There’s no denying that the last two school years have looked anything but normal. When the pandemic shut down in-person schools, it opened the door for new learning opportunities. While public and some private schools switched to virtual learning, some families decided to opt into homeschooling. With more parents than ever working from home as well, the unique option of road schooling is growing in popularity.
What is road schooling?
Road schooling is exactly like it sounds. It’s doing school on the road. Before the 19-20 school year ended in the midst of the pandemic, road schooling was reserved for homeschooling families. But now that virtual learning has continued to be an option for many families, the road schooling option has expanded to public school families as well.
Road schooling can look a lot of different ways. If your children are still in public school, you may need to make sure you’re connected to wi-fi at the right times of day for them to join their class lessons. But if you’re homeschooling, you have the freedom to structure your day however you choose. Some families like to make homeschool look similar to traditional schooling while others like to use the “unschooling” approach by allowing learning to happen on the fly.
So, you may be wondering, is this pretty much just doing school on the road? And the answer is—sort of. Yes, it’s doing school in an RV, but it’s so much more than that. It’s allowing children to learn through experiences. Think about how much more “real” and fun learning becomes to children when they are able to see and interact with what they’re learning about.
Here’s an example of what this looks like from an article written by Karen Akpan, who is the mom in a road schooling family:
“For example, while in Huntsville, Alabama, we visited the Space and Rocket Center, which turned into a whole lesson about space and astronauts.”
Roadschooling allows you to combine education with real-life experience. This makes “school” more exciting and memorable for children. They aren’t sitting in a classroom bored out of their minds, they’re living life and having an adventure.
Is road schooling right for my family?
If you’re getting excited about the possibility and wondering if it’s a good fit for your family, start this summer, for a trial run. You can pack up the RV and hit destinations around the state or country to see how it would work for your family.
Look for places where you and your family can explore together and learn new things. It could be about the plants you see as you hike through the state park or checking out a historic location that’s near your home. Discover how you can add in learning experiences while also enjoying a vacation on the road.
You can work on finding the right balance of travel, staying in camp, exploring the area, and working remotely before you add the start of the school year. If you decide that it’s not for you, no problem. The kids can be back in school when it starts. But if you fall in love with the lifestyle of road schooling, you can explore the option of doing it full-time.
What type of RV is good for roadschooling?
Truly, any RV could work for roadschooling. So, if you already have an RV in your driveway (or storage) then you can get started with what you have. If you’re looking at switching to full-time RVing and roadschooling or getting started for the first time there are some things you’ll want to consider:
- Storage space – Think through where you’re going to keep your school (and work) supplies as you travel.
- Work space – If you plan on using a traditional curriculum option with workbooks or lots of computer work, you want to make sure that each child has a space to set up and get to work. And if you’ll be working remotely, you’ll need a place to work too. This can either require multiple work surfaces or rotating who is using the space at a time.
- Size of RV – If you want to keep your options open for where you stay as well as travel through cities easily, you’ll want to pay attention to the size of RV you buy. Some parks have restrictions. If you have a small family, you may prefer a Class B campervan.
Outside of these considerations, there are the normal considerations you should make when choosing the right RV for your family. These include things like layout, how much space you need, what type of RV is right, personal preference on finishes, and ease of driving.
Tips for successful road schooling
Get familiar with homeschooling laws
The laws and requirements around homeschooling differ from state to state. It’s important to understand what the requirements are in your primary state residence to make sure your child stays on course for graduation. You can learn more about the specific laws for your state at the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) website. Or, you can check with the public schools in your area to learn more about the requirements.
This step can obviously be skipped if your child is going to be doing virtual classes through public school.
Choose the right curriculum
Once you know what the laws are in your state, you can choose a curriculum that works for you if you’re not going to be doing public school courses. There are many options to choose from. Make sure you think about what you want school to look like for your child. Some curriculum options are traditional workbooks, others are 100% online, and there are hybrids of the two. Or, you can follow the unschooling approach and teach your child based on what you encounter each day.
A few good resources to learn more about curriculum options include Confessions of a Homeschooler and Cathy Duffy Reviews.
Think twice about what supplies you need
If you’re used to more traditional school, you might be thinking that you’re going to need lots of textbooks and other supplies in order to do school with your kids, but that’s not always the case. This should be something you take into consideration as you choose the curriculum. Some require lots of books and supplies and others, like the online programs, require very little.
Before you set off on your roadschooling adventure, make sure you have the supplies you need and have thought through where you’re going to store them in the RV.
Additional information
Here are some additional articles that can help you as you work on transitioning to a life of road schooling:
Ready to start your road schooling adventure?
Let Sky River RV help you get set up with the right RV to meet all your family’s needs. Contact us today to get started.
