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3 Kids, 2 Dogs and 1 Old House

LIFESTYLEPARENTINGTRAVEL

School In The Campervan – Explain

20 March 2018
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Do you know what one of the first things I decided about my parenting journey?  That I wasn’t going to be a stay at home mom that home-schools her children.  Don’t get me wrong here, I have huge respect for my many friends who have chosen this road.  In fact I admire the crap out of them.

So why did we choose this path?

Well, it was really two fold.  The first is probably the most obvs.  It’s basically impossible to survive with three kids on just one salary.  I know it’s not completely impossible (I know a whole handful of families with three or more kids that do it successfully).  I think the key is that you need to make some hard choices, but honestly at that stage of our lives, we were not ready to make those choices.

Plus I freaking love my job.  Which is maybe even weirder because who really loves insurance?  Me, I do.  Mostly because sometimes I make this happen.  But seriously I enjoy being responsible for something outside of my home, having conversations that don’t always revolve around my kids sleep cycles and just the weird freedom of it.  Is work freedom?  I don’t know, but for me it is.

Secondly, and possibly even more importantly, I was terrified that I was going to ruin my children. 

I used to joke that if I had to home school my kids they would learn the TV guide off by heart and know which sunscreen is the best.  Which is just another joke at myself because I never really choose to go outside or bother to put on sunscreen.  The real underlying concern was that I was so scared of not being able to actually teach my children.  It’s a mix of my ability to maintain control, my short fuse and the terror of stuffing it all up.  It could have probably ended well, but I know myself and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have.

SO, I hear you asking…  WHAT THE HECK ARE WE GOING TO DO IN THE CAMPERVAN?

And man, I hear you!  We’ve spoken to both schools and the good news is that they are both on board.  For Knox we are going to source a good Grade R curriculum to run with over the year (suggestions welcome).  For the girls, their school is actually providing us with their current curriculum.  Which is freaking awesome!

But that doesn’t really solve the issue of my fear of being able to teach my children.  Or does it?  The good news is that in our family there are two parents, which means that Seth will be taking the primary role as teacher in the van.  I will help out as much as I can, but I will actually be spending the most of my time working while we’re on the road.

At first the need to do this (home school) freaked me out.  But the more I think about it, the more excited I am.  Our kids have been at school for a while now and they know the groove of it, which means keeping that going should be easy right?  Plus I have visions of exploring a new town, finding a sunny spot and everyone drawing what they see in their art books.  Of writing up our adventures in their diaries every morning.  Of finding cool new plants or animals to draw, label and try and understand.  Of walking through museums to understand our rich history.  And watching Seth teach them maths while I work (that’s one that I definitely have to bow out of).

We’re all pretty excited for this new chapter, even if it is just for a year.  So no matter how the home school goes, (I’m sure we’re going to have our up’s and down’s), we’ll make it work.

 

 

School In The Campervan – Explain was last modified: March 20th, 2018 by 321Blog
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8 comments

Terri-Leigh Overmeyer 20 March 2018 at 3:00 PM

The post has been a burning question of mine! haha
Also, sorry to get so personal and you totally do not need to answer this but will Seth be quiting his job for the next year? So technically, you will be a one-salary family for a year? 🙂

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321Blog 24 March 2018 at 1:58 PM

Yeah i t is the first question most people ask and it’s a biggy! Seth will stay working 3 hours a day which is a real blessing and we’re so thankful for his work being open to it as an option!

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Lea 26 March 2018 at 9:41 AM

So excited for you! You’ll LOVE schooling your kids… you get to know them so well, and so many impromptu questions and conversations will amaze you. Love the picture of exploring new towns, diaries and drawing- you’re a total natural! What an adventure! They’ll never forget it.

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321Blog 27 March 2018 at 9:35 AM

Exactly what you mentioned (the impromptu conversations and questions) is one of the things that I am SO looking forward to! I’m actually really excited for this part of the journey as daunting as it may be.

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MrsFF 29 March 2018 at 1:47 PM

Interesting! But good to know that the kids’ schools have been very helpful. Can’t wait to read all about your adventures

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321Blog 3 April 2018 at 2:51 PM

It’s really been such a relief to have them on board and so open to helping us to make it work!

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ChevsLife 1 April 2018 at 6:12 PM

Sounds like one very exciting adventure! Whatever happens teaching wise, focus on the fun and the adventure – life is a journey of learning.

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321Blog 3 April 2018 at 2:49 PM

I totally agree – there are so many learning opportunities in things that we do every day!

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