Teleworking and Homeschooling from the Fort: Looking for suggestions and tips

[ivegotayen]

Our family is trying out road schooling and road working the month of Sept, including 2 weeks at FW. My husband will probably have some virtual meetings to do while we are there. I imagine he'll use the wifi at our site if it's good enough and our hot spot as needed, but I was curious about any spots around FW that might be good to go to for working. I don't think they have any sort of business center facility, and that's ok. But are there some quiet places with a table, chair, and nearby power outlet with good wifi?

I was thinking he might be able to bike over to WL and hang out in one of the quiet rooms there...

Any other tips for teleworking at FW?

What about road schooling? I have 2 boys: ages 9 and almost 12. I bet we have some folks who have done some schooling at the Fort. We're going to be at a Preferred site with a travel trailer and a tent. I thought if it's not too hot we might set up the tent as the school area, and my husband could be in the trailer. Or we might take their lessons to a quiet area of the fort to set up and do. Or maybe just the picnic table at our site. Would love to hear from others with ideas and what has worked/not worked for them. My kids do some written work we keep in binders, some work online, LOTS of reading, and also do a few Outschool online classes.

Hit me with all your tips, suggestions, caveats, ideas, etc! I am all ears! (get it? hah hah!)

 

[Teamubr]

Working/school from the Fort is definitely possible, but you can't rely on the wifi. We were down for 2 weeks in January. My wife worked about half the time (she is permanent remote working now) and I had a few meetings/calls while we were there. For dependable computer connections, we hot spotted off our work phones (Sprint) or our personal phones(Verizon). Both worked well.

The porch at Trails End has better wifi, but that can be noisy and there isn't really a good spot to setup. I'm not aware of any place else at the Fort that would work well. WL would be an option. I know some that have stayed there and have found some "out of the way" places with good wifi, but you can't bike there any more since the bike/walking trail was tore out for Reflections (now sidelined resort). The Yellow internal Fort bus goes to WL as part of its route now You can pick up any Yellow bus heading to the Settlement Depot.

j

 

[bama_ed]

Hi, @ivegotayen. I've got some suggestions - not about schooling - about that time of year and working/where to go.

First, I don't know where you're home is but September in Orlando is still "summer" weather generally speaking. Hot, humid, strong sun, frequent afternoon showers.

Besides your own campsite/picnic table space, there are some outside spaces that would work for schooling. The picnic tables outside Trails End on the porch facing the lake can be quiet (you could pull a rocking chair over) outside of mealtimes like mid-morning or mid-afternoon. There is also a covered picnic pavilion between the tennis courts and main pool that would provide a breeze, shelter from rain, and an incentive to finish school work ("when you're done you can go swim"). The pavilion can't be reserved so it's first-come-first-served.

For hubby working, the Fort wifi is generally okay in the morning but the longer the day goes on the slower it gets (as more people return from the parks or meals). We have some threads re: wifi there going right now. So he should bring a hotspot.

One place we like to go is to Wilderness Lodge's original DVC building (now called Boulder Creek Villas). When the bus goes from the Fort to WL and drops you out (and also can run you back to the Fort), you can walk up the hill/sidewalk to the WL Lobby or down the hill/sidewalk to the DVC building. It has a beautiful small lobby but open several floors up and ROUND. But the Iron Spike Room off to the right of the lobby as you walk in is decorated in a train motif with a fireplace, nice tables/chairs, overstuffed couches, power/plugs. It is our place to get away to when it's cold or wet and we want to read a book, play a board game, or cruise the 'net. Don't know how private you could get to do a conference call or face-to-face Zoom but it's my best suggestion close by. Like a private library room in a big old house. We've been in there maybe 4-5 times and only once was anyone else in there. If I were to telework and wanted to get away from the campsite/trailer, The Iron Spike Room would be where you would find me.

Those are my ideas since you asked. Good luck!

Bama Ed

 

[LYSE]

I've worked from the fort for about 6 weeks in a few different camp sites, all were quite enough to do calls where I did most of the speaking (less mute time) don't count on the wifi though, use your own hot spot.

 

[Narcoossee11]

Fort is great but the wifi is terrible. Weak would be a understatement
Definitely get a hot spot.

 

[ivegotayen]

All great ideas. Thank you!
I thought the Iron Spike room might be a good spot for a quiet call/zoom, too.

None of us are going to be taking on a full load of school or work while there, but we likely will try to keep up a little, just to maintain some routine and avoid backsliding -- and because some meetings are inevitable, even when one takes a day (or a week) off.

