November 1997
One question I (“Mom”) am often asked is, “How are you arranging school for five children?” I chose to put the kids on Independent Study with each public school in order to acquire the materials and to keep “a toe in the door” in case this adventure became shorter in duration than anticipated. This Independent Study option required a fair amount of forethought and planning, along with 20 teacher interviews in order to derive study plans for the five children. But, I felt I needed to find a path that would help me get started and would not require me to spend a lot of time searching for textbooks or trying to get materials shipped to me after I left the U.S.

When we reach our “go – no go” decision in early 1998, I will be able to decide how to proceed, since Home Schooling would probably be my next choice. I have, in anticipation, stocked our boat with several hundred books (primarily paperbacks), which include references and anthologies as well as workbooks and testing materials. We purchased several packaged studies on CD-Rom for our laptop which cover topics, such as Mathematics, Sciences, and Grammar. To augment the science area we have Science kits and a small microscope. We also have French and Spanish audio programs with workbooks.

Many people have asked me why we are not enrolled in correspondence schools, such as Calvert School. While Calvert School’s programs are reputed to be excellent, our budget simply could not afford its curriculum cost multiplied by four children. Calvert School does not cover High School level and so could not provide what we needed for our oldest child. I have contacted several colleges which can provide High School correspondence programs, such as University of Nebraska, and University of California, Berkeley Extension. As yet, I have not decided whether to enroll our children in these courses. I am fortunate enough to have several teacher contacts at each school level to assist me with designing coursework and obtaining materials, so I have not had to purchase any set programs. I have also taken testing booklets with us to use as preparation, for the S.A.T. for example, so our children can be ready for those types of exams.

I view the experience of traveling as a family on Shadowfox as the primary focus of our family’s education at this point. The activities involved with sailing, provisioning, navigation, oceanography, environment, electronics, reading, correspondence, and inter-family “conflict management” cover most cross-curricular areas. And, the fact that we “travel in a crowd” allows us the luxury of discussion groups and group projects, as well.
February 1998
I sent in from La Paz the second packet of Independent Study work to our three schools. I have had little feedback, still, from any of the teachers. The mailing costs this time were more than $65 U.S. which is close to prohibitive. I did get two teachers’ corrections back and a couple of EMAIL messages, but not enough to cover the 21 instructors with whom we set up lesson plans. I am awaiting grades for the semester end to see how we did.

I plan to withdraw the children from the Independent Study program. I stocked Shadowfox with as many books as I could and have been getting home school ideas along the way from all the other cruising families who are doing the same as I am with their own children. The Shadowfox kids are learning well on their own and have completed several textbooks already in four months which would have taken the entire school year to finish. I expect our travels to be a major part of our family education, along with materials and encyclopedia we have aboard.
July 1998
We’ve been home schooling now since the middle of March, having taken a month to work on the boat and visit family. So far, I think the children are progressing well, more quickly in some subjects than in “regular school” and more slowly in others. I can certainly tell where their individual likes and dislikes lie.

I returned most of the books to the schools at the close of our Independent Study sessions in February. A few select texts I kept, in order to cover subjects, such as Mathematics and Literature readings. I had already accumulated science and additional math materials, along with as many paperbacks as I could fit on Shadowfox, so the children have plenty to read.

I think to summarize our home schooling success so far, we have our good days and our “bad” days, as any other classroom does. One of the hardest tasks is to stay focused for the three to four hours a day, without interruption. Bridget, my eleven year old daughter, finally made a sign to hang outside Shadowfox which reads “School in Session.” That way, the other boaters nearby know to delay, if possible, their visit to us until after school is done for the day.

Home schooling is a challenge for me in that I need to stay on top of five children’s learning styles, interests, and progress. I enjoy the flexibility, though, and not having to stick so closely to a school district’s curriculum, being able to tailor our learning to what we experience on our travels. The children have had to adjust to “owning” their own learning, to making their own schedules, and for tracking their progress weekly, to make certain Mom knows all the terrific things they accomplished. It’s definitely a team effort, which is very rewarding.

I think we are still new to home schooling and, with time, will be able to work out the nuances and dry stretches. It will help to be traveling again, since staying in one spot is not as interesting as traveling from place to place.

To enhance this year’s summer in Mazatlan, and to escape the hot weather for a while, we have planned an RV trip to the United States East Coast, for a family American History tour. The timing is perfect for school, as three of the five children are studying U.S. History, at different levels. And, we’d like to see more of our own country, as well.

Stay tuned for more Shadowfox School adventures!

July 1998

Our R.V. trip has come to a close and, as I look back, I think the experience was an important one, from an educational standpoint. Our focus was Early U.S. History for our four daughters and U.S. Government for our High School-aged son, so we concentrated on visiting as many historical sites as possible, given our time and financial limits.

Before we left Mazatlan, I spent several hours at the Internet Café in town, researching places to visit in each major city and along the tentative route we had outlined on our U.S. map. I was also able to find a few U.S. History study plans and even quizzes other home-school families had listed on the Web. Also, I used the Web to research campgrounds and tours in each of the major places we planned to visit.

