Adventures of a Homeschool Mom is changing! Part 1

I have some really exciting news.

As many of you know, my family and I have been living and homeschooling in England since August 2013.

It's been an incredible journey. Lots of ups and downs. Lots of adventures and experiences. But also some loneliness, and nostalgia.

Through homeschooling while traveling we've  had some amazing experiences that I would love to share with all of you.

For four years, I've been sharing everything we do in homeschool, so now I want to share how we travel and homeschool abroad.  The actual name for what we are doing is world school. In other words, we are using our travel experiences, everything we see and do, to teach our daughters.

The idea is to provide our daughters the opportunities to become a well rounded, globally minded individual. She has been exposed to new languages, new cultures, different rules of behavior; all of which have helped them understand the world around them much better.

And we want to share it all with you. Our unique experiences as a traveling family,  our struggles, our trips. Everything!

As always, I plan to be completely open with my readers and tell  you the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I welcome comments and questions!

We are in the final stages of creating a new website which will be full of great information for family travelers, tips, ideas, photos.

I will keep you posted on changes and updates as they happen. Thanks for stopping by.

How do we travel so much?

I read a lot of travel blogs and I follow people who are doing this full time.

Paris

Living the nomad lifestyle.

I am not there yet.

But that is the dream. One day.....

Right now, my family and I do as much travelling as we can or even can't afford. And I say that because we sacrifice a lot in order to be able to travel.

But for us it's worth it. And I'd like to share our story.

We are a one income family. My husband is solely responsible for bringing home the bacon. I do things here and there on the side, but they don't amount to much.(I create and sell Unit Studies which you can purchase here). Hopefully, one day they will.

Anyway, we live on a shoestring budget. Counting every dollar and just making it month to  month. We have an average salary. My husband's job is in E-learning, so you know he doesn't make a six figure salary. But we get by.

Don't get me wrong. We provide for our family. Everyone has what they need. Everyone is healthy. Everyone is happy.

We are not into material things and I guess we passed that down to our children. They have toys, books, most of what other kids have, just not in excess.

We don't own a home. We did until a year ago, when we decided to sell it since we are now living in England.

We don't have a lot of savings other than our 401K. What we save eventually goes towards travelling.

Bruges, Belgium

So how do we do it?

• I do a ton of research to find the best deals. A TON! Sometimes I spend days, even weeks researching.

• I don't book anything without checking TripAdvisor first.

• I make an itinerary. I call it my flexi-plan because I like to be organized and have a general idea of what we will be doing and seeing, but I also realize we have to allow for unexpected things that may come up. And they do.

• I always try to book a hotel that offers free breakfast and free wi-fi.

• When I can't get the free breakfast, I purchase easy to store breakfast foods such as oatmeal, cereal, milk, bread.

• I make a list of our "must visit" attractions and cost them out, so I now how much we will be spending on those.

• I pre-book certain attractions that offer better online rates or those that you have to wait hours in line for. (saving time also saves money)

• I find free things to do as well.

• I give my kids a spending limit.

• I treat the planning phase of the trip like a job. I dedicate time and effort to it because I know it will pay off in the end.

Tapas in Malaga, Spain

We still spend way too much on our trips. I know I can cut down on our expenses even more. 

Marbella, Spain

I've become a sort of expert at booking affordable family travel. I advise my family and friends on the best deals. And I've even started planning some trips for them. So far, everyone has been happy with the results.











So this is how my family does it. I know some people have a bigger budget or a smaller one.

Whatever your budget it, you CAN travel. It may not be a 3 month trip around the world but there are so many amazing and affordable places to see on this big, beautiful Earth.

I welcome comments and tips on budget family travel. Happy World Adventures!

Rome

What am I doing in England?

Big Ben

As many of you know, my life changed drastically in 2013 when my oldest daughter decided to attend college in England.

Here's what happened. She was 17 at the time and had never travelled by herself, let alone lived in another country far from her family.

When she applied to and got accepted into a great Occupational Therapy program in England, it was an easy decision for her. She wanted the education and the experience of living abroad.


I couldn't deny her that opportunity, but it was hard to think of her a whole ocean away. We are a tight knit family and she and I have a strong bond; it was very hard to think about letting her go.

Well, what is a mother to do? I told my husband that I would be going to England with our oldest daughter and taking our youngest with me. I gave him two options: figure out a way to do your work from England and come with us, or stay here by yourself.

