Reflecting on the First Week of Homeschooling

Susanne is the driver for this post.

Sam started fourth grade on Wednesday, August 3. This was entirely his decision: I'd initially planned on beginning somewhere around August 15, though I hadn't nailed down dates or made any definite plans (to say that I'm not the most organized person you'll ever meet is an understatement). But Sam was ready to get started, and so we did.

One of the great things about homeschooling is that I can tailor my teaching approach to his specific needs, interests, and preferences. For example, Sam is someone who loves routines but who also needs some room to let his creativity take charge. When we sat down together to develop a schedule, this is what we came up with:

Every day will include practice in reading, writing, grammar, and math as well as physical education (and by "physical education," I mean running around outside or taking a walk). We'll spend anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes on each of these subjects depending on how we're feeling and how much time Sam needs on a particular topic. 

I feel strongly about the reading/writing/reflection activity that will start each day. This activity will give Sam a chance to ease into his lessons, read about a variety of topics (on Thursday it was cyanobacteria; on Friday it was Harry Potter), use his writing skills, and practice his handwriting. It will give me a chance to get creative with prompts and find ways to help him synthesize information from previous days.

To build some flexibility into the schedule, we divided the days not into Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/etc., but days where we spend a significant amount of time on history (A days), business (B days), arts and crafts (C days), and science (D days). This past Thursday was a D day: Sam wanted to learn more about bacteria and early life on Earth. On Friday he wanted to study marketing and advertising strategies that he can apply to his online business, so that was a B day. At this point, I'm going to let him pick what he wants to focus on. If that means doing science three days in a row, that's fine with me. I'll just track what we do on a daily basis so that we can balance it out with other topics later on down the road.

Because we're on the road and visiting so many interesting places, field trips will be an important part of the curriculum. We celebrated the first day of school with a field trip to various sites in San Angelo: the playground, the library, a sandwich shop, and the San Angelo Nature Center, where Sam got to meet and pet a snake named Bubbles, an opossum named Marie, and several other animals native to this area.

All in all, the first week (well, half week) went really well, and I'm excited to see what next week will bring. Spending more time with Sam and watching him get excited about what he's learning is definitely a major benefit to becoming a homeschooling (roadschooling) family.

Two weeks in!

Yesterday marked two weeks since we embarked on our RV adventure.

Our route and the highlights so far:

June 1 - 5: Diamond Caverns RV Resort (Park City, KY)

Things we did: Trip to Mammoth Cave, swimming, learning how to cook in the RV

Best parts: Small but clean campground with a nice pool, close to Mammoth Cave National Park, gorgeous hiking/walking/running trails

Worst parts: None? It was a great few days. 

June 5 - 16: Natchez Trace RV Campground (Hohenwald, TN)

Things we did: Visited the grandparents in Nashville, walked through the TINY town of Hohenwald (including the visitor's center located in the old train station), ate at the Loveless Cafe, drove a lot (Hohenwald to Nashville is a 1.5 - 2 hour drive), went to the zoo, spent time with friends, checked out the Warner Park Nature Center, hit up Whole Foods, reading, swimming, running.

Best parts: All of the above! We also appreciated the consistency of the services (water, electricity, sewer) at our campground.

Worst parts: The campground is pretty and the site services are commendable, but it's also really run down. The roads are potholed, the tennis courts look completely dilapidated (not that we would be using them anyway, but other people might want to), the fitness center is closed, and the recreation center needs work. Given the large size of this campground, maintenance must be a major challenge... but it's a little disappointing that even the Recreation Center at the heart of the campground is falling apart. Hopefully, the management will find the funds to keep this place going and get it into better shape.

Next on the agenda: We're heading to Texas! Houston and Austin, here we come!

RVing with Kid: Shakedown Trip

This past weekend's two-night trip to the state park was designed in part to identify issues with Clark, traveling with our cat (see previous post), and living the RV life. One of our big questions: will Sam, our opinionated, technology-loving nine year old, get bored? Will he want to spend all of his time holed up in his bunk, playing Angry Birds and wishing his parents could be more normal?

As soon as we arrived at the campground and set up our rig, Sam brought out his bird guide, sketch pad, and colored pencils, took them out to the picnic table, and started drawing.

