STEAM Outreach Education While Sailing

Our family outside the 17th Elementary School of Piraeus, Greece

As a teacher, it was a bit tough to pack up my classroom and set sail for the next two years. Jared reminds me that I am teaching our own children each day, but it just isn't the same. I found myself actually missing my classroom. It's just where part of my heart is.

I also wanted to take on some sort of project while we visit various countries. When we started out in the BVI, experienced the hurricanes (#irmaria)  and began helping with the recovery efforts, I really focused on helping the schools there. As we were back in the states, I had the internet resources and was able to pair up state schools (and other organizations) with island schools. As a result, many teachers received supplies from all over the states, which helped get their classrooms up and running again. It felt good to be able to do something from afar.

Presentation on our school in CA, the STEM and ROV program Stef started there.

Fast forward to now. We are presently in Greece and have been volunteering in a friend's classroom. The main focus has been STEM activities and also founding the first youth ROV program in Greece! A few times in the classroom led to teaching the principal and some of the staff. I LOVED every minute and felt like we were making a difference. My kids helped organize and lead the lessons, which in turn, provided the benefit of working with another culture. Recess time was spent in a dance class or outside on the playground, sharing stories and snacks. These have been wonderful experiences and something we will continue as we sail on.

STEM or STEAM: science ,technology, engineering, and math (some add art in there, but if you think about it, art is in everything).

The more we share our story or about how we are working with local schools, the more inquiries we receive about coming to their school, sharing the ideas with their staff and students. We go to those we can, based on the anchorages or marinas near the schools. For others, we are working on creating videos, so they can recreate the activities in the classroom or at home.

While I can't do this full time at the moment, it makes me sit and ponder the possibility of doing so. To be able to travel and teach, while being with my family and exploring new places. Oh, what a dream come true that would be! Alas, we would need to fund this venture, and there just doesn't seem to be the school funds to be able to cover this sort of program. For now, it is completely volunteer, but perhaps in the future, it could turn into something full time. That would be amazing!

Adventures in Greece

Visiting the Acropolis

We do take time out for fun here and there, amidst all of the boat projects. Here are some photos of our time spent at the Acropolis in Athens and the Museum.

Exploring the Parthenon and Acropolis

Sitting high on this hill in Athens, is the Acropolis. It is derived from the word "polis" which translates to the 'highest point in the city'. In ancient times, the city would lay just below with markets and an active trading center.
Once you pass through the entrance gateway, also known as the Propylaea, you will see the Parthenon of Athena, the Erechtheum, the Temple of Athena Nike.

If you have time to explore this amazing place, do it!


Another experience you can't miss is the Changing of the Guard at Syntagma Square in Athens. They change about every hour, but there is a parade and ceremony at 11am on Sundays. This is when we went and it was totally worth staying the extra days in port to do so!

We took some time for a quick trip down the island chain to Milos. The waters are a beautiful turquoise and it was fun to explore the village.

Anchored off Milos.

Weather soon chased us back north.

Checking the weather.

On the way back to Piraeus, we stopped at the port of Loutra on the island of Kythnos. This area is known for the hot springs that flow right to the beach! We highly recommend a visit, if you are in the area. The village was empty, as it was off season, with the exception of the harbor master and one cafe who opened a few hours each day. Wifi is free in the port.

Port Loutra. Hots springs are on the beach, left of RoundAbout.

After picking up some parts back in Piraeus, we set off for our haul-out at the Planaco Yacht Yard on the nearby island of Aegina. They have free wifi, bathrooms with showers (lots of hot water!) and a nice taverna next door. Everyone we spoke to goes here because of the professional staff and the unique way they lift out the boats: via tractor lift! Check out the videos of our haul-out on our facebook page.

We spent a little over a week on the hard, getting all sorts of things crossed off the list. In addition to new antifouling (after sanding, they added a primer/epoxy coat before the antifouling), we serviced the saildrives and engines, generator, and propellers (we had fishing line on the port side and a net in the starboard--definitely recommend pulling the propellers to check them, as all sorts of things get sucked up into them), added a speed log, new thru-hull for our water-maker (ours temporarily shared one with the a/c unit), fiberglass/gelcoat repairs, marked our anchor chain, entire boat polished, underwater lights added, seals replaced for leaky hatches, and ordered new window screens, a cover for the BBQ, replacement helm station cushions, recovered the salon cushions, and added cockpit cushions and pillows. We also ordered pieces to enclose the cockpit area on rainy days to keep the area dry. The upholstery order will take a couple of weeks, and so we will island hop while we wait.

The boat yard has been so busy hauling and re-launching boats, it's like a bee-hive here! Work is going on constantly! They are also building a wooden luxury yacht in their building and we were invited to tour it. Wow! It was incredible! This one project guarantees jobs for the yard employees for at least 3 solid years!

