What is Roadschooling
What the heck is “Roadschooling”? well, it is exactly what one might assume. Essentially it is homeschooling while traveling the country, almost always in an RV of some sort.
However, much like homeschooling, roadschooling can look different to each family. What one family is doing, doesn’t necessarily look like what we do, or what even the person next to me. For many roadschooling is done while traveling full time as a family. But, for someone like myself, who does not have a partner who wants to hit the road full time, I still consider myself a roadschool/world schooler in many ways. Regardless on how you get out there, a common thread is that you are a person who chooses to education their child at home.
When do you do *actual* Schoolwork?
Do we do “REAL” schooling when we are so busy having travel adventures. Two things to keep in mind,
1. In our day to day life we consider ourselves “Almost Unschoolers” so, yes, we do have a few different subjects I insist on covering as often as possible – but I do not make sitting in front of textbooks for hours on end or having a strict, set schedule part of our daily lives.
2. I consider us world/road schoolers regardless of where we lay our head each night. I try to plan day “adventures”, create weekend getaways that have some sort of educational aspect mixed in, and now that we have our van take longer, 1-5+ weeks trips where we are truly on the road AND roadschooling IS a BIG part of how we learn. Every trip to a museum or zoo, every hike through the woods, and even a trip to a local theme park is part of your schooling. And, no matter what or where we are we embrace learning wherever we go, and have found that fantastic learning experiences come our way every single day.
Do you bring schoolwork with you when you travel?
Yes. Where do we put it…? With our van being only 18 ft long and needing to pack a lot of punch I’ve been slowly whittling down our curriculum so that much of it will be able to be done online while we travel. We have a spot in our van called the “pizza oven” ( overhead storage above the driving cabin) in there is a basket which will store all our learning supplies. My children NEED repetition in reading, writing/spelling, and math due to some learning challenges so we incorporate it daily. BUT, this does not mean it always needs to look the same everyday. If you’re curious to know exactly which curriculums (online and book work) we are currently using both at home and while on the road feel free to check out that info HERE.
Are there are laws against your style of home learning?
I’ve gotten this question in many different forms over the last 2 years. The best, most concise way to answer it is, no. Our home state is currently New Jersey which is very relaxed in its homeschooling laws. However, if you are interested in learning more about what your state’s homeschool requirements are you can find out that information on the HSLDA website. This is the official site for homeschooling laws by state and it offers a WEALTH of important knowledge. Please note, that when you are traveling full time – you are still required to claim a state as your “home state” and must follow the rules for that state’s laws. In addition, just because you travel full-time you still need to pay state and federal taxes.
Why do you choose to roadschool?
I always knew I wanted to homeschool. But, a few years back a lightbulb really went off in my head when one of the grandmas took us to this AMAZING animal sanctuary in Florida. Their attention was held the ENTIRE 2+ hours we were there. I realized then, HOW MUCH MORE my children absorbed, enjoyed, focused, and were inspired by that experience. From there, I just made it a priority. Now, most times when we travel or “adventure” I plan out at least 1 day of activities that are learning-based. It might be a museum, junior ranger club activity, walking tour, live show, scavenger hunt, kayak tour, bus tour, or staying somewhere that we are immersed in a culture we know nothing about. Giving our children perspective and an opportunity to learn about people and places first-hand. I choose this route as a way to connect with my girls and to the world around us. I have noticed that when we are traveling I feel I am able to be more present giving my children my full attention unlike the distractions of home life. But, most importantly, I choose roadschooling in order to help my girls to see the beauty in everything our world has to offer and see that first hand.