The next day, we woke up and went on a hike... and miracle of miracles, the kid did not complain once. He just walked. 

Maybe he was just too transfixed by his surroundings to complain. 

Doesn't hurt when your hike leads you to an awesome playground and a wide open field.

Then I needed (more) coffee, so we went into town for a snack and silly conversations (I can't recall exactly, but the discussion here probably revolved around poop jokes).

And yes, Angry Birds did make an appearance - albeit a relatively brief one. 

Verdict: we think he'll be okay.

Biscuit's first RV adventure

This Friday and Saturday, we took Biscuit the cat on her first RVing adventure at our local state park.

Getting her into the RV was pretty easy: we tossed her favorite toy into her cat carrier, she ran in, and Sam closed the gate. Trent drove the RV (Biscuit's litter box was safely stowed and latched in the shower for the trip) while Sam, Biscuit, and I followed in the car. After arriving at the park and setting up camp, we released Biscuit into her new abode.

This was the first safe spot she found: in the bedroom right below the "closet." She seemed happy enough.

It eventually dawned on her that something unusual was going on in her life, so she hotfooted it up to the cab and squashed herself under the driver's side seat. For hours. We were relieved when she made an appearance to use her Modkat kitty litter system, which we placed in the cab in order to keep it out of the way yet still accessible for her.

We pretended we didn't notice, but silently, all three of us were cheering. Biscuit is unpredictable when she's uncomfortable or unhappy. A couple of weeks ago, she peed on our bed (while we were in it!) for reasons that are still unclear and that, according to the vet, were entirely unrelated to her physical health. We hope that was a one-time occurrence but with her? Who knows. So the RV Modkat use so early on in the trip was a victory for everyone.

The situation went a bit downhill when, at bedtime, Biscuit hopped up on the bed, made a horrible yakking sound, and proceeded to throw up all over the duvet. A few minutes later she knocked over her water dish and created a mini-tsunami that rolled through the slightly-tilted rig. We dug out a few rolls of paper towels and all was well again. 

Sam was wondering whether Biscuit - who's not the most coordinated feline you've ever met - would dare to hop up into his bunk space. She waited until everyone was settled down, gave her best leap, and made the jump from the table to the loft. Then she gazed down upon us as if to say, "I will allow you to stay. For now."

I'd call that a success. It might sound silly to be so worried about a cat, but she's a part of the family and our happiness is somewhat dependent on her happiness. If she can't get on board with our new lifestyle, that's going to be a problem.

So far, though, all signs point to a cat that will be ruling the road the same way she rules the house.

Welcome to the adventure, Biscuit!

Pictures from Clark's maiden voyage

As Trent described in his last post, we took Clark for a spin last weekend! Our excursion consisted of just one night at the nearby state park, so nothing too challenging - except that it dropped to below 30 degrees Fahrenheit and we didn't know how to work the furnace. Learn by doing!

On the drive over to the campground (I pretty much had to bribe him to get this smile, but it was worth it because HE IS ADORABLE)

Trent hooking up the power. The campground had electric hookups but no water. That's fine, since Clark isn't dewinterized yet. We just used the facilities at the park.

In the RV with the slideout extended. The slideout makes the RV seem positively spacious.

Dinner! I made this at home and then we re-heated it in the microwave in the RV. We didn't try to turn the stove on. Baby steps.

View from the bedroom

Clark looking all handsome

Morning in a very cold RV. We were fine while we were under the covers, but by the time breakfast rolled around we felt like we were living in an icebox. Trent consulted the owner's manual, turned on the propane, and got the furnace fired up. Nothing exploded. Success.

I made coffee in the morning. I can give up most things, but coffee is not one of them. We brought the grounds with us, heated up water in the microwave, and concocted our brew in the press pot.

Lessons learned:

• We picked the right RV for us. Clark is great, with tons of storage space, lots of comfortable seating, and room enough for three people who have already spent the past two years in close quarters.
• You can not know what you're doing and still avoid breaking your house on wheels. Especially if one of you actually cracks open the owner's manual and follows the instructions.
• Climate control is probably going to be a challenge. We're going to do our best to move with the seasons so that we don't have to excessively heat or cool our rig, but weather is hard to predict. We anticipate some uncomfortable days and nights every now and then no matter how well we plan.
• I like the people I live with. That's a good thing.
• This was fun and I want to do it again! Like, now.

