Blog posts by category: Education

The Benefits of Extended Travel as a Family

I was asked to write about the benefits of extended travel as a family for the Australian Camper / Campervan magazine, Time to Roam. In brief, some of the benefits are: perspective, the magic of family time, appreciating limited resources, exhaling (ie.relaxing) and learning to schedule free time. Continue reading...

Home-Schooling: What About Social Skills?

There seems to be a common myth that sailing children are too isolated to develop healthy social skills. I worried about it, too, before setting off for our first sailing adventure. But now that we’ve sailed halfway around the world and lived aboard our 35 foot sloop for four years, I can assure you that the family adventure of a lifetime awaits... Read more here.

NEWS: Announcing a third edition of Lesson Plans Ahoy!

Whew! After years of steadily widening the scope of the original edition, I've just come out with a third paperback edition of Lesson Plans Ahoy, which includes new insights gained over three years of sailing the Pacific and brings the paperback and e-book editions in line with each other. Read more here.

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Motivation, Part 2: When to stick to your routine, and when to break it

Some days, even the best of us fall into a rut and drag our heels. That's when it might be time to break your routine and put the pep back into your lessons. Continue reading ...

Motivation, Part 1: It's all in the packaging

Remember that old trick to quiet kids down? Let's see who can be quiet for the longest time! It worked as long as the kids thought it was a game. Something special. Different. Fun. The same trick can be applied to schooling – just try a photo essay.
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Clear expectations

In my last post, I wrote about the power of self-assessment, in which a student uses a grading scheme to award him or herself a grade rather than simply receiving a grade from an outside authority. The logical follow-up is the topic of setting clear expectations for what type of work will earn a good grade. Continue reading ...

The power of self-assessment

Self-assessment is a powerful learning tool, as I was just reminded when going over a writing assignment with my fourth grade son. Self-assessment means that the student uses a detailed rubric to grade his own work.
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Home schooling vs "regular" school: comparing apples and oranges?

I’ve been asked to use my experience as a teacher to compare children who have hands-on home schooling experiences with “regular" kids. Are they so different? Do they have special qualities? The answers are framed in the context of sailing children, but apply equally to children from any non-traditional educational settings.
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Children should be allowed to get bored, expert says

By Hannah Richardson, BBC News education reporter, 23 March 2013
Reposted here from bbc.co.uk/news

Children should be allowed to get bored so they can develop their innate ability to be creative, an education expert says. Dr. Teresa Belton told the BBC cultural expectations that children should be constantly active could hamper the development of their imagination.
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