Integrating Homeschooling into Your Travels

Whether you're a seasoned homeschooler or just dipping your toes into the world of home education, finding ways to teach your kids while traveling can be an intimidating prospect. After all, traveling can be stressful in and of itself, and adding a heaping helping of teaching your kids to your plate may seem like something only a crazy person would do.

The good news? Homeschooling on the road (aka “roadschooling”) doesn't have to be stressful. In fact, once you get the hang of the process it's actually quite fun. This is especially true if you make an effort to weave your child's lessons into your travel experiences, making the entire trip like one giant hands-on project that just happens to be an absolute blast.

Wondering how you can do this? Try the tips below.

Make Budgeting a Learning Experience

In the real world, dealing with money is the number one way most people put their math skills to use. Why not use money to teach those same skills? Allowing the kids to help budget a trip gives them extra math practice while also allowing them to see how their number knowledge will be used in the real world.

Additionally, having them join in the money management helps them better understand the value of the dollar. This instills a new appreciation for the experiences they are able to have.

Finally, having your children help with the budgeting will give them opportunities to take ownership of the trip. This is something that will help make the whole experience more personal and meaningful to them.

Related Read: Full-Time RVers Guide to Schooling

Hand the Kids the Map

Planning routes and navigating are two important jobs that must be done during any road trip. They are also two skills that most definitely should be learned before adulthood. By handing the map over to your child and allowing them to decide which routes to take, you can teach them how to properly use a map while also getting in some geography lessons.

Another option is to have your children help figure out the public transportation systems. This also requires map reading as well as time management, and navigating these systems is a skill they'll use for years to come.

Seek Out Educational Attractions

There are thousands of educational attractions in this amazing country. From incredible historic sights and beautiful national parks to hands-on museums and super cool zoos, there is no shortage of awesome things to see and learn about.

During your travels, seek out these attractions. Find the sights that are both entertaining and educational, and make time to see them. Doing this will likely inspire some incredible discussions, and could even open the door to a new passion or research project.

Not sure how you'll afford these things? No worries! A reciprocal membership or two—museum, zoo, or otherwise—will help make these attractions super affordable or even free, meaning you can play and learn as much as you like.

Related Read: Money Saving Tips for RVers

Have Family Discussions

After you visit a super cool museum or park, your kids are probably going to have thoughts on it. Give them an opportunity to share their thoughts and answer their questions by making a point of having a discussion about the attraction immediately after leaving. Having the conversation right after your visit will ensure the experience remains fresh in everyone’s heads.

Discussions like these might not seem like much to you, but once you make them a habit, you'll begin to see just how beneficial they really are.

Talk to Others

Besides talking amongst yourselves, you'll also want to make sure to talk to others. People are cool! They all have interesting stories to tell, skills to show, and life experiences to share.

Talking to locals is the very best way to learn about the culture of a certain area, and it can also lead to finding the best local eateries and attractions.

Additionally, the folks working at any given attraction are almost always passionate about what they do. Asking a National Park ranger or a museum staff member a question can lead to an amazing lesson you never would have had otherwise.

Build Unit Studies

Many roadschoolers are tempted to use a boxed curriculum, and while I see the appeal, I also believe it takes away from the experience. After all, there are lots of things to be learned through travel, and choosing to separate your schooling from your experiences means you aren't fully embracing those opportunities.

Instead of following a pre-set curriculum and attempting to squeeze it in around your adventures, make your adventures your schooling by building entire unit studies around them. Read books that relate to an attraction you will be seeing, watch movies on the same topic, and finish the whole thing off with an essay, art piece, or other project that reflects what the student learned from the experience.

This is all much more meaningful than anything a textbook can offer, and it teaches students to love learning and seek out knowledge whenever possible—two things that aren't taught often enough.

Keep a Blog

Many traveling adults keep blogs. Some do this purely to keep friends and family updated, while others write with a larger audience in mind. That said, very few children blog about their travel experiences.

This is too bad, because a child's blog would be the ideal way to keep in touch with grandparents and best friends back home. Blogging is also excellent writing practice, a great way to learn about building and maintaining websites, and a fun look at the crazy ways web traffic can work. All of these things make blogging a great addition to any roadschool curriculum. Why not give it a try?

As you can see, homeschooling while traveling can be a truly amazing experience that includes the entire family. Why not use these tips to create a roadschooling adventure of your own?