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We’re celebrating ONE YEAR of full time RV living with a new video series: RV Crazy?!?!  Our first video, How to Tear Down and Setup a Travel Trailer, takes you through the process we go through every time we change locations.  We’ll give you tips and tricks to make the process go smoother and  show you how we involve the kids.  Whether you are curious as to how it works, are new to RVing or just want tips to make the process go smoother, we hope you’ll enjoy this week’s video!

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Our opportunity to explore Florida may not have worked out the way we planned, but our mission was still accomplished.  In this week’s video, we travel to the Destin, Florida, area and enjoy a plethora of beautiful state parks!  The beaches of the Florida panhandle are known as the Emerald Coast for their beautiful turquoise waters and powdery white sand beaches- just gorgeous.

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Sometimes things DO NOT go according to plan.  No one plans to stay at an RV Park where a dead body is discovered.  But that is exactly what happened when we parked our travel trailer in a cute, little Brevard County campground in Melbourne, FL.  It was a beautiful, sunny day and Joe stayed with the kids while I went to a nearby Starbucks to do some video editing.   Suddenly, I get a text from my beloved husband describing how police are searching an RV behind us and questioning the neighbors regarding a badly decomposed body they found in the abandoned 5th wheel. Well, if you want to know the rest of the story, you’ll have to tune into this week’s video (Click HERE to watch).  But let’s just say, I hope this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Beyond the unfortunate experience of police forensics in our “backyard,” our time in Melbourne and Titusville, FL was filled with New Year’s traditions and exploring our winter haven.  It’s fun to explore a new climate and landscape!  We hope you will join in on the the real fun of RV living by tuning into our latest episode.

 

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Teaching math can be complicated and frustrating.  Math isn’t everybody’s jam, but no one should have to suffer through it!  That’s why we LOVE Teaching Textbooks!!  This online curriculum makes math fun to learn and simple to teach.  And the only thing better than using a fun math curriculum is using a FREE, fun math curriculum!!

In our latest video, I give a curriculum review of Teaching Textbooks 3.0 and tell you how you can WIN a subscription to Teaching Textbooks 3.0- any level of your choice.

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Izzy on KindleJoe and I LOVE books. If there is anything I am tempted to hoard, it’s books. I love getting lost in a good story and learning new things from the experience of others. I even love the smell of books- I’m a NERD that way.   And no one can dispute the value of books from a learning standpoint.  As we have learned about our nation’s founding fathers, a common thread among their stories was how much they treasured the wealth of knowledge found in books and regularly sought out ways to borrow, purchase and acquire them.

Unfortunately, when you live in an RV, van, skoolie, or travel trailer, books are not really your friend.  A plethora of volumes will quickly weigh a rig down and make driving conditions unsafe. This is particularly a challenge for roadschoolers using book-based curriculums. Multiply that by our FOUR kids, and you can imagine what a dilemma that poses for our family.  You can imagine the inner struggle I have: I want to have books. I want my kids to LOVE books. But we really can’t afford to have the weight of books in our traveling tiny home.

So what do we do???

We have had to come up with some creative solutions to our book problem:

  • We enjoy stopping at Half Price books and other used book stores to browse books. At theses stores, we can return used books (for a teeny, tiny commission/credit) and buy new books. So far, we still have more books on hand than we should (weight-wise), but this helps keep “real” books in the hands of the kids so that they are not on screens all. the. time.
  • Libraries tend to have a “Friends of the Library” section where they fundraise by selling older books for very cheap. All of us enjoy browsing through these sections as we visit libraries to do our schoolwork.
  • A lot of campgrounds and neighborhoods have “take one, leave one” libraries. This is a great way to off-load old books that others can enjoy, while giving us an opportunity to scope out new reading possibilities.
  • Each of our kids has their own Kindle Fire on which they can read books. We like Kindles because they have great parental controls (monitoring time spent on the device and the content they can access) and a free reading app that is accessible on virtually every device.  Not only do the kids have access to great books they can read and listen to, but they can also play games and download movies to watch. If you’d like access to kid-friendly games and activities (especially great for entertainment while traveling!), you can enjoy an Amazon FreeTime Unlimited free 30 day trial by clicking the link below.  If you choose to continue once the trial period ends, it costs only $3 a month for one individual plan.

Amazon FreeTime Unlimited Free Trial

  • Kindle offers many free books which the kids can enjoy. There are SO MANY classics accessible to the kids to download for free!!  (Did I mention FREE?) Kindle also offers an “unlimitied” program, which allows you to read as many books as you want for one low monthly price.  You can click the link to learn more.

