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Jumping into the world of homeschooling can be overwhelming. Add in traveling to turn your homeschooling into roadschooling, and you suddenly have even more to think about. The good news? Roadschooling is not only totally doable, it can be a ton of fun! Our family has an absolute blast learning together as we explore the country, and you can too. The key to success is finding the right tools and resources and using them to help you along.
Of course, not every resource is going to be right for every family. That said, there are definitely some roadschool resources that stand out from the crowd. Below are the ones we have tried (or at least looked into) that I think have a lot to offer. Try some on for size as you figure out which direction you’re headed on your roadschool journey.
In-Person Learning
One of the things we have the most trouble with as roadschoolers? Finding ways to work in-person lessons into our travels. We have found some workarounds though. Here are some methods we’ve used.
NPS Junior Ranger Program
The Junior Ranger program has been our friend from the get-go. This is an amazing program that gives kids the chance to earn a Junior Ranger badge at each national park site they visit. To earn a badge, kids must fill out a fun workbook and participate in activities within the national park. This is great because it keeps young visitors engaged and helps ensure they get the most out of their experience.
Local Parks and Recreation Departments
Recently, we have discovered that many Parks and Recreation departments offer low-cost extracurricular activities with flexible scheduling. For instance, our daughter took part in a short, two-month gymnastics session this summer, and the Oklahoma City Parks and Rec department offers drop-in fencing classes that our son has been enjoying. It’s worth checking out what the local Parks and Rec might be offering when you arrive in a new place.
Local Library Events
Libraries are an excellent resource all across the country. You may not be able to collect a new library card in each place you visit—though many do allow visitors to purchase a short-term card—but you can absolutely participate in the many events the libraries have to offer.
We’ve attended dance lessons, Cricut workshops, a mini-opera performance, an acrylic painting session, a full-fledged coding camp, and more—all through libraries, and all for free!
Summer Camps and Workshops
If you won’t be in one place long enough for your kids to join a class for an entire season, consider finding short-term sessions such as summer camps and workshops instead. These are often offered through Parks and Rec departments as mentioned above, but plenty of other businesses and organizations offer camps and workshops as well.
Fulltime Families
Finding a homeschool community is crucial. Unfortunately, this can be incredibly difficult when you’re constantly on the move. This is where Fulltime Families come into play. Our organization aims to connect traveling families through online interactions, yes, but also through live events such as rallies, hangouts, field trips, and parties. Really, we are the ultimate roadschool community!
Live Online Classes
We’ve also used online classes in order to allow our kids to learn from and build relationships with expert teachers while traveling. This has worked pretty well for us. Here are some of the platforms that offer this type of class.
Outschool
We absolutely love Outschool. Our son takes painting classes and science classes through this platform currently, and he has learned so much and made a real connection with his teachers and classmates. I highly recommend Outschool as a way to enhance your roadschooling experience.
Practice Monkeys
Practice Monkeys is an online music school that is just perfect for RVers. It gives kids the opportunity to join live music classes even while out on the road.
Aistear Irish Dance
Aistear is similar to Practice Monkeys, but instead of music, the focus is on dance—Irish dance, to be specific. Both pre-recorded and live lessons are available.
Online Curricula
Our littlest is only 4 years old and doesn’t do a whole lot in the way of formal schoolwork just yet. That said, our 12-year-old son has tried many types of curricula over the years, and we have found that online options work best for us while traveling. This is because an online curriculum doesn’t require a lot of physical books and papers, which can be hard to organize and store in an RV.
Below are my personal favorite online options.
Moby Max
Our friends have used Moby Max for many years and have nothing but good things to say. It is an engaging full curriculum and the monthly cost to use it is very minimal. It’s great because it teaches to mastery and is always looking for gaps, meaning your student will fully understand all material by the time he or she is finished with the year.
ABC Mouse
My son used ABC Mouse while in preschool and kindergarten, and these days my daughter adores it. It’s great because it uses games to teach basic concepts and even rewards the kids along the way. I imagine we will continue to use this for supplemental learning for the next year or two.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is what our 12-year-old is using now (our little one uses the Khan Kids app) and although it is a bit dry, he really likes that it’s to the point. I appreciate that it is totally free and that I can quickly see my son’s progress and the things he might need to work on. It is pretty thorough as well, but you might want to add some hands-on stuff for subjects like science.
