I am going to guess that you have not already been homeschooling. One approach…especially since your child is so young is to unschool and enjoy your surroundings. What a fabulous education just learning about all there is to learn about Australia. I would focus on that and just "live" the whole experience. I have a 5.5 year old and started this year trying to do "school" at home and found us both very frustrated. I talked with lots of HS parents and did lots of research and although I don't like the word "unschool" basically that is what we do. Type in "unschooling" into google and you will find several sites that have lots of info on how to go about it and how it works. Enjoy your trip and don't stress over your childs education when you are going to have the educational experience of a lifetime.

Agreed. Just enjoy the experience! Learn as you go about the area, the ocean, ocean life, coastal life, local customs, town history's (wherever you stop), chart tides and wind, keep track of mileage/knots/gasoline use, keep a journal of what you do each day — pictures if necessary, send postcards home, learn sailing terms and history, cooking, LIFE!

How fun!

Enjoy and don't stress about "school" there's more than enough education there to keep you busy.

6 years old? Super awesome! SO easy and fun at that stage. Push READING and MATH. Consider buying the book 'carschooling' which is great for teaching on the go. Go to walmart or a school store and get "Comprehensive Curriculum 1st Grade" and for 2nd as well. These books are on ebay, too. They cover a lot of subjects! Then take a LOT of blank paper (for art, math problems, history drawings) and blank index cards (to make flash cards!) and crayons and BOOKS. Get some good books, like "Where The Red Fern Grows" and "Lion, Witch, Wardrobe" or "Charlotte's Web" etc etc. Get him reading and doing math.

I'm so jealous! Can we go too?

How cool is that! I was raised on the mission field and my adoptive parents’ home schooled me from the start. It was very informal with the primary focus being if I was applying myself to learn in an age appropriate manner.

So I would start with a list of things your daughter should be able to do at her age and then design her schooling around that. Most state school boards have a skills/assessment list they work from.

For instance most kids have/are learning the alphabet and to read around her age – although this varies as some kids learn earlier and some later, generally somewhere from 6 to 9 a child learns to read completely. That is one of the nice things about home schooling, you do not have to force a child to learn before that are really ready to do so and if they don’t learn it that are not labeled as an under-achiever! I sure wouldn’t make the little darling sit and study a book when it is sunny out and she wants to be enjoying herself, but when she is bored or the weather turns fowl then have some stuff ready for her to dive into it. That will make it fun for her. Have a great time!

- Inez