Interesting '' Vanlife ''

I personally wouldn't want to entertain the idea of full-time van living with a 4 year old. It would be a huge responsibility, increasingly so as the child grew older, and if they're spending the required hours teaching it's hardly the carefree, no worries existence some would dream about. They've got their stuff in storage so it appears they haven't completely gone native. Would be interested to see how their story pans out.
 
We adopt “leave only footprints“ far more chance of us picking up plastics on a beach bagging it and taking it to a refuge bin.
When we’re doing a long drive we often stop for a brew and snack halfway we make a point of litter picking (not ours) before we set off again.
 
AJM2 said:
I personally wouldn't want to entertain the idea of full-time van living with a 4 year old. It would be a huge responsibility, increasingly so as the child grew older, and if they're spending the required hours teaching it's hardly the carefree, no worries existence some would dream about. They've got their stuff in storage so it appears they haven't completely gone native. Would be interested to see how their story pans out.
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We set off with kids 4 and 6 and did 10 years travelling.
There is no such thing as ' required hours' teaching and we very much so did No such thing and it was definitely a carefree no worries existence some would dream about. ( Well most of the time ).
After five years we literally sold everything and went ' native' as you put it.

One eventually went to a Russell group Uni, the other got full funding to a top US one.

We did have a toilet though.

Although both now in their mid twenties with good secure jobs the both suffer horribly from 'itchy feet'
 
billym said:
We set off with kids 4 and 6 and did 10 years travelling.
There is no such thing as ' required hours' teaching and we very much so did No such thing and it was definitely a carefree no worries existence some would dream about. ( Well most of the time ).
After five years we literally sold everything and went ' native' as you put it.

One eventually went to a Russell group Uni, the other got full funding to a top US one.

We did have a toilet though.

Although both now in their mid twenties with good secure jobs the both suffer horribly from 'itchy feet'
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Well done (seriously), but I do doubt that the majority of children brought up in those circumstances will achieve a well rounded education that sets them up for later life. I’m aware there’s no ‘required teaching’ I just know I would be concerned, if I just travelled the country, that they were not getting a rounded education rather than the one I was interested in.
 
AJM2 said:
Well done (seriously), but I do doubt that the majority of children brought up in those circumstances will achieve a well rounded education that sets them up for later life. I’m aware there’s no ‘required teaching’ I just know I would be concerned, if I just travelled the country, that they were not getting a rounded education rather than the one I was interested in.
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Thanks.

I have to say though that it was an AWFUL lot more than just travelling the country.

It's certainly not for everyone but I just wanted to show it is possible.

Long term home education should not be about what the parent is interested in, much more importantly, what the children are inclined to.

I would love to go back and revisit some of the nay sayers who saw our kids playing all day on the beach or the river and not learning anything ( in their eyes) and wasting away their informative years.

Each to their own.

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AJM2 said:
Well done (seriously), but I do doubt that the majority of children brought up in those circumstances will achieve a well rounded education that sets them up for later life. I’m aware there’s no ‘required teaching’ I just know I would be concerned, if I just travelled the country, that they were not getting a rounded education rather than the one I was interested in.
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There was a Funster family I remember well, thehutchies , who travelled in an RV and home schooled their children. I haven’t seen them on Fun for years now but they were the loveliest, most polite and interesting children I have ever met.
 
maz said:
There was a Funster family I remember well, thehutchies , who travelled in an RV and home schooled their children. I haven’t seen them on Fun for years now but they were the loveliest, most polite and interesting children I have ever met.
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Lots of concerns being expressed by the various children’s organisations about the negative impact of schools being closed on a child’s development. I have no doubt some travelling parents are able to provide a well rounded education and bring up balanced children. I just wonder what %. Obviously just my own thoughts, I just know I’d be concerned at what I wasn’t providing and be wondering about the day they would almost inevitably need to get back to the mainstream.
 
Back in 1981 we started travelling around Europe in a 1975 Commer Walkthrough which we had converted ourselves, two children aged 4 and 5. It was originally supposed to be a six month trip before we headed off to live in America. Long story short, America did not happen, so we continued travelling in Europe. After three years in the Commer we changed it for a 1963 Bedford Duple Coach, which had been crudely converted. Over the next few years we re-converted the coach whilst on our travels in Europe, most of the time spent in Portugal.

We taught our children, on a fairly strict regime, no intention of doing otherwise, from 9 to 12 every morning weekdays, the travelling was our idea not the children’s so it was only right we gave them an education. We did this for seven years until the children started asking questions we were unable to answer, no computers in those days, we decided to go back to uk and get the kids enrolled in school so they could finish their education there. We were very worried that they might be behind other children of their age. Far from it, they were far advanced. They have both turned out to be so different, one is carefree and enjoys life on a day to day basis, the other is caught up in the trap of modern day society. We and they have no regrets in that part of our life.

We have always wild camped and about five years ago when wild camping in the Algarve became an unaccepted activity and could lead to fines, we spent a winter on a campsite. It taught us that it was not the way we wanted to camp, so we took it upon ourselves to find a small parcel of land to buy to park on over the winter on our regular winter months spent in Portugal. We spent more and more time on the land that we are now here permanently and love it to bits. Travelling further afield is not such a priority to us now, however we still have a motorhome so that we can explore more of Portugal and north Spain if and when we want, obviously when the situation allows.

