Here's the setup. I have two wonderful daughters who are 9 and 12 years old. The older one is advanced and the younger is developmentally behind other kids her age. The younger one struggles to keep up with her class and information usually sails by her without her understanding it.Although the school was great and the teachers dedicated, I didn't feel as if they could dedicate the time to her one-on-one to make sure she understands each lesson and in particular, math. She would come home every day and we would work with her until she went to bed in order to help her with her homework and understanding. She had zero free time; but she learned enough to advance and keep up with her classmates.My wife and I have been very lucky to have started a successful business and sold it last year. We purchased a new King Aire MH with bunk beds and have decided to travel the US for the next two years and road school our children.Why two years? Because it's important for me that my oldest daughter have the high school experience. I realize how important friends are to children as teenagers and I want them to experience the best our culture has to offer.Here's where I'd like your opinions:1) Am I crazy? Should I rethink the whole 2 year commitment? Can I stretch it to 3 years?2) How do I keep them motivated and engaged while on the road?3) Have any of you tried this?4) Are there any "best practices" I should follow?5) Anything I should avoid?6) What are some areas of the country we should look at in order to decide where to eventually settle down?I specifically did not post this in the "Family Camping" section because I'd like to hear from everyone, including those who would never consider family camping. So please let me know your thoughts.

I think its a great idea. You only have one chance to raise your children and you need to make the most of it. Thinking back, I wish I had had the opportunity to take our kids on the road and educate them hands on. Just think teaching them lesson about Ole Faithful and standing near instead of them watching a video. Or teaching them a science lesson at the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center, you can't much more hands on than that. Go for it, I don't think any of you will regret it. Best of luck with your future endeavors.

I taught school for 34 years. There was a time when I could never recommend home schooling. Now I think with dedicated parents, it is possible and some students, particularly your younger daughter may thrive under the experience. My niece has two children similar to how you describe yours. Her younger daughter had fallen through the cracks in second grade and fell deeper by fourth grade. Her teachers became unresponsive to my niece. I encouraged her to homeschool her. My niece is brilliant herself and yet she thought she was no match for her daughter. It turned out differently when they could use the whole day to learn. Her grandmother takes her to help do baking, teaching her about following instructions (recipe) and using fractions, etc. She is doing very well now and is greatly encourage. Her successes outweigh her failures.Traveling the U.S. would give ample opportunities to learn about each state, the geography, animals, terrain, etc., as well as civics lessons. You really can accomplish a day's learning much more quickly than a day in school. You can teach each according to her ability and don't take time out for announcements, passing periods, recess, etc. Most homeschoolers I know finish lessons up by noon and accomplish the same as traditional methods.Truthfully, unless you are a special needs teacher, most of us know little about teaching students with learning disabilities. I felt totally inadequate in that department.There is quite a network for homeschoolers actually and I think RVers homeschooling on the road have a presence on the net.I say "go for it" and have a great time!Dale

Reading the encouragement here has made my day. People are so quick to jump in and discourage against taking kids on the road and home schooling them that it is refreshing to see otherwise. My children are long since grown and gone but I can see how it may have benefitted them to have been home schooled on the road. My oldest was (is)ADD and he learns hands-on. Home schooling fosters a closeness of parent/child and they both learn from this. You people on this forum are awesome and thanks for sharing your wisdom!

We cyberschool DD. We do much to most of the teaching, but she still enjoys attending the virtual (video/live) classes and interracting with teachers and students.We hate common core Math. Dumbest thing to be forced on kids. So she attended exactly ONE math lesson from the school- we taught it all. She aced the class, tests, and scored top percentiles on state tests herein PA.We travel with and without our camper throughout the year, having some sort of extra activity (often with other cyber and home school families) avg two-three times a week. School is about 1/2 of her day and what we teach her. We consider it "homeschool-lite." They provide books, curriculum, grading, etc.There are TONS of materials available to homeschoolers now. We attend an annual homeschool conference in Pittsburgh, PA In PA,your home school district will provide curriculum if you ask.We have been to Nat'l Air & Space Museum, fish hatcheries, tubing in winter, scuba diving, hot air ballooning, Sight & Sound plays in Lancaster, winter camping in WV, laser tag, numerous cookouts (school and other friends/families), tons of fishing, canoeing, woodworking, mechanical repairs, home remodeling, baking, cooking, animal husbandry, and TONS of other stuff!The school work is often simply an interruption/nuisance we get out of the way before we teach and experience things as a family.So my is opinion is not just 'yes, it's possible,' but 'It is a life changing opportunity of a lifetime!'We are teetering on the edge of a multimonth tour-the-country trip while schooling as well. Almost went this past Spring, so I understand your urge and excitement.If you like,you can purchase curriculum and then follow it- or parts of it. Reporting requirements vary by state, so be sure to look it up in your state...do NOT count on your local school district for info. Most are *woefully* under-educated about the requirements and opportunities.

