- Cruising with Children, by Gwenda Cornell, Adlard Coles, ISBN 0-229-11790-2
- Children Afloat, by Pippa Driscoll, Fernhurst Books, ISBN 0 906754 42 9
- Adventuring with Children, by Nan Jefffrey, Avalon House Publishing, ISBN 0-9627562-4-5
- All in the same boat, by Tom Neale, International Marine, ISBN 0-07-142791-0

Especially "Adventuring with Children" gives hands-on tips on any kind of extensive travel with children of all ages, be it by bike, hike or boat and has a lot of useful information on scholarship. "All in the same boat" talks about all aspects of living aboard and cruising but has a very useful chapter on cruising with children and scholarship, with the authors' two girls having lived on a boat all their lives until collage-age.

Numerous families have done it before and we have so far only come across positive response and feed-back. It is said that cruising kids are generally doing very well when they re-enter school, often being ahead of their class mates. While general feelings about getting back to school after a time cruising is very positive, e.g. by meeting a lot of new friends, the down side of shore-schools is said to be inefficiency with a lot of dead-time, the kids observe. Cruising school can thus be held for a generally shorter time than ordinary school, typically going from 9 am to noon. Further to these theoretical classes, a lot is being done in the afternoons that can be seen as "education" as well, of course, ranging from exploring the vicinity to paintings, servicing the boat, playing instruments, reading, writing, navigation as well as talking to other boat kids in various languages.

It will become very interesting to see if experience made by others is being matched by what we will find out

.

We are fortunate enough that both our kids like school and have no big difficulties in learning. Both are very enthusiastic about "Regina-school", so we believe we will succeed in acting as their coaches and teachers. We know that a lot of work will be involved by both of us parents. We plan to always have one of us acting as the "teacher of the day" at school hours (9 - 12) while the other one is involved in other boat tasks, such as maintenance.

Both Jessica and Jonathan will stay in regular e-mail contact with their corresponding classes, following a set scheme:

• Every day they are both to write by hand in a diary/logg book. This diary is not to be read by the teachers and is a personal memory-book. We have a dedicated diary book for each of them with one A5 page for each day.
• Every day they will note in a special note book what they have done at school, e.g. "solved maths problem page 45-46 in maths book".
• Every 2 weeks they are both to write an e-mail featuring some special event or describing the place we are staying. This e-mail will be sent to one of the class-mates on a rotating system. The recipient at home will have the task to open the e-mail, to read it, to answer it, as well as present the contents for the rest of the class as a presentation. This material will then be used in class for deeper studies, e.g. about the country described or the observations made by Jessica and Jonathan, who act as the class' personal foreign correspondent.
• Every month they are to write a fictitious or factual story. Of these, at least one per semester is to be hand-written and uncorrected, which is to be mailed (or scanned and e-mailed) to the teachers to check spelling.
• Write some poems.
• Read as many books as possible, at least 15 min per day. Make a list on read books.
• Practice to retell about books having been read.
• At least once per semester write a recession on a good book they have read.
• Read brochures and other factual material along the way.
• Jonathan: Work in the book "Vad var det jag läste" ("What did I just read?"), a couple of pages every week.
• Regularly work in maths books provided (see below).
• Write a couple of stories in English (especially Jessica) and in German (both).
• Speak as much English and German with fellow boaters and pals as possible.
• Work in English text book "Speak Out" and "Work Out".

Further to these more theoretical subjects, the kids will do paintings of what they see or express along the way, play their instruments (Jonathan the flute and Jessica the violin and I will take up the guitar playing - I hope!). Practical subjects, such as servicing the engine and maintenance on the boat is a natural ingredient while cruising, as well as cooking and other household jobs. We have even packed some handwork! Of course, also personal letters and e-mails are regularly to be sent to family and friends. What might become a challenge is the subject sports, which could become a bit narrow by snorkeling and walking... I hope we will get some ideas along the way, while we have taken a volley ball to play with, at least.

Very practical is the fact that the Swedish school system is very goal-oriented with detailed goals that are to be reached depending on the age, grade and talent. It would lead too far to go into detail here, but I can suggest that Swedish cruising families study MUS, LUS and SUS (these funny abridgements stand for Matematisk Utvecklings Schema, Läs Utvecklings Schema and Skriv Utvecklings Schema). With these, it is very easy to see which momentums are to be mastered in what order and, as a teacher, one knows where extra emphasis is needed.

Once every month we, the parents, are to write a report on the results and progress on the education. MUS, LUS and SUS will be of good help to see if Jessica and Jonathan might have climbed yet another step on the corresponding ladders.

As tools, we have packed the following, among others:

• Numerous factual books on nature, animals, weather, stars, etc, of which I especially like the following:
  - The Field Guide to WEATHER, to NIGHT SKY, to NORTH AMERICAN FISHES, WHALES & DOLPHINS by the National Audubon Society Series
  - Guide to Corals & Fishes of Florida, Bahamas and the Caribbean, by Idaz Greenberg
• BBC's "Blue Planet" DVD
• Britannica Encyclopedia on DVD
• Many, many books to read for the kids
• Matteknep 1 and 2, maths tests on CD by Softogram, bought through Elevdata.
• "Flex Matte", maths series, Gleerups Utbildning AB, Malmö
• "Tänk och Räkna", Majema Förlaget
• Matemateket Tema (" Vikingabyn" & "Lite om kroppen"), Almqvist & Wiksell
• "Veckans problem och annan klurig matte", Adastra Läromedel AB
• "Speak Out", "Work Out" and "Build Up" English books, Almqvist & Wksell
• "Champion English" book series, Bonnier Utbildning
• Various work-books in English and Maths, such as problems that are to be solved in group
• "Språket Lyfter" by Skolverket, Diagnosmaterial i svenska
• "Vad var det jag läste", Gleerups Förlag