Back to School - Homeschool or World School Style
August 15, 2013
Is it back to school time in your world? Or do you homeschool, unschool or world school? This is my 12 year old plowing through a book in tropical Asia on a break after visiting the local market.
"Independent/home learners are never restricted by a school-based curriculum and, instead, can and do recognize the value of all kinds of life learning." Joyce Reed
I am reading the delightful and enlightening book "What Really Matters" by my friends and veteran homeschooling parents/ pioneers David Albert and Joyce Reed, ( with brilliant, successful, happy college educated kids).. so thinking a lot about how we all learn and what is essential.
BEST ARTICLES ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING, EDUCATION AND TRAVEL
FAMILY TRAVEL, HOMESCHOOL EDUCATION, & GLOBAL STUDENTS
LONG TERM TRAVEL = HOMESCHOOL, ROADSCHOOL, WORLD SCHOOL
EDUCATION AND TRAVEL
HOW TO HOMESCHOOL THROUGH TRAVEL WITH A GIFTED CHILD
HOW TO RAISE A MULTILINGUAL CHILD
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION - WORLD SCHOOL KID
THE BENEFITS OF EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL FOR KIDS
LEARNING WHILE TRAVELING
FRIENDS ON OUR ULTIMATE FAMILY ADVENTURE
HOMESCHOOL KIDS TRAVEL
HOW WE LEARN AS WE TRAVEL
HOW AND WHY TO RAISE A GLOBAL KID
We really see everything as learning, so we are always "in school" and
don't take a summer break. Our whole life is one big, permanent vacation! The local schools and Chinese schools here go
from January through November, but it is back to school time for the
International schools this week ( they go from August to June).
Since our daughter, Mozart takes some extra curricular classes at one of the nearby International schools, it feels a little like "back to school time" here as well. She enjoys the classes, library, big piano to practice on and the social aspects as she has become good friends with this group of kids.
Mozart has passion for music and composing, so she has been taking classes in piano, violin and voice with local teachers that have come highly recommended. Since we walk Asia or take the bus in Penang, just getting to classes can be part of the educational, multicultural, multilingual process.
We think time for play is such an important part of learning, so support her art and creativity in many ways and see it as a kid-friendly travel perk of our minimalist travel lifestyle.
I love it when she shares her imaginary world with us, (that she creates out of nothing).. like this cardboard bed, desk, books,denim book bag, posters, even bedspread made from her favorite T-shirt recycled ( so part of her eco-friendly and frugal passion).
She usually talks in Mandarin to friends in China every night and sometimes manages to do art projects at the same time. She is doing great with her Chinese tutor who comes here 4 times a week and is about to start 5th grade in Mandarin, so has almost reached her Mandarin fluency lofty goals ( while keeping up with her Spanish and English literary goals as well).
If she is not reading, she is making something and has had a passion for knitting ( for a while) which she has taught herself and designs lots of creative clothes ( I must blog about soon). She has a real fashionista creative sense of style and recently made the most awesome purse for herself by recycling an old pair of jeans! ( Photo story coming!). She did such a great job, one would not guess it was handmade.
One of the advantages of slow travel and mostly being unplugged on our ultimate family adventure trip, ( thanks to my health journey) is having the time to make good friends and participate in lots of fun extra-curricular things like choir, drama, library time, recycle club, language jobs and girl scouts.
She has a thriving social life with kids from her Chinese school, the international school and locals she meets in our apartment buildings,volunteering or even at book fairs, as well as keeping up with her best friends at a distance.
We also just have a LOT of fun, just hanging out together playing games like chess, discussing things or just being silly, watching movies or home movies and laughing a lot. We cherish this time together and keep connected to family at a distance.
This is an old photo of Mozart reading a Chinese book, ( you can tell because that favorite T-shirt looks brand new and has now been recycled into the bespread shown above). I am really happy that I raised a reader/ book worm and it always makes me smile to see her reading books in 3 languages.
Back to school or schools out forever? Either way it is all good as life is about learning and loving!
