 | With the Fatinah & the Gold Adornments book tour, not only did we (me, hubby, & 3 children) take on the task of traveling for 6 months, but we embarked upon the journey of mobile homeschooling. How do people do this? |
I don’t know, but we did it. We were on this beautifully orchestrated schedule of tutors, and classes in our home classroom (which was in our 1800 square foot home in Oklahoma). In addition, our children had horseback riding, tennis lessons, tae kwon do etc. I had it flowing so well, I provided classes for other children.
My home classroom was my teacher (as explained in 1st Teacher Series)! Just as parents work when their children go to school, I worked when my children had tutors and classes. It was nice to have someone else teach while I filled orders, updated my blog, and ran errands.
How was I going to recreate that on the road??
My home classroom was my teacher (as explained in 1st Teacher Series)! Just as parents work when their children go to school, I worked when my children had tutors and classes. It was nice to have someone else teach while I filled orders, updated my blog, and ran errands.
How was I going to recreate that on the road??
| Well, I learned that some tools are invaluable to have while mobile homeschooling. Number one--other homeschooling families. I am so grateful to the families who hosted us. The first family we stayed with, in St. Louis, have an amazing home classroom. |  |
It was easy to transfer to using their learning space and to fall into their learning routine. And a bonus—they were gluten and dairy free too!
We were off to a great start and I could tell the children were making a smooth transition. Not only did they have a classroom in this home, but as any homeschooling family does, they had an itinerary of community educational activities. We visited museums, play dates, festivals, community vegetable gardens (where we learned about the toxic levels of lead in the soil), etc.
We were off to a great start and I could tell the children were making a smooth transition. Not only did they have a classroom in this home, but as any homeschooling family does, they had an itinerary of community educational activities. We visited museums, play dates, festivals, community vegetable gardens (where we learned about the toxic levels of lead in the soil), etc.
 In Ibrahim's & Lakenia's homeschool classroom in St. Louis. |  The zoo along with many of the museums in St.L are FREE! |
 Hubby Hakim holding our daughter next to a wall calculator in The Magic House in St.L. Homeclassroom Goals! |  The neighborhood we stayed in in St. Louis. |
In addition, we parents had so many educational resources to share with each other; we had to set up a schedule to ensure we shared everything we said we would share with each other. By the end of our stay my thumb drive was full, and I had new playlists on YouTube. We were off to a great start.
 Our eldest son caring for newborns in the Magic House Hospital. |  These signs were throughout the neighborhood! Good Vibes! |
While on the road, the children were entertained with their laminated maps, markers, cameras, children’s atlas, which was all within reach on their travel desks and pencil bags. They took solace in their DIY personalized pillows and the river of snacks. When we did stop, we did yoga or Have Fun Teaching’s Fitness Songs usually on a grassy null near the gas station. People often watched and praised us. One time I heard a chuckle, and looked up from half moon pose to see a police officer smiling at us as he pumped his gas. When he saw my 3 year do 15 full push-ups, he was floored. I think it made his day. Oh! Let’s not forget the portable urine receptacle. Tiny bladders are the roads enemy.
Our next stop was Milwaukee, WI. We stayed in a charming 2 family duplex with my father. With a front yard, back yard, and nearby parks, our children engaged in biking, foraging, catching fireflies. With two living rooms, we instantly set up the other as the classroom. This is where my pull out bins system discussed in the 1st Teacher Series came in handy. I also got my hands on the Summer Milwaukee Recreation Guide and enrolled my children in a few science and engineering camps. We also enrolled them in capoeira (3 times a week) and Arabic classes.
In no time, between workbooks, camps, and classes we were our busiest and their education was “in the bag.” This stay was filled with family visits, book signings, and workshops. It was an intense schedule, but with the help of friends and family it went smooth. In fact, it was a new & refreshing experience to have extended family members pitching in to shuttle the children back and forth. It was hard to leave as we had all grown attached to the teachers, family, and flow. However, we were on sleepless night number 3 of the Milwaukee Uprisings, which were raging a block from our location. Sleep deprived, we hit the road.
