks available both free and purchased. Why carry a hardcopy? I currently have our entire school on my kindle. I wouldn't waste space in my luggage for hard copy books. http://www.ck12.org/about/ca/freetextbooks for free digital textbooks for middle and high school sciences. I forgot to add this link to my previous post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarreymere Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Oh, and it may or may not be relevant where you are going, but you could probably take a good dissection kit and find a few things to dissect locally (and instructions online) if you are inclined to do some life science labs. If you are in an area with a western-style doctor, medical center, or lab you might be able to use a microscope and have access to different slides if you ask nicely. In my hometown a local doctor does labs for homeschooled students. Botany and astronomy are good sciences for travel, might be interesting to investigate the local flora and in less populated areas you can see the stars much more clearly. I agree with the previous poster that you don't need a lot to do physics labs. You can also do quite a bit of basic chemistry with ordinary things also, which is why a lot of chemistry courses you can purchase advertise that you won't need much in the way of special equipment. For example, simple baking soda is a base and vingegar is an acid and we all know what happens when you combine those........voila! a cool chemical reaction and a lesson acids and bases. And I have them in my kitchen right now and something along those lines would probably be available locally overseas. http://www.sciencebuddies.org has ideas for science experiments using supplies like red cabbages, pennies, ect. You could download and save ideas for labs from this site and others like it to come up with labs for your chosen science curriculum, heck you might even find that you really don't need all that much specialized equipment to do basic science labs. I do think homeschoolers could do more science labs easily at home if homeschool parents weren't so leary of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 If you were a science major, you should do fine. Many people do do high school science at home. Safety is a concern with the chemistry labs and people are intimidated by the math involved with physics, though, so many people opt to farm it out. The harmonica and uke are a good idea! At the very least you should bring a harmonica. With a recorder, a harmonica, a uke, and some home made rhythm instruments, you can make a band. You might also like to investigate strum sticks. If your children have played an instrument previously, then I would get the chromatic one. Ukes are much cheaper, though. I have posted about Ecce Romani before. Some people hate it so you should try to get a look at it before you actually buy it. We loved it. There are all sorts of extra activities suggested in the teachers guide. There are other similar programs out there, though, so I would look around to see if something else suited me better first. You might be able to find a cheap used copy to look at before you spring for the whole set. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Cambridge Latin (teacher's manual/CD's/student books) Bible Victor's Journey through the Bible H.E. Marshall's two history books on US/England Foerster's Algebra Saxon Algebra 1/2 A Kindle/Nook with about 500 books loaded on it, all classics and other hands on. An Ipad so you could add as many apps to it (there are handwriting apps! And so many others!!! Load up!!!!) HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 What religion are you? I wouldn't purchase any electronics for the children until the last minute, but I would buy YOU something now, so YOU can learn how to use it and figure out what you like. This is nothing to panic over. I started homeschooling my boys with no internet at home, and no money to buy many books. We had the library, but you have more going for you than I did. After I raised my boys, I fled my marriage and ended out homeless twice and lived out of my backpack for months at a time. I would die if I didn't have anything to study. Studying is how I self-soothe. Learn to rip up books and just keep the pages you need. Sometimes it isn't safe or practical to use electronics. A retired professor who fell on hard times and was homeless with me taught me to rip the books up, and store the pieces in zip lock bags. If there is fear of mold, there is a special wrap using bandanas that works better. You can scan and save books as a pdf, that are not available as ebooks. I have done that. You can buy portable scanners that weight no more than a book. You rip the book apart, scan it, save it, and toss the book. So you have an ebook to refer to when it is safe to take out your gadgets. Make your gadgets look old and worn and outdated. Scratch them up, put stickers on them, buy them in boring colors. You have plenty of time, to plot and plan, so don't worry. Any soon to graduate highschoolers can make up any labs or such things in one semester at a junior college and maybe you will find that to be unnecessary. Your children will be judged by different rules. Technology is exploding so fast, we cannot predict all that will be available to you. But again, what is your religion? Sometimes that will really change the advice I give. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Stickers on the electronics are a really good idea. Just taking the part of the book that you need isn't a bad idea either. I have xeroxed several chapters to take with us on a trip, but cutting up the book would be more space-efficient. We keep all books in ziplocks when we are on a trip. I have bought giant ziplocks and labeled them with the child's name and a number. Then I carefully pack the ziplocks into whatever storage I have in the order that we are going to need them. I also have ziplocks labeled Fun with the initials of the people the books would appeal to. I try to find things that as many people as possible will be able to read. One lucky year we had all seven people reading through Didias Falco mysteries and the Hornblower books. Usually I am unable to be so efficient. You might like to look at the Geography Colouring Book. Mine did those one trip. See if you can get somebody at home to receive packages from you and you can ship used books and what papers you want to keep home. If you are in confined quarters, you might find that headphones and audio books or music give a measure of privacy. They have been a lifesaver for us. