How to School on the Road

One of the great perks of homeschooling is being able to take school on the road. When you homeschool, you are not tied down to a place or a specific schedule or even a time frame. There is a certain amount of freedom in homeschooling; however, taking school on the road can be tricky.

There are a few things to remember that will help taking school on the road a success:

Plan Ahead
Think Outside the Box
Be flexible
Have fun

This year we are traveling to see family for Christmas a few days earlier than I had planned. I really still want to count those days as school days, but I do not want pack up all of our curriculum books and take them with us.

I have a slender crate I like to use for school stuff when we travel. It is a great size to sit on the seat beside her, so that everything is in easy reach. In this crate, I will be including items to cover US Geography, Science, Math, and English.

So, let me show you how we school on the road.

US Geography

Two years ago, my husband was presenting at a conference in Texas. We decided to make it a family affair and also include a couple other stops along the way. One of the things she did while we were in the car was color in the states on a US map as she saw them on license plates. She had such fun doing this, she asked to do it again this year. Last time we even saw Alaska and Hawaii! Hawaii was on a car carrier, but it still counts!

You can find some great US map printables here. I am printing out a blank map ahead of time and I will have her label it before we leave. She can then shade in the states as we go. If you are working on capitals, you can even make that a part of the “game”.

Geography Homeschool Curriculum Travel School

Math

We are using this trip as review time. For some reason she has always been slow on her math facts. She knows them for the most part. She just has refused to commit to memorize them; therefore, her recall is slow. It’s not that she can’t, she just won’t. I can’t figure out why. However, she is starting to figure out why I have said it is important.

So, I have printed out some math facts practice sheets that she can work on in the car and at her grandparents. She has also requested some extra practice on reducing fractions, so I’ll include some of those as well. (This is where she is discovering the importance of those math facts.)

Homeschool Curriculum Travel School Geography Math

Science

Yes, you can get some science in while traveling and it doesn’t even have to feel like “school”.

We are beginning a new living book “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” as part of our science unit on energy. If we don’t finish it by the time we leave, we will take this book with us and read some in the car and some at her grandparents. I also have another book we have been reading as part of our Natural History Science unit, The Burgess Animal Book for Children. These are great stories told by the animals themselves and your kids won’t even realize they are actually learning something.

Another part of our science curriculum is Nature Study. We have been learning about trees and mushrooms in our co-op this year, so we are going to go on a nature walk or two on our trip. This is an easy and fun way to spend some time on science while you are traveling. Even taking a walk in most subdivisions can be an adventure in nature study; however, if you do not have a place for something like this where you are staying, try going to a nearby park or other outdoor public venue. Take your nature journal with you or simply get pull out some plain printer paper and draw what you have seen, note the day, and where you found it.

Other ideas to help you school on the road:

State History Study: When we made that trip to Texas, I put together a study on Texas history, pulling in resources to cover copywork, geography, and history. The best thing was all the resources I found online and at our local library for free!

Field Trips: Field trips are a wonderful way to keep school going while traveling. Museums, zoos, aquariums, and nature preserves are great learning resources you can take advantage of. Be sure to check pricing for homeschool days or special hours. While on the Texas trip, I discovered tickets to a particular museum were free on one specific day between certain hours. I was able to work around my husband’s schedule and we all got to go for free!

Movies: This one may seem like cheating, but…go to the movies! Unless you are doing a general film study, you do need to be selective and stay in the true spirit of learning. However, sometimes there are times you can tie in history or literature and have some great family fun doing it. In the past we have taken advantage of movies like Monuments Men (WWII history) and The Man Who Invented Christmas (Literature, Charles Dickens).

For the time in the car, select movies or tv shows that are not only entertaining, but teach about a topic or time frame in history. We like to take along all the episodes of The Liberty Kids. She loves them and learns about the people and events during a key period of our country’s history.

Living Books: Living books, either in print or audio, help your child to continue to learn while feeling like they are still on vacation. Finding books that will teach them about history, science, and even math can keep everyone’s attention in the car without pulling out screens, plus provide moments to step back from the chaos of family get-togethers when they need a break to calm down and reset.

Writing/Trip Journal: One way to keep writing from dropping off the radar while traveling is through journaling. One suggestion though, keep it simple. Think about your schedule and your child’s bent toward journaling. You want this to be an enjoyable activity not a burdensome one. Determine how often taking time to write in the journal fits best with your family. Whether you take time each day or every other day, have your child simply write about something that you have done or seen on the trip. For those not writing on their own, have them draw a picture that represents something they want to remember.