Homeschool - by Tre

I'm not sure what you expected when you started reading our travel blog, but what you got was mainly the kid's homeschool blog. Since you're so familiar with what our homeschool looks like from your side, I thought it would be a good idea to tell you about what it looks like from our side. 

The couch in Taupo, New Zealand made for a tight classroom.

Science

The way my family has decided to approach science is pretty simple—research and write about things we see. That way, whenever I see something interesting and want to know more, I do some research and we stick it on the blog. We don't have the most structured curriculum, but it's way better than sitting in a classroom. Some people call this "world schooling" but we think this sounds a little pretentious.

Social Studies

Before we left, I was studying US History with my classmates for Social Studies. I'm pretty okay with missing that—I've listened to Hamilton more times than I can count, what else is there? Just kidding. Now I've been writing brief histories of whatever country I'm in, as well as the occasional tidbit on famous explorers or local terminology. My parents keep seeing things they don't know about and saying "Tre, that should be your next blog post!" I have to do a lot of vetoing, but they've come up with some good ones. 

English

I've done Science writing, Social Studies writing, do I really need to do English writing, too? No, because our family homeschool practices a technique called "writing across the disciplines," where we combine certain classes into one. That way I have one less class. Basically, I write enough in my other classes to cover writing, I read enough in my free time to cover reading, and I talk enough, at all times, to cover public speaking.

Math

Math is the only homeschool subject that you haven't seen on the blog, and that's probably a good thing. It's not necessarily the most interesting stuff to read about:

"d=√(x1-x2)2+(y1-y2)2

    (Substitute variables for values. Solve for y1) etc etc...

Like and Subscribe for more math!"

Anyway, in my humble opinion, the blog is not the right place for math. We've chosen to use a program called Aleks math, which uses "placement growth tests" to see where a student should be placed in the curriculum, then lets them move through the rest of the course at their own pace. Like any online curriculum, Aleks has its hard moments: tools problems, counting glitches, the airbnb's Wi-Fi going out. But, all in all, the Peterson kids are doing well with Aleks Math. The lessons are nice and short, making them a welcome break from the writing that makes up the rest of the curriculum. I'm happy to report that I recently finished Geometry and am now auditing the Algebra 2 course (ASD will never let me be done with math! Never!).

Electives

Electives are supposed to be fun classes, a nice break from the hard classes that make up the rest of the curriculum. But let's admit it, no matter how fun they are it won't be as good as exploring the jungles of Borneo or the ultra-modern architecture of Singapore. So my family decided to go with an elective that fits nicely in with what we've been doing anyway—P.E. You should've seen the description of the class that we got from ASD: we weren't allowed to count things that are just a part of daily life, like taking out the trash or going down the stairs... Aw man. Luckily, we've been going on all sorts of fun hikes, walking around the city, scuba diving and swimming whenever we get the chance.

A Typical Homeschool Day

We try to homeschool daily, but inevitably we run into places where it becomes inconvenient or impossible. To combat this, sometimes we'll dedicate an entire day to homeschool, either to catch up if we're behind or to get ahead before we go somewhere with no Wi-Fi. On a normal homeschool day I'll:

6:30—Wake up early and chill for a while, reading and doing the Wordle and Connections

7:00—I start homeschool. I usually start with Math because it's quicker. 

7:30—Quill wakes up and begins homeschool. Since we only have one computer and an iPad, it's easier for one kid to write on the computer and the other to do Aleks on the iPad. She usually starts her day with writing.

8:30—Breakfast and some whining before getting back to work.

11:30—We go out and get some exercise. Even on a dedicated homeschool day we can't take that much work. Plus, exercise counts as our electives.

3:00—After an extended recess, we'll usually go back to the hotel room or Airbnb for an afternoon session, usually about an hour and a half long. There is often a fair amount of frustration during the afternoon session. 

Our quiet hotel room in Hanoi is quite a contrast to the urban cacophony of honks and yelling in the alleyway right outside the door.

Right now we're in Hanoi, Vietnam, a city so dense, crowded, and lacking traffic regulations that just crossing the street feels like we're taking our lives into our own hands. We've made our peace. Okay, I've got to get back to work now, as we got a bit behind while we were exploring the rivers of Borneo and hanging out with orangutans. Worth it, though!