Road What???
Let me start by saying that I have little experience with education. Okay, not totally true. I have little experience with non-traditional education. In 2003 I was awarded my Masters of Education in Curriculum Development from Regent University in Va. Beach, VA. Just before that I spent a little over a year as a 7th and 8th grade core curriculum teacher at a small, Christian academy. Before that I had done some substituting and even before that I served as a performing and find arts instructor at the Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts. On paper, I know quite a bit about education. (the photo below is of a much younger, much heavier, and less bearded version of me addressing a classroom in my teaching days)
As I’ve gotten older though I have met people, read studies, watched programs, etc. that evaluate the difference between learning and being educated. It all seemed very esoteric though until I became a father in 2011. At that point I started wondering what kind of daughter I wanted to raise. Did I want a child who could recite the pages of a textbook verbatim without any real forensic thought or did I want to be part of a child’s life as they discover the world around them and learn through processing and experiencing? Couple that with our public school system in North Carolina and you are left with a rather simple decision in my mind. I wanted a child whose mind developed on a daily basis because of being an active part of the world around her.
For the first two years of her life we thought we would homeschool our daughter. But as we felt our calling was to be full-time nomads the emphasis shifted and we were introduced to roadschooling. Say what? What is roadschooling?
Quite simply put roadschooling is a method of schooling generally led by a parent, while traveling full-time, that provides a hands-on, personal experience for learning. Legalistically, roadschooling is subject to the same regulations that homeschool families face, and vary from state to state. Parents must register their children in their “home state” and must meet the regulations that their state requires.
Our families adventure works so well with learning. We believe that education doesn’t have to take place within the confines of four walls. In fact, Crystal and I feel that real learning can’t exist in four walls. Learning takes place around the clock, wherever you happen to be. Education is a lifestyle and an adventure (or at least it should be). Why open a book to page XXX to see a photo of the lunch counter where the NC A&T Four – Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr. (later known as Jibreel Khazan), and David Richmond – sat in protest when you can go to The International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina, and see the very seats from that Woolworth counter?
Our daughter sits down to learn about construction site trucks while wielding her own “digger” in prep to play outside.
The guiding philosophy is this. Roadschooling (born to us from the marriage of home schooling and unschooling) promotes the natural desire of children to learn what they need to know when they are ready and want to learn it. The defining factor is that we do it while on the road using our travels as the absolute foundation. This sort of learning flows through every other aspect of life and in roadschooling is experienced as a family. At the core of roadschooling is this principle: empowered children learn based on their interests and have an inherent thirst to learn more.
How Does It Look For Us?
It is important to note that roadschooling (as with homeschooling and unschooling) looks different for everyone. My daughter learns differently than other children. Your child learns differently from my child. So for us roadschooling (and especially because our daughter is only 3-years old) looks a lot like play. I say that not because she doesn’t learn or having learning time but because she seems to always be having fun. And that is the key! So yesterday looked like this:
- 8:45ish – 9:30ish – Wake up and eat some breakfast
- 9:30 – 10:30 – Movie Time (she can choose between Curious George, SuperWhy, Dora the Explorer, Sid the Science Kid, or Sesame Street for this time spot)
- 10:30 – 10:45 – Alphabet memory cards and review of numbers
- 10:45 – 11:00 – Warm bath and that game we call “stop running so we can help you get dressed”
- 11:00 – 12:30 – Outside play
- 12:30 – 1:15ish – Lunch
- 1:15ish – 2:45 – Nap Time
- 2:45ish – 3:00 – Snack
- 3:00 – 3:10 – Today we started learning to hold a pen/pencil and draw straight lines and circles (in prep for letters)
- 3:10 – 4:30 – Craft time
- 4:30 – 5:30 – Outside play
- 5:30ish – 6:00ish – Supper
- 6:00ish – 7:30ish – Family time
NOTE: The exact times (like movie time) are kept on schedule by using the kitchen timer. We do this because we want her “school time” to be exact and for her to learn that there is a time and place for undivided attention and focus. The ‘ish’ times are negotiable times that leave time for just life and living.
