Homeschool Family Adventure Vacations

Educational Cruises and Adventures for Homeschoolers

Oct 25, 2009 Lisa Russell

An educational vacation is a great family adventure. Vacation schooling is gaining popularity as unschoolers and homeschoolers travel the world.

One popular phrase that homeschoolers use when describing their real-life learning experiences is "The world is my classroom" however, not many families are actually using the world for education. Vacation can be a time for families to adventure together and explore culture, nature, geography, music, food, literature, history and all those things they write about in school books.

Educational Vacations

Vacations stimulate the senses. Traveling to new places can open one's eyes and exploring the world together is a true education. Unschooler Eli Gerzon has built his life around “worldschooling” by planning educational tours for teens with his company, Worldschool Travel Tours. Secular “mission” trips and working vacations provide teens and families the opportunity to immerse themselves in another culture or environment by giving or performing acts of kindness

Educational Cruises for Homeschoolers

Homeschool Cruises often involve workshops on marine life or other classes for kids. Unschooling America hosts “Unschool Adventure Cruises” where and entire ship full of families travel together and enjoy each other's company, share resources and exchange ideas. Educational activities (in addition to the camaraderie and networking) include snorkeling, exploring exotic locations like the Bahamas, the Mayan Pyramids and perhaps, in the future, even the San Juan Islands of Washington State.

Educational Adventures

Others choose to create their own family adventure vacations. Roadschoolers live in recreational vehicles and travel around exploring the world and meeting new people. Online networks of families who meet up with one another periodically create a mini-culture of nomadic explorers. Even families who aren't in motion can share this unconventional lifestyle by following the adventures of roadschoolers online or by purchasing the Wright on Time book series [Wright on Time Books, 2009] by Lisa Bentley. The fictitious Wright Family lives in an RV and their adventures and explorations make for a fun read.

Planning a Family Adventure Vacation

To plan an educational vacation, begin with the interests of the children. Visit the town their favorite movie was filmed in, or the setting of their favorite book. Visit the factory that makes their favorite toy. Visit the town of their favorite author or the set of their favorite television show. Find the nearest national park, museums in the area, or any other place that the children may love to spend time. Balance high energy locations with relaxing stops and be sure to allow plenty of time for discussing the experiences.

An educational vacation doesn't need to mean parading through museums, anything a person finds interesting can be the basis for so much learning. Unschoolers follow the child's interests and provide a complete education by exploring every aspect of a hobby, interest or even obsession. Unschooler Dayna Martin, author of Radical Unschooling, A Revolution has Begun [Tasora Books, 2009] says that when children's attention is stimulated, they absorb more and teach themselves everything they need to know. Adults benefit from travel, too. Exploring new things can give parents a fresh perspective.

The copyright of the article Homeschool Family Adventure Vacations in Homeschooling is owned by Lisa Russell. Permission to republish Homeschool Family Adventure Vacations in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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