What have you or your kids been learning lately?
Is it back to school time in your world? Or do you homeschool, unschool or world school? This is my 12 year old plowing through a book in tropical Asia on a break after visiting the local market.
"Independent/home learners are never restricted by a school-based curriculum and, instead, can and do recognize the value of all kinds of life learning." Joyce Reed
I am reading the delightful and enlightening book "What Really Matters" by my friends and veteran homeschooling parents/ pioneers David Albert and Joyce Reed, ( with brilliant, successful, happy college educated kids).. so thinking a lot about how we all learn and what is essential.
BEST ARTICLES ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING, EDUCATION AND TRAVEL
FAMILY TRAVEL, HOMESCHOOL EDUCATION, & GLOBAL STUDENTS
LONG TERM TRAVEL = HOMESCHOOL, ROADSCHOOL, WORLD SCHOOL
EDUCATION AND TRAVEL
HOW TO HOMESCHOOL THROUGH TRAVEL WITH A GIFTED CHILD
HOW TO RAISE A MULTILINGUAL CHILD
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION - WORLD SCHOOL KID
THE BENEFITS OF EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL FOR KIDS
LEARNING WHILE TRAVELING
FRIENDS ON OUR ULTIMATE FAMILY ADVENTURE
HOMESCHOOL KIDS TRAVEL
HOW WE LEARN AS WE TRAVEL
HOW AND WHY TO RAISE A GLOBAL KID
We really see everything as learning, so we are always "in school" and don't take a summer break. Our whole life is one big, permanent vacation! The local schools and Chinese schools here go from January through November, but it is back to school time for the International schools this week ( they go from August to June).
Since our daughter, Mozart takes some extra curricular classes at one of the nearby International schools, it feels a little like "back to school time" here as well. She enjoys the classes, library, big piano to practice on and the social aspects as she has become good friends with this group of kids.
Mozart has passion for music and composing, so she has been taking classes in piano, violin and voice with local teachers that have come highly recommended. Since we walk Asia or take the bus in Penang, just getting to classes can be part of the educational, multicultural, multilingual process.
We think time for play is such an important part of learning, so support her art and creativity in many ways and see it as a kid-friendly travel perk of our minimalist travel lifestyle.
I love it when she shares her imaginary world with us, (that she creates out of nothing).. like this cardboard bed, desk, books,denim book bag, posters, even bedspread made from her favorite T-shirt recycled ( so part of her eco-friendly and frugal passion).
She usually talks in Mandarin to friends in China every night and sometimes manages to do art projects at the same time. She is doing great with her Chinese tutor who comes here 4 times a week and is about to start 5th grade in Mandarin, so has almost reached her Mandarin fluency lofty goals ( while keeping up with her Spanish and English literary goals as well).
If she is not reading, she is making something and has had a passion for knitting ( for a while) which she has taught herself and designs lots of creative clothes ( I must blog about soon). She has a real fashionista creative sense of style and recently made the most awesome purse for herself by recycling an old pair of jeans! ( Photo story coming!). She did such a great job, one would not guess it was handmade.
One of the advantages of slow travel and mostly being unplugged on our ultimate family adventure trip, ( thanks to my health journey) is having the time to make good friends and participate in lots of fun extra-curricular things like choir, drama, library time, recycle club, language jobs and girl scouts.
She has a thriving social life with kids from her Chinese school, the international school and locals she meets in our apartment buildings,volunteering or even at book fairs, as well as keeping up with her best friends at a distance.
We also just have a LOT of fun, just hanging out together playing games like chess, discussing things or just being silly, watching movies or home movies and laughing a lot. We cherish this time together and keep connected to family at a distance.
This is an old photo of Mozart reading a Chinese book, ( you can tell because that favorite T-shirt looks brand new and has now been recycled into the bespread shown above). I am really happy that I raised a reader/ book worm and it always makes me smile to see her reading books in 3 languages.
Back to school or schools out forever? Either way it is all good as life is about learning and loving!
What have you or your kids been learning lately?
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