Our Current Resources
As of now we are not into curriculum or any heavy systems. Some of the resources we use are:
- PBS for Kids App – This is primarily what she watches during movie time or when she works towards extra screentime
- Little Pim App – Coupled with Little Pim Spanish this is an interest of our daughters for learning Spanish (“like Dora”)
- Sesame Street Flash Cards
Excellent! Thanks so much for sharing this!
We plan to roadschool our son for a few years before transitioning to a Waldorf school on an 81-acre working farm in Washington (www.sunfieldfarm.org) once we’ve finished traveling, and he’s in a true Montessori school now (so many are blends, but this one would make Dr. Montessori proud!). My husband was homeschooled, I attended several private schools and a fine arts academy growing up (plus my mom and 2 of her sisters were teachers), and my favorite part of being a nurse is patient/family education on conditions and treatments. We feel like our combined experiences should give us a pretty good foundation on how to introduce R.A.D to the world around him and engage him at age appropriate levels. I’ve always said, “Why read about some place when you can visit there,” mostly in reference to visiting Europe and Asia, but since we’ll be traveling across North America we love the idea of applying that to our explorations here.
I particularly like the timer idea for delineating school time vs. free/family time, particularly since our little man is high energy and easily distracted (much like the dog on “Up.” *SQUIRREL*). What do you think has been your biggest challenge with road schooling thus far? Is there anything you’ve tried so far that you wouldn’t do again, and why? What do you think your daughter’s favorite part has been (as far as a 3yr old can have favorites of course)?
Thank you again for sharing your experiences. I’m certain we’re not the only traveling tiny house/bus/RV family that will benefit from your knowledge sharing. 🙂 GREATLY APPRECIATED!! -Meg
Thank you so much Tiny House For Three. I appreciate the comment and your personal story. Sunfield seems wonderful!
So, your questions…
1) Our biggest challenge is moving beyond the notions that we are ingrained with: school has to be this or it has to be that. Learning to let go of convention and just allow our daughter to learn at her pace.
2) Yes. I won’t INSIST that we do school that day. If she isn’t feeling it or is just interested in something else and is committed to learning that or learning from it than I will encourage it more and allow her to indulge in it. Learning is learning is learning is learning. End of story.
3) Her favorite part is telling us or reminding us or making us notice that she used a “big word” or can tell us something she learned without being prompted. She loves sharing her excitement for new stuff.
More to come on Monday so be reading Meg!
This is what education should be like. Learning while playing/playing while learning still means the child is learning. The reading is coming soon, be it comic books or hardcover books. Give her stuff she is interested in, and she will devour books when she learns how to read. By the time I was 13 I was reading at a tested 1600 words per minute. There is a very high correlation between reading when young and writing ability when you are older. As you read books that are written properly (sentence structure and spelling) you absorb the ability to comprehend HOW to write properly. This will help later in life when she gets to College/University and in employment. Lets face it, a resume full of spelling mistakes gets tossed in the recycle bin, where a well written resume gets you that interview. Having a set schedule like you do is a great idea. I like your method.
Thank you so much Denis. I love that she doesn’t realize she is learning. To her it is just adventure; exploring.
I don’t think this properly meets the needs of the child. The basic premise is that all parents will be educated themselves to know how to properly administer this form of education, that they will be disciplined and diligent enough in their administration to give the child the substantial grounding they will need to compete in today’s and tomorrow’s society. More than likely, the child will become the subject of benign neglect in this area as adult daily concerns take precedent over the needs of the child. I can see the whole thing going very wrong very easily. Not all parents are born teachers, nor are all parents are licensed teachers.
Children learn more than just reading, writing and arithmetic in the formal school environment. They learn group dynamics, negotiation, the differences between the various personality types, they learn about themselves, they learn group dynamics and working together with others, they learn societies have rules that needs be followed or you get chaos, they learn how to use a chain-of-command and to deal with different situations, they are exposed to much more than just being taught certain skills. They become educated not just trained.
I think homeschooling and other such forms of childhood education are the easy way out; parents don’t need to meet daily school schedules either. Also, parents don’t have to be involved with the schools their children go to (PTA, etc.) or the quality of education the children are being exposed to. I see homeschooling and the like as a first step in removing education completely from the masses and education is the only way the masses have ever been able to better the quality of their lives. This is why Right-wing political and religious groups are so interested in substituting something else for a formal education. They want the masses vulnerable to their assaults.