Grateful to live in a time and situation enabling us to be anywhere!

 

[tetera]

We homeschool and go to the Fort for a weeks throughout the year - my boys are very close in age to yours and as of now we don't do any of the things we do online when we are at the Fort.

Honestly, the first few times we did try bringing workbooks and such but there is just so much to do at Fort Wilderness, and even the "off times" are so quiet and special to us that we don't usually end up doing more of the "formal" lessons (we are "eclectic" homeschoolers).

Usually the kids want to complete anything we are working on before we go out of town or sometimes on the car journey down so that they can just enjoy their time at Fort Wilderness. We do the classes they have there - craft activities, horseback riding/pony riding/visiting the horses at Tri-Circle D Ranch, archery, and we rent canoes/kayaks and go fishing, and we give the kids swimming lessons when it's not busy at the pools. The kids do bring books and read a lot and sometimes make up their own games while we are there. (There is also space for sidewalk chalk at your site and there is a hopscotch area behind the Meadows Trading Post.) We also bring board games to play and go on nature walks - we have seen owls, deer, turkeys, and armadillos. (After the first few visits we also started to bring folding scooters but the Bike Barn also rents bikes.)

 

[Dindi]

I am a retired homeschooler as my son is now in college but we homeschooled from pre-k to graduation. We also made treks to WDW once or twice a year. I would encourage you to allow your kiddos to just enjoy the vacation without school if at all possible. We had a trip where we brought school work (and many trips we completed detailed swim workouts from his coach super early each morning). Trips where we could all relax without trying to fit in everyday work were exponentially better!!! We had many 12 and 14 day trips without school, and he never “lost any ground” in where he was educationally. When we returned home and were back in our normal space and routine, we would just start each subject where we left off before vacation. You know your kiddos best, but as someone who has been there and done that, I think you will save your family some (or a lot!) of stress by enjoying your vacation without trying to fit in school. Have fun, make memories. The work will still be there when you get home.

 

[Boopuff]

We camp a lot and my DD constantly needs to be on some sort of web meeting. Traveling, he spends a bit to use his Hot Spot. Well worth the cost of aggravation on the road.

 

[Tallis]

I would rule out a tent as any kind of school room in September. It's still VERY hot and VERY humid here in September. Nothing like fall weather in northern states. Even a portable AC would have a difficult time keeping up during the day in a tent.

Honestly, I would skip the school altogether, even if you are on the road for the entire month. My four kids range in age from 29 to 40, and were raised with a mix of public school, home schooling, and road schooling. They have all missed way more than a month of schooling at all different ages. All grew up to be educated, intelligent, and successful adults.

There is much to be said for experiences over book learning.

I'm guessing you must be home schooling anyway, since public school would flip out if you took your kids out for a month. My grandchildren can't even miss a day without the powers-that-be complaining.

 

[Lisa P.]

When we were homeschooling, we didn't take full summers off. Instead, we took off 3 weeks in summer, 2-3 weeks in December, and scattered weeks when we traveled. They advanced more rapidly through math and science studies because they never fell behind with a 10-week summer break. It only took a day or so of refresh/review after just 3 weeks off.

You know in which subjects your kids may need more, especially if they are doing heavy high school studies and/or have a special challenge in a subject. IF you decide to bring structured lessons into your trip, maybe try lunchtime lessons on your quieter days, brief and single-subject to minimize pressure. Our sons used to journal or write a report on the weirdest or most interesting thing they experienced that day, because while they flew through advanced math and science courses, written expression was harder for them. Our daughter focused on math at those times, especially during the years she studied trig and algebra 2. We're only talking about an hour or less, through lunch.

They're learning all the time anyhow. While we did use plenty of text and video materials, and a handful of co-op, in-person classes, the only super-structured curricula we used were in math, high school sciences, and foreign language. Our shared travel and plentiful local nature, cultural, library, and sports activities, and home skills development filled out the rest. Today, they're all kind and decent human beings, college grads, professionals, spouses and parents. They all feel strongly that homeschooling was best for them. Two of the three are now homeschooling their oldest children in K-1.

Enjoy the stimulation and growth from your new family adventures in September! For your husband's work, the Boulder Ridge Iron Spike room would work well. If you want an indoor spot too, and if the kids are not distracted by some noise, the quieter alcoves on the 4th/5th floor of the main WL lobby may be an option too. HTH. Have a great time!