Fulltiming as a family of 3
Eldest children are out of the nest this Summer to college and we are down to just our 10 year old and two mini dachshunds. We are toying with the idea of road-schooling him next year. (we'd need ...
Forum Discussion
I've never had the chance to do road-schooling, but I did homeschool my kids for 12 years so I am familiar with the concept of spending lots of hours with my kids. For the most part, we all loved homeschooling but there were times when I thought I would go a little crazy if I had to look at their little faces or hear their stupid long drawn-out stories for one minute more. And I wasnt' living full-time in an RV either.
Have you thought about doing a trial run? About 6 years ago we took our two youngest, then 12 & 14, on a cross-country trip. It didn't start out that way. We found ourselves with 2 months off and a brand new camper, so we decided to go see the grandparents. From there we decided to go see New Orleans. From there we decided to cross over to Texas. At each juncture we had a family meeting--do we keep going or go home? Is there something particular we want to see or do? Everyone had an equal voice.
When we got to San Antonio we were almost exactly halfway between home and the Pacific coast. We took about 3-4 days to just rest and decide what to do next. The overwhelming vote was to keep going. Each person listed 2 things that they really wanted to get out of the trip and off we went.
Now, I have to tell you, it was the trip of a lifetime. But I think 2 months was just about right. A camper gets smaller and smaller the longer to go. We all get along great, but seriously, we got to know parts of each other that well, I just didn't want to know that well...By the time we got done 60 days had passed and we were glad to be home, out of the camper and off to do some normal things. That lasted for about 4 days, LOL, then we wished we were back on the road.
DS-then 12, is severely mentally handicapped and autistic. He does not talk or do any self care and he wears diapers. Thankfully, he is a wonderful traveler and all he wants is to be with his family. He's the only kid in his class who has watched the bats leave Carlsbad Cavern, seen a bison herd, eaten lunch by the Grand Canyon, visited Disneyland, and ridden a ferry across the Puget Sound. He can't tell you anything about it, but I know it enriched his life.
DD-then 14, was the real trouper through it all. She agreed to leave all the friends behind to follow our dream for the summer. She never complained once. In the end, she has decided she wants to retrace that trip when she gets out of college in a couple years. :W That's when you know you did things right!
Have you thought about doing a trial run? About 6 years ago we took our two youngest, then 12 & 14, on a cross-country trip. It didn't start out that way. We found ourselves with 2 months off and a brand new camper, so we decided to go see the grandparents. From there we decided to go see New Orleans. From there we decided to cross over to Texas. At each juncture we had a family meeting--do we keep going or go home? Is there something particular we want to see or do? Everyone had an equal voice.
When we got to San Antonio we were almost exactly halfway between home and the Pacific coast. We took about 3-4 days to just rest and decide what to do next. The overwhelming vote was to keep going. Each person listed 2 things that they really wanted to get out of the trip and off we went.
Now, I have to tell you, it was the trip of a lifetime. But I think 2 months was just about right. A camper gets smaller and smaller the longer to go. We all get along great, but seriously, we got to know parts of each other that well, I just didn't want to know that well...By the time we got done 60 days had passed and we were glad to be home, out of the camper and off to do some normal things. That lasted for about 4 days, LOL, then we wished we were back on the road.
DS-then 12, is severely mentally handicapped and autistic. He does not talk or do any self care and he wears diapers. Thankfully, he is a wonderful traveler and all he wants is to be with his family. He's the only kid in his class who has watched the bats leave Carlsbad Cavern, seen a bison herd, eaten lunch by the Grand Canyon, visited Disneyland, and ridden a ferry across the Puget Sound. He can't tell you anything about it, but I know it enriched his life.
DD-then 14, was the real trouper through it all. She agreed to leave all the friends behind to follow our dream for the summer. She never complained once. In the end, she has decided she wants to retrace that trip when she gets out of college in a couple years. :W That's when you know you did things right!