At home on Shadowfox, I used the U.S. History and U.S. Government textbooks as a guide to plan which chapters to cover during our trip and which topics to further assign as research on our Britanica Encyclopedia CDs. Also, the textbook indexes helped refresh my memory as to what key cities would be advantageous to visit in order to emphasize our History studies.

Our R.V. trip covered other subjects along with concentrating on Early U.S. History and U.S. Government. We also studied vulcanology and geology, astronomy, literature, shoreline ecosystems, political science, art and, briefly, other periods of American History along the way.

Our general itinerary follows, with a note to each subject covered, just to give you a flavor of how home-schooling interacted with our travels:

Scotia, CA – Lumber Mill and Fish Hatcheries – a first example of how we get from raw materials to finished products; a quick look at the Fisheries and an overview of the ecosystem and migration of the Chinook Salmon and other fish species exhibited there

Mt. St. Helens, WA – Study in vulcanology, geology, the impact of volcanic explosions, the use of seismographs and other tools, and firsthand view of the destruction of the blast

Chilliwack, British Columbia, Fraser River Valley drive into Alberta, Canada – beginning geology discussions about the Canadian Rockies, mountain formations, glaciers, river and wind erosion; wildlife of the area

Banff, Lake Louise, and the Columbia Icefields, Alberta, Canada – study in glaciation (We walked on a glacier!), mountain and valley formation, geologic history, wildlife of area, sediment deposits and moraines, creation and history of Hot Springs, European exploration of the area, Native American history

Drive across Canada – observations of agricultural areas, crops grown, visit to Fair Chance Clydesdales ranch, terrain differences along the drive (mountains to plains to forests), Fall colors and why the forests change, the top of the Great Lakes (like an ocean only different)

Niagara Falls – hydroelectricity, respect for the power and sheer amount of the water, history of area

Montreal, Quebec – French section of Canada, hearing and reading the French language, visiting the cathedrals (architecture and art study), comparing Montreal to Paris

Vermont – Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream plant and Cold Hollow Creek Apple Cider plant – raw materials to finished product (food industry), agriculture of area, first Revolutionary War topic – the “Green Mountain Boys”

York, Maine – a first look at the Atlantic Ocean, comparison of Pacific Ocean to Atlantic, shoreline life sand types, and shells

Boston, MA – Revolutionary War, Freedom Trail, USS Constitution, Minute Man Historical Park

New York City – just the immensity of the City! – a spattering of so many cross-subjects here: World Trade Center, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, United Nations, Battery Park, Times Square (MTV Studios!), New York Stock Exchange, Harlem, Metropolitan Museum of Art (Knights Armor and Weaponry special exhibit, paintings of Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Gaugan, etc.), just navigating to and from, and around the City

Pennsylvania – Hershey Chocolate plant, Amish area – a study in why the Amish chose their unique lifestyle in the midst of the modern world, their history, farming techniques, and beautiful handicrafts, and Gettysburg, our first focus on the Civil War

Washington, D.C. – again, a smattering of so many cross-subjects: early U.S. History (George Washington), Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, then later subjects – the Vietnam War Memorial, National Holocaust Museum; U.S. Government – White House, Capitol Building (Senate and House Chambers, Statuary Hall, History Rotunda ), Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Bureau of Printing and Engraving; Air and Space history at the Smithsonian; navigating the metro system

Jamestown and Williamsburg, VA, and Plymouth, Rhode Island – the beginnings of the North American English colonies, Native American history

Then, as we drove back across the United States…

Bowling Green, KY – Corvette Factory and museum – history of an American tradition, manufacturing plant (parts, materials to finished product)

Winslow, AZ – Meteor Crater, study of astronomy, space exploration, impact of asteroid/meteor hitting the Earth

I concluded our trip by creating a seven page Study Review Guide, which summarized the highlights of our travels, the Key History Facts, and served as a memory-jogger for us all. The children used this guide, along with their textbooks, to prepare for a final review test at the end of our trip. I was pleased by how much they remembered and how well they did on the exam grades!

We have hundreds of pictures loaded on our laptop, excellent progress in school along the way, and wonderful memories of our experiences and favorite places. We are on our way back to Mazatlan, Mexico, to continue travels on Shadowfox for the next few months. Stay tuned for our further adventures!

March 1999

I am now writing you from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.   After returning to Mazatlan on Thanksgiving Day, we spent a couple of weeks getting back aboard and then sailed on to Puerta Vallarta, stopping at San Blas and Chakala anchorages along the way.  We spent the Christmas and New Year’s holidays here in Puerto Vallarta, then again set sail, stopping at Ipala, Chamela, Tenacatita, and ending our southern progress at Barra de Navidad.

Our education experiences continue to be a combination of cruising events and more traditional textbook studies.  While we spend approximately four hours five days a week “hitting the books,” the children are also delighted in observing Nature around them, especially at sea, and in their encounters at each anchorage and town along the way.

