HOMESCHOOLING AFLOAT —
"She was placed in advanced classes due to her high achievementtest results." grapple with an additional decision that's crucially important: how to homeschool their kids as they travel. We don't claim to be experts on this subject, so we reached out to Latitude readers for input based on their own personal experiences. We hope you'll find their responses, which follow, to be as fascinating as we did. Having interviewed dozens of cruising families over the years, we're convinced that 1) there's no single homeschooling technique that works for every family, and that 2) not all parents have the sort of natural rapport with their kids that allows for low-stress onboard learning. That said, though, if parent-teachers and their kids cultivate attitudes of mutual respect, the results are often impressive: Generally speaking, we've found that when instructional topics are presented within the context of the cruising experience — i.e. hands-on study of ocean science topics and becoming more worldly
LATITUDE / ANDY
When we met these kids in 2014, they were all about to sail to the South Pacific islands, and would be homeschooled along the way.
by examining the unique aspects of the foreign cultures they visit — cruising kids typically gain a thirst for learning that they might not have had back home. And when they do return to conventional shoreside education, many test higher than typical kids their age. Not only that, but cruiser kids tend to be equally comfortable conversing with adults — often on complex topics — as they are with other kids. With that intro, let's hear what some former and current cruisers have to say:
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COURTESY DOLFIN
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nly a few months from now, adventure-hungry sailors from homeports all along the West Coast will throw off their docklines and set sail for the sunny latitudes of Mexico and Central America. As they watch their boats' waterlines descend during the inevitable frenzy of pre-departure preparation, many will face tough decisions about what to bring and what must be left behind. But families with school-age kids will have to
ill and Patty Meanley of the San Diego-based Pacific Seacraft 37 Dolfin write: "Our daughter Kelly was seven years old in 1987 when we began our two-and-a-half-year cruise of the South and North Pacific. "During that time we homeschooled her at the third- and fourth-grade level using the Calvert School system (out of Baltimore, MD). The courses were very well laid-out, right down to the daily curriculum, which made the experience easy and rewarding for all three of us. When we were in port we mailed her completed lessons and tests to Calvert and we received the graded results at our next mail stop. "During passages, school was generally suspended, but at anchor the days went something like this: After my morning coffee I would teach Kelly her daily math lesson while Patty prepared breakfast. Then Patty would teach most of the other courses while I did boat maintenance. Around lunchtime, school and boatwork would be finished and we would spend the afternoon snorkeling, hiking, beachcombing, etc. with other cruisers in the anchorage. Work in the morning, play in the afternoon — a pretty nice life. "Of course, aside from academics, cruising kids are immersed in learning opportunities every day. The age barriers that exist between kids and adults at home seem nonexistent in the cruising world, where interaction among all ages is completely natural and uniquely educational. And for special occasions such as birthdays, presents and cards are made with plants,
shells, artwork and whatever else can be imagined in an environment that encourages creativity. "When we returned to San Diego in the fall of '89 and Kelly returned to public school for the fifth grade, she was placed in advanced classes due to her high achievement-test results. So academics was not an issue. Assimilating with old friends and classmates was slightly more challenging, as Kelly had just spent such formative years in a very different environment than her classmates. Also, while homeschooling on the boat, Kelly could focus on her studies with minimum distraction; not so much in a classroom filled with 25 to 30 active kids. But Kelly adapted, earned her masters degree in advertising, and now works in Silicon Valley." Editor's note: We were thrilled to meet Kelly, then in her mid-30s, in 2009, when she crewed for Bill and Patty during their first Baja Ha-Ha rally. The couple did the San Diego-to-Cabo cruise twice more, in 2010 and 2012.
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osie Hyde writes, "We cruised for three years with three children: a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old foster child who had both just finished eighth grade, and a 14-year-old who had just finished ninth grade. "We wintered over in Gloucester, MA, where the children went to school. When