Homeschooling Cruisers

[DCLCrazy64622]

Is there a thread that is dedicated to homeschooling families that love to cruise and use that time for educational purposes. (Or at least some of the time. We can’t be all business, after all!) If there is no such thread, would anyone be interested in participating in one?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Is there a thread that is dedicated to homeschooling families that love to cruise and use that time for educational purposes. (Or at least some of the time. We can’t be all business, after all!) If there is no such thread, would anyone be interested in participating in one?

Don't know about a specific homeschooling thread, but here's a link to a recent thread touching on that subject:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/whats-educational-about-disney-cruise.3701944/

 

[southerngirl528]

Is there a thread that is dedicated to homeschooling families that love to cruise and use that time for educational purposes. (Or at least some of the time. We can’t be all business, after all!) If there is no such thread, would anyone be interested in participating in one?

You're in Fl, right? I would be surprised if a homeschool group, co-op or org. didn't have some information for you. Floridians DO like to cruise!

 

[party-of-five]

We homeschool. But we don’t intentionally use cruising for educational purposes. Inevitably someone learns something new while we’re cruising, but this busy teacher/momma needs a vacation!!! (hubby and students too!)

 

[darnheather]

I usually have my girls read up on the history of the ports before we go. Both of my girls are reading up on the Panama Canal in anticipation of the next cruise. My youngest will be in school and has a 6th grade project that she will base around some aspect of the cruise. She will also be doing one hour of homework time several days a week in the Edge or in our cabin with me. Mostly though we just relax and have fun.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

Same here, we generally relax on a cruise, I just thought it would be fun to have a thread to trade ideas on. . Especially for Europe and Panama Canal cruises. There’s so much history and culture there!

 

[party-of-five]

I usually have my girls read up on the history of the ports before we go. Both of my girls are reading up on the Panama Canal in anticipation of the next cruise. My youngest will be in school and has a 6th grade project that she will base around some aspect of the cruise. She will also be doing one hour of homework time several days a week in the Edge or in our cabin with me. Mostly though we just relax and have fun.

Same here, we generally relax on a cruise, I just thought it would be fun to have a thread to trade ideas on. . Especially for Europe and Panama Canal cruises. There’s so much history and culture there!

My dream is to one day do a Mediterranean cruise. IF I could someday pull that off then yes, I would certainly work it into the lesson plans. But for us, the few cruises we’ve been blessed to take have been Bahamian cruises and for the sole purpose of R&R.

All that said... DS12 is reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for his English program. He’s loving the book and loves even more that he will be able to read it at sea. He’s hoping to have one or more of the officers sign his book.

 

[southerngirl528]

All that said... DS12 is reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for his English program. He’s loving the book and loves even more that he will be able to read it at sea. He’s hoping to have one or more of the officers sign his book.

That's awesome, party-of-five!

 

[Sytrace]

Is there a thread that is dedicated to homeschooling families that love to cruise and use that time for educational purposes. (Or at least some of the time. We can’t be all business, after all!) If there is no such thread, would anyone be interested in participating in one?

We home school and live in Orlando which makes it very easy to take cruises multiple times a year. We try to incorporate education into excursions and activities on the ship. The kids talk to Cast Members and crew about their jobs and homes and we were able to take a Bridge tour last year which was very kind.

There is a FB group for home schooling cruisers if you are interested in that type of interaction.

 

[ScooterScott44]

I usually have my girls read up on the history of the ports before we go. Both of my girls are reading up on the Panama Canal in anticipation of the next cruise. My youngest will be in school and has a 6th grade project that she will base around some aspect of the cruise. She will also be doing one hour of homework time several days a week in the Edge or in our cabin with me. Mostly though we just relax and have fun.

On our EBPC years ago DCL had a guest lecture, former pilot, speaking for about an hour in the theater. He covered the history, construction, operations etc. each day. DS was only 4 at the time so he went to the club while I attended. Nothing is ever absolute but you can expect to have something similar. From the 2017 navigators on the cruise blog site it looks like they were still. They are mornings on the sea days leading up to the canal passage.

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...anama-canal-cruise-san-diego-october-27-2017/

 

[Ralph&Pam]

On our EBPC years ago DCL had a guest lecture, former pilot, speaking for about an hour in the theater. He covered the history, construction, operations etc. each day. DS was only 4 at the time so he went to the club while I attended. Nothing is ever absolute but you can expect to have something similar. From the 2017 navigators on the cruise blog site it looks like they were still. They are mornings on the sea days leading up to the canal passage.

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...anama-canal-cruise-san-diego-october-27-2017/

Also, those presentations are taped and replayed on the in-room TV in case you have a conflict at the time of the live presentation in the theater. I watched all of them on replay during the 2017 EBPC. Highly recommended.

 

[daedelus]

We have homeschool for 13 years (2 just graduated last year and 2 more in high school) and we've actually gotten compliments from our school board reviewer about the diversity and interest level of the "field trips" we take with the kids. We even made a t-shirt one year that referenced our "school's" field trip.

I agree, the EBPC was by far the most educational, as we had a similar excellent guide and he also narrated the entire passage through the Canal (from end to end). Very interesting. We also did Alaska and had an outstanding former wildlife ranger on board who narrated that as well.

We had each kiddo write a short paper at the end of each cruise and put it in their portfolio. We've used them for geography, history, world culture, etc.

 

[southerngirl528]

There is a FB group for home schooling cruisers if you are interested in that type of interaction.

Thanks for that, Sytrace! I KNEW there had to be something like that for homeschoolers out there!

 

[cruiser21]

Same here, we generally relax on a cruise, I just thought it would be fun to have a thread to trade ideas on. . Especially for Europe and Panama Canal cruises. There’s so much history and culture there!

I had my kids research the ports before our European cruises. Other then what they get out of any tours or excursions we don't do any formal education on the cruise. Very few kids get the opportunity to travel abroad and I see it as a learning experience without making it a learning experience.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

I agree with everyone here. We have such a wonderful opportunity to educate our kids without “educating” them formally. We are so lucky in the US to be able to do this.

 

[MelSpees]

On our EBPC years ago DCL had a guest lecture, former pilot, speaking for about an hour in the theater. He covered the history, construction, operations etc. each day. DS was only 4 at the time so he went to the club while I attended. Nothing is ever absolute but you can expect to have something similar. From the 2017 navigators on the cruise blog site it looks like they were still. They are mornings on the sea days leading up to the canal passage.

https://disneycruiselineblog.com/20...anama-canal-cruise-san-diego-october-27-2017/

Captain Puckett will be on this year's EBPC. We went to all his talks on the 2013 EBPC and enjoyed them immensely. We plan on going again this year. He also has a book out now which is easy reading and enjoyable.