Schooling While in a Vacation Destination
Starting off our worldschooling adventure in the vacation destination of Aruba posed some unexpected stumbling blocks. The sun shines every day, the pina coladas flow freely, and everyone is in vacation mode. It was difficult for all of us to keep a consistent schooling routine while being distracted by so many wonderful things. We knew that there would be a lot of learning outside of the traditional structure of a school day, but we hadn’t really considered how different environments would affect our “big plans”. Luckily our situation allows a ton of flexibility that allowed us to pivot when we realized our original plan wasn’t working (already!).
Our Original Plan
Our original worldschooling plan in Aruba was to get up at a consistent time daily, have breakfast and get our lessons out of the way early so we had the rest of the day to play. We would use our Abeka math curriculum, Kahn Academy, lots of reading and organic discussions that came up during the day to round it all out.
What Happened
The biggest issue we dealt with in Aruba other than the overall feeling of “everyone is on vacation, we should not be working” was the heat. By the time we were done schoolwork and ready to play, it was 90 degrees and humid. We didn’t want to be outside – we wanted to be inside taking a nap or reading our books in the comfort of the AC.
Our Pivot
The solution for this roadblock was easy. We moved schooltime to after lunch. The mornings were now free to enjoy the sunshine and the waves before it got uncomfortably hot. The kids got that ocean itch scratched early so by the time we were inside for lunch it was an easier – though not easy – transition to schooling. On top of that, we were usually done just in time for afternoon BINGO at 2pm!
Off Days are Normal
Some days just didn’t work out and we had to be okay with it. While we had planned to do school, something else prevented that. It might have been a meal out or a field trip. Sometimes the child(ren) just wasn’t in the right mindset to learn. The beauty of this experience is we can go with the flow and decide to catch up along the way. Missing a planned day of math doesn’t mean missing all learning that day. Instead of practicing division someone learned how to listen to their body, breathe through some frustration, and tell us about how they were feeling. That is not always easy for anyone, nevermind a tween or teen. Forgiving yourself is also a very important skill we need to practice early and between all of us is happening every day. There is no one-size fits all way to do this!
Find Guest Teachers
One of the highlights of our schooling experience in Aruba was when a new friend offered to teach a lesson. We met Bob and his wife Debbie on the beach the first afternoon we arrived at the resort. When he learned about our year ahead, he offered to teach our family a lesson. How could we say no? While on the beach over the next few days, he outlined his “class” in the back of a book he was reading. We finally found a good time and a shady spot to sit down for an hour to learn. We appreciated how Bob brought George into the lesson early on to spark his interest and kept the kids’ attention by relating concepts to their real life experiences. They were all involved asking and answering questions which was so fun to see.
Bob not only taught us about hospital engineering, states of matter, and oxygen storage and delivery systems – he also taught us to think outside the box! Our single serving friends can also be our teachers. We look forward to finding more people like Bob in our upcoming destinations.
After our lesson we all got in the pool to have some fun. Pool volleyball is always a hit and was a welcome way to wrap up our very special lesson.
Embrace the Unexpected Moments
George came into our room the other night at 10pm looking for me. He had his kindle in hand opened up to the world history book we are reading as a family. He had been put to bed over an hour before, but had decided at that moment that he was ready to learn. I’m not usually super motivated or awake at 10pm, but seeing the excitement in his eyes made it hard to resist. So he brought Beary (Beary goes everywhere with him and has been dubbed our family mascot) and his kindle to the couch for a snuggle while learning about Ancient Egypt. It is one of my favorite memories so far and I hope he will remember it with a smile too.
Save Questions for Later
Have you ever realized how many questions your kids ask in a day? How can you not?! Sometimes it feels like a constant barrage – why is the sky blue? What is that bird over there? Do seahorses live around here? Can I have a snack??? Mom? These curiosities bring us to the core of our children’s minds. What they think about and what they are interested gives us insight into what makes them tick. And when we know that, we can make learning exciting. From the moment we moved, whenever a child asks a question that Jay and I don’t have an immediate or complete answer to right away, I jot it down in my notes app to check out later. The questions have ranged from Why is iodine added to salt? to How do the tides work? to What is Pandora’s box?
As we have had free time and a wifi connection we have circled back to these questions and answered them together as a group. We sometimes take it one step further and use them as conversation starters. A recent example is toilet powder. There were signs all over Harper’s Ferry pointing to Toilet Powder but we never got to figuring out what it was. We looked it up at dinnertime one night and found that it was a product featured in a very early form of billboards – a huge ad painted on the rocks along the B&O Railroad for passengers to see along the way. The controversy over the toilet powder sign is this. Should it be preserved as a historic artifact from the early 20th century OR is it an embarrassing form of early graffiti and disrespectful to nature? Needless to say, it gave us a great subject to talk about that night over Cuban food.
Find Learning in Fun
We all went parasailing one morning and had the best time!! The night before we spent a little time watching a video about lift, pressure differential and angle of attack so the children learned about WHY and HOW parasailing works. We didn’t make it into a huge lesson, but it was just enough to weave a little learning into a really fun experience.
As you can imagine, we talk about the dynamics of flight quite often in our family, so this was yet another perspective on that same ongoing conversation.
Other Adjustments
Timing isn’t the only adjustment we have had to make to our worldschooling journey. While it’s not ideal, we’ve recognized that our kids learn better when they are split up into smaller groups or even working independently. Yes, even the twins – especially the twins – do better when they aren’t working side-by-side. This is not the most efficient way to teach or work but it is usually the most effective. Some days are easier than others for making this happen and sometimes we just deal with the added frustration of hearing a sibling chew or breathe so we can get things done and move on.
There is Always Tomorrow
If a day doesn’t go quite as planned, we know that there is always tomorrow. A new day to start fresh and move forward. Each destination is going to present it’s own challenges and the best thing we can do for our kids and for ourselves is to be flexible and make learning more fluid. Make the pivots learning experiences and remember that there is no one way to do this.
We are currently in D.C. transitioning our clothing from tropical to “Fall in Europe” before we head out to London in a few days. Jay plans on writing about our journey from Aruba to here – it was quite the escapade!! The current state of the family is a welcome feeling of reset with a lingering excitement for the next chapter! Stay tuned…
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Love reading this blog. I am so proud of the Momma you have become and Jay as well. So many good memories and an experience the kids will not soon forget. <3
Auntie V – so glad you are enjoying the blog! We are enjoying every minute – I can’t remember the last time we’ve spent so much time together. It’s definitely very special.
Davis clan your blogs are amazing! I love that your kids are getting to experience the world from a different perspective. Saying that there are people who are different from them, but are just as interesting is a blessing! Continue to keep us all updated on your adventure. I can’t wait to hear more! Cheers!
Thank you for the comment Troy – we are glad you are following along!