A roadschooling family examining a map while traveling

Roadschooling: Homeschool On the Go

Curious about roadschooling, the homeschooling method that combines learning with the digital nomad lifestyle? Read on to find out more about this exciting way to integrate travel with learning, and if the roadschool approach could be right for your family.

Just a few years ago, working from home was rare, and attending school from home was all but unheard of. Now, over 50% of the American workforce is “commuting” to work online on a regular basis. With so many parents working from home, homeschooling is becoming the perfect solution for more and more families.

However, working remotely doesn’t always mean working from home! Many families are taking this newfound opportunity to explore the world more often, or even to travel full-time. So, how are these families balancing keeping up with their kids’ education while showing them the world? Enter the most flexible, adventure-packed homeschooling method of all: roadschool.

What Is Roadschooling?

If you’re new to this homeschool style, you may be wondering: What is roadschooling? In the simplest terms, roadschooling is homeschooling on the go. Roadschooling families have proven that taking a trip doesn’t have to put the brakes on your student’s academic progress — in fact, it can be the perfect opportunity to deepen their learning!

Roadschooling is a flexible method that combines real-world learning with organic exploration to create powerful experiences for the entire family. For example, families who homeschool on the road might:

  • Create a timeline of events related to the historical sites they will visit
  • Explore the natural world around them while traveling, then research what they find in follow-up science lessons
  • Calculate the elapsed time on their drive for the day, or how far they can travel before refueling
  • Write and illustrate poetry inspired by the landscapes they travel through

This unique and adventurous approach to homeschooling allows families to make the most of the natural learning experiences in the world around us. As a result, roadschooling empowers families to immerse themselves in experiential learning, while also showing students the countless ways that the topics they study relate to real life.

The roadschool method can also be combined with other methods to create a customized approach that works for your family. For example, a family who travels full-time may homeschool entirely through a Montessori-inspired approach to roadschooling, while a family who travels part-time may primarily rely on the Charlotte Mason method, but integrate the practices of roadschool when they’re on the go. No matter where life takes your family, roadschool is the perfect approach to ensure your kids never lose their learning momentum.

Is Roadschooling Right for My Family?

Roadschool is an exciting learning option and a great fit for many families. However, like all homeschool methods, it isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” approach. The most important part of choosing a homeschool style is to find one that works well for your family. If you’re considering the roadschool lifestyle, ask yourself these questions to determine if it will be the right fit:

  • Can your kids work well in a variety of locations? Roadschooling might mean learning in a national park one day, an RV the next, and a campsite the day after that. If your child is highly dependent on routines, then the constant changes that roadschooling entails may make it difficult for them to focus.
  • Do your kids need a quiet, dedicated space to learn? In vans, RVs, and other vehicles, space is often limited. You may not be able to set up a dedicated “classroom” space for them to work. If your child is just as content working on a couch or a picnic table as at a desk, then roadschooling may be great for them! However, kids who need a dedicated, quiet learning space to focus may have a harder time. Your child’s roadschool “classroom” doesn’t need to be an impassable roadblock, but may be something to plan for in advance.
  • Are your kids hands-on learners? Do they love tactile experiences, movement, and kinesthetic exploration? If so, roadschooling may truly help them thrive. The world is full of incredible experiences, and thoughtfully aligning your curriculum with your travels can create unique opportunities for kinesthetic learning.
  • How can your kids’ learning needs be met in an RV, van, or other on-the-go space? Think about the unique needs of each of your students. Do they require lots of hands-on math tools for concrete learning? Do they need access to fidget tools to stay focused? Do they need noise-canceling headphones to follow along with online lessons? You know your student better than anyone, so consider if their unique learning needs would make sense in an on-the-go environment.
  • Does your family spend a lot of time traveling? The freedom to choose your school schedule is a huge benefit of homeschooling for many families. If your kids are frequently taking time out of their school routine to travel, consider making those trips part of their school routine instead. Rather than being a disruption to their academic term, roadschooling can allow you to intentionally enrich your kids’ learning through the family vacations you have planned.
  • Does your family handle living in close quarters well? Roadschooling often means living in just a few square feet for days or weeks at a time — or even permanently! If your family thrives with plenty of private space and alone time, roadschooling for long periods of time may become frustrating. However, if your family does well with lots of close contact and shared spaces, roadschooling might be an easy adjustment.

Remember, you can always mix and match homeschool styles! For example, if your family typically follows a project-based approach, but you want to spend part of the school term traveling, roadschool can be a great way to keep your kids’ educational momentum while you’re on the go.

Benefits of the Roadschooling Style

As the most adventurous homeschool style, roadschooling can benefit students (and the rest of the family) in many exciting ways. For example, it creates ample opportunities for:

  • Family bonding
  • Cultural exposure
  • Exploration
  • Creativity
  • Broadening your kids’ perspectives
  • Seeing the world

Roadschooling is centered around aligning your curriculum with your travels, and this dynamic duo can lead to some amazing results. Firstly, traveling and seeing the world can help kids develop their creativity, social-emotional skills, tolerance, and empathy. It can help them learn to “go with the flow” by adapting to new environments. Traveling also helps kids learn the rewards of trying new things, which is an important part of fostering a growth mindset.