Gear Check

Trent will be your driver for this post.

This past Friday night we took Clark out for our first overnight in the RV. Clark is still winterized and we didn't do anything to change that. It has been dipping below freezing at night and so we will wait a few weeks before we de-winterize.  This means we did not use the plumbing/water systems. This trip was mainly an electrical and propane check and experiencing our first night in the RV.  Susanne will blog later about that aspect. This post is about the equipment.

Summary: It all worked!

Electrical hookup: We bought a Progressive Industries PT30C 30 Amp Portable Electrical Management System to protect us from high voltage, low voltage, and a host of other possible electric issues. It worked well and we were able to see exactly how much voltage was being supplied at the post, how many amps we were drawing, and that the AC was cycling as expected (60 times a second). If there are any problems with the electricity, this system will not allow it to pass to the RV.

We did consider getting a similar system hardwired into Clark but decided against it after reading about how people to tend to switch RVs after a few years of full-time living. We also wanted to save some money.

Electricity in Clark: I was able to test all the AC outlets in Clark and they all worked. I did additional tests using a multimeter and again everything was good. It's not that we were really worried but we had not checked every outlet before buying Clark like we should have.

Slide-out: Our RV slide out worked. It's amazing how sliding out part of the RV just a few feet really makes the whole RV seem much larger.

TVs: Yes TVs. Clark has more TVs (3) then we do in our sticks and bricks home (1). The antenna went up well and we checked out two of the TVs. They worked and were picking up about 8 strong channels.  We watched a dog shake in slow-motion and then turned off both TVs and put the antenna down. If given the choice we would have used the money on other improvements for Clark. However, the person that bought Clark new picked the entertainment package.

Refrigerator/freezer: We bought some food and drinks along for our trip. This was our first check of the frig and it worked well. I did discover how small it really is when I could not fit a gallon jug of water into it. I think we will be eating a lot more fresh food because we don't have the storage to stock up for more than a few days.

Microwave: Susanne heated up some yams and some dinner she had made ahead of time and it worked.  Most importantly it supplied the hot water for our morning press pot coffee.

Heat pump (powered by AC): It was our first test of the heat pump and it worked.  The heat pump was able to supply heat that worked well enough in the early evening. However by the middle of the night it was too cold for the heat pump to work well. The RV was cold.

RV cover: We got an outside RV cover for privacy and to add a bit of insulation to the big heat sink that is the front window.  The cover went on well and stayed on during the night wind and rain.

Furnace (powered by propane): I read the manual and then opened up the propane tank and fired up the furnace. It started up quickly and the furnace supplied the heat needed to keep Sam from revolting. The furnace supplied heat worked very well.

Generator: We didn't have to use the generator but the user's manual recommends that it be run for about two hours once a month if it's not otherwise being used. So I disconnected the AC from shore power (the electrical post at the park) and hooked it into the generator after it was running. We ran the  generator for about two hours and used the heat pump to supply a load (about 20 amps) on it.  The generator worked well and we used its power to bring in the slide out.

Clark's Chevy chassis: Clark got us the 7 miles to our spot in the State Park and got us back home. Good going Clark.

Not checked: We will de-winterize in about three weeks. We will then have to test the black and gray tanks, the hot water heater, the shower, the sink, the freshwater connection, and will have to drain the tanks as we sanitize the systems.  We also didn't bring the cat.  She will provide another test for us on the next trip.

Still need to get:

TPMS: I really want to get a tire pressure monitoring system. All the full-time RVers suggest them as a must have safety system. Checking the air pressure on Clark is a pain because the hub dust covers must be removed to get at the values. This is the brand I'm thinking about but I need to do more  research and bite the bullet money wise. This system likely will cost less than a tire blown out.

Cellular signal booster:  I need to get and install a signal booster before we leave. I am basically waiting to make sure we have the latest technology.  I'll likely go with the recommendations from the https://www.rvmobileinternet.com.

??? other stuff ??? I don't know what we are forgetting or don't know we don't know but we will find out quickly when we start RVing full-time.