Kristyn Meyer is on a journey to make herself the best human she can be. These posts are a reflection of that. She welcomes your support via reading and through commissioned affiliate links within her posts! Please subscribe to her email list to stay up to date on all of her shenanigans! (psst… there’s a free gift involved)
How Does Quality Travel and a Superior Education Mix for Our Kids?
One of the biggest parts of being able to travel frequently revolves around being able to do so in the off-season. However, one of the most prominent obstacles to that is school. Obviously, the school year centers around a specific schedule and only allows for breaks occasionally, which don’t routinely fall in the off-season.
While we didn’t choose this route for this specific reason, homeschooling our kids has been an integral part of being able to travel so often.
We had a solid year and a half of homeschooling under our belts before incorporating travel into the mix. You’ll remember that it wasn’t until 2022 that I declared 2023 as our travel year. Therefore, we weren’t trying to get into a homeschooling groove to extend it then to travel life. We were just trying to get our footing in general.
How Do We Learn on the Go?
Long story short, we don’t. While we have done some school stuff while traveling, it’s only when it’s necessary. For instance, the co-op we belong to had a mandatory count day for students on the day we flew to Italy. I forgot about it entirely until shortly before boarding. My kids completed the lessons on their tablets while sitting at the gate.
Don’t think my kids get off scot-free when it comes to learning, though. Instead of getting a summer break like other students, they go year-round. What that means for them is not having to do school while on vacation. What it means for me, their teacher, is that we don’t have a significant slide in learning over a long summer break, and I can also enjoy our vacations.
Quality Travel and a Superior Education Through World Centered Learning
Since we have so many plans to introduce our spawn to the world, I want to be sure that there are many opportunities to learn about them at home. We work on this in a few different ways throughout our curriculum.
Language Learning
Both through our co-op and supplemental workbooks, my children are learning French. I have always wanted my children to be able to speak a second language but didn’t know which to settle on. I took four years of Spanish in high school and a few semesters of French in college. Ultimately, I decided on French for the kids because I wanted to learn more about it alongside them.
Through the co-op, we have used Duolingo and Mondly. At home, we have access to the following learning resources:
- Montessori French Workbook
- Assorted Children’s Books in French
- French Flashcards for Kids
- French Seek and Find Books (found in Montreal)
- Changing Disney+ to French and watching Bluey
Little Passports
I have previously expressed my love for Little Passports, and it has not yet ended. I honestly feel like it will be a lifelong love.
Wanting to find a fun way for my kids to learn about different countries, languages, and cultures, I kept looking at various options. While Little Passports routinely came up, I dismissed it almost immediately. I don’t know what made me hesitate, but I felt like it wouldn’t be a good fit.
Finally, I took advantage of a good deal and ordered the subscription. It’s honestly everything that I was looking for in a program. It is very kid-friendly, with lots of activities and fun information. My kids look forward to seeing it listed on the dry-erase board with all the day’s assignments.
Masterbooks
This inclusion was utterly unintended. However, after getting into the Masterbooks math curriculum with my kids, I discovered an underlying story that includes different cultures. So far, we have just experienced interactions between children in America and South America. However, it still provides insight into different ways of living.
Learning Is Ongoing
We all know that learning doesn’t take place solely in a classroom. People can learn through various experiences. Fortunately, we are able to extend the classroom to the rest of the world with absolutely no regrets! (no regerts for those like me).