There is nothing so wonderful than to encounter a well educated (not trained) mind.
These people are more patient and understanding and circumspect in their thinking. This leads to less fighting and isolating from their fellow human beings and a more cohesive society.
I find homeschooling dangerous. I am the product of both private and public schools. Both of my parents were educators; my father took a doctorate in education from Harvard, and my mother a doctorate in education from Columbia University. I have a friend. She is the product of homeschooling. Her social skills are atrocious believing that she is always right, everyone else is always wrong, and worse, no one else has a right to an opinion or to differ with her. She is an intolerant religious zealot who believes in no rights for anyone save a precious few who have no respect for anyone other than themselves. Homeschooling lowers the bar on education and people who are products of homeschooling will never be able to compete for better jobs to say nothing of their inability to think critically. This form of education does a disservice to the children of tomorrow and sets their education back to somewhere in the mid 1800’s.
While this all looks like lollipops and teddy bears, it really is a pernicious attempt to undermine the ability of tomorrow’s people to be able to properly think and maneuver themselves in whatever society they find themselves. This form of education prepares people to be subservient because they will not be able to problem solve for themselves. This form of schooling really guts the best interests of the child and their education.
a child’s first teacher is always the parent… unless the child is schlepped into a foster care program or some other inhumane environment… This is wonderful I believe that all children learn differently. The statistics alone for the failure of the American public education system speak loudly for themselves. There is absolutely nothing wrong with allowing a child to grow and learn at his/her own pace.
AMEN!. Thank you for speaking up Lisa. All children – as all adults, even – learn differently and we should only hope for a system or a discourse that encourages that individualism. Thank you for speaking up.
So much misinformation here.
The thinly veiled “socialization” argument. That has been debunked by multiple sources, many of which are respected academic journals and not right-wing or fundamentalist.
The “homeschool parents don’t haven’t to be involved in their child’s education” argument. Do you teach in public school currently? Because I did, for 13 years, and parent involvement was abysmal. Not to say there aren’t incredible PTOs that involve many parents, but if you get 10% of a school involved in the PTO you are considered successful. I just attended my daughter’s first PTA meeting of the year in a high school with 1400 kids. There were 25 families represented. Do that math and tell me how involved parents are.
Your venom scares me, truthfully, or I would post the story of my kid and how in the four years she was with me (technically in the private school I founded but for all intents and purposes, homeschooled) she built a house, gave a TEDTalk and was invited to the White House. Her academics are light years above her peers in her current school, and she has been invited to give another TEDTalk.
Public school is hardly teaching kids how to “properly think and maneuver themselves.” It is teaching to the test and aiming towards the middle. Let’s talk about college, shall we? Nearly half of students entering college (not the Ivys; those kids went to wealthy private schools, in general) need to take remedial writing, reading, and math prior to beginning their college courses. That is hardly teaching proper thinking.
And although the numbers of people choosing to homeschool is on the rise, it is a drop in the bucket with regards to the number of kids in school. So no worries. Public school will continue to churn out mediocre students (with some notable exceptions) for many years to come.
I would love to know where you get your information. It is factually and anecdotally incorrect on every level.
I see you took my comments down. You really are quite evil. You are part of this Right-wing take down of America. Shame on you. If you were legitimate, you’d entertain all conversations and not lie your way to some truth you want other people to swallow. You think you’re working for God. That’s the nonsense you tell yourselves to destroy everybody else’s happiness. If God came to Earth today, he wouldn’t reward your efforts with anything but a quick trip downstairs.
Please note: comments that have not yet posted cannot come down. All comments on Tiny r(E)volution go through a moderation block before being live posted.
I thank you for your time and your post and appreciate your comment. I do not believe it nor do I care to hear your comments laced with disdain and hate thinly veiled by dime-store academia and dishonest tolerance.
“I do not believe it nor do I care to hear your comments laced with
disdain and hate thinly veiled by dime-store academia and dishonest
tolerance.”
