Simple Vacation School – MOM 2 MOM Mondays {guest post – Anne}

My family and I recently returned to the states after spending 13 days in the United Kingdom. It was a fantastic trip! And while I was planning all of the ins and outs of the vacation, in the back of my mind I had this pestering question, “How are you going to keep up with school while you are gone?”

We homeschool year round. I have to get my days in. I have no real choice about that. But I didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news when we needed to pull out the school books.

So I decided to not bring them.

Just the fact that we were going to be on a perpetual field trip should be considered “school” in my mind. But I wanted to be sure that the kids were internalizing as much as their little brains could. Almost every day we were going to be seeing and experiencing some historical place. So this is how I used a vacation to teach school.

Materials: a spiral notebook for each child; postcards; pencils; crayons; colored pencils; glue; blank paper; ziplock bag {I put all supplies into a gallon bag and stuck them in a suitcase.}

Reading – We were in the UK, so we speak the same language, but they do use some different vocabulary. Whenever we would come across a new word, the kids and I would discuss what it meant and which word Americans usually use. My son did a lot of sign reading. Not only did he feel important because he was able to direct us around the grocery store, but this gave him practice reading different words. 

Geography – Yep. We chose to drive in the UK which made for some stressful conversations between mom and dad, but it made maps very exciting! The kids were able to see how a GPS is not supposed to work and why knowing how to read maps is valuable. (Because the GPS can be wrong!)

Math – We counted all kinds of things! The kids had the most fun estimating with their daddy the number of steps we had to go down in Dover Castle. Everyone made his prediction and then they all counted the steps to see who was correct. The kids also had fun keeping up with the time difference. There is a 5 hour difference between South Carolina and England. So once they discovered what time it was back home they then wanted to figure out what people might be doing (eating breakfast, sleeping, going to church, etc.).  

Counting the steps

Social Studies/History – Total immersion into another culture is amazing! Not only did the kids have to learn how to listen to people with accents, but they had to learn how to effectively communicate back when spoken to. Also, there can be more history in one little pub on the side of the street in England than there is in our United States! At times we found gravestones that were older than the US and we determined how much older they were. The kids learned what “ruins” are. They had never seen any before.  

Writing/Spelling – At each location with a gift shop, I allowed the kids to choose a postcard of the activity or historical site. Before we left the states, I had collected a number of addresses to take with us. During the early portion of our trip, I had the children dictate to me short letters to their friends. Then we found a post office, bought stamps, and mailed them. I also had them choose one postcard each for their journals. At the end of the day, usually while waiting for dinner to cook, the kids would glue the postcards into their books. Then either they, or I, would write something about our day. It would usually be about their favorite thing, or something they learned.

Science – I found an AMAZING animal park to visit!  

Art – After visiting Dover Castle, I had the kids draw a picture of the castle. They did a fantastic job!  

Bible – Most evenings we did our family devotion. But one of the neatest things we did was experience new ways of worship. We went to services at a small Methodist church, the evensong at Canterbury Cathedral, and Sunday service at Westminster Abbey. Just because we were on vacation does not mean we take a vacation from our Lord. As a family, we found ourselves praying for the people we met, for the churches we experienced, and for the country we were visiting.  

P.E. – I’m not sure how many miles we walked!!

The longer I homeschool the more I find that school isn’t so much about the text books as it is learning through life. Yes, specific objectives are important, but learning about people and how life in general, globally, works seems to be so much more valuable to me.

Our trip was amazing! And I had no problem checking off each day’s attendance when we returned!  

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Anne Marie is an Austenite and the author of the blog Future.Flying.Saucers. Anne Marie is proud to be a southern belle who is married to her Mr. Darcy. They have two of the silliest children in South Carolina. She has a Masters in Education specializing in curriculum and instruction and spent six years teaching in the private and public sectors of education. She is beginning her third homeschooling year. Anne Marie has a passion for Bible study and teaching the Word to adults and children. On Wednesday nights you will find her teaching Biblical concepts to Awana clubs at her church. All of her Awana and Bible lessons can be found for FREE on her blog. You can also find her on Facebook.

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