Before we left Davis, we got a lot of questions about why we decided to homeschool and how we would know if we’re doing it right. Homeschooling has gotten a lot more mainstream in the last decade, but it’s still a relatively unusual decision.

In these first few months that we’re in Guam, the decision to homeschool has largely been a pragmatic decision. When we were first exploring the possibility of coming here, we had a hard time evaluating the local schools from a distance. We were also moving in the middle of the school year. We decided to buy ourselves some time by homeschooling for the rest of this academic year. Hopefully, by the beginning of summer, we’ll know if we’d like to enroll the kids in a local school.

But I am definitely hoping that we can make homeschooling work for the whole time that we’re in Guam. First of all, a large part of the reason we made this change was so that we could spend more time together as a family. While we’re homeschooling, we can sign the kids up for evening activities like soccer and swimming without compromising our family time together. Second, we’re hoping to travel. A lot. Homeschooling will give us the flexibility to take our education with us while we explore the Pacific islands and Asia (maybe even farther…?). And really, what better education could they get than seeing the world?

For these first few months of homeschooling, we’ve resisted the urge to buy a bunch of curriculum. We’ve got some math and writing materials, and we’re hoping to supplement with time in the ocean and travel and trips to the library. My goal is to keep Amelia at grade level, and not mess up the great head start that Duke already got at Peregrine. Other than that, we’re hoping to let curiosity lead. We’ve already had lessons that have included science, reading, writing, math, geography, art and history. The world is our classroom!

We know some families have moved to Guam and started out homeschooling but eventually found that a local private school works better for them. That may eventually be the case for us. And I don’t know if I can answer the question about how to know if we’re doing it right. But for now, we’re enjoying our adventures in homeschooling.