What if... you had to live in a "box"?

[stripe]

To reassure the OP, we speak a variety of English intelligible to Americans,

Not really, but that's what makes you so charming, mate. We have no idea what you're saying at all. We just think you look cute in that hat with corks dangling from it.

[Hunter]

: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.

 

I would encourage you to get each of the children a really nice, but smaller sized leather Bible and use them as your main reading/literature book. Put dramatized multi voiced audio versions of the Bible on their electronics. Remedial children gain an average of 5 years reading ability in only a few months when given audio that matches text. Studies have not been done on average children or with dramatized audio, but my experiences have shown amazing results. Also there is less eye strain with smaller text while listening, because you naturally don't try as hard to see the text.

 

I wouldn't bring the books with you, but for now, I would read up a bit on reading the Bible as literature. Book reports can be done on the basic stories. Poetry lessons can be done on psalms. All sorts of literary devices are sprinkled throughout.

 

Mainly though, the best thing about the Bible is how applicable it is to every culture and time and event. It always has something fresh to say.

 

You might want to take a look at SOW, Students of the Word. It has a high burn out rate and few people stick with it as their ONLY curriculum long term, but most people continue to use bits of it forever, once they have been introduced to it. If I were stuck with very little to teach with, I would certainly want some of the SOW worksheets with me!

 

There will be a Catholic church wherever you go. I'm sure the priests will loan you Bible study materials that you can use with the Bibles, that will work for reading comprehension.

 

I would switch from history based to social studies based. A lot of people here are anti social studies, but I think it will help you to understand all the new info you will be bombarded with, if you have some vocabulary to label it with.

 

Not to bring with you, but take a look at Stand Up For Your Rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights will give you and your children plenty to talk about and provide endless writng prompts as you observe new cultures.

 

Google "NIE" and "Newspapers in Education" to learn to use the newspaper as a textbook.

 

Remember that every time we suffer a want, time opens up to spend more time with what we do have, and might otherwise have overlooked or ignored. This experience will make your children different. Probably not better or worse, but certainly different than they otherwise would have been. Most of the lacks that I and my sons have suffered through and been balanced out by an unusual strength. It just all evens out.

 

Are you interested in studying geography with a missions focus? A saints study with a focus on the countries they lived and served in? The priests might have things to loan you that will cover social studies.

 

Study some kitchen science and learn the chemical and physical reactions of certain foods to heat, beating, combining etc, as you will be forced to expiriment with unfamiliar combinations of food. I learned a lot about baking from a King Arthur cookbook. I think it was a 200 anniversary edition.

 

Spalding type spelling and phonics curricula are time consuming and use just paper and no worksheets. I'd bring The Writing Road to Reading or something similar.

 

A lot of Waldorf math is done orally. A lot of Waldorf methods just use paper and no worksheets, or are done orally. They also do a lot of hand crafts and use quieter smaller musical instruments.

 

I'll keep thinking :-)

Edited June 22, 2011 by Hunter

[Hunter]

I'd bring a large foldable laminated map of the world!

 

Right now, I'd read How I learned Geography.

[Nan in Mass]

The UN makes a book for older children. You could study that before you go. That might help you to think more globally. What a good idea, Hunter.

[stripe]

There are also free spelling / dictation books from bygone eras. I'm using The Modern Speller, but may soon switch to Wheeler's Speller. You can download these and put on your ereader. The giant thread about this is

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157186

Which inclues various language arts books such as With Pencil and Pen and Sheldon's Primary Language Lessons

And I've tried to tag several of them as vintage

 

I really enjoy everything Hunter has to say about geography.

Edited June 22, 2011 by stripe

[Hunter]

Nan, what is the title of the book? The UDHR is a difficult to understand document. Those of us who want to evaluate cultures by it, need all the help we can get.

 

Stripe, I am so fascinated by geography lately. Just head over heals in love with some of my new resources. Some of my recent geography studies have answered some deep questions I've had for a long time and never expected to have answered. Without a proper understanding of geography and general social studies, we view everything out of context. Geography has SO many branches and overlaps with EVERYTHING.