Mother Nature gave us several special treats in this leg of our voyage, allowing us to see more close at hand some of our favorites!  During our motor-sailing leg from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta, we were SURPRISED when a humpback whale surfaced approximately 75 feet ahead of our bow and, as I quickly put the engine in neutral, the second of the pair surfaced about 40 feet off our starboard side!  Wow!   Are those beautiful animals huge!  We got a wonderful close look at their massiveness as they blew and slowly curved gracefully into their next dive.  We not only had the opportunity to talk about the whales themselves but to also discuss our personal physiological reactions – our adrenaline rushes!

We were lucky enough to catch several fish along our journey further down the Mexican coast.  The children compete for a look at the “Fish Book” in order to identify the type and edibility of the catch.

The dolphins paid us several visits, racing alongside Shadowfox, jumping into the bow wave and flipping in the air off to one side.  The kids identified two species of dolphins we had not seen as yet and were especially delighted with the spotted dolphins’ different patterns and hues.

As we headed south from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta, and then further south still, we noted how the terrain began to change from desert to tropical.  When we reached Tenacatita, we were able to stay at anchor for several days and discovered “the jungle ride.”  An inland lagoon empties into the ocean near the anchorage.  We explored the river up into the lagoon by dinghy, racing past shore and tropical birds, looking for alligator signs, and marveling in the narrows in which the mangroves grow in a canopy over the river.  The kids spent hours, racing up and down the river, watching the local fishermen and feeling the excitement of “the jungle.”

These examples are only the highlights of our educational experiences along the way.  As far as more textual studies go, Nature allows us more controlled observations as well.  Upon returning to Puerto Vallarta, I had the maintenance chore of cleaning out our gray water tank.  Inside I found “interesting” algae growth, which at first looked like coagulating paper towels.   I also noticed a different algae growing on Shadowfox’s hull within a few days of returning to the marina.  Since we have a microscope on board, part of our maintenance task became sampling, hypothesizing, and observing the differences between the two algae (one freshwater, dark environment, the other salt water, in sunlight).  I use the standard scientific method steps as the children’s lab steps.  This time, Meghan performed the lab, as she is studying Marine Biology as a high school freshman.   Her lab notes were interesting and enthusiastic (and, we got the tank cleaned!).

I am now preparing educational materials for our ocean crossing.  We will head for the Marquesas Islands first, then continue across the South Pacific “island hopping,” ending our next voyage leg probably in Brisbane, Australia. I am spending a few hours at the local internet cafe, researching history and other information on the South Pacific.  We have a set of guide books on the various islands we will visit, and our CD Britannica encyclopedia will assist us with Australian history, as well as augment other subjects, such as geology.  I also have an ocean floor map, on which we will track our progress, noting the formation over which we sail along the way.

One of the advantages to home schooling is to be able to be flexible in our studies schedule.Because sailing conditions are unpredictable, a good part of the next educational leg will be reading, as other assignments can be difficult when suffering from motion sickness or rolling seas the first few days.  As conditions change, some days we can do more, other days less.

Although we will miss Mexico and her friendly people, I am excited to open a new chapter in our home schooling, switching from Spanish to French languages studies, from Spanish and Indian cultural studies to Polynesian, Gaugan, and Mitchner’s Tales.

May 1999

Ah, regrouping in Mazatlan, after returning to Mexico.   Although disappointed with not being able to make the ocean crossing (see “Voyage” section), remaining in Mexico still allows plenty of educational opportunities!

We are heading back to the Sea of Cortez, as we were unable last season to progress very far north into the islands.  The kids are looking forward to swimming with the sea lions again and exploring new snorkeling reefs and anchorages.  I have pulled out our Mexico fish identification book from storage and packed away the South Pacific materials for now (too painful to look at those for awhile).

Schooling will continue as we sail north.  While we travel from anchorage to anchorage, daily sessions usually go smoothly, with the exception of when we are actually underway, as the other families are also in school each morning.   Education becomes an enjoyable combination of our required book studies and afternoons of exploring the islands, swimming and snorkeling, and learning about each town and area we visit.  I know we will spend many hours in the water as the temperature in La Paz is already in the mid-90s!  No A/C powered fans or air conditioners this summer!

Anticipated educational opportunities include our continued studies of Mexican history, geography, and Spanish language, as well as the flora, fauna, marine life, and weather of the desert islands and Baja California peninsula.

I am finding more and more often that I am acting as advisor to many other cruising home school families.  ( In the past 19 months of cruising and home schooling, we have covered grades 3 through high school sophomore.)   I recently spent a day assisting one family, whose teenage daughter is joining them aboard this year, in gathering a list of resources, supplies, and books to purchase in the States, as well as talking through lesson plans, progress documentation, and State-side school procedures.  If I can help you with your cruising aboard school plans, feel free to email me on our webpage.