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 (edited) If you had to live outside the US for a couple years, and didn't have access to internet or libraries, and couldn't purchase any additional homeschool curriculum, what would you bring with you to teach multi-age kids (15, 13, 7, 5)? So you have one rhetoric stage, one logic stage and a couple grammar stage students. The books you brought with you would have to fit into one large suitcase. You'd have a couple years to prepare yourself, to read up, self-educate on methods and/or content. Then you could bring 2-3 resources for each subject, like How To Teach Spelling, or Spelling Power, something that would work for grades 3-12. You wouldn't have access to all 12 levels of something (like all the R&S grammar books, and all levels of Singapore Math). So as much as I love those resources, it would not be practical to bring them. What would you bring for language arts? What about history and science? How about math? Critical thinking? (I'm guessing we'd not have access to newpapers, magazines). Would you even need curriculum for some subjects? How can you teach classically with a minimum of materials? This scenario might be reality for us in a few years and I would love to hear especially from veteran homeschoolers how you might get along without using the grade-specific, parent-intensive curriculum that is marketed to the HS community nowadays. First of all I'd invest in an electronic gadget, kindle, laptop? and load everything on it that would fit. Those free online books that Ambleside is so fond of and an encyclopedia on disc, a Bible. A complete set of Saxon math would be in the suitcase with my electronic gadget and maybe a complete set of R&S English. Would all that fit in a suitcase? That's what I would take and if I needed two gadgets to get all of the books that I needed, so be it. They're small right? ETA: If I needed to teach one how to read I'd pack Alpha Phonics and a set of Bob books and I load a bunch of readers on my gadget. Edited June 21, 2011 by silliness7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Most likely Europe and Asia.... if we get real adventurous, Australia. Australia is adventurous? :confused: We have libraries and internet here. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Libraries in ENGLISH, even LOL. Australia is on the other side of the world. By definition it is adventurous to travel there, even if once one is there, one finds that it is one of the countries the most like home. : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 How to Write Poetry is a thin, but excellent handbook on poetry writing. Drawing Textbook is a thin, yellow pamphlet that provides enough drawing lessons for a couple years. I carried both of these books in my backpack while homeless, and strongly recommend them. Nan is so right about audio books and ear plugs affording some privacy when forced into spending long periods of time in crowded public places. Oversized hoodies are comforting too. When sleeping in a chair or a corner, a hood pulled over the head, a well covered backside, and sleeves pulled over the hands keeps a sleeping body warm and better able to stay asleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 (edited) We do the oversized hoodies, too. They are necessary items for airplane travel. I guess there is some overlap of homeless skills and of the boating, camping, and peacewalking skills overlap. One thing you can keep buy in Europe is TinTin books in whatever foreign language you are studying. With a dictionary, a beginner can usually figure out the gist with the help of the picture. Comic books are much more common in Europe and it is easier to find child-friendly ones. Just be aware that there are many child-unfriendly ones as well. Tintins are fun even for non-readers. I like the poetry idea. If you decide to do Draw Squad, I would definately take the book apart before leaving. That way, different children could work with different pages and you could leave the beginning rarayoucandoit section at home. -Nan Edited June 21, 2011 by Nan in Mass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I would place some of the detective sheets from Considering God's Creation in plastic sheet protectors. Instead of bringing field guides and attempting to identify plants, animals, rocks, etc, I would focus on observation skills, organizing knowledge, and documentation. I once read a nature study book that told the teacher to never name the subject being studied because the children would then lose interest in the subject and stop observing it so intently. The detective sheets provide a vocabulary that assists the child in documenting what they are observing. They contain an amazing amount of information on each worksheet. Yes there is a huge overlap in living homeless and traveling. Even I cannot always tell the difference, when I encounter certain people on the trains and streets. Other than the stigma involved, there really isn't any difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimnc Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Wow, this thread is so interesting! Some great suggestions. I would get everyone a Kindle (we have 2 so that's a no-brainer). Get a cover that doesn't "scream" e-reader. Lots of text books mentioned here are also available for Kindle, including SOTW and the CK12 Texts (the latter are free), that would save you suitcase space. Most classics are free with a very few exceptions (CS Lewis and Tolkien's books are two that come to mind, they're still under copyright.) I think you can even get some HS science curricula as ebooks. I've seen the dragonfly book (Miller Levine Bio) on CD ROM. I love Math Mammoth for younger grades. Can you pack a printer? Maybe a small one, with lots of ink. Bring a good world map. Pick up brochures and free maps everywhere you go. Learn about the local history of the places you visit. One thing - have multiple backups of everything. An offsite backup is a must, even if it's just CDs kept at a relative or friend's home. Even with freebies it would be a pain to go reacquire everything if a ereader or computer got stolen. Sounds like fun, can I come? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 One thing - have multiple backups of everything. An offsite backup is a must, even if it's just CDs kept at a relative or friend's home. Even with freebies it would be a pain to go reacquire everything if a ereader or computer got stolen. Most files can be stored online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Sheet protectors gives me another idea. I've heard of people slicing the spine off a workbook, giving each child a sheet protector and a dry erase marker, and having them do the excersize on the plastic and then erasing it for another child to do. I would experiment beforehand to find a combination of plastic and marker that erased well. It is a way of having multiple children use one workbook. Not sure if you would need to do that, but it might work for things like The Geography Colouring Book. