While you’re reading this, we are sitting in the car on a loooonnnggg car journey. I have a total phobia of flying so if we want to go to abroad for the most part we need to drive. When mentioning that we’re heading off three weeks on holiday aghast school friends wanted to know how the kids would cope without learning for all that time!

Well of course as all home edders know there is no down time to home education. Short of staring at a blank wall my kids are learning and absorbing like a sponge but heres how we do it when not at home….

The Journey…

Hands down audiobooks come into their own here! From autobiographies to classics to fun non-fiction we have hours downloaded to listen too and its keeps the whole family quiet! Of course, here also include podcasts to listen to – History for Weirdos or Evil Genius, Short History of or The Infinite Monkey Cage all include a lot of fun happenings.

We will often incorporate stops along the way – if possible, tied into the topic the boys are learning about but if this is possible then a museum, national trust, historical town or just somewhere fun that we can all google and find a fun fact about.

Occasionally as well we will arrange stop overs with friends or meet ups with family we haven’t seen in a long time. This is superb at stopping burn out if we’re flat out driving for too long.

The Destination

Our destinations tend to be for a reason. Either the love of the place and familiarity or off to discover new – normally something the boys have learnt about. Research beforehand is essential. The last thing you want is to head to an “Exciting” museum to find there’s no English translation, the place is closed or there’s a reason all the locals avoid it!

Research local home ed groups. We’re heading to Denmark and while there isn’t a huge amount of home education there the local area facebook thought home education sounded amazing and came up with a list of local places to visit and also play dates with invites.  

Ask your child what they want to discover. There is nothing worse than trapsing round ruins with bored teenagers trailing behind you. I’m fairly lucky with my two – they find ruins ridiculously entertaining but not all our friends have this.

Benefits

The benefits of home education while travelling are huge!

For a start – no high holiday fees!

The chance to study new language or a new culture. Even the difference between Sussex & Cornwall is incredibly interesting though I have yet to try a stargaze pie!

Community Support. Some of greatest friends now live abroad and it’s amazing to do virtual meet up and for the kids to compare what they’ve been up to.

Flexibility – We also preach that home ed does not need to be 9-3. We have home ed at 11.30 at night to watch the Northern Lights or up at 4 am near stone henge to see the summer solstice.

With modern technology education is accessible anywhere! Whether you’re camping down the road from your house or your world schooling the change and excitement it brings is incredible!

Have you any tips to share?