We are from Brisbane but our 3 kids were all born in Israel. Last time we were on furlough our children were 9, 6 and 12 months. I had good intentions of continuing on with our history readings, geography, copy work, and read alouds, but we travelled around alot and our baby didn’t adjust to new time zones very well, so we didn’t do as much “school” as I thought we might.
If you are driving alot I would recommend getting audio cds to play along the way. We did this and covered a reasonable amount of history and some fun stories that I would not have had time to read otherwise. I had the two older children keep a journal again but this time they wrote in it instead of me. I used this for copy work and then they would “narrate” to grandparents (and anyone else who would listen!) about the places and people they had seen.
I also used my iPod touch with some educational apps, so the kids could practice math facts, play phonics/spelling games, read and listen to stories, as well as some fun games to distract them while we were in meetings or places where they needed to be quiet for extended periods.
Considering the ages of your children, I wouldn’t worry too much about anything “formal”. If you are able to read American stories and use the places you visit as a springboard to learning something new about American culture, history or geography then I think your children will have learned plenty…. more than the average 5 year old 🙂 You might also consider tracing your travels on a fold out road map. We found this helpful for the children to comprehend large distances. Israel is so tiny compared to Australia, so the thought of driving for 2 or 3 days and still being in the same country was something very new to them.
Hope you find some of my ramblings helpful 🙂
Blessings, Michelle