We learned disdain and hate from you. We got tired of being shoved around by your arrogance and decided it’s time to push back. We are the goodies, you are the baddies. We are the tree loving bunny huggers. You are the monopolistic corporate minions. And my dime-store academia came from one of the top schools on the eastern seaboard at a price that would curl your hair. As for dishonest tolerance… well, at least we are tolerant. You all are just plain dishonest and we shall see the fruits of your best thinking with this next Congress.
That deserves a Bronx cheer Phllllbbbb! (for those of you without a historical background a Bronx cheer in a rude noise made between the lips and tongue)
Was your Bronx cheer to West Winds or to me Amy? HAHAHAHA. Whatever the case, it was worth it to hear a virtual ppphhhhbbbbb! LOL!
It was for West Winds. It felt good to write it too! : )
This is a pretty funny comment. I am not sure what you read above that prompted you to write this.
These sound great for a three year old! I hope she never finds learning a chore. The point is to have them eager and self motivated to find out what they need to know as adults. There is a lot of drill and repetition in the primary years of course and it dismays me how many people out of the public system can’t even spell or add and subtract, but keep it up
Thank you Amy. There is a lot of drill at this stage. That is true enough. But if given the right set of circumstances (as I feel you know) with the right reinforcement it is not so much a chore as an activity or any adventure in connecting more with the world around.
The operative words here is “this sounds like” meaning you can’t say for a fact because you don’t know me. I’m very tolerant with other tolerant people. But I’m no longer tolerant of those who seek to bulldoze others into their religiously underpinned autocratic thinking or lifestyle because they simply award themselves that right. The fact you reject my take on this form of education out of hand only says you are not willing to consider the damage done to society as a whole when you lower the bar on education. This is my country, too, and I object to it being ruined by people who are looking for political control.
You don’t read very closely. I have taught in both public and private schools (including university) and homeschooled. My own child is currently in a public school. No one has done any rejecting except you, based on one person you know who had a bad experience. I wonder if she knows how utterly intolerant you are of her.
And to add, you have done to Andrew exactly what you say should not be done to you: judged someone without knowing them. Interesting.
Oh, pleeeese. This is such an obvious attack taken straight out of the Rovian playbook. You can’t come up with anything pertinent; that would involve you in an honest intellectual discussion of the pros and cons of any given situation so you blame others for what you yourselves do. We’re better than that on the Left.
I think that is really what it is. I think he’s picking a fight with zero ammunition. I could post sources for days and also give hundreds of anecdotal examples, as both a former public school teacher, the founder of a fully accredited, non-profit private school, and a parent who essentially homeschooled her kid for four years. But that would be a waste of time.
Hi, I wanted to take a moment and say how much I have enjoyed reading your post today. As a Roadschooler myself, I can relate to how & why you have chosen to provide this opportunity that we call “roadschooling” for your family. I also wanted to let you know, that I have added this blog to a roadschooling blogroll that I have, via my Facebook Roadschooling page “Roadschooling – Families Homeschooling on the Road”. Please come and check us out and join in the conversation 😉
Hope to see you there!
~>Here is a link to our site:
https://www.facebook.com/RoadschoolingFamilies
Here is a link to our Roadschooling Blogroll section: https://www.facebook.com/RoadschoolingFamilies/app_208195102528120
Great article! Thanks for sharing. I love tiny houses but worry about parking and getting/giving my son the best education he can have. I have been toying with homeschooling but really ADORE the idea of road schooling! You folks are the bomb diggity! K
You’re wrong about this. I never “troll”. Trolls are Republicans who are paid to go on sites and “stir up trouble”. I can’t be bothered. In fact, this article showed up on a liberal home building site and I felt it was misplaced, proselyting and had no business on our site. What does homeschooling have to do with home building other than trying to sell us on a Right-wing lifestyle?
And why should my mind not be made up? Isn’t YOUR mind made up?
At least we on the Left listen before we condemn. I’ve done a lot of listening to the Right over the years and if my mind is made up it’s from watching the Right’s modus operandi; the intellectual and emotional dishonesty, the “faith based” thinking that has taken this country to where it is today.