Other Options
These are some other online options that look great, but that I have no personal experience with:
- Miacademy — I’ve seen this one advertised for roadschoolers more than once. It looks like a fun, gamified approach to learning, which my family loves.
- Adventure Academy — This is made by the same people who put out ABC Mouse. It is also gamified and could be a lot of fun.
- Night Zookeeper — If your kids want a fun way to learn language arts, this could be it. It’s for younger kids and works on basics. Students are even provided feedback from a real teacher!
- Time 4 Learning — This is a full curriculum that is loved by many roadschooling families. I imagine it is wonderful, considering how many people use it.
Educational Apps
In addition to actual online curricula, we’ve also used several learning apps over the years, especially when our son was younger and really benefited from a gamified learning experience. Here are the apps we’ve used and loved.
Reading Eggs
Reading Eggs was recommended over and over again when my son was little, so we gave it a try. It was fun, but my kiddo actually enjoyed another app more (mentioned below). That said, it is worth trying this one on for size because I thought it was well done.
Note: There is also a Mathseeds app made by the same people that may appeal to your little ones.
Teach Your Monster to Read
The app my son liked more? It was Teach Your Monster to Read. While he was sounding things out fairly well by the time he got his hands on this app, everything seemed to click as soon as he started playing this engaging game. Highly recommended!
Kahoot! Math Apps
Kahoot! math apps are perfect for helping your kids understand math concepts. There are a number of different options for various ages and levels, and every single one is colorful and engaging. We have been using the multiplication app for practicing multiplication tables and it is helping tremendously.
Note: Kahoot! also has a reading app that we plan to try with our youngest this year.
Prodigy Math
We had Prodigy Math for a very short amount of time, but my son really did enjoy it. It’s a fantasy adventure game that requires players to answer math questions to move forward with their quests. It’s a great way to gamify math, and it does a great job of filling gaps when concepts may not be fully understood.
Khan Academy Kids
As mentioned above, our preschooler uses the Khan Academy Kids app and loves it. It includes games that practice numbers and letters, as well as things like tracing. I appreciate that it is colorful and fun, and is totally free!
PBS Kids App
Finally, I absolutely love the PBS Kids app. This one includes a huge number of games that feature beloved PBS characters and encourage kids to practice academic skills.
Finding Reading Material
Another struggle we’ve had as traveling homeschoolers? Finding enough reading material to keep our little bookworms happy. While this is a problem I love having, it has been frustrating at times. We’ve used the solutions below and have found they help quite a lot.
Online Library Resources
I mentioned library programs above, but I should also mention the amazing online resources many libraries provide. We love the Libby app, which allows us to check out ebooks using our library card from our hometown. We’ve also used the Hoopla app to check out movies and documentaries, both for fun and to use in our roadschooling.
Epic
Epic is a good option for elementary-aged kids who like to read a lot. It’s a subscription ebook service that gives users access to a huge library of age-appropriate books. I liked that I could give my kid the freedom to access and explore the app on his own since no adult books were available.
Everand
Everand (previously Scribd) is a reading subscription service that includes books and magazines for all ages. I found that this service is better for older kids, teens, and adults. It is wonderful for that, as it includes an enormous selection of reading material.
Little Free Libraries
Sometimes kids need a real book in their hands. I love Little Free Libraries for this reason. We like to keep a few books we’ve already read in the car, so we can donate them and take some new books to read whenever we happen across a Little Free Library.
Thrift Store Books
Another great way to ensure a constant rotation of physical books is available to your kids? Thrift stores! Generally, the books sold at thrift stores are incredibly inexpensive, meaning you can donate books you are finished with and pick up a whole new collection without spending a fortune.
Raz Kids
Finally, there is Raz Kids. This is another online kids book subscription service, but it’s different because the goal of the service is to help kids improve their reading. It provides tools for improvement, rewards for motivation, and a quick and easy way to see a student’s improvement.
Note: Fulltime Families members can get a discount by joining Raz Kids through Fulltime Families.
While these are the best roadschooling resources I’ve come across, I know they are far from the only resources out there. What amazing resources have you come across? Will you use one of these options to make your roadschooling adventure even more exciting?
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