Before I get into this let me be clear — I am not a teacher. Tanya has a degree in education which helps enormously. I'm the support crew. My job is keeping the RV running and the kids fed while she handles the actual learning.
We've tried A LOT of curriculums in three years. Some were too rigid. Some were too loose. Some cost a fortune. Heres what we actually use now and why.
Math: Teaching Textbooks
Online, self-paced, with video instruction. The kids watch a lesson, do practice problems, and it auto-grades. This was the first curriculum where I didnt hear "I dont GET it" every 5 minutes. Costs about $55/year per kid.
Language Arts: Brave Writer
This one is Tanyas pick. Its writing-focused and uses real books instead of textbook excerpts. The philosophy is that kids learn to write by writing about things they actually care about. Our daughter wrote a 3-page essay about wild horses after Assateague. Never would have happened with a workbook.
Science: Real-World + YouTube
No formal curriculum for science anymore. We tried two and both felt like we were fighting the material instead of enjoying it. Now we base science on location. Desert ecosystem when were in the southwest. Marine biology on the coast. Geology everywhere. YouTube channels like SciShow and Crash Course fill in the structured content.
History & Social Studies: Beautiful Feet Books
Literature-based history. Read real books set in historical periods. Visit historical sites. Discuss. Write about it. Way more engaging than a textbook.
The Honest Assessment
Our kids are slightly behind in math compared to their peers in traditional school. They are significantly ahead in reading, writing, geography, and general knowledge. They can hold a conversation with adults. They can navigate airports. They know what the Alamo looks like because they stood in it.
Different doesnt mean worse. Its just different.
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We learned most of this the hard way. Nice to see it written out clearly.
Great stuff as always. Keep these coming!
Going to research this more. Thanks for the starting point!
can confirm this works. tried it last month
Yep learned that one the hard way.
After years on the road I can confirm — this is solid advice.
yep been saying this for years
This is so helpful — wish I had found this article sooner.
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. All accurate.
Thanks! More content coming soon.
Never thought about it this way before. Good stuff.
Really useful info. The details make all the difference.
needed this. thanks for posting
Ha we should swap stories sometime!
This is spot on. We tell every new RVer the same thing.
Single lady RVer here — this is gold. Bookmarking immediately.