Homeschool & Intentional Family Travel

There is a story within the story when I’m asked about how I got started homeschooling. Especially here in Scotland, the idea of home education is relatively new, but it is rapidly gaining momentum. 

When I look back on how we got into homeschooling. I’ll admit, it’s not the path I expected our family to take.  In fact, when we lived in the US, we seized an opportunity to move into one of the best school districts in our area when an offer we could not refuse was presented to us. 

I honestly pictured myself, working half days in my husband’s clinic once the kids were in school. Enjoying the summer and holiday breaks as much as possible was high on my list. Traveling wherever we could afford for as long as we could stay was what we all wanted to do.

The way it was before homeschooling & intentional family travel.

It’s amazing how much life can change in 4 short weeks of taking care of one very ill little girl. I quickly realized that homeschooling was going to be necessary … at least until school started in the autumn. 

While we homeschooled that Spring, I kept asking my daughter what she liked about being at home and what she missed about not being at school. She often commented that she missed her friends. But I reminded her that she saw the same kids after school almost every day, and participated in sports, church, and other activities with them as well. Those activities would return shortly after she was feeling better.

My Shocking Revelation

One day, I asked my daughter what she liked about being at home, and I was shocked by her answer.  It stopped me dead in my tracks. She told me she liked eating whenever she was hungry. No, she didn’t say, “Whenever she wanted.” or anything like that.  

Later, I asked her to explain things more, She told me she was often the last in line for lunch at school which often meant there was almost nothing left.  She said one day all that was left was a lime yogurt and a few green beans. That comment would have been enough for me but she continued telling me that since she ate so slowly, coupled with being the last in line, she often didn’t have enough time to even eat what meager “meal” was being served. 

So my daughter was heading out to school at 8;30 in the morning with breakfast and essentially not really eating much at all until she would get home some 6 hours later.  No wonder she always came home grouchy, and argumentative. I could never figure out why. Finally, the truth was revealed.

This new revelation about what it was like for her in public school, along with comments of being bored with the subjects and not really challenged by the academics was truly eye-opening, I realized that I needed to re-consider this homeschool gig and figure out what was going to inspire and challenge my daughter.

When my daughter became ill and ended up being away from school for the entire last semester, we enrolled her in an online charter school. I didn’t have the first clue about how to teach an ill 1st grader, so I decided this was the best route, especially if it was going to be short-term.

After my insightful, heart-to-heart conversations with my first grader, I decided that homeschooling was probably going to be a good idea for us. There had been so many positive experiences, (in spite of being quite ill), that we decided as a family this was a good choice for us right now.  

The summer I fell in love with homeschooling.

Later that summer, friends came to visit for a few days. Their daughter was a few years older than ours. They homeschooled. I was so intrigued by this little girl (she was in 4th grade). So articulate, polite, and sensitive. All at the same time. Yet she was still a normal 4th grader enjoying playing at the park, hiking up waterfalls, and holding her dad’s hand as she balanced herself crossing a fallen tree.  

I asked so many questions that weekend, that my friend handed me all her information about what they were using. That’s the summer I fell in love with community learning. What a gift that weekend was for our family. 

Being enrolled in a learning community was the icing on the cake for all of us.  My daughter absolutely loved being engaged in highly academic lessons that were super fun ways of learning with like-minded families. I love it too, but I was still so new to this homeschooling thing that I always had a gazillion questions and was often in need of someone to just listen.  That community was so gracious, loving, and accepting. We cherish the memories and friendships made during that time.

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The way life is now.

When we moved to Scotland, we were craving community.  Specifically, a homeschool community. In our area, there was nothing like it. There were no faith-based homeschool groups meeting regularly for academic purposes as well as fellowship.

At one field trip-style gathering that happened monthly, I met a Canadian homeschool family that was feeling the same way we were. We needed community. Our older kids needed a regular opportunity to learn and hang out together with other like-minded kids. Church and other activities were not enough and not really the same.  

These kids (all of us, really) needed a place to belong. A safe place to explore academic and spiritual ideas …and have Nerf battles. So, we decided to start a community learning group.  Now 3 years later, families and kids are thriving, nerf battles are commenced fortnightly (every 2 weeks) and mums have a chance to gather and fellowship. Again, the gift of the community has inspired and encouraged learning and friendships beyond our expectations.

Do Homeschool & Intentional Family Travel Fit Together?

But how does homeschooling tie in with why I am interested in intentional family travel?  Well, it doesn’t, really. It purely points to seeing a need and then stepping into sharing something I learned with others.  By starting with a simple book club to teach discussion skills to middle schoolers or exploring the history of bold believers and their impact on different countries and cultures I was participating in the community by sharing what I knew and learning from others all at the same time.

And THAT’s why I’m passionate about homeschooling & intentional family travel.  I’ll explain just a bit more…

Homeschool as the foundation of intentional family travel.

Having spent the first 4 years of this Scotland adventure showing the kids places I visited years ago and learning about those places together has created an unbreakable bond. A family bond much like what was being created on our community learning days, but exponentially stronger.   I was sharing what I knew (and loved) and we were learning together.

Now, when I plan a school year, I don’t just look at what requirements need to be met. I look at where can we go to really enjoy and experience the learning that we intend to accomplish.  I ask lots of questions like:

• What opportunities does each child need to really thrive in this academic season of life?
• Where can we go to provide impactful, lasting memories that will teach life skills, and academic lessons, and soften our hearts to a more compassionate view of the world?
• Where can we go to learn about these important events (historical, scientific, literary, etc) from a different perspective?

Those are some of the reasons we travel, but also the reasons we home educate and the main reason we enter into community wherever we see the opportunity. 

It’s part of a God-breathed plan to train up the next generation with a gentle hand and a keen mind to see the world and its challenges differently. To be inspired to be THAT person. The one who wants to help create positive change. I want to pass the baton of quality character to my kids in such a way that they will be ready to do whatever it takes to follow their God-breathed dreams in the years to come.

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Not sure where to begin?

This self-paced course will take you step-by-step through the process of planning a vacation based on your homeschool curriculum. It will also help you plan your curriculum around the places you are already going to travel to.

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