First Week of School

Greetings from Bali! 

We are having a one-day layover here en route to Flores, where we plan to go diving and see Komodo dragons.  We booked our flights this way just in case the volcano in east Java delayed flights into Denpesar again (is anyone outside of the area even aware that this volcano has been erupting lately?).

The girls started school a week ago.  We agreed that our travel in Thailand and Laos was “summer vacation” and that the girls would “go back to school” as soon as we got to Indonesia. 

The girls’ first week of school was a field trip for science (impact of man on the ecosystems of the rainforests of Borneo), social studies (economics of Dayak fishing communities in East Kalimantan), and physical education (trekking).

Children paddling to school on the mighty Mahakam River in Borneo

On Friday, the girls started the more formal part of their homeschooling.  They downloaded and signed up for a few apps, picked country-relevant literature to read at night, registered for a couple of online classes, watched one or two Khan Academy videos, and spent time designing classes based on where we will be traveling.   

It’s going to be an empowering year for the girls.  I am convinced that their learning is going to be deeper than if they were in a “normal” school (and we weren’t taking this year off).  And they will definitely be true international school students who have a first-hand understanding that there are other ways of doing things and that the “other” is also correct.  It’s going to be an interesting school year!

Nadia