Kindle Unlimited Membership Plans

  • We listen to books on Audible. Again, I have one account that is accessible to all of the kids. We enjoy listening to books together as a family when we are driving. Or if the kids like, they can attach their headphones and listen on their own device to the book of their choosing.  Audible is running a special right now that gives you an opportunity to try it out for your next roadtrip FREE!!

Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks

  • We can check out books through our public library’s ebook lending library. 3MCloud, Overdrive and Hoopla are popular apps that libraries use to disperse eBooks to their patrons. The kids have these apps downloaded onto their Kindles and can check out new books for free.  Check with your home library to see what apps they employ.

IMG_0771The good news: whether you love the idea of eBooks and audio books, or prefer the joy of holding a bound volume in your hand, there are options!  All it takes is a little creativity.

If you would like to check out Kindles for yourself, I’ve provided clickable links below to see some of the different Kindle options available.  Amazon is currently offering some great deals on Kindle packages for Valentines Day!

Fire Tablet 3-Packs: Starting at $109.97

2-Pack Kids Edition Tablets: Starting at $149.98

And if you already own a Kindle Fire, but find it is outdated and not working as well as it should, Amazon is offering a great “upgrade” deal (click the link below):

Fire Tablets: 25% off Trade-in + Amazon Gift Card

How does your family approach the conundrum of books and nomadic life? If you have other ideas/options, PLEASE, share them in the comments below!

Keep Doing Life Deliberately,

Trisha

***This post contains affiliate links, and we will be compensated should you choose to make a purchase by clicking through our links.  This does not cost you, the consumer, anything extra and helps us to continue bringing you quality content.  Thank you for your support!😊

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Approaching home education with purpose and meaning is a challenge.  There are so many choices to be made: curriculum, time management, extra curricular activities, education methods, field trips, social activities and the list goes on and on….  One of the most important decisions that parents will make in their approach to homeschool/roadschool is how to govern their time.

img_0152Roadschool comes with its own unique set of predicaments.  Chief among those difficulties: keeping school moving in a forward progression with an irregular schedule.  When your home is constantly being torn down, relocated and set up again, how does anyone conduct a “normal” schedule?

Well, we’ve only been doing this roadschool thing for about 8 months.  But, I have come to the realization that keeping a roadschool schedule is not that different than the homeschool schedule we have employed for the last few years (with a few necessary tweaks).

Before I create a schedule for our family, my first item of business is to identify our priorities.  I do this by asking questions like:

  • What activities are most important to our family life? (ex. family devotions, youth group or clubs, exercise, etc.)
  • What areas are we weak and  need to grow in? (ex. needing to eat healthier means leaving time to prepare healthy meals)
  • What areas have been neglected that we need to carve out time for? (ex. making sure the kids are bathing regularly- just keeping it real, peeps.)

Next, I consider family needs:

  • Are there regular activities that we need to carve out time for? (example: naps for babies, laundry, or piano lessons)
  • Are their shared items that require a rotating schedule for the kids? (example: do they share books, a computer or a piano for music lessons?)
  • Do mom and dad have shared resources that will require adjustments in the schedule? (example: do mom and dad share a vehicle that will require dropping one parent off at work or only allow for activities on certain days?)

Then, I make a time grid, either on notebook paper or on a computer spreadsheet and begin filling in the priorities, followed by specific needs.  Here’s how my/our schedule shaped up for this year:

Kid’s Daily Schedule
7AM wake up- get dressed, make bed, clean up bunk house
7:30AM breakfast/family devotions
8AM family work out (hike/bike/circuit train/etc.)
10AM go to school destination (library/Chick-fil-a), eat a snack
10:30AM all kids do MATH, 
11:30AM All kids work on Monarch assignments
12:30PM LUNCH
1PM Continue Monarch Assignments
3PM Mom meeting (H-Mon, S- Tues, G- Wed., I- Fri)
4PM Make corrections in Monarch & Teaching Textbooks, Complete Projects
5PM Leisure Screen Time (IF schoolwork is done & room is clean)
6PM Dinner
6:30PM Clean up/dishes
7PM  Showers (H- Mon & Fri, S- Tues & Sat., G- Mon & Fri, I- Tues & Sat)
 & pack school bags for next day
8:30PM Get dressed for bed & brush teeth
8:50PM into bed
9PM  lights out Gideon and Izzy
9:30 PM lights out Sarah
10PM lights out Hannah

