How to Homeschool Online When Traveling With Kids
Hey, just so you know ... This post includes affiliate links. That means if you use them to make a purchase, I may earn a commission. You can read my full affiliate disclosure HERE.
Welcome to the #TechieHomeschool IRL blog series. In this post, my guest Kimberly shares some great options for homeschooling online when your traveling with kids
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel with your kids any time of the year? Not having to follow a school year calendar; just hitting the road whenever the travel bug bit you? This is something I dreamed of doing and am fortunate to have the opportunity with our grandson. Now, as we are well into our third year of homeschool travel, I'd like to share some tips for other traveling families or those who are considering making a change in their lives.
When I began homeschooling EJ we started traveling right away. Back then we were doing aligned schooling and had to rely on our local school board for our curriculum. This created an issue on our first trip since the materials hadn't arrived before we left home. What to do?
Since the board had provided us with a Success Maker subscription, we decided to have him sign on for an hour each morning and do his math and reading/literacy work. This worked well enough since we were quite busy making visits to museums and science centers. We also had him do a number of Junior Ranger programs at the various National Parks we visited (the activity books are available online as well as at the parks.)
… RELATED POST …
Staying Tech-Connected While Living on the Road
After returning home to find three large boxes of textbooks, workbooks, and manipulatives I knew right away there had to be a better way of homeschooling for traveling families.
I joined a few online homeschooling groups that focused on travel, working moms, and tech to see what I could learn. And learn I did. I heard about families who travel full time and families who, like ours, travel a lot but still have a home base they return to regularly. Armed with my new knowledge, I began to put together a curriculum that works for us, that we can use both at home and on the road.
Our Favorite Homeschool Websites
SchoolHouseTeachers.com
SchoolHouseTeachers.com is one of my favorites. We use it as our base curriculum while we’re traveling since it covers pretty much every topic. I like that I have the ability to print out worksheets for many classes, so we have a mix of online and written work to do without having to pack along books. We simply use the hotel office center or a local Staples to print what we need for the week.
Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool
Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool is a free website with a ton of curriculum that we use to supplement our learning. There are links to online learning games that are fun and educational too.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is another free option for online learning. We haven’t done any core subjects on Khan but they have some fun and educational courses, including The Science of Pixar that went very well with our science center visit to The Science Behind Pixar. Note: We always check museum and science center websites for any educational info they might have to go along with their exhibits.
Online Unit Studies
We use Online Unit Studies at home and on the road. We do have to modify the activities at times depending on our accommodations. Some are a bit difficult to do in a hotel room. Others work in very well with our travel location, for instance, the Famous Artists unit when we are visiting museums.
Drive Thru History Adventures
We love this history curriculum. We download the video lessons to a tablet so they can be watched anywhere (like during the “boring” parts of the drive.) Using the discussion questions as conversation starters is perfect for a road trip.
We also use our tablets when visiting various venues that provide QR codes for accessing additional information. This is a fun and interactive way to keep the kids active and engaged. (You can see one on the sign in the photo below.)
Of course, we always travel with our Kindle and keep it loaded with a variety of reading materials. I like that the Kindle will “read” to you since reading in the car equals queasy tummies in our family. The voice is a little computer like but pretty handy once you get used to it.
Finally, our homeschool travel bag also includes a laptop and Chromebook to be sure online lessons can be done as well as Mama's blogging.
Tell me, how do you keep homeschooling when you travel with kids?
Must-Have Tech for Homeschooling
Chromebook
Apple iPad 16GBRoku Streaming StickDOSS Touch Wireless Bluetooth Portable SpeakerSkullcandy In-Ear Noise-Isolating Earbuds
Related Posts
- Techie Homeschool Organization: Managing Digital Files
- Best Tips for Techie Roadschooling
- The Ultimate List of Online Courses for Homeschooling
Want some techie homeschooling tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for weekly-ish emails from me.
Techie Homeschool Mom is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. You can read my full affiliate disclosure HERE.
About the Author
Just a geeky homeschooling mom inspiring digital learning and healthy tech habits for families.
What internet do you use on the road?
I’m going to direct your question to Kimberly, the author of this post.
Excellent question. I try to book accommodations that provide free internet (this can be a bit of a balancing act if they limit the number of devices that can sign on) and then download as much as we can to use during the day. We also make use of the free internet at places like Starbucks and McDonalds when we need to. We have been traveling in Canada for the past few weeks and I am finding there are a lot of hot spots available that we have access to through our home internet so this is something a person can look into as well. Hope this helps.