The trip to Clives House

[Jacob100]

We are both very excited about the home schooling thing, we see it as a great opportunity for us all, the biggest hurdle was overcoming everyone elses resistance, but I don't know anyone who has done it that it hasn't worked well for.

I have been following a family who go under the name A2A who have been travelling with their 2 kids for 6 years, Graham Bell is the guys name and he has written a few books, very inspirational.

There is a lot of help for homeschooling on line

Thanks Andy. I’ve seen his name - will download the book. My son is only two and a half but it’s something I’ve been thinking about.

 

[moggy1968]

Thanks Andy. I’ve seen his name - will download the book. My son is only two and a half but it’s something I’ve been thinking about.

Just do it.
In my 30 years of nursing I have never heard anyone on their death bed say 'I wish I'd spent less time with my kids'!

One day my daughter said to me 'Daddy, do you remember when we played snakes and ladders, I really enjoyed that'. It was months previously and I hadn't been able to spend any time with her since.

Thats what did it for me, I missed so much of my daughter's growing up because I was working all the hours God sends, and I just didn't want to do it anymore. That was 2 years ago, and we were trapped in that cycle of debt and work, then our landlord told us he wanted his house back and we couldn't afford to move and we just thought 'fuck it, why not!'

It's not ideal, we don't have any money and I still have to do some work, but fortunately I can dip in and out of that, but we can at least now spend a few quality months together over the next 12 months.

It is also a chance for us to seriously review our lives and the way we want to go in the future

 

[Jacob100]

I’ve just gone back to work after looking after our son for a couple of months which was absolutely amazing. The way they soak everything up when they’re two I can’t wait to see what it’s like when they’re older.

 

[Jacob100]

Anyhow. This place in Doncaster. Unimog ambulances and everything.

http://mob.ljacksonandco.com/demo.php?album=11740

 

[moggy1968]

Anyhow. This place in Doncaster. Unimog ambulances and everything.

http://mob.ljacksonandco.com/demo.php?album=11740

Thats the same company I linked to about the MAN truck.
A unimog would be nice, but you're looking at in excess of £20k for one, from Germany, so prohibitively expensive, and expensive to run. Given that they are wanting 24k for a landrover wolf ambulance I dread to think what they are charging for these.
They are basically agricultural vehicles not designed for long distance use, wheras the MAN is a proper commercial vehicle, built to commercial standards to do big mileages. They were actually bought in to supersede the unimog.

 

[Jacob100]

Thats the same company I linked to about the MAN truck.
A unimog would be nice, but you're looking at in excess of £20k for one so prohibitively expensive, and expensive to run. They are basically agricultural vehicles not designed for long distance use, wheras the MAN is a proper commercial vehicle, built to commercial standards to do big mileages. They were actually bought in to supersede the unimog.

That’s why I got stuck on their website for half an hour. Also read about the director being jailed for flogging vehicles to Sudan.

Passed a brand spanker 68-plate Mog in black on the M42 today. Nothing like it.

 

[SteveJB]

Moggy about the home schooling if you think back you have been doing it since the day you taught her to say mummy daddy cat dog and most other words how to get dressed feed herself and Twist you around her little finger but now the questions and answers get a little harder but in the end she will have had a better education than her peers in a classroom as big as the world

 

[moggy1968]

Moggy about the home schooling if you think back you have been doing it since the day you taught her to say mummy daddy cat dog and most other words how to get dressed feed herself and Twist you around her little finger but now the questions and answers get a little harder but in the end she will have had a better education than her peers in a classroom as big as the world

She's bilingual, thats definately not down to the school!

I've rather lost my faith in the formal education system. Unfortunately we have moved several times so she has had to change schools a lot, because of the extreme tardiness of education authorities to sort out school places she had fallen behind with her maths. eventually, after much battling, the school recognised there was a problem (which they had failed to recognise was a problem despite her doing badly in tests) and so put some extra help in place, which she had already had in her previous school and which we had told them about when she started. At that stage she was, at the age of 7, 12 months behind, thats a lot at 7, and she was growing into a girl that just didn't like maths.

when she moved up to the next year I discovered that help had stopped and her teacher had no idea there was an issue. There appeared to be no handover between years. I tried to get a meeting with the teacher to discuss this, and was blocked numerous times, eventually in the spring term I finally got an appointment. That day they tested her, and hey, guess what, she's behind!! At that point they restarted the help. I finally managed to get an update in the summer term, and they announced with delight the extra help had been a great success as now she was only 11 months behind, they didn't appreciate it when I suggested that making up 1 month in 2 years wasn't that impressive!

So we got her a private tutor through a work colleague, and within weeks she had caught up and by the end of the year, she was ahead of her peers. When the school noted how well she was doing, thanks to their extra measures, I did suggest it was inspite of their extra measures and because of the assistance we had had to pay for!

I figure she can't do any worse out of school!!