Our last destination-- North Carolina. As soon as we landed in North Carolina we were booked for events. We were blessed again to have the benefit of staying with a homeschooling family with a home classroom. Our children had instant playmates & classmates around the clock. However, this time, I couldn’t tap into all of the camps and classes in the community because we were in a rural area. Plus, we only had one personal room and we were limited in our ability to physically integrate into the home classroom. Therefore, we used the land as a teacher and workbooks. We built fires, cleared land, road on tractors, visited local farms, ran up and down pine needle covered roads, sought out constellations, crafted stars out of pine needles, and hiked. During this time workbooks, the pull out bins, and the computer became our best learning tools. My favorite thing was to spread a blanket outside under a tree. Set out our pencil boxes, musical instruments, workbooks, and abacus, and get to work.
Our last destination-- North Carolina. As soon as we landed in North Carolina we were booked for events. We were blessed again to have the benefit of staying with a homeschooling family with a home classroom. Our children had instant playmates & classmates around the clock. However, this time, I couldn’t tap into all of the camps and classes in the community because we were in a rural area. Plus, we only had one personal room and we were limited in our ability to physically integrate into the home classroom. Therefore, we used the land as a teacher and workbooks. We built fires, cleared land, road on tractors, visited local farms, ran up and down pine needle covered roads, sought out constellations, crafted stars out of pine needles, and hiked. During this time workbooks, the pull out bins, and the computer became our best learning tools. My favorite thing was to spread a blanket outside under a tree. Set out our pencil boxes, musical instruments, workbooks, and abacus, and get to work.
In NC I didn’t know anybody (except for our host family, I had no family, I was far from any Muslim community, I didn’t know the area, and I wasn’t mobile (no sidewalks, public transportation, etc). However, between the computer, workbooks, and great outdoors I was able to come up with somewhat of a schedule. One of the best parts of being hosted by a homeschooling family is that the children have an automatic audience for project presentations. It is during this time that they honed in on their speaking skills the most.
So that is how I survived mobile homeschooling. There’s probably a book out there somewhere on how to do it, but we just jumped right into it. Now, I am preparing to settle back into our home and rebuild our home classroom. One thing mobile homeschooling and seeing so many other home classrooms has taught me is that I can teach with a lot less stuff. Most things I thought I needed, I didn’t. My new classroom will be a lot more feng shui!
So my biggest advice, meet up with other homeschool families along the way, take advantage of local camps & classes, order some great workbooks, clipboards/travel desks, have a laptop with a hotspot, have online educational subscriptions, have material (poetry, definitions, spelling) for the children to recite while you drive, and a killer ass activity bag to keep all your supplies packed and ready to go at all times! The Classroom is the teacher, but the world is your classroom!
Coming Soon! Tour Home classrooms of various homeschoolers across the nation! Look for it in the 1st Teacher series. Email me at [email protected] to submit a video.
So that is how I survived mobile homeschooling. There’s probably a book out there somewhere on how to do it, but we just jumped right into it. Now, I am preparing to settle back into our home and rebuild our home classroom. One thing mobile homeschooling and seeing so many other home classrooms has taught me is that I can teach with a lot less stuff. Most things I thought I needed, I didn’t. My new classroom will be a lot more feng shui!
So my biggest advice, meet up with other homeschool families along the way, take advantage of local camps & classes, order some great workbooks, clipboards/travel desks, have a laptop with a hotspot, have online educational subscriptions, have material (poetry, definitions, spelling) for the children to recite while you drive, and a killer ass activity bag to keep all your supplies packed and ready to go at all times! The Classroom is the teacher, but the world is your classroom!
Coming Soon! Tour Home classrooms of various homeschoolers across the nation! Look for it in the 1st Teacher series. Email me at [email protected] to submit a video.
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