Introduction

Hi I'm Sheelagh, mother of four lively girls aged from 5 to 11.
In November of 2013, following multiple relocations and the associated school changes, I made the decision to remove my girls from the school they were in so that we could become homeschoolers. This was greeted with relief from my girls, with full cooperation from my husband, with best wishes from some family and friends, and with a certain amount of scepticism from other family and friends.
I spent the first month following the school curriculum to the letter, but this eased off as we got used to our freedom, and it was a great relief when the letter from the authorities confirming our registration arrived.
The books say that it takes a child one month for each year of school to de-school (de-schooling entails getting un-used to school), and many of the homeschoolers confirm that. It takes a parent a lot longer to de-school and the process is a tough one, requiring a lot of self confidence, trust in your children, and a certain amount of laissez-faire. I attended a home/unschooling conference in Galway which gave me the information and confirmation I had been looking for - when anyone asks me what we do all day, I say nothing, but the children are still learning all the time. We have not opened a textbook since that conference, yet the children do not seem in any way deprived, indeed they ask me themselves on occasion if they can do maths today.
The most inspirational talk at this conference was given by a Swedish lady who has spent many years travelling with her homeschooled children who are now grown up. Her talk awoke a spark in me, and it is my wish to spend as much time as possible travelling with my girls, for I believe that this is a wonderful way to learn.
I have set up this blog to recount our travel tales and to post our photos, both for memory's sake and so that I do not clog up everyone's facebook newsfeed with photos. In this way, those who are interested can follow our journey.
Our journey will begin next week with a trip through the UK to The Netherlands where we will spend some time in our house before travelling to and through Germany, stopping with my husband in the city where he works and heading to
Berlin to visit friends and relations, followed by a break beside the Baltic Sea and then returning to The Netherlands and then back to Ireland. I also plan to do a lot of day trips within The Netherlands and along the border in to Germany, and who knows we might even make it to Sweden for the homeschool meetup there! We have no timeline; when we get tired of travelling, we will return home.
I excuse myself in advance for any ramblings, I like to write and I love to tell anecdotes, and this is a memory journal.
So please join us as we prepare to set forth...