Of course, I didn't mean that. I would never leave him behind or split up. That was never an option. But I did want to push him into action.And push I did.

He worked it out with his company to work out of their London offices for a short predetermined period of time.

We got over our first hurdle. Now what. We are actually doing this. Panic strikes.

After realizing the magnitude of our decision and a few glasses of wine later, we had a plan.

We rented our house, sold almost all of our things, put the rest in storage and took off for England.

Traditional Double Decker Bus

We've been on a rollercoaster ride ever since. But I wouldn't change it for the world.

Our daughter is incredibly happy at University. Our youngest is homeschooled and we've been all over London exploring museums, parks, and everything in between.

My husband and I are enjoying this adventure which has had an unexpected benefit. We've grown stronger as a couple. Nothing can shake us and I feel blessed and proud of that.

So how long are we here for? Originally we planned on 3 years. Now, it's open ended. We will see where life takes us!

Thanks for sharing this space with us and following us on this adventure!

Platform 9 3/4

Christmas at the South Bank

Stone Henge

Thatched Roof House

Somerset House

India Unit Study is here!!!

I am so happy to announce that I've completed the India Unit Study and it is available for purchase and download.

Purchase India Unit Study by clicking on the title.

The India Unit Study is a comprehensive lesson plan for the classroom or homeschool. 

It is based on a cross-curricular approach to learning, covering topics such as geography, math, language arts, science and foreign language to name a few. 

Included in the India Unit Study are: lots of information organized by topic, detailed teaching notes, lots of vibrant photos, games, and hands-on activities. 

Kids will immerse themselves in the Indian culture.  More than 100 pages of information!

Happy Homeschooling Adventures!

Sale on Country Unit Studies!!

Hey all,

Follow this link I LOVE A SALE! for some savings on unit studies.

The ones up so far are:

Italy

Russia

Brazil

Eastern Asia (which includes Japan, China, North and South Korea and Taiwan)

15% off on any of the unit studies.

Asia Unit Study!

It's finally here! As promised.....

I've just released my new unit study and dare I say it.... it's my best one yet!

Can you tell I'm excited to share this with you?

Asia Unit Study

It covers East Asia which comprises of China, Japan, North and South Korea, and Taiwan.

As with my other unit studies, this follows a cross curricular approach where there is an opportunity to cover all major subjects. What does that mean, you ask?

Well, with a cross-curricular unit study, your kids will learn about:

• Geography
• History
• Math
• Language Arts
• Science
• Foreign Language
• Reading Comprehension
• Grammar and Spelling
• Writing
• Art

..........all in one fun lesson.

The lesson can take as little as one week to complete or as long as you want. My unit studies are designed so that the parent has total control and lots of flexibility.

What's included:

Day by day instructions
Basic Facts about each country
Maps
Words to learn in each featured language
Foods
Culture
Sports
Money and currency
Cities and Landmarks
Famous Figures
Science and Nature
A Day in the Life
Tons of vibrant pictures
Activities, Activities and more Activities
Lots of hands-on projects too!

 

I tried it out with Buttercup and she absolutely loved it. I think her favorite project was making paper lanterns. She also enjoyed learning about China's rice fields, Mount Fuji in Japan, and origami.

As a parent, my favorite part of  studying Asia, was showing Buttercup a new culture and a different approach to life. It really opened up both of our minds.

You can get the Asia Unit Study here! With each purchase, you support our website and blog and it allows me to continue to work for you and create awesome content for your kiddies.
Thank You! 

And please come back and leave me comments. I love to hear from my readers.

Happy Homeschooling Adventures!

Brazil Unit Study!

If you've been following this blog for some time, you know that I create almost of my lessons from scratch. The main reason is that I can never find exactly what I'm looking for on the internet, so I use it mostly for research.

With that in mind, I have a great unit study to share with you - Brazil!

I created an 8 week unit study that includes some basic facts about Brazil, maps, pages to color and more activities.

I did this unit study with Buttercup and she loved it.             BUY IT NOW!

We started by reading some basic facts about Brazil such as size, location, population, and language. We used a map to locate Brazil. I used this opportunity to include a little geography lesson.

Every day, I would review what we did the previous day and introduce the next topic.

We learned some words in Portuguese, we learned recipes that are easy to make and so yummy, and we even learned about some of their folklore.

This unit study was easy for me to create because I am Brazilian, so most of what I included in the lessons are things that I either learned as a kid or grew up doing.