The weather has been rainy off and on, but we are seeing signs of spring, which means more sunny weather and great sailing! We are looking forward to being back out on the water and exploring more of this wonderful country. We have applied for and received an extension to stay in Greece until June. While we may not stay that long, it gives us plenty of time to look for good weather windows as we make our way towards Croatia.

Giving Back: Hands Across the Sea

One of the many reasons we decided to go cruising with our kids was to give them a large perspective of this world. They've grown up in this tiny hometown with the usual suburban life---which don't get me wrong, we LOVE our hometown, and our friends are very dear to us-- it's just that our kids were starting to pay too much attention to material things and take a lot of things for granted. I think we all were, in a sense. You wake up, go to work/school, come home or go to different activities...there wasn't a whole lot of opportunities for enjoying quiet family time, as we were pretty busy! It was time to slow down, show our kids that there is so much more to this world, and sort of shake things up a bit.

We are starting off right away with the first leg of this journey. While in the Caribbean, we have volunteered to work with Hands Across the Sea, a literacy promotion program. The goal: get new books in the hands of kids and promote the love of reading. Our family will be helping to build libraries, deliver books, read with children, as well as a provide little teaching, as needed.

It is such a great program and one that is close to my heart. I absolutely LOVE reading, in fact, our entire family would be considered bookworms. Back home, the bookshelves were overflowing (and don't even ask about my classroom library)! In order to make room for new books, we would place others in the small little neighborhood libraries around town. It was a nice way to  give books a new home in our own community. Sometimes, movies would show up in those little libraries and we'd enjoy a free movie night. It would go right back into the library the following day along with a couple of our contributions. What a great concept as it certainly promoted the reuse and recycling of books!

This little free library is right
around the corner from our home.

We are all about giving back while on this journey and this opportunity will enable us and our children to do just that, while experiencing and working with different cultures along the way.

Here is their website, for more information (or if you would also like to get involved): http://www.handsacrossthesea.net

The Pechan Adventure Academy

The books and other curricular items are packed and ready to be shipped to the boat, but there was one last thing I had to do before we leave.

For California, if you wish to homeschool your children, you must file a Private School Affidavit with the CDE (CA dept of education). This exempts the kids from the attendance laws for the state and will allow us to operate as our own educational institution. So, with the final submission of the forms (easy and all online), the Pechan Adventure Academy was born.  Yes, our school consists of only three students, but at least we are all legit as far as the state and school district are concerned.

The usual filing date is October 1st each year, however, since we will miss August and September, I submitted the form this month to have us covered. Then, when October rolls around, I will re-submit the form to cover us for the remainder of the school year. All of the details are provided in the link above, or feel free to send us an email for more info.

Being as I am a teacher for the district, I had an easier time determining what we would use for curriculum. I chose to follow the same state standards and will use the same programs (with some supplementing, of course) so that when the kids re-enter in the future, they will be familiar with what their peers are using. Here is what the kids will be using:

Math: MY Math for grades 3 and 5, and Big Ideas for 6th grade.

(2018-2019 school year: grades 4 MY Math and Singapore Math. Grades 6 & 7 Big Ideas Math, Singapore Math.

Science: we will follow the NGSS standards (no textbooks for the NGSS yet), have a lot of hands-on science activities, as well as STEAM integration. We will also be participating in a few citizen science projects.

Language Arts: Benchmark for grades 3 and 5, and Study Sync for 6th grade.
(2018-2019 school year: Benchmark for grade 4 combined with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for grades 4/5, and 6. Grade 7 is using an integration of online curriculum such as Big History Project and Study Sync.

Social Studies: Scott Foresman for grades 3 and 5, and Study Sync for 6th grade.
*In our district, 6th grade has a CORE class consisting of ELA and History. Study Sync incorporates both.
(2018-2019 school year: Scott Foresman grade 4, Ancient Civilizations supplemental curriculum for grades 6 & 7, as well as Study Sync.

Foreign Language: Duolingo (a great app and lots of fun) as well as interacting with people we meet on a daily basis.

I have quite the collection of supplemental materials in my classroom library. I plan to bring these along to use when appropriate (and will write about them in separate posts).

S.T.E.A.M. for education

                                     Ozobot station at Family S.T.E.A.M. Night, 1-19-2017 

S.T.E.A.M. = science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics

As S.T.E.A.M. coordinator for our district, I am often asked by parents what sort of things they should get for their kids. Here is a short list of items we have bought for our own kids, what I have in my classroom and school science inventory, and will also bring on the boat. While my own kids will be using these in addition to their regular school curriculum, I will also incorporate them into S.T.E.A.M. education abroad (as guest teacher & related programs in other countries):

1.Ozobots are great little robots that you code using color and various color patterns. These are so popular in my classroom and our after school classes. We recently had a family S.T.E.A.M. night and the Ozobot station was packed! The best part about the Ozobots, is that they can be used with both paper and markers or an ipad as well. Coding in these different formats is a great introduction to the world of coding!

