Carschooling suggestions?

[The girl next door]

We're heading on a road trip before we return to school and I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for carschooling? Things that work or don't work? What to focus on or what to avoid?

 

I'm primarily thinking of my 5 year old (first grader) who should be doing as much reading and writing as possible.... but I'm not sure how that will work in the car! Thanks!

[Acorn]

We have enjoyed audiobooks while traveling. Mouse and the Motorcycle and Little House in the Big Woods were favorites at age 5.

[Uff Da!]

Mary Pope Osborne's "The Odyssey" was a big hit here. We borrowed it from the library. The Odyssey is inherently violent with all the monsters and so forth- but my little ones loved it.

[kokotg]

Jim Weiss CDs, audiobooks....we also work on poetry memorization in the car. I have a lot of CDs of poetry, and I pick a poem and play it over and over again until they (and I!) have it memorized.

[The girl next door]

Thanks for the suggestions.... I'm off to check out what the library has in audiobooks! Any suggestions for quiet activities (for when someone is sleeping)? (Will bring headphones as well).

[jenbrdsly]

We like to play a game called "yellow car". Any time you see a yellow car, you say "Yellow Car". It sounds ridiculous, but is addicting. :)

 

Here's a carschooling link with all of the library call numbers listed for you.

[caedmyn]

We've done:

Spanish (Teach Me Spanish, Fun Spanish, Magic Spanish, & this year I have some Spanish/English beginning reader audiobooks)

Song School Latin, Grammar Songs (just for exposure at this point)

History Songs

Geography Songs

audiobooks from Librivox

Jonathan Parks creation science CDs

Mondo Math math drills songs (these didn't go over too well)

 

We've also done memory work and Spanish "conversations" in the car, although that doesn't work well now that we have a minivan and DD sits in the far back. If your DS is a decent reader you could have him read out loud in the car. We've done this with easy readers where I could easily tell if she mispronounced or misread a word without having to look at the book.

[Dmmetler]

Be aware that your child may not be able to read in the car-many of my plans for carschooling hit a snag when it became obvious that reading in a car makes DD carsick. We do a lot of listening. Here's the blog post I wrote on some of the things we use (and where I got them) about a year or so ago.

 

http://makingmusicwithkids.blogspot.com/2011/07/musical-carschooling-primary-grades.html

 

I would also add-if you can get the Classical Conversations CDs, I've found them very helpful in just adding little bits of memory work in between longer songs on the playlists. It's amazing how much my DD learns from the CC memory work just in driving around in the car, and how it comes back later.

[trinchick]

We just returned from a trip to Virginia; we drove from New England so there was LOTS of time for carschooling! Like a PP mentioned, DD gets sick when she reads in the car, so I read aloud. We were visiting lots of historic sites (Mount Vernon, Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg), so I read books about the things we'd be seeing, specifically:

 

Who Was George Washington?

Phoebe the Spy

Pocahontas and the Strangers

A Lion to Guard Us

If You Lived In Williamsburg in Colonial Days

 

We also did the Bedtime Math problems every day while we were on vacation.

 

It really helped pass the time, and DD got a lot more out of the trip than she would have without the background information.

 

Also want to note, though, that we also listened to fun music and played a couple of DVDs (Disney Princesses - nothing educational). In addition to the historic sites on the trip, we also went to an amusement park and a water park. All work and no play...

[ChrissySC]

I vote for some good audiobooks and Dover coloring books that are topically related.

 

Do you have an ipad, ipod, or similar tablet? You can load up games that do not require internet connectivity. This would be a great time to practice many foundational skills, such as the math facts.

 

(A usb connected to a car charger that accepts usb is available. I can't live without ours.)

[Roadrunner]

I only get about an hour a week in the car with my kids and we use it for French.

[NittanyJen]

There is a Rand McNally Road Atlas for kids-- it is really kid-friendly, and has questions for them to answer, things for them to find, etc.

 

Might be a bit old for a 5YO, but for future trips, you might consider the "Roadside Geology" books.

 

There is a book out called "Car Schooling."

 

Sticker book of the 50 states. Yes & Know answer books with those magic pens are fun. They may not be as high standards as listening to books on tape, but are good for getting in some quiet time :).