The Brazil unit study is full of photographs with an easy to follow guide that allows for flexibility and encourages the child to go beyond what is in the packet. This unit study really will get students excited about learning about another culture and they will want to know more.

It is perfect for a classroom or for homeschool. The Brazil unit study covers most subject areas:

·        Geography

·        Social Studies

·        Reading

·        Writing

·        Math

·        Foreign Language

You can get this comprehensive unit study right here for a small fee. I hope that by charging a small fee for some of the lessons I offer will allow me to continue to offer other things for free, like my printables.

I welcome feedback on the study units, if you would like me to add something of interest to you, please let me know and I will do my best to include it in an upgraded version.

Brazil Unit Study

Thanks for your support!

Homeschooling Abroad - 15 things I've learned

 

This is our 3rd year homeschooling, 1st year homeschooling abroad.

As with all firsts, this year came with its share of challenges. First, just the challenge of getting acclimated to a new country, new city, new home, new culture. Thank goodness we didn't have to learn a new language! (although sometimes I do feel like we speak different languages). For those of you who don't know, we are in the UK. In London.

It's been almost one whole year since we first arrived and now that we've completed our homeschool year I can sit back (drink firmly in hand) and reflect.

I'm so happy and proud that we made it! That's it. We survived. All of us.

Beyond that, I have a whole new understanding of homeschooling in another country. This country. This beautiful country we're in....England.

I cannot speak about homeschooling in other countries. I have no experience.

Here's what I have learned:

1. Most Brits "unschool", so it's been difficult finding groups and other like minded homeschoolers.
2. When I say unschool, I mean they take their kids out of school and basically let them do whatever they want all week. I met an 8 year old who doesn't know how to read or write and her mom said, "she'll learn eventually". Ok
3. Libraries are not what they are in the US and they leave a lot to be desired.
4. Thanks to no. 3, we had a terrible time finding books. Once I went with Buttercup to the library with a list of about 10 books, foolishly thinking they'd have at least 2 or 3. Nope. None. Nada. We walked out empty handed.
5. Because of no. 4 there are lessons we are not able to complete or do to its fullest because we cannot get the books that accompany those lessons.
6. I've had to improvise A LOT.
7. Amazon has become my best friend. I order books and other materials online.
8. Printing is expensive so we've also improvised on that front. (Hoping to buy a printer soon)
9. Homeschooling groups are mainly "play groups". So, no formal or informal learning going on. They meet at the park.
10. I have yet to find a group that meets regularly to discuss books, to learn science, or learn art.
11. Socializing hasn't been all that easy. We've met a few people but cannot get beyond the superficial. No play dates, birthday party invitations, or anything that would resemble a friendship.
12. Everyone is cordial enough. Helpful if I ask a question, but that's as far as it goes.
13. Being in a new country has given us the opportunity to explore lots of  new things. So lot's of learning going on. Yay!
14. London Museums are FREE! We've gone to so many and they are wonderful.
15. London has a ridiculous number of parks. It will take a VERY long time to explore all of them. But we are having fun trying.

We are forging ahead and will homeschool this coming year. I'm continuing to follow my own path. That path is basically a fusion of structured homeschooling with interest led homeschooling.

Buttercup and I both need structure..............We need a schedule................But we've learned to be flexible within that structure.

Math, reading, and writing are non negotiable. The rest I take her input on most subjects like History, Art, Science, Geography and Language.
This past year we studied Ancient Civilizations, Chemistry, Bunnies, Portuguese and French. We studied Picasso, cityscapes, perspective drawing and negative space.

Buttercup is now studying Italian in preparation for our trip coming up in the Fall.

I hope to get more and more accustomed to life here in the Old Country. I hope to meet more people and make some friends. In the meantime, we are learning to live a whole new life full of challenges and adventures.


Happy Summer!                   

Happy Homeschooling Adventures!! 

Teaching Ancient History 3rd Grade

We spent most of the Fall and Winter this past year studying Ancient History. We used a book I purchased online called "History Pockets" as a starting point. The book covered 6 ancient civilizations: Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient China, and the Aztec World.

The book offered a great introduction to Ancient History with lots of hands on activities for each civilization.

I supplemented each lesson with additional work:

• Using a dictionary to look up words
• Researching online to see pictures of costumes, houses, utensils and other artifacts
• Discussing and comparing life in each of those time periods

 Once we completed all the of the lessons, we took a trip to a museum to see some of the things we had studied about. We were very lucky to find a museum near us that has a wonderful exhibition on almost all of these Ancient Civilizations.