We have several family members who are home schooling their kids with great success. They're testing well above their grade level. The kids are heavily involved in local sports and have a substantial social network with both home schooled and traditional schooled kids.I fully support road schooling as well. We've been full timing for a year now and have met a couple families doing that with their kids. I watched a mom take her 2 young kids down to the beach with their lessons. They held class with calming waves in the background. I later saw the kids doing their artwork at the picnic table. The classroom changes with each new campground. You can visit places where history can be touched, not just read about and imagined.A negative that stands out with road schooling would be the lack of other kids. During the school year you may find a shortage of other kids as you travel. What about sports participation?I am 100% supportive of home/road schooling. But each family needs to recognize that there will be compromises.

Thoughts on Roadschooling | Good Sam Community

24 Replies

RVMomof3
Explorer
Oct 05, 2014
1) Am I crazy? Should I rethink the whole 2 year commitment? Can I stretch it to 3 years?

LOL! If your are crazy, then so am I ;) I think as long as you are enjoying this new lifestyle, then continue it for as long as you want.

2) How do I keep them motivated and engaged while on the road?

If your talking about school work ~> For my kids we use an online curriculum called Time4Learning, which they seem to like better the text books.
If your talking in general~> Just let them be involved. Let them give you ideas on where to go. Or when you have picked a location, learn what you can about it prior, so that the excitement builds. For example: if you are going to Florida, learn about the beaches, marine animals, etc. Then when they are there, it will make the experience that much more interesting for them ;)

3) Have any of you tried this?

I am trying it now ;)

4) Are there any "best practices" I should follow?

Relax and enjoy the experience! It's not about how much you do or how far you go, but the memories that you make together :)

5) Anything I should avoid?

If an area or campground makes you think twice, then move on or at least call the local law enforcement to make sure the area is safe.

6) What are some areas of the country we should look at in order to decide where to eventually settle down?

This is a question you have to figure out for your selves. Where one person likes the beach, another likes the mountains ;)
Harvey51
Explorer
Aug 30, 2014
Another retired teacher here. I know schools are often very poor at understanding kids who learn a little differently than the majority. My DW can work apparent miracles with kids like that with one on one time in a setting away from the school because she takes the time to understand each one. And classrooms full of early teens can be very troublesome. I would say your plan is excellent and well timed.

In my experience home schooled kids coming into classrooms in grades ten and eleven are often very shy and have difficulty dealing with some teachers and other students. You must try to work in considerable interaction with other kids.

Don't go too long. In the last three grades of school there is considerable specialization and teaching just doesn't work unless the teacher has considerable knowledge and skill in the subject area. You will tend to channel your daughter into the areas you are skilled in.

Public schools do an enormous service to our society by bring all the young people in a community together. I have watched in awe as over the course of a semester a group of 17 year old girls straightened out a boy from a family where the mother was abused by the father. And many other socialization and belief problems are sorted out. I hope you won't deprive the others in your community by keeping your daughters separate for too long.
CHBurris
Explorer
Aug 29, 2014
Awesome!! We are in our second year of homeschooling our 4 children, and it's one of the best decisions we've ever made! Government schools have been broken for a long time, and it's only getting worse. I have to laugh when people talk about "those weird homeschoolers". Yes, I'm sure there are some weird ones, just as there are weird public school kids! Goodness! Anyway...I think you should go for it!
dcason
Explorer
Aug 28, 2014
Heck no you are not crazy. I think that is just great! I homeschooled our daughter for one year (for fun and there was a local homeschool group she could socialize with).

Go year by year and see how it goes. Get the books from your school (for free) to see what the school would be teaching to give you an idea...doesn't mean you have to go there but for things like math it will be important.

Motivated? The world is their school yard...so much to see, so much to learn, not confined to the classroom, every day will give them many things to learn by doing...way better than any classroom (that I ever attended). National Parks, new evironments (desert, etc) to experience, new flora, new fauna....
JUST DO IT!
Steve_B_
Explorer
Aug 27, 2014
A two year stint would not be the same as home schooling for their entire school career. There are a lot of pluses to getting the kids out in the world. Travel is a great teacher. As an elementary teacher myself for 30 years, I have had concerns about some of the home schooled kids that came in to our district after four or five years at home. They often had trouble fitting in and difficulty adjusting to not having constant one to one instruction and attention. If it is found that your younger daughter is having some kind of learning problem, then you may want to keep her in a school setting where she can get the professional help that they offer.
I would also make one other suggestion. Try to decide where you will settle when this adventure is over, before you set off. That way you may be able to hook up with the local school district where the kids will wind up. They may be able to supply curricular materials so that your kids will be "instep" with their classmates when they enter the district. Many districts have their curriculums on line now, which would be beneficial for you. Core Curriculum may be out the window by the time you are ready to put down roots, so the benefit of it would not be helpful. I'm not a fan of CC, but in theory it would help people like you that may wind up on the other side of the country from you started. Good luck!
subcamper
Explorer II
Aug 27, 2014
We have homeschooled all of our 6 children. The oldest 2 are partway through college (both National Honor Society), one about to enter college. Three of the boys play travel sports and excel at it.

