NotSoObvious Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 We will be going to visit my family for the whole month of January, staying on the beach- YAY! I'm planning on bringing our math, spelling, and history (because they love it). They'll read a ton and they'll bring their composition notebooks so we can work on writing (we do WWE, but we are also working on paragraphs/writing on our own). I'm not sure if I want to bring FLL 3 because the books are so big. We'll be flying. Any advice?? I'm not going to be OCD about school while we are there, but I do know we will have time to get a good chunk done. What would you take? FYI- Not doing school really isn't an option because we've taken so many breaks for traveling already this year. We will have quite a bit of down time to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Could you do a few core subjects and then maybe do a unit study about the beach? You could learn about the different fish, shells, birds, etc. That might be a lot of fun! The kids could go exploring daily to find different things on the beacn and draw them and figure out what they are. Have a fun time! I am super jealous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 Could you do a few core subjects and then maybe do a unit study about the beach? You could learn about the different fish, shells, birds, etc. That might be a lot of fun! The kids could go exploring daily to find different things on the beacn and draw them and figure out what they are. Have a fun time! I am super jealous! I thought about that... but I don't really know where to go with it. Should I focus on animals? Tides? Just check out books and follow their interests? I am hoping the tide pools will still be exposed because that would be perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmarango Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 I would just follow your children's interests. Maybe check out a few books in the beginning covering marine invertebrates, coastal birds in that area, oceanography titles, etc. You may want to look at the One Small Square Seashore book if you want some more hands on ideas. Whenever I take my children on month long trips we tend to focus on reading, handwriting, language (most trips are to Colombia), and craft-type projects for fine motor skills. However, my dc are quite a bit younger than yours. Have a great trip. I forgot to add that I subscribe to different websites (Brain Pop, Discovery Streaming, Happy Scientist) so that we can access them wherever we happen to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 I would just follow your children's interests. Maybe check out a few books in the beginning covering marine invertebrates, coastal birds in that area, oceanography titles, etc. You may want to look at the One Small Square Seashore book if you want some more hands on ideas. Whenever I take my children on month long trips we tend to focus on reading, handwriting, language (most trips are to Colombia), and craft-type projects for fine motor skills. However, my dc are quite a bit younger than yours. Have a great trip. I forgot to add that I subscribe to different websites (Brain Pop, Discovery Streaming, Happy Scientist) so that we can access them wherever we happen to be. Thanks Christina! I forgot we have Dreambox, too. Perfect. My parents have a home in Bucaramanga and I can't wait to get down there sometime! Your kids are so lucky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Well, when we go to the beach for a month, which we've done every year but one for the past 7 falls . . . I have learned, much to my chagrin, that nearly all my great plans go undone. I would estimate that we get on average 3 hours of "school" done PER WEEK. Honestly, I have come to believe that it is not worth the trouble to bring anything. If I were you, I would only bring what you absolutely believe MUST be done. Probably math? I have had a lot of success bringing "candy school" -- each child would have a HUGE stacks of worksheets on various topics. WHenever they felt like it, they could do one and then claim a piece of candy (left over road food, lol). This motivated them to do something productive when they had a few minutes to spare. Math drill, math enrichment (roman numerals, etc), music note reading, vocabulary word searches . . . those kinds of things . . . I'd create a huge stack for each kid before we left for the beach. If you have a few read-alouds or readers from SOTW that you want to bring, you might get a few hours at bedtime, etc to read them. Really, they are in 4th grade. Just let the rest go. Have FUN! These are the times you will remember for the rest of your lives. They won't suffer from missing a few more spelling lessons, or whatever. HAVE FUN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Could you do a science thing related to the beach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Read your way through history and science with additional scientist and historical figure studies. You could journal or smash depending on your resources. Keep WOW (words of worth or useful vocabulary) bookmarks for each book. Bring flashcards for math facts - all of them. Use the triangle cards to teach inverse too. A month, they will know the facts. Copy sentences from history and science reading. It can be that easy. :) You will be surprised at what you can accomplish in four weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 (edited) I would drop everything but math and WWE (which I would make part of the seashore study). I would do a seashore unit study. I've been making my own plans for when we move close to beaches next summer. Seaside Naturalist The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Seashore Creatures (and their Seashell book) The Burgess Seashore Book for Children Beachcombing: Exploring the Seashore Seashore: One Small Square Awesome Ocean Science Janice VanCleave's Oceans for Every Kid Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion (Scientists in the Field Series) The Ocean Book: Aquarium and Seaside Activities and Ideas for All Ages DK Ocean For my kids, I would get a sketch or watercolor spiral bound book and let them each create a field guide/science notebook. If they wanted/needed art instruction, I would get an ocean art book or two... Draw Ocean Animals or 1-2-3 Draw Ocean Life or Draw 50... It's a good time to read the Rachel Carson bio, or Jacques Cousteau, etc. So much fun! Edited December 18, 2011 by Alte Veste Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I would take math, a notebook, and my iPad. We would hang out on the beach and look up information about what we were looking at on the beach, and the kids to take turns reading what we found online as their reading for the day. They would draw and label things we found. My iPad had many educational apps, so they would play those during down time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I always had my children draw out the map, put it in gps, give me different options. Keep track of expenses: food, gas, souveniers, hotels, etc. They track mileage. The beach ideas are great as well. Mine have always had to do a travel journal as well. Now they do it on computer and add in pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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