School Options for Baseball Kids (plus Homeschooling tips for the Coronavirus Suspension)
Let me start off by saying that some families choose to travel and some choose to stay home and keep their kids in school. I understand some of you moms have jobs and interests of your own that keep you from traveling with your husband!
My point of view is from a traveler. We have tried many options over the years for schooling for our kids so I will let you know what has worked for us. I will outline a few choices and options you can consider. There are definitely more options out there so you have to choose what works best for you and your locations. I used to be a teacher and so I encourage any of you to give it a try!
(And now with many of us with our kids at home with us (wherever you may be--your actual HOME or Spring Training HOME) I have seen a bunch of friends post links to great sites we can use these next few weeks. SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR LINKS!)
Here is a schedule I found that I plan on using the next two weeks (or longer).
Kids Activities Blog has a link for FREE RESOURCES DURING THE NEXT FEW WEEKS! (And Homemade hand sanitizer too!!!!!) Outschool Live Learning Classes offers classes for as little as $5. KEEP SCROLLING DOWN FOR MORE!
Back to options for school on the road:
Traveler’s Option One - Public school for fall/winter and homeschool in the spring
Enroll your kids in public school. Miss the end of the baseball season and have your kids there for the first day of school! The first days and weeks are important as they set up new patterns and guidelines in their new classrooms. We have always tried to be back for the beginning of school. (Unless we make the playoffs. Not missing playoffs!) By being home for the first day of school you can also get your kids signed up for their sports teams and activities which often start around the beginning of the school year as well.
We LOVE Spring Training as the guys are not traveling during this time. We try to make it a priority to go! This is when you can pull your kids out of school and homeschool for the remainder of the school year. Make sure you check your state’s education website to find out rules and regulations for homeschooling. Your child may be required to take a test at the end of the school year. Try to enroll your kids in activities in your new area if possible so you can connect with others. It helps so much to be around other homeschooling moms or baseball friends when you are away from home. Moms and homeschooling moms need a break too sometimes!
Traveler’s Option Two - Homeschool year round
Make sure you check your state’s education website to find out rules and regulations for homeschooling. Your child may be required to take a test at the end of the school year.
There are so many programs available you can use! Many of them give you all you need and anyone can be a teacher. I know it sounds daunting when it’s your own kids but look at the list of tips. I promise--you can do it!!! If you try it and aren’t comfortable just look online for tutors in your area. Make sure to check out Cathy Duffy’s homeschooling reviews (linked below)---she breaks it down for a lot of different curriculums. Or you can look for complete online schools like k12.com
Try to find a Homeschool Co-Op that would take you part time. A Co-op is a group of moms who get together once a week or more and have classes for the kids all together. They might also go on field trips or do other social activities together. Definitely find one in your home area even if you can’t find part time on the road. (I had trouble finding one for part time so that was part of the reason we switched to private school)
Traveler’s Option Three - Private school and pull your kids out for spring training
(This is what we do!)
Enroll your kids in private school (we have a Christian private school we love right down the road from our house) where there aren’t near as many attendance regulations. Some public schools only allow 5-10 days of missed school before the truancy officers come asking. Tour the school first and ask LOTS of questions! Tell them from the start you will be leaving each spring and ask if this is something they will do for your family.
We have the kids in school from the first day until we leave for Spring Training. We also get the kids signed up for sports teams and activities that start in the beginning of the year.
Every January I meet with the teachers and get a list of topics they will be covering. They usually send me packets of materials they will cover but it is up to the individual teacher and school. If they give me the topic such as “Solids, Liquids and Gases” I will go on the website Teacherspayteachers.com and find a unit to buy and use with the kids. The units you buy help support other teachers who create these units. (Check the list of Homeschooling websites and resources below.)
Our kids typically miss 4-6 weeks of school for Spring Training. We love this time of year to escape cold Pennsylvania and enjoy down time together as Spring Training isn’t as busy as the regular season. It is also a good break between the kids’ sports for us and we really value this time together before the season begins. We choose Spring Training to pull them out of school because in April and May the guys are on the road every other week and in ST they are home almost every night.
For April and May during the season we try to visit as much as we can. But time apart is hard I’m not going to lie! One year I homeschooled for the entire spring and signed up our kids for Little League in Kansas City. The boys loved their teams and we kept the family together. Well then my husband got hurt and released right in the middle of our sons’ seasons. They were heartbroken. We had to leave KC in the middle of their own baseball seasons. So that is a big reason we go home for April and May--to let them have their friends at school and their sports in our home area. We stay home until the end of the school year--again visiting as much as possible. Then we move to the city for the season and spend the summer together as a family.
MY Favorite Resources and Homeschooling Websites (a lot of them are FREE right now!)
Cathy Duffy has lots of great recommendations for full homeschool programs.
Confessions of a Homeschooler - This has been a favorite website for me over the years! She has curriculums you can buy. I especially love her LAP BOOKS! She has meal plans and I love her organizing tips for arranging your school room at home. She also has great preschool resources and games for free or units you can buy. I also love her idea about “work boxes” if you decide to homeschool. We made a travel version out of a traveling file box with hanging folders. Inside I have folders for each child’s subjects which makes staying organized so much easier!
Epic - A great location for getting digital books and tracking the amount read. They have read-aloud books and silent reading books for kids up to about age 10-12. I used this all the time for my daughter to have read aloud books while I was teaching her older brothers. And you can join free for 30 days!!!!
A way to get your kids moving through the day is with Go Noodle!
The Best Ideas for Kids is just what it sounds like, lots of good ideas!
Brain Pop - Free access to lots of subjects and ideas!
Get a local library card and go to their online catalog. There are tons of books you can check out online instead of going to the actual library.
Scroll down for a whole page of more free learning websites!
Homeschooling Tips
Have a schedule! We have a dry erase board with laminated activity cards with magnets on the back. Each activity card has a subject on it and so we can move around the schedule from day to day.
Be consistent! Kids are going to want you to change your mind but stick with what you said. They will listen better if you mean what you say--I guarantee it!
Don’t be hard on yourself or worry if they’re getting enough education! Your kids will learn so much from the new areas you travel to and for getting lots more attention than in a classroom with 20 kids!
Get babysitters for the younger kids! Make sure you line up some help with the young kids while you teach or some help to teach while you need to be with the younger kids who aren’t school age yet.
Take time for yourself! When hubby gets home from a road trip take a few hours and go to a coffee shop/mall/movie theater/whatever helps you relax. I like to get away for a 3 hour chunk just to reset my mind. And of course you could use this time to hang out with other baseball moms who GET IT!
Find a local church. Our kids love hanging out with other kids on Sunday mornings or Saturday evening services and learning about Jesus.
Please let me know if you have any questions! Best of luck to you with your schooling decisions. Again you have to find what works for you and your family. But whatever you do try to keep your family together as much as you can! That has been our motto my husband’s entire career.