Each of them have their own personality that would show up whether homeschooled or not. One is shy, one is extremely outgoing, etc. I have noticed this in friends families that are not homeschooled. If a kid is shy, having them in school will not automatically fix the problem. More likely, they may be shunned by groups of others. You need to work with the shy ones to help them feel more comfortable, whether they are in school or homeschooled.

We were fortunate to be able to do things that helped them see stuff in action instead of just in books. For example, attending local town board meetings to see how government works. Roadschooling would be a great situation, but most of us have local jobs that mean travelling only during vacations.

Successful homeschooling/roadschooling is not rocket science. It requires determination more than degrees. Studies have shown that the education level of the parents have little effect on the outcome. For higher-level(high school) science and math, there are many homeschool co-ops that provide the necessary classes if needed.

Good Luck and God Bless.

Steve
NYCgrrl
Explorer
Aug 27, 2014
Oh I forgot. Here's an online resource for learning no matter the locale:
https://www.khanacademy.org/about
Bamaman11
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
Our daughter was home schooled, and I don't suggest it except in a few situations. Elizabeth is very, very smart, however she has poor social skills and doesn't accept authority well. She didn't get along with her teachers, and the quality of her school friends was, shall I say, sub-standard. We moved to an area where the high schools were far inferior to her previous school, and just had to home school.

We have neighbors that home schooled their 5 Air Force kids, and they were a smart but very strange bunch of kids. Their mother has a Masters in Education from Harvard, and she was like a drill sergeant in their education. Very few mothers have such educational credentials, especially if the children are brilliant. One just graduated college with a 4.0 in electrical engineering.

Unless both of your children are extremely well adjusted and doing well in school, I wouldn't suggest you home schooling them. It sounds as if one of your kids needs structure of a community and a high quality school. I just hope you know exactly why your younger daughter's having so much trouble keeping up.

My niece just returned from the premier ADHD clinic in the U.S. to have her 12 year old son physically and mentally evaluated. He's been in the top elementary school in the region, but he's just not ready intellectually to move on to the top Junior/High School with his buddies. We know he'll never be a doctor or lawyer, but we just want him to have less anxiety and get a handle on life.

Home schooling parents are going to be positive about the experience. My wife and I saw a "different" group of parents at home school meetings, and few that had the education or knowledge to properly guide their children in a self-guided home school program.
Alfred622
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
Couple of comments from a family that homeschooled two kids from pre-school through high school - both National Merit Scholarship winners and now in top-tier colleges. It can be done but it takes a LOT of effort from the parents: curricula planning, standardized testing, tutoring sessions for advanced work, cyber-classes through Stanford EPGY, etc. There is an excellent resource on the internet for you: www.welltrainedmind.com - look for the link to the forums. Participate in the forums as there is a TON of wisdom there for you (just like RV.NET).

We were fortunate - there are about 800 homeschooled kids in our community with AMPLE opportunities for talent shows, debate teams, special-interest classes, tours, basketball/baseball, speech, choir, handbells, and many other group activities with some of the nicest kids you could hope to meet. That will be a challenge in Road Schooling. If you go to a place and stay a while, look up the local homeschooling organizations and participate in some of the activities! Each State has a state home school association and many communities have a local one.

Good luck! What a marvelous opportunity for your children - but what a huge effort for you if you really want to do it well!
holstein13
Explorer
Aug 26, 2014
Campfire Time wrote:
You are not crazy.

Just traveling together and seeing things most people never get to see will create strong family bonds and memories that will last forever. For that reason alone you should do this!

That said, we've know a number of families that home schooled their children. There seem to be 2 types, those who do and succeed, those who do and fail. The failures are due to lack of dedication. They thought it was going to be easy. It's not. We considered it and realized it wasn't for us. It certainly seems like you are clearly thinking this out. I think you're going to be successful

Thanks, we've been homeschooling the kids all summer this year and you are correct, it is difficult. But public school was difficult as well. we would spend about 4 hours or more each day with our youngest just to keep her up to speed so it's turning out to be about the same amount of time now except that once she's done for the day, we are free to do everything else.