Tips for Traveling with Homeschoolers: The World Is Your Classroom

One of the many benefits of homeschooling is that you are not tied to a physical location during traditional school months. Many homeschool families, especially those using online curriculum, have been able to make travel a core part of their child’s education.

Learning from travel sounds ideal to many families, but what does that practically look like? If you are hoping to incorporate travel into your child’s learning, or if you already have your next trip planned, here are a few ideas for turning a family trip into an educational experience your child will never forget.

Give your trip a theme.
Traveling can be overwhelming for little ones and adults alike. Rather than trying to overload your child with historical facts from your destination or shock them with all the elements of a new culture, choose one theme to focus on for the whole trip and weave in several subjects to fit the theme.

For example, if you’re traveling somewhere tropical, choose a theme like “The Power of Heat.” This can be useful for planning what curriculum you want to bring along on the trip, but it can also be a great distraction when things get frustrating.

“Mom, I’m too hot!” becomes a conversation starter for “Why is it hotter here than at home? Where in the world is it the hottest and why?” Geography lesson for the day: complete!

A theme will also help your child associate all the new things he or she is learning about culture, science, history, or art. Creating an association between all the new facts will help your child retain the information long after you arrive back home.

Set aside downtime.
The temptation while traveling is to fill every minute with all the new location has to offer. However, no one will enjoy themselves if the youngest one is cranky, big brother is giving attitude from being exhausted, and you’re at the end of your rope. Whether downtime means everybody taking a nap on the beach or leaving for the day after a lazy morning in, you and your kids will be glad for the mandated downtime.

Remember, they’re also learning by watching you.
It’s fun to plan destination-themed lessons and dream about the magic of your child quietly being enthralled by an oceanic ecosystem while you relax on the beach. The truth is, though, travel can be stressful. While traveling, many things can go wrong, and there is no way to completely avoid it.

The best thing you can do is remember that your child is learning from the way you respond to the curveballs that come your way. There will never be a more valuable lesson than the one your child learns from watching you be a patient, kind human who is flexible and positive in the face of challenges.