 

[Shayne]

Mitsubishi Canter or Fuso 4x4 lends itself to the light truck for camper conversion i reckon .

As for home schooling i was passed pillar to post never encountering anyone who wanted me and had time for me , so i went to more schools than i could possibly remember , one of which actually decided i was 2 years behind in my schooling on reading the results of my entry exam . I was shit hot at fractions though because by chance its the only math i learned for a couple of years at least because thats the way the cookie crumbled

Near high school age i realized myself i had never been taught the alphabet , or the months of the year , or even how to tell the time on a clock , so i taught myself .

It took teachers not 2 years in high school to beat all good intentions out of me so i mostly worked on farms and stuff only going to school occasionally to keep my mother out of trouble .

I went back at 15 and did 3 years of schooling in 2 weeks , we had to present all our exercise books , art and practical work (woodwork and metalwork) on display for an independent assessor to judge .

I did it to piss teachers off and i passed everything with credits and distinctions , though i only got a pass in math for some reason

I threw the results out of the bus window the day i got them knowing i would never need them , i had nobody to show them to anyway .

Teach them how to learn what they need to know and their resources will be infinite

 

[Paddler Ed]

Teach them how to learn what they need to know and their resources will be infinite

Also following this, one of the big things I'm seeing more is examining what the problem is you want to solve in your work, rather than what job you want to do.

We know a lad who is probably not the most academically strong, but common sense, risk taking, ability to socialise and interact with adults and problem solving would put many adults to shame. Those things will get him further than any book skills will in the long term.

 

[Jacob100]

I sat through years of very conventional, one-size-fits-all schooling with no motivation, effort or lasting memories. That’s not the way to do it.

I did however pick up enough German to watch basic YouTube vids. This one is interesting. The chap in Berlin (www.eineweltreisen.org) is doing amazing work on old emergency and utility trucks. He’s presented as the go-to man if you’re on a budget but the total bill to convert a 1988 MB fire engine comes to €250,000.

 

[Josh Tagg]

I personally think these look a good buy, possibly on the to do list ourselves. Bomb proof 5.9 Cummins engine and parts are easy enough to source as there's so many! Can also get them with a box on the back this was just the first I found on eBay

 

[flint]

A bit of a lump, but one way of doing it !

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1995-M-M...h=item286c431636:g:z50AAOSwgKxbpNuz:rk:1:pf:1

http://www.followthatfireengine.com/news/

 

[Animal Mother]

I know of a 6x6 Volvo for sale in Finland which is already converted and of a decent price. Let me know if you want details.

 

[Higgy]

Great posts Moggy, And a Great adventure, Don't worry about the home schooling, Families who live on the Marina where I work Home school their kids.. They are all wonderful, polite and clever.. Im sure some of them by the age of 12 will be skippering boats across the Channel.. My Missus is a teacher and use to teach home schoolers for extra cash.. She actually thinks it will be the way forward if things don't improve in the uk education system... My Hats Off to you sir.. Good luck with all your Adventures.. Im old school and proud of it, But not in the educational sense..

 

[Shayne]

What school does teach , and its a very important lesson , is social interaction , there ain't no place crueler than a schools playground and finding ones place in it can be very formative , not always in a good way of course but crucial to learning who we are .

 

[Higgy]

What school does teach , and its a very important lesson , is social interaction , there ain't no place crueler than a schools playground and finding ones place in it can be very formative , not always in a good way of course but crucial to learning who we are .

Agree. My missus says if there is one ,And only one negative to home schooling Is the lack of social interaction between kids. But good parenting will find a way..

 

[Higgy]

Getting back on track.... Have you ever considered the 4x4 sprinter van, And such. they seem to be getting very popular with overlanders now. You Tube clips galore.. There are some companies dotted about Europe that specialise in conversions etc.. A decent big van is not that costly these days. Something to ponder Moggy..

 

[moggy1968]

Getting back on track.... Have you ever considered the 4x4 sprinter van, And such. they seem to be getting very popular with overlanders now. You Tube clips galore.. There are some companies dotted about Europe that specialise in conversions etc.. A decent big van is not that costly these days. Something to ponder Moggy..

Way too pricey and I’m not convinced about the quality of modern Mercedes vans, they seem to get the pox real bad, I do love those old merc trucks you see allnover the third world though, they pop up now and again on Mobil.de

 

[moggy1968]

Agree. My missus says if there is one ,And only one negative to home schooling Is the lack of social interaction between kids. But good parenting will find a way..

That was one of the many objections that were levelled at us by family and friends, that she would lose all ability to interact with other kids. The reality though, having moved school so often, is she is extraordinarily adept at making friends quickly. She has no fear of just going up to other children and asking if she can play. She played with three different groups of kids while we were in Germany and had a great time playing with Clives daughter Ana. I think being with the same people all your life can be quite restrictive and can make you narrow minded. In these internet days it’s also possible to have friends all over the world ( as evidenced by this thread!)