School starts soon | The Family Without Borders

The Family Without Borders

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School starts soon

Shool start, travel, family

Until now we were totally free: travelling for 4, 5 or 6 months in a row, not being fixed with full time job, everything was dependent on our will, time and cash. Now we will have to stop…

„What will happen with your travelling, when your kids start school?!?!“ – this question, asked with a lot of care, curiosity and sometimes satisfaction, was coming back to us like a boomerang. Especially in the last year, everybody was curious: what will the Family Without Borders do, when little Hanna start her first school class.

Well… Let’s first think about the option we have: in Germany there is no way of doing home schooling (teaching your kids on your own). And we live in Germany. In Poland, when you prove that your job is connected with travelling, you could do that easily. We could theoretically move to Poland… But.

But I wouldn’t like to do the home schooling with my kids. Many of you would say: why not? School is a system, school is a border, nowadays schools don’t teach kids to be themselves, put them into some drafts, kill the passion. Why not showing your kids the world, while travelling, and teaching them on the way?

I have few answers for it. First which comes to my mind is simple: I’m not patient enough to be a teacher of my own kids. I’m not well organised, systematic and just patient. But this is not the most important for me. I simply think that the school is so much more than just studying biology, geography and English (all those things would come easily while travelling). The school is not only getting up early, being on time and being forced to learn not needed things. It’s a big lesson of social life, life between many different people, relationships and yourself. Meeting the people, you maybe wouldn’t meet in the places, where your parents take your. Meeting the people, you do not choose on your own. Meeting the good teachers and the bad teachers. And learning to face it.

That’s why I also wouldn’t like to send my kids to special or private school. For the „better kids“. With only cool teachers, flexible programme and perfectly chosen path for each kid. Because I want them to meet the real world: all what the world is offering. All the difficult kids, all the unfair teachers. To some extend of course, I’m also not crazy. I plan to react when my kid is in danger ;)

There is still one more thing, I remember very well from my school times. The authorities. The teachers, I admired. There was this teacher of Polish language, who showed me how to think outside of the box and pushed me into reading. There was this teacher of ethics, who forced me to think a lot. There was this teacher of journalism, thanks to whom I understood which direction I would like to go. I don’t think it’s good to combine those two roles: of being a parent and being a teacher. Kids need a lot of adult examples of behaviours, to watch and respect.

That is why in already less than 2 weeks our little-big Hanna is going to school. To German one, in Berlin (just across the street) and also to Polish one, supported by the Polish embassy, once a week. And you can’t imagine how happy and excited she is about it! Since long weeks, she is crossing out the days from her self-made calendar. Since months, she is talking every single day about it. This is her little-big trip, she was preparing for for so long.

But yes, it will be not easy, thinking from our travelling perspective. First time ever we will have to respect some dates and deadlines. Already now – we are travelling through wild Scotland, and her new school backpack (she is carrying all the time with her!) is reminding us that we have to come back home before the 5th September. That we cannot stay longer, whatever happens. That we MUST be back. It feels a bit strange, that’s true. But when I see her sparkling eyes, when she tells anybody here on the trip, in English: „I will start school very soon“ – oh come one! It’s just another trip! Another lesson of life. Yes, we will travel for shorter periods of time. Yes, we will have to play some little tricks sometimes to combine her schedule and our dreams. So what? We are in Scotland now since less than 2 weeks and it was already amazing! Of course it’s not the same as 5 months on the Pacific. But maybe 2 months somewhere during the summer holidays, and 1 month during winter holidays, and some free weeks, stolen from the system, and a lot of longer weekends – it’s also fine? As you know, we are not planning much in advance, so here we will also not. We will enjoy the new things, which it will bring us. Let’s see!

PS 1. And I can’t wait to see how Hanna is putting together her knowledge, gained while travelling (about the volcanoes, kiwi bird, Maya people, what so ever!!) with the school programme. How will she deal with it? What questions she will have in mind? How will she talk with the teachers? All this!

PS 2. The school backpack, we have already with us in Scotland, is the one she has chosen from all the school backpacks in the shop. Opening it at home and sorting out all the pencils and stuff – oh my God, haven’t seen so happy Hanna ever! And we are happy that she has chosen a thing, which is a proper backpack to carry things, with proper system of belts, that we can easily use it while travelling too. And… there are velcro stickers horse on it ;)


Our first book is out!