In fact, many of these benefits extend to the entire family! Traveling together has been linked to stronger family bonds and better communication between family members. With more families than ever before adopting the “digital nomad” lifestyle, roadschooling is the perfect way to make the most of these benefits while still keeping your kids’ education on track.

A roadschooling student looks out the window of an RV

How to Roadschool

Roadschooling gives you the unique opportunity to integrate your travels into your homeschool curriculum. Wondering how to roadschool your student in each of the different subject areas? We’ll break down some tips and tricks to help you get started homeschooling with the roadschool method.

Math

The question of “when am I ever going to use this in real life?” is an all-too-common follow-up to many math lessons. Roadschooling can answer this for you by showing your student the real-world applications of your math curriculum in real-time! Some examples of math topics to explore when roadschooling are:

  1. Using geometric tools to measure a map, then using arithmetic to interpret the map’s scale
  2. Calculating the miles traveled that day, then taking it a step further by calculating your average speed while traveling
  3. Collecting data about topics ranging from weather patterns to the colors of cars on the road, then using that data to make graphs and charts
  4. Using rocks, shells, or leaves collected on your travels as math manipulatives that represent arrays, addition problems, and more

Language Arts

While on the road, your student may have plenty of opportunities to curl up with a good book. Additionally, roadschooling allows you to extend beyond the basics by making your language arts curriculum more relatable than ever before! For example, your student can:

  1. Use their travels as inspiration when writing, whether it’s a research paper about the area they’re in currently, or nature-themed poetry
  2. Learn vocabulary relevant to their travels, like geological features, architectural designs, and more
  3. Study books that take place in the location they’re traveling through, making literature come to life and deepening their understanding

Social Studies

One of the amazing benefits of roadschooling is the opportunity to broaden your student’s awareness of the world around them. Aligning your social studies curriculum to your travels can help you make the most of this experience. For example, your student might:

  1. Study the history of the area you’re visiting, including events that happened nearby or influential people from the area
  2. Examine an area’s topography and geography, allowing them to deepen their learning with real-world exploration and experiences
  3. Learn about the demographics of an area, and use their understanding of history to consider how they might have changed over time
  4. Visit historical sites to gain a firsthand understanding of these distant events

Science

Roadschooling can enrich your science curriculum in many different ways. Whether they’re studying physics or biology, this homeschooling method can help your student see the science all around them in the world. To learn science through the roadschool method, your student can try:

  1. Exploring the biomes you visit, including learning technical terms to describe the biome in detail
  2. Identifying local plants and animals, and keeping an observation journal of what your student finds
  3. Studying the operation of your vehicle by learning about the practical applications of relevant physics and engineering concepts
  4. Learning how a generator works by investigating topics like energy and chemical reactions

Electives

While many traditional school environments limit students to electives like Spanish or Illustration, roadschooled students have a world of options available to them! The unique experiences your student has while traveling can become incredibly enriching elective courses. For example, they can:

  1. Take P.E. in the world around them by hiking, swimming, and exploring your destinations
  2. Take an art class inspired by your travels, including trying out traditional art styles from the area
  3. Take a music course steeped in the places you visit by studying the contributions of the area’s famous musicians in depth
  4. Take a life skills elective centered on the skills that go into traveling by helping with logistics, planning, and more

A young boy looking at a plant with a magnifying glass

Roadschooling with Miacademy

Thinking about making the switch to roadschooling? You don’t have to be on your own just because you’re on the road! Miacademy’s accredited K-8 curriculum and MiaPrep’s accredited 9-12 curriculum are perfect complements to the roadschool lifestyle.

Our online homeschool curriculum is completely flexible and customizable. You can assign lessons from any of our courses to your student, making it easy to match their learning to your travels. Plus, once you’ve selected their courses and lessons, we handle it from there! Your child’s assignments will be automatically and evenly distributed across the dates you choose for their school term. You can even schedule days off in advance for those truly off-the-grid trips.

However, being offline doesn’t mean their learning has to stop! Our lessons pair engaging teaching videos with fun practice games, and we also provide enriching extension activities that are perfect for learning on the go. Miacademy and MiaPrep can help you plan, manage, and deepen your homeschooled students’ education, no matter where they’re learning from.

Plus, our community features can keep kids connected to their peers, even when they’re on the go. With your permission, students can socialize and express themselves creatively in our completely moderated and safe online environment. You can also disable these features at any time from your parent portal. After all, one of the greatest benefits of any homeschooling style is the ability to customize your child’s experience!

Take it from our friends at Peeples and Places. They’re a family of roadschoolers who travel in an RV full-time, making the most of the flexibility that this style offers. Here’s what they have to say about roadschooling with Miacademy:

“I’m so thankful another Full-time RV mom told me about Miacademy! …We have been using this for the last 6 months and it has been a GAME CHANGER!”

Ready to try roadschooling with us? Take Miacademy for a month-long test drive for just $1.99, or $9.95 for MiaPrep. You can also reach out to our amazing customer support team at any time to find out more about how our programs can fit into your family’s roadschooling journey!