Is your family interested in alternative methods of education? Such as homeschooling? Until recently, leaping into remote learning felt intimidating. Of course, COVID-19 has changed many parental perspectives. More families than ever before are involved in homeschooling. They realize they can integrate this form of learning into their family dynamic, and their children are thriving.
Despite current travel restrictions, some families are also exploring future options like roadschooling and worldschooling. After all, many parents now work remotely, liberating them from the need to stay in specific geographic locations. But what is worldschooling, and is it something your family should consider in the coming years?
Keep reading as we explore worldschooling at home and abroad.
Worldschooling: Opening Your Eyes to Global Possibilities
Worldschooling relies on experiential travel to augment education. It’s fantastic for families on the go, providing unparalleled flexibility to see the globe. And there are many variations on the model. As a result, parents can find the perfect “fit” for their unique family culture and circumstances. Why do some parents choose homeschooling?
- A desire to introduce kids to the broader world around them
- A wish to travel
- A preference for experiential education to solidify learning objectives
- A holistic approach to learning
- A want to understand and become sensitive to other worldviews
- A desire for the flexibility to explore talents that traditional education doesn’t provide
As you can see, many factors contribute to a family’s desire for non-traditional education. What are some of the different ways that parents turn the desire above into actionable learning?
Different Approaches to Alternative Education
Some families travel to a country where they enroll their children in schools for language and cultural immersion. Other families choose to visit multiple destinations, providing a more comprehensive worldview.
There are even families who use this time to embark on a world tour. While circumnavigating the globe, they focus on subjects like world culture, social studies, and geography. An experienced family travel company can help you design the perfect around-the-world trip. They can even help you organize remote learning and world travel.
Remember, too, that not all family trips must be overseas. Some parents remain in North America or the United States. This option, often referred to as roadschooling, lets kids learn about America while seeing it firsthand.
Explore ecological issues through the national parks. Learn about colonial history or the Civil War up close and personal while touring important historical sites. Roadschooling is a beautiful way to ease into worldschooling. At the same time, you’ll provide a thorough appreciation for national culture.
How to Dive into Remote Learning
Parents have become involved in their children’s remote learning. As a result, some are now considering the worldschooling lifestyle. Whether they prefer to call it worldschooling, nomadic homeschooling, or roadschooling. These parents have questions about where to start when it comes to diving into the lifestyle.
The remote approach to learning comes with plenty of flexibility. One of its greatest advantages remains the ability to tailor schooling to your family’s specific needs. Considerations include:
- Deciding on part- or full-time homeschooling
- Researching how homeschooling on the road will work for your family
- Budgeting to meet future roadschooling and worldschooling objectives
- Understanding the laws of your state and country when it comes to homeschooling
- Choosing a curriculum that best fits your educational goals
As you decide what remote learning will look like for your family, remember that it starts at home. Boosting pre-trip education remains a lynchpin of worldschooling. Fortunately, you can start doing this today!
Explore long term travel plans with Global CommUnity’s Life Travel Map and Worldschooling Tools.
Customized Learning for Your Family
Researching homeschooling approaches will help you decide whether to go part- or full-time. Each requires a different level of personal and financial commitment. These are commitments you’ll need to make as a family. Once you’ve decided on this first step, you’ll want to start looking at potential curricula.
What should you look for in curricula? An approach that blends what you’re learning experientially through travel with core courses. In other words, the worldschooling curriculum you select should revolve around:
- The places you visit
- The foods you discover
- The cultures you explore
- The history you engage with
- The people you meet
- The environments you discover
- And more
Worldschooling involves a major mindset shift. But when done effectively, it leads to unparalleled opportunities for enriching, engaging learning. Lainie Liberti has been worldschooling her son Miro for eight years. In the process, they’ve lived in 15 countries. She explains, “Before we left on our travels, I believed that the only true education was facilitated by professionals in formal educational institutional settings, [and] must include testing, measuring, and evaluation in order to be valid or considered ‘education.’”
Yet, as Liberti soon realized, “All that shifted after we started traveling. Through our experiences, many questions were sparked and conversations never imagined were initiated. We witnessed the world around us transformed into a limitless classroom.” Today, they’re building “temporary learning communities” through the initiative Project World School.
Roadschooling: Worldschooling at Home
But what about families that are homebound due to coronavirus? This time represents a valuable opportunity to worldschool from home. This approach will provide you with the chance to prepare for future travels. There are plenty of wonderful ways to enrich your kids’ learning experiences at home, too.
Schedule field trips to visit as many different environments in your area as possible. For example, visit the coast or a coniferous forest. Trek through a deciduous forest or rainforest if you have one close by. If not, opt to explore freshwater lakes, swamps, deserts, etc.
To prepare for each trip, do advanced research so that you can facilitate a biology or ecology lesson. The essential? Get outside together to see what grows and lives in different locations. Then, focus on how each ecosystem feels through journaling and other activities.
You can do the same with architecture and food in various neighborhoods. Race and nationality can be explored in different parts of cities and more. The same goes for weather phenomena, etc. No matter where the road takes you, you’ve got endless opportunities to engage with the local culture. In the process, examine topics such as history, social studies, and race and racism.
Worldschooling Abroad
Developing the skills above while at home will prepare you and your kids for later travels. After all, cultivating curiosity can happen anywhere. Once you’ve sparked this mindset in your children, they’ll be well-equipped for more exotic locations.
As for picking destinations for worldschooling experiences? Maximize the educational impact by choosing places with as much diversity as possible.
For example, if you live in the mountains and experience snowy winters, head to the tropics. If you’re located in a big city, head to the country. The goal? To help your children hone their observation skills and the ability to ask questions. In the process, you’ll steer your children towards a habit of lifelong learning. They’ll become curious about the world and ready to engage with it.
These domestic activities will also prepare you for international travels. Here are seven destinations that can take upwards to a year to plan yet come with incredible rewards for the whole family.
Worldschooling and College Admissions
When done correctly, worldschooling will prepare students for college, too. It can even provide an advantage during the admissions process.
Kat Cohen is the founder of IvyWise, a Manhatten based admissions counseling firm. She argues, “Being worldschooled could offer students an edge in terms of not being the norm, but students still need to ensure they are meeting the criteria of selective schools and demonstrating how they fit into the fabric of the campus.”
Fortunately, homeschooling parents have never had more options for travel, remote work, and remote learning. For studies that parents find more challenging to teach, plenty of online resources exist. They include Khan Academy, Duolingo, Lynda, Memrise, and Mango Languages.
Expanding Horizons and Enriching Education
Over time, your children’s horizons will expand, and you’ll naturally select travel destinations farther afield. When it’s all said and done, there’s so much to explore in this big beautiful world. So, why not seize the remote learning opportunity this year while preparing for roadschooling or worldschooling later?
At Global CommUnity, we offer luxury family vacations to over 25 global destinations. Each customized itinerary comes in both 4- and 5-star price points. Your family will enjoy opportunities to interact with a destination’s culture and people in profound ways. Open the door to an exciting world of luxury family travel possibilities now.
