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Travel Schooling

Our family has been very fortunate to join my husband on a few work trips. I have turned the trips into fun homeschool field trips! You do not have to be a homeschooling family to turn off the dvd player and enjoy your trip exploring together!

Here are my tips for including school while you travel!

• Map it out - print out black and white kid friendly maps. Great for car rides, airport layovers, etc. Let children color them. They can follow the route and mark the map wherever you stop. They feel apart of the grand adventure (my son loves pirate maps)! Older kids can label the map’s states, cities, rivers, etc.
• Google surrounding towns -our last trip to TN we were surprised to find a pioneer cabin being fully restored just outside our family’s neighborhood.
• Make a list – if you’re traveling to another state keep a list of indigenous animals, flowers, trees, etc. This is great “research” to do together before! Check out some books from the library on the area to have on hand.
• Bring blank paper and zip lock bags – let your children sketch whenever they see something native to the area. Or take leaves, rocks, shells, etc. home – cheap souvenirs.
• Go local! Enjoy local cuisine, architecture, farmer’s markets, and other festivities. If you don’t know off hand, Google “things to do in …”. Take part in as much as you can while you are visiting. This will encourage your children to bravely try new things. Last July we picked cherries in upstate NY.
• Plan to make some unexpected stops. This goes against the “make good time” theory, but a free park, nature/animal reserve, hiking trail, etc. are great learning opportunities and break up a long trip. We have seen old trains, airplanes, tanks, bird sanctuaries, waterfalls, and some Great Lakes.
• Hit the museums – if you’re traveling to a big city find out which traveling exhibits are in town! Plan a day to enjoy them. (don’t forget to check reciprocal discounts from your local museum)
• Change your perspective. You set the tone! If you look at your dreaded family reunion as an ordeal – no one will learn anything but how to have a bad time. Remind yourself to point out how different God made each place and how blessed you are to enjoy what you have back home.
• Take pictures and make notes. You will go home with more things to research and learn about. We unexpectedly met a white wolf in NC which lead to a mini unit study on wolves.

Do not let these wonderful years pass by without some adventure! It is my desire for our children to feel safe to enjoy exploring and experience all the wonders on this earth God created.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory” Isaiah 6:3

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