Full-timing and Homeschooling

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May2015

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Joined
Feb 7, 2013
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16
I am researching both the rv lifestyle and homeschooling my kids. I understand that there are state regulations and requirements that I need to meet, and I know there are an unlimited about of online information. However, its a bit overwhelming. I'm not sure where to start. I have a few stick n brick friends who home school, but I would like to also get in touch with someone who travels full-time and has experience homeschooling. I understand I will have to have a "home" state. I will use my mother-in-law's address in Mississippi when we finally hit the road, but I don't plan to return until a year later to Mississippi. My son will be entering the first grade when we plan to depart. He will attend a public school for kindergarten. My daughter will only be 4 when we depart, so she will be home schooled from the beginning.
 
My wife (from Meridian) is a Licensed Professional Counselor formerly at Meridian Community College and has a sister in Meridian Public Schools. If you don't get some quick answers, I feel sure she can put you in touch with the exact people who know those requirements.

Will your son start in a Mississippi school system, public or private? From our experience as full timers, although not in this specific area, sometimes the timeline for your paperwork matching your residences can become important.

The new Kemper County power plant being built just outside of Meridian has been a huge influx of workers in RV's and I feel sure the home school question is not unfamiliar to them.
 
Not sure on MS requirements are, you can google them. In IL there are NO major issues and most important No reporting to the school system. Some states require all kinds of documents. That would be where I would start to see which state would make your life easier. Alot of the FT's on here use postal companies to get their address. Which might be an option to get an address in a state that would be more favorable to Homeschooling. Then just have them mail it to your mothers. You may even want to find the local homeschool association they can get you the most accurrate info. So you don't have some truant officer come knocking at your door. 8)
 
Although I have not done this while in my RV, when I was cruising in my sailboat my significant other and I were homeschooling her kids using Florida as our home state.  We used the Calvert School courses and both students and teachers (us) were satisfied with the courses.  Calvert is on the upper end of the home school courses, and I've spoken to many folks who went with courses that cost far less, some of which originated in their local school districts. 
 
May2015, I?m sure there are experts who can help with the details and paperwork; I just want to offer some words of encouragement.
I know a family who traveled from Alaska to Argentina homeschooling their young boys along the way and recorded their days on a blog. Their mode of transportation was bicycles ? all 17,300 miles. (Long distance bicycle touring is another passion of mine).
While the method of transportation is different, the concept is the same - your kids will see and experience things that will last a lifetime.
Kinda gives a new meaning to, ?what did you learn in school today??
Goodluck!  :)
 
Thank you all :) I'll keep researching all the technicalities, and if you know of anyone who does home school on the road, please let me know :)
 
I work in a public school district in Virginia and know that we require an annual portfolio be submitted.  It's different thinking about home schooling primary aged kids (K-2) who will be learning how to read and write vs older kids who will be reading and writing to learn.  Many parents do this and many kids thrive in a home school environment.  You are right to research the requirements as they will vary state-by-state and district-by-district.
 
I recommend you contact the Home School Legal Defense Association.  This organization supports homeschool families, particularly on legal issues such as the questions you have asked.  http://www.hslda.org/
 
Thanks for this link, I wasn't able to really dig into it...but it looks like the above site will inform me about the laws. We went to look at RVs today! yay!
 
We aren't full-timing in an RV...yet. LOL. But we've been homeschooling from day 1 and have moved MANY times to several different states. I'll second the HSLDA recommendation. Some states require FAR more than others. I'm currently in NM and it's a very homeschool friendly state comparatively. Some states also require testing in certain grade levels. Some require portfolios. Some require a lot more paperwork than others. I've heard homeschooling by full-timers often referred to as Roadschooling. You might google it and see what you can find from that perspective. For what it's worth-we currently use Sonlight and would continue to do so even if we ever fulltimed on the road because it's a great fit for our family. Hope you had fun checking out RV's. We're still looking for our right one too!
 
Thank you. I checked Sonlight out and it looks expensive. I also have a very hands-on, active son. I think he would do better with a more on-line curriculum. The abcmouse.com website has been really good to us for preschool learning. It will also probably be easiest to "homebase" out of Mississippi because that's where all of our family lives.
 
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