Slow travel with school schedule

[mcampbell]

So I recently took a year off and I really want to do some longer slow travel. However I'm realizing that my sons school schedule means that you can only vacation during the worst times of the year June/July/December. Anyone else run into this? Really don't think there is much to do about this tho.

[jeninco]

What years are they in school? Because if they're in elementary (or even middle school), you can "homeschool" or do distance learning while you're away. Our district sees this frequently enough that they have suggestions for parents, but I believe you have to commit to a few hours of learning per day, and they might have to test on the material when you get back. It's not a huge deal to look up age-appropriate material and/or talk with teachers to find out what to cover.

Non control-crazy educators will often acknowledge that there's a lot to learn in traveling to different places and learning more about different people/languages/cultures. There's a lot of help available.

High School might be a different story -- I'm pretty well educated, and I'd have a tough time covering some of the HS classes.

[ixtap]

What years are they in school? Because if they're in elementary (or even middle school), you can "homeschool" or do distance learning while you're away. Our district sees this frequently enough that they have suggestions for parents, but I believe you have to commit to a few hours of learning per day, and they might have to test on the material when you get back. It's not a huge deal to look up age-appropriate material and/or talk with teachers to find out what to cover.

Non control-crazy educators will often acknowledge that there's a lot to learn in traveling to different places and learning more about different people/languages/cultures. There's a lot of help available.

High School might be a different story -- I'm pretty well educated, and I'd have a tough time covering some of the HS classes.

There are homeschooling curriculums that can help. On the other hand, if it is just for a few months and your son is a good student, you may be able to just take the existing textbooks and get direction from the teachers. I was able to do this in order to arrange a non conventional summer study abroad that bridged into the school year by a couple of months.

Also, depending on the age, putting the kids into a local school for a semester is a terrific way for them to learn the language and make friends. They may need tutoring to catch up when they get back.

[startingsmall]

Depending on your child's age, your child's personality, and your budget, there are also online schooling options that would give you a middle ground between homeschooling and traditional schooling. We've considered going this route at some point in the future.

[pirate_wench]

This is a great topic. I hope to see more input/experiences from people who have done this. I am terrified of the school calendar tyranny. I have another 4 years to figure out what I'm going to do, but it sounds like it may not be that hard to do some traditional school with long breaks to see other places.

[mcampbell]

My son is only 2, but already in preschool and I've noticed how difficult traveling has become now cause of the school schedule. I did some googling and people do worldschooling, I know it sounds crazy. you do homeschooling but with an online teacher. I'm thinking more in elementary school. We live in a hot climate so traveling during summer to other hot places is not exciting. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jan/29/is-world-schooling-kids-selfish-family-travel-edventures


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[9patch]

When you are talking about slow travel, are you thinking a year, or a month? If you do a year, you can do the full school year with an online school. If you do a shorter time, then you can pull them out of school, but I think it depends where you live too. I pulled my son out of school for 3 weeks in Oregon, and they had to unregister him from the school, but in other places (I heard Britain?) you get fined if you pull your kid out of school for too long. I did have a friend that did a full year travel with her elementary aged girl, and she did the virtual school.

[Khaetra]

Each school district is different (and so is each school!).  Some have a laid back attitude towards missing days/weeks, while others are very strict.  I would check and see where yours falls and go from there.  Like others said, you could homeschool during that time or do virtual school through your school system (although this may require you to be online at certain times, again depending on your district).

[TVRodriguez]

My son is only 2, but already in preschool and I've noticed how difficult traveling has become now cause of the school schedule. I did some googling and people do worldschooling, I know it sounds crazy. you do homeschooling but with an online teacher. I'm thinking more in elementary school. We live in a hot climate so traveling during summer to other hot places is not exciting. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jan/29/is-world-schooling-kids-selfish-family-travel-edventures


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If your child is not yet even in kindergarten, I myself honestly would not care a whit about the school schedule.  My take is that "school" at that age is primarily for play-based learning and socialization, both of which can be provided outside of the school if you wish.

ETA: I think that it's a fantastic idea, btw--that type of travel is amazing.

[Trifle]

My son is only 2, but already in preschool and I've noticed how difficult traveling has become now cause of the school schedule. I did some googling and people do worldschooling, I know it sounds crazy. you do homeschooling but with an online teacher. I'm thinking more in elementary school. We live in a hot climate so traveling during summer to other hot places is not exciting. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/jan/29/is-world-schooling-kids-selfish-family-travel-edventures


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If your child is not yet even in kindergarten, I myself honestly would not care a whit about the school schedule.  My take is that "school" at that age is primarily for play-based learning and socialization, both of which can be provided outside of the school if you wish.

ETA: I think that it's a fantastic idea, btw--that type of travel is amazing.

+1.  I would not care one bit about preschool.  Go travel if you want to!  Travel is education.   Loads of people educate their kids on the road, at home, etc.  Even when your son gets to elementary school age and older, traveling is still very much on the menu.  (I'm assuming you are in the US, in a state with typical schooling laws.  If you are in another country, YMMV.)  There are many resources and ways to "home"school on the road, virtual school, schooling co-ops, tutors, etc.  We've been doing it for 4 years now.  Feel free to PM me if you have questions.   Have fun!