We are yet to see that all the paper and excrement waste has been left by campers/vans. Please post pictures of such deeds, then we will accept it is all done by them. Have any of you seen evidence in pictures, if so please post them. We know car owners are culprits too, have witnessed this ourselves on many occasions. Not saying that no campers do but evidence please of them actually in the act, ie emptying cassettes as well. We all know there is a considerable network within Europe whereby you can dump your waste without dumping it inconsiderably, let’s hope this total ban on wild camping in Portugal keeps within Portugal and that everybody learns from it.
 
Sundowners said:
Back in 1981 we started travelling around Europe in a 1975 Commer Walkthrough which we had converted ourselves, two children aged 4 and 5. It was originally supposed to be a six month trip before we headed off to live in America. Long story short, America did not happen, so we continued travelling in Europe. After three years in the Commer we changed it for a 1963 Bedford Duple Coach, which had been crudely converted. Over the next few years we re-converted the coach whilst on our travels in Europe, most of the time spent in Portugal.

We taught our children, on a fairly strict regime, no intention of doing otherwise, from 9 to 12 every morning weekdays, the travelling was our idea not the children’s so it was only right we gave them an education. We did this for seven years until the children started asking questions we were unable to answer, no computers in those days, we decided to go back to uk and get the kids enrolled in school so they could finish their education there. We were very worried that they might be behind other children of their age. Far from it, they were far advanced. They have both turned out to be so different, one is carefree and enjoys life on a day to day basis, the other is caught up in the trap of modern day society. We and they have no regrets in that part of our life.

We have always wild camped and about five years ago when wild camping in the Algarve became an unaccepted activity and could lead to fines, we spent a winter on a campsite. It taught us that it was not the way we wanted to camp, so we took it upon ourselves to find a small parcel of land to buy to park on over the winter on our regular winter months spent in Portugal. We spent more and more time on the land that we are now here permanently and love it to bits. Travelling further afield is not such a priority to us now, however we still have a motorhome so that we can explore more of Portugal and north Spain if and when we want, obviously when the situation allows.

We are yet to see that all the paper and excrement waste has been left by campers/vans. Please post pictures of such deeds, then we will accept it is all done by them. Have any of you seen evidence in pictures, if so please post them. We know car owners are culprits too, have witnessed this ourselves on many occasions. Not saying that no campers do but evidence please of them actually in the act, ie emptying cassettes as well. We all know there is a considerable network within Europe whereby you can dump your waste without dumping it inconsiderably, let’s hope this total ban on wild camping in Portugal keeps within Portugal and that everybody learns from it.
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Although I love this post and, I think we may have met?? I can assure you that dumping of toilets does exist. The next time I see the evidence, sufficiently photographable, I'll take a photo to show you.

Quite often it's dumped in bushes, and the festoons of paper and the leaves don't show the organics 😂

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maz said:
There was a Funster family I remember well, thehutchies , who travelled in an RV and home schooled their children. I haven’t seen them on Fun for years now but they were the loveliest, most polite and interesting children I have ever met.
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They were.

I was thinking of them this week as they had a pet tortoise and there was a mention of someone having one on here.

They bought a house in Scotland. Andrew and Lucy were deeply committed home educators and were far more eloquent than I could be.

I think this post from 2017 just sums up perfectly what home education can be.

Post in thread 'Home Schooling?' Broken Link Removed
 
billym said:
They were.

I was thinking of them this week as they had a pet tortoise and there was a mention of someone having one on here.

They bought a house in Scotland. Andrew and Lucy were deeply committed home educators and were far more eloquent than I could be.

I think this post from 2017 just sums up perfectly what home education can be.

Post in thread 'Home Schooling?' Broken Link Removed
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Looks interesting.
Shame I'm not allowed to read it.
 
Chris said:
I was on a site in Tours a few years back that had full facilities.

A French bloke gets out of his van one morning and just did a piss at the side of his pitch and then went back inside his van.

Disgusting.
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I saw one pissing in a flower bed outside the free public toilets in the main square of a French town some years back. The toilets were open and fully functional, I'd just used them. Also in laybys while facing the traffic, I think it must be a cultural thing.
 
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Reallyretired said:
I saw one pissing in a flower bed outside the free public toilets in the main square of a French town some years back. The toilets were open and fully functional, I'd just used them. Also in laybys while facing the traffic, I think it must be a cultural thing.
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We've seen the same, mostly done by the French, either in their home country or abroad. It's disgusting.
 
Brains said:
No, just called out a trolling Nationalist.
Who should have had a slap on the wrist.
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Was this him ?
hitl.jpg
:)
 
Minxy Girl said:
We've seen the same, mostly done by the French, either in their home country or abroad. It's disgusting.
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My best one was in Germany where the mh was pissed on from a motorway bridge. Still may have been French I suppose. Many years and motorhomes ago.

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Back to the thread, personally I think living the nomadic van life with children would be a lot of hard work, and whilst you may have a child that goes to University at the end of it, I suspect it's more likely they will not.

|Within my family on one side we have 5 children who have a conventional upbringing, 3 have gone to uni, 2 will go.
On the other side we have 3 children who lead a nomadic lifestyle, one went to uni, two did not and none have yet had a anything more than part time jobs.
 
Some of the school/college "tuition" these days is considered troubling by quite a few now ! So I am told :)
 
Schools teach children to be law abiding hamsters to be future slaves of society 😁

Ive met loads of fulltimers who have home schooled their kids and most og the kids have been the most interesting, content , clever , well mannered ones ive met.
 

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