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Australia is adventurous? :confused: We have libraries and internet here. But she speaks English. I think there's someone on here who travels around Australia, homeschooling out of a mobile home or something. She has a blog. I think this is her http://curryfamilyadventures.wordpress.com/ I'd also load up on librivox stuff. Why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 If you didn't have internet access, would you be able to use a Kindle? I'm not exactly sure how that works. Could you, say, download a ton of stuff on it beforehand and then have access to all those books, website info (is that allowable?), etc. from the Kindle? Or have a Kindle for each of them with all their stuff on it? I know you can download books and even picture books (in color) now.... I'm just not sure if you have to be connected to the internet in order to use that data.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimnc Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 If you didn't have internet access, would you be able to use a Kindle? I'm not exactly sure how that works. Could you, say, download a ton of stuff on it beforehand and then have access to all those books, website info (is that allowable?), etc. from the Kindle? Or have a Kindle for each of them with all their stuff on it? I know you can download books and even picture books (in color) now.... I'm just not sure if you have to be connected to the internet in order to use that data.... You can either load everything on it, or you can have the files in your computer and "sideload" them onto it as needed. It connects with a USB cable to your computer and then acts like a hard disk, so you just drag and drop files onto it (properly formatted, of course). It does have a web browser but I have found it to somewhat clunky to use, since the screen is small. Perhaps it's different with Kindle DX (the larger screen version). Supposedly you can also access email and facebook with it but I've not tried it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 But she speaks English. That's quite common here too. :tongue_smilie: I think there's someone on here who travels around Australia, homeschooling out of a mobile home or something. She has a blog. I think this is her http://curryfamilyadventures.wordpress.com/ There's quite a few people doing that and there's a subforum on one of the Australian/NZ homeschooling sites for them. Here's another Hiver's blog: http://www.livinontheroad.com.au/ Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 That's quite common here too. :tongue_smilie: Rosie That's up for debate though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 First of all, I'd get the materials I chose as ebooks and take a laptop and ereaders rather than physical books. I'd choose curricula that do not require workbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 That's up for debate though. I hope you know I was making a joke, Rosie. I've got relatives down under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virg Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 (edited) I really don't have much of a suggestion. Others have covered it SOOOO well!. The only thing I thought of that I didn't see (although it is very possible I missed it) is for the whiteboards. Those pens dry out really fast, esp if you use them a lot, which we do. Crayola just started making dry erase crayons and I tried them out. The kids love them and they don't dry out. That might help some :) They wipe off with old socks or rags just like the pens. ETA: Oh the other thing I just thought of. If you need a certain workbook or papers and you don't have room for them, you can always just scan them into your computer. I actually plan on getting rid of my huge file of PK teaching worksheets and scanning them all on to an external hard drive in case I ever start teaching PK in a school again I will have them but they won't take up boxes in my garage. Edited June 21, 2011 by ds4159 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 I think we have written enough "chapters" here to compile into a book! The stuff on Kindle/Nook/ebook is all new to me, so I'll have to carefully compile all your suggestions and become savvy with this new technology. I don't even have an ipod or iphone so that will take some getting used to. As for Australia... I think the adventure lies in actually getting there. Boat? Anyone have a boat they want to sell? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted June 22, 2011 Author Share Posted June 22, 2011 I would place some of the detective sheets from Considering God's Creation in plastic sheet protectors. Instead of bringing field guides and attempting to identify plants, animals, rocks, etc, I would focus on observation skills, organizing knowledge, and documentation. I once read a nature study book that told the teacher to never name the subject being studied because the children would then lose interest in the subject and stop observing it so intently. The detective sheets provide a vocabulary that assists the child in documenting what they are observing. They contain an amazing amount of information on each worksheet. Yes there is a huge overlap in living homeless and traveling. Even I cannot always tell the difference, when I encounter certain people on the trains and streets. Other than the stigma involved, there really isn't any difference. :lol: Hi Hunter, We use curriculum and resources that are secular, Christian, and Catholic. I also own Considering God's Creation, and will have to dig up the detective sheets. What a great idea! Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 (edited) That's up for debate though. I hope you know I was making a joke, Rosie. I've got relatives down under. Oh, you were joking! What a relief! I though ya'll were just ignorant! :tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie: To reassure the OP, we speak a variety of English intelligible to Americans, but I recommend not using the word "root" other than to talk about the underground bit of a plant. We have internet in most parts of the country, we have libraries in most parts of the country and if you are staying anywhere for longer than a month, you can have mail sent there. You might want to warn the caravan park owner if you're are expecting 30 books in the mail from Book Depository though, because they usually show up in dribs and drabs over the course of a week and a half. And yes, it is cheaper to do that than buy new, but we also have second hand bookshops that sell books written in English- some even use American spelling :tongue_smilie: As for Australia... I think the adventure lies in actually getting there. Boat? Anyone have a boat they want to sell? Ha. Yeah. That'd be more adventurous than a very long plane trip. Keptwoman's boy sails. Maybe you can get him to come pick you up. :p Rosie Edited June 22, 2011 by Rosie_0801 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 But this is so much more fun than agonizing and second guessing ourselves about which books WE are going to use. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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