 

Even some of the hardcopy older texts might be worth bringing. They are more concise that most modern ones. I have never seen Harvey's Grammar. Would that be a good book to bring overseas?

[Nan in Mass]

Hunter - I am fascinated by geography, too. I always have been but I didn't have a label for it. I would have majored in it in college if I had. You might like to investigate cultural anthropolgy, too. It gives one a framework for cultures and societies. For example, every culture has ways of redistributing goods (potlatches, for example) and every culture has ways of making group decisions (for example, Japan uses consensus, which can be pretty disconcerting if you are from the US).

 

Jean and Hunter:

 

Here is that UN book:

https://unp.un.org/Details.aspx?pid=20920

 

You might also like to investigate the National Geographic site. It has educational goals for each grade and suggested assignments for achieving those goals. It is pretty cool.

 

You might also look at What the World Eats, Material World, Children Just Like Me, and other books like that.

 

I have found that when we travel (except by camper or boat), it has worked better to do the prep work before the trip and then have the trip be fun and low stress, without me trying to enforce schoolwork getting done. We plan to visit interesting sights and I make them read all the labels, but we do the map, language, historical overview, and cultural overview beforehand. I try (sigh - try being the operative work here) to get them to where they are able to use public transportation, tell about their families, and buy something to eat. They read one of those middle school Country X books for an overview. They read about the issues and problems. I try to find an historical novel or children's book set in the country. Middle one read The Ramsey Scallop before walking down through France and youngest read Wounded Knee while traveling through the Native American nations in NY. We do something globally oriented, like read Material World or do the Geography Colouring Book or do that UN book. I have them trace maps so they have mental picture of where they are. And I try to find somebody from the country to talk to about food and manners I send them. This gives them a picture of what that person loves and thinks is important and misses. When we travel by boat or camper, there are usually long confined hours to get through so I have the children do two or three hours of reading a day (and math if they haven't finished the year's math book - we hate that). When we drove around the country for two month, my oldest read The History of US, The Idiot's Guide to the US Government, Post American World, Getting A Grip, the same people's book something Hope, An Anatomy of Peace (those 4 were his global issues books), a large piece of TWTM's logic stage US history nonfiction list, and a number of historical novels set in the US. Oh, and he did the Geography Colouring Book and kept a journal. Before we left, he read some of the foundation documents of the US, the constitution, etc., and did a comparison between the US government and a foreign one of his choice.

 

Just to give you some more ideas...

 

-Nan

[TCB]

I don't have any suggestions but just wanted to say how much I am enjoying reading this thread. You all are brilliant!

[LunaLee]

Hmmm... lets see...

 

A kindle (if possible)

Encyclopedia Britannica downloaded to a laptop (or Kindle)

McGuffey Readers (complete set)

Rays Arithmetic (complete set)

Nat Geo Concise History of the World or Timetables of History

Oak Meadow History Grades 5-8 which covers American, World History & Civics.

Oak Meadow Science Grades 5-8 which covers Environmental Science, Earth Science, Life Science & Physical Science.

Writing Strands or IEW (or I'd use the time to create my own writing program)

ABC's and All Their Tricks (spelling & phonics)

Norton Anthology of Literature

A stack of magazines to teach from. I think magazines would be a great resource since they are thin, disposable, and you can teach multiple things from them.

HST+

 

I think the 17 y/o would be harder...I would consider graduating (him/her) earlier maybe if it was me and then have them use the time for personal research, leaving the topics and what to take up to them.

 

I chose the Oak Meadow because those books have the information in them as well as the assignments and none of them are over half an inch thick. They are non consumable so you could re-use them.

 

How exciting for you!

[elegantlion]

I am truly enjoying this thread as well. I challenged myself to sit down and really think about how many subjects I could do with what I already own. Let's just say I've been a good scavenger over the last few years. :lol: I'm glad I don't have to think about downsizing right now, but it's so fun to think about.

[stripe]

I searched for the name of the UN book and found it online.