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Let me introduce you to a truly inspiring and creative homeschool mom! My friend Tiffany is a wealth of homeschooling encouragement, always willing to offer help and celebrate the process of learning. As a military family, Tiffany along with her husband and three little learners, have loads of experience with homeschool while traveling. They recently moved from San Diego to Japan, and in between had an extended road trip to see friends and family before they moved. The homeschooling never stopped, simply changed in method, and I’m excited for Tiffany to share her tips for learning on the go with you today! -Kristen
Homeschool While Traveling | Tips For Learning On The Go
One of the wonderful things about homeschooling is being able to travel outside of that restrictive public school schedule without even so much as a note to the teacher! Families enjoy having the flexibility to pack up for a last minute beach trip or head out on a big vacation in the middle of January. Whether your family enjoys hiking the national parks or hitting up the big amusement parks, there is learning to be found around every corner. Over the years, we have developed our approach to family adventures that incorporates learning into every aspect of the journey – including strategies for learning during the planning phase, travel, time at the destination, and after returning home. After all, life-long learning is a family pursuit!
Planning Out Your Trip
It truly does not matter where you are headed, there will be plenty of opportunities to learn there. After deciding on a destination, there are three aspects I like to hash out during the planning phase. First planning out stops along the way, deciding what lessons to include, and selecting resources to have on hand.
There are so many hidden gems around any given bend in the road!
Tiffany and her sweet kiddos taking advantage of homeschool while traveling at Yellowstone National Park.
Research your travel route and try to find a few fun stops along the way. This may be “The World’s Largest {fill in the blank}” or detouring to see Laura Ingalls Wilder’s cabin! Decide how long you’re able to stop. Can you take your time, or does this needs to be a quick nature hike to stretch your legs and find something unique to the region?
You’ll need to decide if you’re bringing any of your formal lessons or if you’re fully in “travel schooling” mode during your trip. If you’re packing lessons, you’ll also need to decide when you want those accomplished. We usually bring our history lessons with us and I’ll read in the car or in our hotel. Other than that, we try to fully embrace what we’ll learn along the road.
Once you have figured out where you’re going, where you’ll stop along the way, and what lessons you want to learn, it’s time to gather resources. I like to have a 3 ring binder for each child that follows our route. It includes information about where we are, where we are headed, and printable activities that they can do in the car along the way. I also try to bring along a few related books. Earlier this year, we did a 10 day National Park road trip, so I packed a few books about the wild life in each park to read while we were waiting to drive in the gate. It doesn’t have to be complex, but having some resources prepared ahead of time can really help structure your trip and what you want to highlight along the way.
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A fun unit study like Travel The Parks by The Waldock Way can come in handy!
Maximizing Car Time
The car doesn’t have to be a dreaded place on road trips. It also doesn’t have to be movie central. Don’t get me wrong, we watch movies in the car, especially on longer days when we are in the car for 12+ hours. That’s ok, but your trip isn’t just about the destination, it’s about the journey too. Seize the opportunity to learn your typical school lessons, review the last stop, or discuss the next adventure as a primer for what you are excited to see and learn! It can make for some great conversations!
I already mentioned that I like to have 3-ring binders for each of my kids with everything prepared ahead of time. We primarily use these in the car. They pass markers or colored pencils back and forth as needed. Take time to discuss the state you’re in. Learn about the state capital and flower, and find out what presidents or famous people call it home. Having a 50 states book on hand is very helpful for this. If you’re headed to an amusement park, ask your kids what questions they have about the theme or the rides. You may find that they are really curious about how a roller coaster works and this may lead to great conversations and planning out observations once you arrive. Truly, the possibilities for your car time are endless!
We also enjoy using this time for family worship. Don’t worry – Dad doesn’t have to preach a full sermon from the driver seat! We like finding short devotionals on a Bible app. We’re often surprised with the depth and breadth of the questions and conversations we have with our kids during this time!
Learning At Your Destination
You’ve finally made it to your destination. Relax, enjoy, and have fun! Cherish your family time and all of the hard work in planning out your trip, but look for opportunities to learn in all of it! This will look different depending on your trip, but this is where your planning will pay off.
I know that not every trip is purposefully planned for the education value – it’s ok if the main goal is to just have fun! But if you’re stuck on how to build learning into your destination, consider these topics:
- Geography
- Regional history
- Topography
- Native animals
- Native plants
- Important people related to the site
- Historical buildings. They will often have a sign stating how much it cost when it was built – did anyone say economics and inflation 101?
When you homeschool while traveling, the options abound!
Wrapping Up The Trip
Once you’ve completed your trip, be sure to take time to reflect and talk about it. Share your favorite things, and ask what your kids learned. Look at all the pictures together, and most importantly, ask if there’s anything your child would like to learn more about. This is a great opportunity to chase and nurture the spark of interest! If your child wants to learn more about how natural geysers form, head to the library to find some books, and scour YouTube Take the time to explore that interest. This makes those special moments of your trip even more memorable!
We enjoy this approach, but I know there are other ideas out there! How do you approach homeschool while traveling with your family? Any tips that work for you that I haven’t mentioned? We recently moved to Japan, so we are taking our explorations to a whole new level! I would love to hear about them so please share in the comments below!
About the Author
Tiffany Sewell is a homeschool mom of three who loves art, books, and travel. Thanks to the military, her family has travelled the world for the last twelve years. They currently live on mainland Japan and enjoy studying history from a different perspective. Tiffany believes that learning is a lifestyle and a whole family effort. You can find her over on Instagram sharing their adventures and homeschool life, and grab a few fun homeschool goodies in Tiffany’s Etsy store!
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