Schooling on extended trips

Andrew,
We have met lots of families that have pulled their kid out of school for a year or so. There seems to be a few different systems. Some kids just had to keep a detailed diary of their trip, and do about one or two hours work a day, which is supplied by the school. Another system is correspondence school by mail and another is school of the air which is done over the internet. Your education department should be able to advise.

Mal T.

Have a look in Redfern, thats what happens with no education!

Im like you interested in how 6 mths on the road would work... it would be hard on the kids to try to get them to do anywork, as they are moving most of the time, then when they arent, they are seeing what there is to see..

Gooday Andrew and Jen,
we have just returned from 12 months on the road with our 6 y.o. daughter, who we educated for the year using the facilities provided by the NSW dept of Ed. "Distance Education" system. I dont know what system your state employs, could be similar. My wife was the stand in educator, as my patience was not good enough, and it did get difficult as we had a pupil who wasnt all that interested in doing school work. We met many families with 1, 2, 3, kids travelling for 3 - 6 months, and all were doing some degree of school work, if their kids were of an age that required them to be educated. Some had structured work programs designed by their school, and others were using a system similar to ours.
Some of those out for a short period like 3 months or less were doing less structured programs, but all were doing something. We used to give the teachers in Sydney our anticipated major mail drops and they would send envelopes containing each weeks work for us to complete. We would post these off at the end of each week, and we usually had a couple of weeks unused work in reserve depending on if we were going to be in isolated areas or near major population areas.
We were in a camper trailer, and it was a hassle, as the work was structured for a 20 hour week, and we felt it was designed mainly for families who were O/S for a period, but weren't constantly on the move ,as we were. It meant a slow start in the morning, or an early stop in the afternoon, as there was school work that had to be done. Eventually we became less focused on the over all curriculum, and concentrated on the things our daughter enjoyed, like art, and the things we knew she had to have if she was to slot back into school with her old class mates, like maths and reading /writing.
The school work was the biggest frustration for us on the trip, because we were spending so much time doing assignments which weren't relevant to our travels.
My suggestion would be that if you are going out in the middle of the school year, get some ideas from the maths teacher so your 10 Y.O. doesnt loose to much ground, and get that child to do a joournal, which should look after the reading /writing/ spelling side of school. Dont worry about the younger ones at all, and just have a really great family time together. What you can gain in family bonding is the most worthwhile benefit we found. Especially if ,as you say,:-
""I am one of those unlucky people that cannot get away from work for an extended period at this time of my life - or rather, I won't quit my job to travel and uproot the family""
Most of us are bonded into a job with the uncertainty of re employment should we decide to pull the pin and do it anyway.
Good luck and enjoy it.
Sails

My sister in Law and her husband did 9 months on the wallaby with 3 kids about same age as yours. The life education they got on the trip outweighed any disadvantage of not being in school. At their age you can teach them all they need to know and thats what Lo and Ben did. They set aside a special time every couple of days for schooling. They are all grown up now, the eldest boy is a chartered accountant, the middle girl is a Captain in the army, and the youngest has just completed his teaching degree and is teaching in Canberra. Because of the adventure (and others they have completed both singly and as a family) they are very self confident but very much family orientated. They are all adventurers and as a family rafted down the Franklin 1 1/2 years ago. The eldest boy is in Canada at present with his wife of adventuring again.
Go for it.Richard and Leonie, The grey nomads.

Greetings Andrew and Jen, Education is life, not out of books. Plenty of families on the road spending quality time as a family, reading maps, adding Klms, working out fuelage and costs. Go for it mate, forget about the formalism. Jordon

Hi Andrew,it's me!!!!!!!!!!!!!lol
Seriously though, mum and dad went around australia when I was 9 and they pulled me out of school then in Melbourne. I ended up going to 17different schools and I don't think it did me any harm at all. (No smart comments).
What I saw and learnt going around Australia, I thought then and still do, was a lot more than I would have learnt staying at school. I know we are talking 27 years ago and that education has changed, but hey, kids adjust, and I think the parents worry about it more than what the kids do. It certainly hasn't affected my life now, I am just as good as the next person in every thing I do. Geoff stayed in the same primary school and the same high school all his years and our 12 year old brought home some home work yesterday and Geoff didn't know how to do it, but good old mum here knew all about it. So it just goes to show his 2 schools and my 17 schools, really havn't made any difference......lol. Don't let it worry you about the kids education, they will cope better than you and Jen will.
See ya
KarenKind Regards
Karen & Geoff
(Happy holidaying)

A teacher friend of ours said don't let school get in the way of a good education when we were taking our kids out of school.
Got some work off the teachers before we left and fitted it in when we could.
Two in high school actually improved in marks in final exams after returning from holiday.
Terry

The majority of schools will be only too glad to help you with some ideas for the trip. Most schools could recommend a maths text book for primary age kids and even indicate the areas of study your child could miss while you are away you could probably even get the answers if you think you may have a problem. You could supplement the book work with practical activities along the way. Other curriculum areas could be dealt with the same way if you wish but i believe lots of reading and diary work should cover the rest. There are most likely heaps of teachers doing the same trip anyway, they'll help you out.
By the way what educational crisis occurred in Melbourne recently?

Andrew and Jen,
We read with interest the various replies to your question. We are both high school teachers in Sydney and have three children of very similar age to yourselves. In 1998 we spent six months with two pre-schoolers travelling Australia. On Easter Monday this year we will leave home for about three months to travel through Queenlsand. Two of the children are in primary school. We recently met with their principal and he was of the same opinion as ourselves - enjoy the time together as a family ! He was not recommending any formal work although we plan to have the children keep a journal, read and possibly keep in touch with their classmates through electronic communications. I am taking long service leave and it is not my intention to have school work dominate the holiday. We will be away from the everyday routines, including fitting homework around a multitude of activities. In short, the adventure of a lifetime awaits us all. All the best with your discernment of hese matters. If you plan to be in Qld during April, May or June we may meet you. Regards,
Paul.