The joy of homeschooling…while not at home!

Today is “Thou are Homeschooled” Thursdays…

If you are away from home for more than once a year, I’m sure you have certain rituals or fave things while on the road. These are some of ours…

Favorite car tunes? Veggie Tales road trip songs and Phantom of the Opera

Favorite car snacks? McDonald’s apple pies

Favorite thing the kids do while mom is driving? Borrow mom’s cell phone in order to call friends. Sleep. Or talk mom’s ears off. All options are viable.

Favorite place to travel? Grandma’s. duh.

Favorite REAL snacks? Grandma’s apple pie, chocolate cakes and anything else she bakes.

Favorite place for kids to do schoolwork at Grandma’s? Her bedroom, the screened in front porch (sitting on the swing) or in the hidey place behind the chairs in the living room.

Favorite thing about being at Grandma’s? It feels like home. 🙂

Why am I sharing all this info? Because it’s that time of year again, when everyone is going, going, going….baking, shopping, caroling and for most folks, still working! 

For us, it’s the time we travel to my mom’s (previously mentioned GRANDMA) to help with her annual holiday baking routine. She bakes…the people buy. It’s that simple. But traveling or not, we STILL have homeschool work to do!

So earlier in the week, my girls and I were packing for a trip to my mom’s for a few days when I quizzed them on what they were taking. They quoted the usual… pj’s, undies, pants, shirts, crayons and every toy they own.

“What about your spelling, math, lit books and typing program?” I asked. “And don’t forget your choir CD so you can practice!”  

They looked at me as if I’d just asked them to fly to the moon and bring me back some gouda. “We aren’t supposed to do school during vacation!”

“This isn’t vacation,” I said. “I’m working and assisting in the family business. YOU will still be doing your schoolwork.” Ithought I glimpsed the kitchen sink in their little overnight bags. “We are only going to be there for 3 days this time.”

The moans and groans commenced…but they packed their school stuffs as instructed.

I wasn’t even making them take all their daily subjects, but I did want them to do the basics.I packed plenty of craft supplies, too, so they could use their imaginations after they finished up their written work.

We’ve only been here for two days and we leave tomorrow – but so far, so good. They’ve completed their assigned work every day and helped one another with “extra” stuffs. They’ve played educational games and enjoyed it! They’ve created Christmas cards, Thanksgiving cards and decorations for the upcoming holidays. All in all, a very good homeschool week!

In the next month, we’ll be here again helping with my mom’s baking business. We’ll bring the girls’ books down with us then, too. And after they’ve all finished their work, my 12 year old will help with  dishes and will try her hand at spreading cake batter, once again. That’s a learning experience in itself! She begs to help every year. And every year, she gets a little closer to being the wonderful baker she wants to be! 🙂

When we return home tomorrow, we’ll have a bit o’ catching up to do, (science, history, etc) but I’m pleased with the fact that we continued school “on the road”. Would that make us a “Mobile-homeschool” this week? 🙂

What do you do when on you are on the road, again? Do you have certain rituals, fave places to visit or “on the road” traditions? and if you are a homeschooler, how do you handle traveling and studies?