Some of the things we saw and were able to tie in to our lessons were:

• Tools
• Utensils
• Jewelry
• Coins
• Clothing
• Shoes
• Bedding
• Food bowls
• Decorative bowls
• Sculptures
• Mosaics
• Hieroglyphics
• Tombstones
• Modes of transportation

 

 

 

 

We had an amazing time exploring and learning about these 6 Ancient Civilizations. Buttercup learned so much new vocabulary and lots of interesting facts about life so, so long ago. It was really fun to hear her viewpoint on the differences between life then and now.

 

One of the most interesting things to come out of these lessons was learning that those Ancient Civilizations contributed a lot to the things we have now and things we still use today: written language, arenas, domes and arches, the plow to name just a few.

 

If you are interested in Ancient Civilizations or would like to introduce it to your child, I highly recommend this book.

 

 

Happy Homeschooling Adventures!

How to Make a Rainstick (Easy)

We decided to make a rainstick to go along with our Lesson about Brazil (You will be able to purchase my complete lesson here shortly).

We spent a few weeks learning about Brazil.......... from the Amazon to Rio de Janeiro......

                  
                          ......from soccer to capoeira   
                                                                   
                                                  ....from folklore to real stories about famous Brazilians....
          

We had an amazing time researching, reading, exploring!       

One of our fun projects for the Brazil Lesson was to make a rainstick and it was surprisingly easy to do, so I'm sharing how we did it.


How to Make a Rainstick

Materials used:

• Glue
• Scissors
• Tape
• Paper towel roll
• Brown wrapping paper
• Beans, lentils, rice
• Aluminum Foil
• Crayons, color pencils, feathers, stickers for decorating 

Instructions:

Cut out two rounds, each a little bigger than the opening of the paper towel roll.

 Make small cuts all around the circle (this will make it easier to attach to the roll).

 

Attach one of the rounds to one end of the paper towel roll. We used tape to attach it.

 

Cut an 8 inch strip of foil and accordion fold it (do this twice)

 

Twist each strip of foil so it looks kind of like a snake, then twist the two strips together at the ends

Place the foil into the paper towel roll (this will slow down the movement of the beans making for better rain sound).

Attach the 2nd round to the open end of the roll.



This is before it was decorated

Now, let your child go crazy decorating it! Oh, you can cover the roll with paper before decorating, although we didn't do this.



Happy Homeschooling Adventures!

R blends bundle pack FREE!

As a homeschool parent I am constantly searching the Internet for interesting teaching resources and fun learning activities or my daughter. The problem is...there are just too many websites and loads of information. It's impossible to go through everything. It's simply too time consuming.

With that in mind, I decided to make life a little easier for my readers and fellow homeschool parents. I thought it would be a good idea to bundle some of my free printables. This way, you don't have to go back and hit save and download 10 times to print 10 things. It takes just ONE CLICK!

My first bundle is the r-blends worksheets. This is a set of worksheets that can be used to teach beginning sounds such as br (break), cr (cry), and fr (friend).

You can use these sheets as a teaching tool or to supplement what you are already doing. They make practice fun!

You can click here to download this bundle FREE! R Blends Bundle.

Keep checking back because I will be doing more bundles for you.

Happy Homeschooling Adventures!

                                                             FREE DOWNLOAD!

Volcano Unit Study

 

Buttercup received a volcano building kit as a gift and of course, I turned it into a whole lesson!

Like all of my other lessons, I had to start from scratch, research the material, and put together our lesson.

Basically this is what we did:

• Make a book to keep all of our information
• Review or learn vocabulary related to volcanoes
• Talk about the Earth's layers
• Learn about the 3 types of volcanoes
• Find pictures of each type of volcano and discuss the differences
• Find famous volcanoes that fit into each of the 3 catergories
• Learn about each one
• Compile our book
• Do the science activity - build our own volcano
• Take pictures to include in our volcano book
• Do an oral presentation!

The volcano mold

Mixing the plaster

Before painting

 

 

Little houses to decorate around the volcano

A graph with important vocabulary

The words to know page of our volcano book

Buttercup had so much fun learning all about volcanoes. She really loves to do her own research on the internet and find pictures and information. I taught her how to search for what she wants and she's gotten really good at it.

I thought it was a good idea to start learning how to give a presentation, so we included that as the final part of the project.

Happy Homeschooling Adventures!