Boat Schooling: Links & Articles

Circumnavigators: SV Totem

• Boatschooling, Part 1: Finding a boat school path
• Boatschooling, Part 2: What we actually DO on Totem
• Boatschooling, Part 3: Things I wish I’d known
• General homeschooling information page

12 Years of Homeschooling: SV Seal

Kate Laird boatschooled her 2 daughters while sailing from the US to Greenland, Europe, Antarctica, New Zealand, Japan and now Alaska. Kate wrote Homeschool Teacher as a guide to help families educate their children without sacrificing either academics or adventure. Go to http://www.katelairdbooks.com/ and read Noonsite Review.

• Article for Noonsite: Boatschooling Ages 4 to 12
• Article for Noonsite: Boatschooling for the College-Bound Student

Alternative Methods: SV Pura Vida

Suki Kaiser has a great blog post Homeschool, Un-school, Fun-school….it’s all cool, for those wondering what alternative boatschooling methods might work.

Start Homeschooling Before you Cast Off: SV Del Viento

Michael Robertson explains the ins and outs of what it’s like to homeschool your kids while living aboard in this article – Boat school is in Session [2016] – for Cruising World Magazine.

Introduction to Boatschooling: Sailing Zatara

After 20 years of boatschooling four kids, mum Renee has a great introductory video [2023] on how boatschool worked for them.

Online School Links

Recommended by cruisers

• Khan Academy – https://khanacademy.org/
  Library of exercises and lessons for students worldwide, covering math, science, and more. Free for students and teachers.
• Outschool – https://outschool.com/
  Offers thousands of interactive online courses connecting hundreds of teachers with pre-kindergarten to high-school learners around the world. Classes meet weekly in a small group over live video chat.
• Time 4 Learning – http://www.time4learning.com/
  Teachers are all online, it is inexpensive, and you can keep tabs on your child’s progress easily without having to do the actual teaching. Takes just a few hours a day.
• Simple Homeschool – http://simplehomeschool.net/
  A range of monthly articles on homeschooling from a variety of contributors. Lots of great information and ideas here.

Other Articles

• Boatschooling: Everything You Need to Know (2024)
  Article for Boats.com, covers online curriculums and piecemeal programs, lesson planning etc.
• Homeschooling Aboard – Flexibility & Changing Course (Cruising World – 2023)
• Boatshooling a Teenager (Diane Selkirk) for Business Insider (2023)
• Homeschooling on a Boat – The Truth (Sailing Britican – 2020)
• Home schooling at sea: Top tips for tutoring your kids from 6 liveaboard sailors (Yachting World – 2020)
• Maybe the Best Home School Is … on a Boat? (NY Times – 2020)
• These 5 Families Are Sailing Around The World For The Ultimate Homeschooling Experience (Forbes – 2020)

For more useful links, articles, communities, blogs, businesses and information about cruising with kids, see “Discover More” below.