2.Osmo Wonder Kit is used with an ipad and has a lot of different apps! Included in this kit are: the Osmo base and reflector tool, Tangrams, Numbers, Words, and Coding. This kit (we have 3 at school) was another packed station at our Family S.T.E.A.M. night and is a popular center in my classroom. I bought a kit for my own kids to take on board, as it provides lots of educational benefits such as math games, spelling, reading, and coding. There are a few apps that don't require a game kit, which provides lot of interactive fun as well. Masterpiece is a cool drawing app and Newton is an engineering/design app.

3.Sphero SPRK+ STEAM Educational Robot is a water-proof spherical robot that allows for a variety of coding and programming opportunities. This was a birthday gift for Matthew last year and we also made a station for it at Family S.T.E.A.M. night. Again, it was a HUGE hit. I love that it is made from a polycarbonate shell (kid-proof) and can go underwater! How cool is that?!

4.3Doodler 3D Printing Pen: Since I cant' bring my desktop 3D Printer on board, I am taking one of these along. The kids can make 3D drawings come to life and enjoy some creative drawing time outside of the usual art materials. There are two versions of the 3Doodler: one for younger kids and one for older kids/adults. The younger child version doesn't clog up as bad as the pen for older kids. Trust me, I have 24 of the original 3Doodler and their latest Create version.
*I wrote a unit on 3D Printing for the classroom. It has lesson plans, step-by-step instructions for creating a variety of projects, vocabulary task cards, and more.

5.Apple iPad Mini and protective case are great for some tech time and educational apps. Each of our kids will have their own to use during boat school time or while on a long passage. We will store them in a safe, so the kids don't have access 24/7. There are many other things they can do with their time, like fishing and just enjoying the outdoors! =)

6. Chibitronics  is a cool way to teach circuits using adhesive copper tape, LED light stickers, and a coin cell battery. Their starter kit comes stocked with a book, supplies, and there are also tutorial videos online. I use this in my classroom each year to teach the basic of circuits. We also create light-up water-color art. I'll create a separate post on this lesson soon (my students are in the middle of it right now).

7. CircuitScribe  another cool way to teach about circuits using DRAWING! The kit comes with a book with lessons, special silver conductive ink pen, battery, and all the accessories. This is also incorporated into my circuits unit in my classroom.

8. View-Master Virtual Reality Glasses allow for field trips to anywhere in the world from your seat! I recently wrote and received a grant for 40 of these AWESOME VR glasses for my school. So far, my class has walked on the moon, explored a space shuttle, traveled through Venice, Italy, and rode roller coasters! We are going to visit colonial plantations next week and then the kids will tie in other social studies and current events locations to create a list of places we should visit virtually.

That's the short list for now. More educational posts to come! =)
If you have any questions or want my lesson plans for the 3D printing, circuits unit, robotics, or other S.T.E.A.M. activities, just let me know.

In no way am I affiliated with any of these companies. These opinions are my own from a classroom teacher and parent point of view. =)

School Supplies for Schools in Need

Part of our mission while cruising is to get school supplies to the schools and students that need them. The school I currently teach at is pretty set when it comes to supplies. We have a generous PTA that helps teachers with classroom needs and our site has an awesome supply closet.

This is NOT the case at every school. I know this, because I have taught at a few schools throughout my career. There were years we didn't have any school-bought supplies, so everything came out of pocket. Hubby was not thrilled about that, but what's a teacher to do? I changed districts after a few years (we moved), and began learning that not all schools are created equal.

When Jared and I were discussing our goals while sailing, one priority is to give back where and when we are able to. Some locations happen to be high tourist traffic areas and get a lot of donations. Our goal will be to help out the less fortunate schools, perhaps those off the beaten path.

This weekend while running errands, I noticed a huge sale on school supplies. The teacher in me made a huge beeline over to that aisle and stocked up on some great stuff, all at 70% off! I may or may not have also cruised the summer clearance aisle and bought a wading pool for some S.T.E.M. activities...

The supplies I purchased today are going in my class store (and some in the boat pile), which I started back at a school that had a high homeless population. The class store is held monthly and allows students to buy school supplies with their class dollars (their income comes from class jobs, attendance, and their own class businesses). I use the classroom economy to teach my students how to keep a balanced checkbook, plan for expenditures, save up for items, and in general, be responsible with their money. They also learn how to be entrepreneurs. It's a lot of fun and the kids really get into it! Bake sales, thrift shops, duck-tape wallets, origami, crafts, auctions, desk cleaning services...the list goes on. Even the parents like to get involved. Having fun while learning--what I like to do best!

~Stef