We are a family of five who took a year off school and normal life from September 2012 to have some quality time together, some adventure, and some real-life learning. This blog chronicles our planning process, our travel, and the educational experiences our children had while on the road, and continue to refer back to now that we are back on home soil. Maybe you will learn from our successes and failures on this giant adventure, or be inspired to do the same with your own family! Please comment or follow our blog and feel free to add your own travel advice.
Roadschooling Claytons 
Hi Jane. This Blog link was sent to me by Maria LaVoie after I shared with her that our family of 4 was off, as of February, and planned a bit of an ‘adventure’ to France. We have a lot of hoops to jump through in order to make that happen, but we’ll see! I’m excited to read about your adventures! Good for you! I think you’re my new hero’s…
Ciao!
-Patti Davidson (VP at LM Montgomery)
Hi Patti,
Thanks for your comments – right at the moment, I’m feeling like we are crazy, so hearing positive things from other people makes it feel ok again (although perhaps briefly!). We plan to spend time in France in September, so hopefully, our experiences might help you plan yours.
Good luck!
Jane
Jane – you have always been my hero ! This will be something the kids remember for the rest of their lives. What a great gift! You are all brave and spirited and are more than a match for whatever comes along. I can’t wait to see you in England – how much space do 5 pairs of wellies take up?
Wellies? What wellies? It will be sunny and warm by the time we arrive!
Jealous or what? Do you need a porter/maths tutor? Looking forward to seeing you all in August in ‘sunny’ Blighty before you set off on your adventure-proper. Are you planning on coming to Asia?
Jane,
You are putting lots of evil ideas into my head. Hmmm … in five years time if I plan really well?
Catherine
I want to be just like you.
Hi. I have just started reading your blog and am finding the road schooling bits really interesting. I wonder, now that you have returned to normality, how the girls are getting on at school. Did they manage to stay on track? Thanks for your time 🙂 Becky
Hi Becky,
The girls got along great when they returned to school, and actually, the experience of some one on one education seems to have allowed them to coast along far more easily at school. I’m constantly amazed by the effects of what seemed like so little schooling while we were on the road. I had nothing to worry about!
Hi Becky,
Thanks for your comment, and sorry for the delay in answering! The girls are getting on remarkably well in school, and in fact, in some instances I feel like the roadschooling experience “carried” them through where they might normally have struggled. The effects of the one on one time, no matter how brief, have been long-lasting for sure! If I were to do this again, I would worry less – when you really think about the amount of time on task they get in a busy classroom, the roadschooling experience gave them as much, if not more, time on the core subjects. And then there was all the rest of it – magic!
Oops, I see I did already reply to your question – oh well…
We are currently living in Belgium (moved here for work two years ago), but we are leaving this summer and thinking of staying in Europe and roadschooling this fall (or maybe for the whole academic year if it goes well, though we can only stay in Europe for three months once we’re back on tourist visas). Did you register as homeschoolers in your home school district? We don’t really have a home district in the U.S. right now, as we’re not residents and the kids have been in Belgian school for the past two years, so I’m finding this very tricky. If you had any thoughts or resources to pass on for this side of things, I would be most grateful!
Your blog is great. Informative, entertaining, and encouraging. I look forward to reading more!
Libby
PS–I’d love to ask you a few more questions, if you’re open to that…
I’d be happy to answer questions, Libby. My email address is jhtravelling@ymail.com