We have published our first book (for now just in Polish:) about our Central America Trip.
See, read and order here »

12 Comments

  • Posted August 25, 2015 at 10:09 | Permalink

    Powodzenia w szkole :) To będzie wielka zmiana, ale też wielka przygoda :)

    Reply
  • Letizia
    Posted August 25, 2015 at 10:19 | Permalink

    Oh, guys, this is probably the sweetest post of all. Looking forward to hear your experience in accompanying the school trip-of-a-lifetime of Hanna. As parents of a first-grader you’re off to a rollercoaster of a trip too! Big hug!

    Reply
  • Ola
    Posted August 25, 2015 at 10:52 | Permalink

    super, mam taką samą opinię o szkole jak Ty :) homeschooling jest fajny, ale jednak nie jest dla wszystkich, też bym nie miała cierpliwości żeby uczyć swoje dzieci (których jeszcze nie mam co prawda…), ale też bałabym się, że na jakimś poziomie moja wiedza z niektórych przedmiotów będzie jednak mocno niewystarczająca. No i to, co mówisz – szkoła uczy życia w społeczeństwie, to ważna lekcja ;) jak Was znam to i tak czas wolny na podróże będziecie wykorzystywać na maxa!

    Reply
  • Posted August 25, 2015 at 13:57 | Permalink

    What is an adventure? Overcoming the fear of the unknown, risking, pushing the envelope. We feel it when we travel, we have to look for it harder when we are at home but all of life is an adventure – a gift. This is Hanna’s own adventure, one you cannot be fully a part of. The first of many. These are the adventures she needs to become who she will be. I fully agree with you and understand. Not for the same reasons but as much as we love them, they are not ours…

    Reply
  • Sarah
    Posted September 5, 2015 at 12:28 | Permalink

    O yes. I see what you mean. This is hard. I’m struggling with the same questions, but unlike you I don’t know yet the answers. Well, luckily I have some more time yet to answer and find our own way. Thanks for sharing!!!

    Reply
  • cyndi
    Posted September 7, 2015 at 12:40 | Permalink

    I truly hope it all goes well.

    Reply
  • Posted September 15, 2015 at 15:08 | Permalink

    Our daughter is a little bit older and there is a way to overcome some difficulties with education. Our Marta Went to spanish school in tenerife for 3 yrs and finally she was recognized as a child with special abilities which means she can do school in her own way. And now we are in Thailand rambling around with no purpose other than amaze ourselves with all beautiful and strange things we can see. We will have to go back to any spanish territory by March and Marta can end her college by May instead of sitting whole 10 months in class. I am sure there is simillar program in germany- ask. And by the way you do not need to homeschool your child by yourself. start with http://www.khanacademy.com. It is so much fun. You will see.

    Reply
  • Posted September 26, 2015 at 16:45 | Permalink

    You’re the Mama, so you know best. It’s a difficult decision to stop moving around. Staying in one place for however many years makes me break out into a cold sweat! But you have been wonderfully honest about not wanting to home school (I couldn’t do it either), so you have absolutely made the right decision for your family. Good luck for school! xx

    Reply
  • Posted September 28, 2015 at 11:35 | Permalink

    Great post,

    I have the same thoughts… how it will be in 1 year with school and travel… But I think the scool system is very important and my daughter needs it. She is always missind kindergarden when we travel. I always wonder how others can travel 2-3 month- she misses it after 1-2 weeks :-) her friends and her group.
    It will be all right for you! Greetings Miss Senibua

    Reply
  • Posted October 22, 2015 at 07:37 | Permalink

    wow she’s so beautiful! I guess traveling doesn’t just make one wise…it also makes people happy and thus beautiful! :-)

    Reply
  • karine
    Posted December 4, 2015 at 10:18 | Permalink

    Have you seen this movie? I really want to see it. http://www.alphabet-film.com/

    Reply
  • Posted July 2, 2016 at 21:46 | Permalink

    Będzie z pewnością inaczej. Po nowemu. Ale co to dla Was:)? Tak jak piszesz: nowa podróż, inna niż dotychczas, z super wypasionym swoim pierwszym prawdziwym szkolnym plecakiem:). Najważniejsza jest Jej radość. I to czego nauczy się jeśli chodzi o społeczeństwo, koleżeństwo, miłe i niemiłe przygody. Oby sobie dzielnie radziła! A młodsza siostra zacznie przedszkole?

    Reply

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