This is a term we have increasingly used in conversations whilst travelling but to friends back home it’s still a very uncommon concept. So let’s try and explain and share our different worldschooling experiences from our trip so far. And yes we are also homeschooling a bit!
Worldschooling is educating your children whilst travelling. They aren’t following a school day, but rather learning on the go. We do try and homeschool a little each day, concentrating on maths, English and reading. We have found using a mixture of exercise books, online apps, flashcards and blank note books work well for us.
Alicia is in yr 5 at school so focus maths on times-tables, decimals, fractions, angles and calculations. English is pretty much getting her to write – either about something we have done, somewhere we visited or being creative with her own story. She also has a kindle for reading which has been good (although not used as much as we would have liked!). But we’ll be honest – some days homeschooling just doesn’t happen, other days it’s tough, and we have learned to abandon ship if it’s not happening!
Nyle is only in his first proper year at school, so we are learning phonics, basic maths (addition, subtraction, telling the time, money, counting in 2s, 5s, 10s) etc. He also does Reading Eggs which offers phonics games and books to read online for this ability.
We are then topping that up with what they experience on their travels. We’re very lucky having Stef as an artist as she encourages them to sketch and paint often and so we tick art off frequently. P.E is also covered whether we are swimming, hiring bikes, or playing frisbee on the beach!
The rest of the curriculum is taught by the world – this could be a science museum in Kuala Lumpur, negotiating with the thai market vendors, calculating the cost across various currencies – and handling the money! They learn about the country we are in, the religion, the flag, try their cuisine and local sports – Nyle especially loved Muay Thai boxing in Koh Lanta, Thailand.
But the biggest thing they are learning is their social skills. Both of them have confidence like never before. They will speak to adults, making direct eye contact. They will speak to locals and ask for what they need or want. They will order their own food in a bust street market, ask for the bill – Alicia even phoned the hotel reception to ask for something. They wouldn’t have done any of this 6 months ago! They have the awareness to navigate uneven pavements and busy roads. They have spent entire days travelling, learning patience and resilience – especially when delays hit or we have to do 2-3 different forms of transport in a day! They have learned to make friends and play with them – even if they don’t speak the same language. It’s so lovely to watch! And they are learning to cope at saying bye to their new friends. But they now have connections in Hawaii, Texas, Utah, Germany and of course different parts of the UK.
One thing that is very important for kids is routine and kids company so we have made sure to focus on these areas. We aren’t travelling quickly to allow them to have a bit of routine. Generally we try and do an hours school work before we leave our room for the day – getting it out the way! This routine is helpful for us all.
Meeting friends has come in a few different forms. We have joined worldschool communities in Kuala Lumpur and Koh Lanta where we joined a facilitated whatsapp group and activities such as sports, arts and crafts and games are arrange. And if you want to go, you do. It’s all free but driven by us / you the parents to suggest ideas. These hubs have been set up by Bliss Investor and they oversee all the chats and offer suggestions – a cracking group of parents who we are sorry we haven’t had the chance to meet. This isn’t childcare or a drop off school – it’s a community of like-minded parents.
We also joined a full-time hub in Phu Quoc, where we paid 200 euros for the 3 weeks (activities and accommodation on top). Again, this isn’t childcare but a chance for children and parents to meet and live together for a short period of time whilst enjoying the area in which the hub is based – for us this was Phu Quoc, Vietnam. We are due to also do the same format in Guatemala in March. Activities are arranged by the hub facilitators such as lantern and hat making, language lessons and cooking classes. And whilst they also coordinate excursions, they are all optional depending if it is for you or not. What we loved about this format of hub was the chats over breakfasts, beers on an evening and the independence the kids had as they were safe in the resort and lots of parents around to lend extra eyes. The adult company was great for us too and we have definitely made friends for life from this hub.
Similar to this 2-3 week format, there are also pop-up hubs around the world which run for a week in different cities in all continents. You just pick one, arrange to be there and there is a host who coordinates your week for you! Very good if you don’t want to stay for long, or want to not commit to staying in the same hotel as everyone else!
The final worldschooling hub which we haven’t experienced is a paid for childcare facility. These are naturally more expensive as you can drop your kids off like at school, as well as participate in family activities all together. There is more of an education based structure here but for working parents this would work well as you have the kids taken care of, usually for 4-5 hours a day.
So that’s worldschooling for us – we follow some structure, but let our travels and the world teach the rest, and combine our time as a 4 with time in places where there are hubs and we know there will be lots of other families! They have certainly learned a lot that they would never have done or seen from a classroom, but they also haven’t ticked off the full curriculum and range of academic subjects! We’ll see what happens when they do end up back in school……
