The location of a homeschool is home, plain and simple. You live, eat, and educate right there in your comfy three bedroom two bath ranch with the same view every day. As a roadschooling family we also live, eat and educate in our home; only our home is on wheels. Wheels indicate mobility. Mobility indicates a change in scenery. And having children (and parents who love to travel) means that there in an undeniable force drawing us to explore each and every new place we see.
We have been on the road here in the US for about fourteen months and I have to admit, making sure we complete our work day before we go play is the number one biggest obstacle I face in my daily routine. We must hit the books before we hit the streets. I know that some people are of a different school of thought. They say that the traveling lifestyle that we live offers a wealth of education to our children. And I wholeheartedly agree…to an extent. I know that traveling alone offers our children real world experience. They have learned to navigate roads with maps, find the cheapest gas, check in and out of hotels and airports, as wells as the workings of a camper and some maintenance challenges that they help Daddy with. They also are learning how to be safe while at the same time putting on a friendly face, making campfires to share with new friends , and experiencing first hand some of the magical wonders of our great country. I KNOW it’s a great education. However, they also need to be versed in grammar, how to write a proper five paragraph essay, the sequence of history, science, and math. I am coming to realize why I personally think that this well-rounded education is necessary. I could easily scale back our book work and let our life and experiences educate them and I think they would turn out just fine. They would have practical and real life experiences coupled with an education that would help them create and live productive lives. However, if I chose to do that, if I chose to make our roadschool more like a vo-tech school, I would be placing limits on their ability to be prepared to achieve any goal they set their minds to – preparation is key. If I give them a solid foundation of education with the intention of them possibly flying to the moon, then they have it. Whether they use it or not is completely up to them. My desire and hope for our roadschooled children is that they not only have an amazing and enjoyable childhood to look back on, but to also fill their arsenal of knowledge to the brim so that they have a full understanding of that old saying about how the world is your oyster. And that their understanding of it empowers them.
It’s all about the mindset. I want them to have the mindset that they can go anywhere and do anything. And I want their education to prepare them so that they have the absolute best chance of success. When I was younger, my thoughts on travel didn’t expand much past the borders of our neighboring states much less our great nation. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But as limited as my views of travel were, so were my views of my own ability. As we prepare to head to Europe in a year or so, I have come to realize that my children will be more open and prepared to travel anywhere they want as an adult. And if my desires for our roadschooling see fruition, they will dare to dream big and they will be full of the self-confidence they need to head down the path of limitless opportunity.
You can read more about roadschooling here.
You can read Mary’s blog at http://travellingawesomes.com/.
Fun–and fun learning is forever learning!
Ann Simpson
Additional Roadschooling Resources:
On the Road Again: Roadschooling and Your Holiday Plan
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