Full timing, well part time.

[DieselX]

My wife is a nurse and in a year she will be a traveling nurse, taking it on the road for a year or two living in the camper and renting out the house. Just gotta home school the 8 yo for a while but we figure what could be a better education than seeing the country?

I am excited. I just gotta find out how to make some beer money haha! I can't wait. Just want to mod the Excursion a bit so she won't be a worry. Oh well I got a year for that haha.

[2edgesword]

It sounds like it's going to be an exciting time. Kudos!

[CityFarmer]

Being able to go full time and travel would be wonderful! Hope you and the 8 year old both learn many new and wonderful things about this great land in which we live...........enjoy the travel while you can and think about the ones of us that envy you right now. Hope you have many miles of fun and happiness.

[DieselX]

Thanks guys! Haven't been west but a few times, looking forward to it!

[Moving Target]

Originally Posted by DieselX

Thanks guys! Haven't been west but a few times, looking forward to it!

Enjoy and have fun.

[Denise]

Wow, have fun! Will be neat memories for your whole family!

[clutch]

That is great if youre qualified to home school. Best of luck with your adventure.

[DieselX]

Originally Posted by clutch

That is great if youre qualified to home school. Best of luck with your adventure.

In short yes I am qualified, we are very involved parents and I believe that a child left to depend on the education system without guidance from their parents is at a huge disadvantage. Teachers are wonderful and we are lucky to have them, but they cannot educate every child with the individual attention they need without a parents help.

My sister is a teacher and I truly believe in the school system. I don't think my child would benefit from home schooling if it were for more than a few years, she is kind of shy and would benefit from interaction from children of her own age. The experience she will gain from traveling has played into our decision as well, we don't take it lightly. She is going in the third grade this year and will be a fourth grader next year. Too much past that and I might be in trouble haha.

[Murphie]

Sounds like you will do fine as a teacher. I had days off during the week so I spent them as a teacher assistant when my kids were in elementary school. You are right about the need for parent involvement. It makes a huge difference. I think this is a great opportunity for your family. There are many home school clubs/forums on the Internet. Some actually hook up with a school every now and then to get the social interaction you don't get at home.
Reading and having your child read to you is important. They also need to see that you are a reader if you know what I mean. Have fun and good luck.

[txdoodah]

How wonderful! We just spent 3 months "on the road" with our two kids (10, 11). Only did home schooling for 1 month and had planned to do it longer but I got a call for a contract job (I do software testing) that required us to stay put for 9 months. Our kids learned and saw more in 3 months than some people will see in a life time. There are lots of programs out there and plenty of curriculum books out there to help with the schooling part. Have a great time and safe travels!

[tinlizzie23]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents worth about the home schooling. My wife and I decided to home school our daughter after 3rd grade. She was learning more "good feeling about herself" things than things that would be needed later in life. She loved the program, and learned at her own pace. By the time she was in 8th grade, her annual tests (same ones that public school students took) had her reading and doing math at 12th grade levels. We continued her schooling at home all the way through 12th grade, and were active participants in a local home school group, which gave her plenty of social exposure to other kids. There was even a graduation ceremony, and a diploma from the school that supplied her materials. She is now age 26, mother of two, and starting to home school her kids. For us, this program was far superior to a public school education. Good luck to you all !

[Denise]

Originally Posted by DieselX

. She is going in the third grade this year and will be a fourth grader next year. Too much past that and I might be in trouble haha.

Originally Posted by txdoodah

. Our kids learned and saw more in 3 months than some people will see in a life time. There are lots of programs out there and plenty of curriculum books out there to help with the schooling part. Have a great time and safe travels!

Most parents can do third/fourth grade math still. What they don't remember how to do, the home school curriculum books (and/or school provided material) explain well for a refresher to you. I would suggest you don't rely solely on the computer to teach the math; they should be using paper and pencil to work those algorithms as well! I found when I taught third grade, most kids no longer were learning to read, but rather reading to learn. Writing is a big thing also! That's the perfect grade to get those sentence combining skills, transitions, and beginning/middle/end paragraphs started; get those writing skills started early and your scholar will benefit greatly in the following years as a result. Follow your state curriculum requirements that your school district provides for you and your child should do well for that year. Keeping them on a daily academic routine will also help them (ie: breakfast, then math, 10 minute break, reading/writing activities, snack, etc etc etc). Because it's one-on-one, your scholar will most likely have their work done in three hours of actual academic time.

I agree with the traveling... we did all of ours in the summers, but our kids saw/experienced things traveling the fifty states that most kids (and even adults) only read about in books/newspapers or see on tv/movies.

It's only one year. Have fun and take lots of pics of your travels!

[clutch]

With 38 years in the classroom I have seen both sides of home schooling. I taught middle school and also Driver Education. In my DE classes I had public, private and home school kids. As mentioned, it is all up to the quality of parent involvement. All to often I saw people home schooling their kids just because school hours cramped their style. I was always in the same school district and I had some generations of people that didn't do well in school themselves and dropped out who would home school. I had those kids show up for Dr. Ed. class and they were not very well prepared. It can be good or it can be bad. Heck if it is only for one year just keep them out and enjoy the year. Everyone dosen't have to graduate in 12 years.

[Murphie]

Clutch, that was an interesting read. I would hope that if you were to homeschool your children that you would be academically inclined yourself. Hopefully if a standard wasn't met the child would be returned to a regular school. Sounds like some kids were left behind.

[clutch]

Originally Posted by Murphie

Hopefully if a standard wasn't met the child would be returned to a regular school. Sounds like some kids were left behind.

Murphie, in Idaho there is no accountability for home school. There is no testing or evaluating unless the parents request it in the form of the standard testing done in the school. All parents have to do is show proof of their childern being enrolled in a home school program.

In Idaho each child home schooled saves the state money. There are very few states cheaper than the state of Idaho.

[Denise]

I guess I should have prefaced my previous post with... "in Calif". Students have to still take the state required end of the school year tests.

[DieselX]

Fortunately our daughter loves to learn. She always does her homework without complaint and reads hours a day. She wakes up in the morning around 6:30 on her own (usually) turns on her light and reads until I tell her to get ready for school. She does this on weekends as well. So I think her eagerness to learn will help on the home schooling.

We only plan do do it for a year or two and then get her back into school. I think what she learns on the road will be with her forever.

[usmc616]

From my experience , children will take more from an experience than us as Parents can expect. Last summer we went on the road for 25 days and camped in every state from NY to Fl. As my children retell the stories they have more vivid memories then me or the DW have.