03 Jun Learning While Traveling – Transforming Travel into a Classroom

Learning in the Classroom of Life

My husband and I have always loved traveling with our son. When I was able to start homeschooling our son three years ago, we decided that travel would be an even bigger part of our lives. Traveling became more than just a once or twice-a-year “vacation.” Now it’s a way of life for us. Sometimes this looks like bucket-list type trips that we plan and budget for over the course of a year or more, and sometimes it takes the form of a quick trip to visit family in Michigan. 

Learning Can Be Accomplished Anywhere

As summer approaches, many of you may be embarking on your own adventures and wondering, “Can I call this a school day?” Of course you can! Our family loves Walt Disney World and we go several times a year. My son has learned German geography and history by engaging in conversation with our server at Biergarten Restaurant in the German Pavilion at EPCOT. We have learned about conservation at Animal Kingdom. 

Family trips to Michigan have become “school days” by visiting places such as Greenfield Village and experiencing the innovations of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. While visiting Montana last year we learned about the many geothermal features of Yellowstone National Park. We spent an amazing week and a half in England and France last summer where we walked in the steps of historical figures such as Henry VIII and Louis XVI. And yes, we counted those towards “school days.” Our son gained valuable knowledge and experience he could not have any other way.

Learning Becomes Core Memories

An added bonus of our travels has been the friends we have made. They make these memories even more special. These experiences and friendships bond the knowledge our son acquires into core memories. As a result, he will remember more of what he has learned along the way than if he heard about it in a classroom. Our next large-scale classroom will be in Alaska on a cruise ship later this year. We have been planning this one for well over a year and will definitely be doing our own research at home about Alaska this summer before embarking on what is sure to be a life-changing trip!

Learning to Plan

Yes, some of these experiences require planning and budgeting over many months. We feel it is worth the effort and wait to plan for trips such as these that not only provide us with quality time as a family but give our son the life experiences a four-walled classroom never could.

When we decided to travel to England and France, we planned our trip out for over a year in advance. This allowed us to take such a large trip because we were able to budget payments over several months. Planning for our Alaska cruise has looked similar. We began planning for it early in 2023. Again, this allowed us to pay in manageable chunks of money versus deciding today, in May 2024, that we want to go to Alaska in three months. This approach also presents the opportunity of helping our son understand the importance of planning and budgeting for things that are important. 

Learning Can Be Accomplished in Smaller Trips Too

If large-scale trips are not for your family, that is okay! You can incorporate learning into a visit to a state park by finding out the history of the park. More than likely a historical event occurred there, or it was named after an important figure in history. Trips to the lake can become a lesson in science and zoology. Help your kids identify different plants and animals you see. If you visit friends or family out of town you can use those as learning opportunities too! Chances are there is a museum, park, or historic site you can visit and learn about while spending quality time together and with others.

Keep the Learning Moving

I love using our travels as school time because it allows us to spread our learning days out through the entire year. For sure there are days we travel that are purely “off” days. We spend days at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World that are 100% about relaxing and forgetting about the real world. By learning on days we travel throughout the year, we can feel completely comfortable riding Space Mountain on a Wednesday knowing we are not missing any school days!