You may notice that I have allowed two and a half hours each school day for a family workout.  This was my way of addressing our need to excercise AND allowing time to explore varying destinations as we travel.  Yes, we still have time on the weekend to spend a day or two exploring as a family, but this gives us daily chunks of time to take a bike ride, go for a hike, etc. (If you would like to see a glimpse of our first year of roadschooling, click here to watch our video, “Dear Kids: an Open Letter About Our First Year of Full Time RVing”)

Some people will look at this and feel it is hyperscheduling the day.  I have actually made much more detailed schedules in the past (when you are teaching 4 different kids, in 4 different grades, in multiple subjects, it can get complicated FAST)!  But my kids have responded REALLY well to having structure.  They know what is expected of them and when it is expected.  A couple of them have even thanked me for making a schedule for them (and that’s a big deal coming from kids 14 and under)!

Whenever I create a new schedule, I try to hold us to it for a 2-3 weeks before we lax and deviate.  It takes a while for everyone to adapt to a new way of doing things, so it can take some time to discern if the schedule is working for us, or if we are working for the schedule.  Sometimes, I can tell right away that we need to make adjustments.  But once in a while, it takes time to recognize a bad day versus a problem with the schedule.

Whether we choose to homeschool year round or subscribe to a traditional calendar school year (we have done both), our family typically does school 4 days a week and uses one day as a “catch up” day.  Now that we are traveling full time, we are using that “catch-up” day as our travel day.  Ideally, we only travel one day a week, since it is time consuming to tear down, travel and set up again.  The kids will have to do homework on the weekend if they are unable to complete their assignments on the regular school days or our travel day.

I hope that my method for scheduling homeschool/roadschool can be helpful to your family! If it is, please like this post by clicking the “like” button below and sharing it with your friends.  If you have any questions or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you!  Please leave them in the comments below and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

Keep Doing Life Deliberately!

Trisha

 

 

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     Don’t get me wrong.  The journey along Highway 12 in Idaho is GORGEOUS!!! You can expect to see dense cedar forests, a beautiful river that hugs the highway, and a mountain ridge that hovers above.  Enormous boulders will arbitrarily appear in the middle of the small, swift river, evoking wonder as to their origin and possible casualties at their landing.  This is all part of what Lewis and Clark experienced just over 200 years ago when they traversed this area of the Louisiana Purchase.  But had it not been for the kindness of the local Nez Perce Indian tribe, the Lewis & Clark expedition would have been cut short by hypothermia and starvation.  What a thought!!  We genuinely enjoyed learning the history of this place and tribe and hope you will, too, as you watch this week’s video (click here)!!
      Do you love history?  As a kid, history was not something that was a strong part of my educational experience.  I’ve never really *loved* history.  But a few years ago, we started reading biographies in our homeschool studies.  As we studied geography, we read the biography of a missionary that worked on each of the continents that we learned about.  Their stories inspired and captivated me.  In the following years,  I intentionally looked for biographies as we learned about ancient history and American history.  In my opinion, seeing historical events through the eyes of someone who has lived through it, is so much more fascinating than reading a dry recounting of the event itself.
     But this summer’s journey…. it took our history studies up a notch (or TEN)!!   We not only read (or more accurately, listened to audio) biographies on our journey, we saw the places that these historical figures walked, struggled, fought, negotiated, and nearly died in.  We camped in the places they hiked, hunted, portaged and slept.  We breathed the forest air, awed at the wide open landscapes they witnessed, and dipped our toes in the water they canoed in.  HISTORY CAME ALIVE.  And now, we have a greater appreciation for the hardships many have endured for the United States of America to be what it is today.
     Our goal each week as we create the videos for Doing Life Deliberately is not only to share the adventure of our travels, but also to share what we are learning with you and your family.  We hope that you will enjoy sitting around the screen together, watching history come to life.  We hope we can make you laugh, challenge your thinking, and help you learn.  In short, we want to be Doing Life Deliberately WITH YOU.
     We’d love to hear from you!!  What are some events, historical figures and places that you would like to learn more about?  What do you want to know about fulltime RV living?  What questions do you have about homeschooling on the road?  We are working on plans for 2019 and would love to hear what you would like to learn about!
     We have received several email, Facebook, and website messages offering hospitality and encouragement.  Thank you so much for your kindness and love.  We appreciate you, your prayers, and support.
Keep Doing Life Deliberately!
Trisha
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