Many of you know firsthand that travel is an education. By opening yourself up to learning about where you are, you gain a far broader knowledge of the world than any other methods combined. There are many words for this type of global education - worldschooling, roadschooling, experiential learning, etc.

What is Roadschooling? Author and friend Nancy Sathre-Vogel writes in her new book, Roadschooling: The Ultimate Guide to Education Through Travel, that roadschooling is taking advantage of your travels to educate your children. And she should know! Her family has done several major bike trips, including one across North America and one all along the Pan-Am Highway, which she wrote about in her book, Changing Gears. Both Nancy and her husband, John, are educators - and have worked in schools around the world.

This book is a perfect handbook for any traveling family - useful for long term travelers, nomadic families, and weekend vacationers. What it teaches, through careful examples and inspiration, is that INDEED we can (and should) learn anywhere - and that it is doable!

This book includes sections on:

• What is Education?
• How Kids Learn
• What is Roadschooling?
• Roadschooling Reading
• Roadschooling Writing and Researching
• Roadschooling Math    
• Roadschooling Social Studies
• Roadschooling Science
• Time spent on Schooling
• College
• Enriching the Experience
• Parental Curiosity
• Materials for Roadschooling
• and MANY case studies, each of which is different and inspiring.

In this book, Nancy notes, "Learning takes place around the clock, wherever you happen to be. Education is a lifestyle, with the whole family taking advantage of a visit to a battlefield to learn about the Civil War or learning how locks work during a visit to the Panama Canal."  But my very favorite quote is definitely an example of how we live our lives: "When your life revolves around education, you end up spending very little time on it...Take advantage of every opportunity to get out and play, and your kids will be in school all the time."

Nancy has excellent examples for ways to include learning in your every day life, as well as ways to share what your kids have learned.

Another helpful part of the book is the case studies. Nancy asked many roadschooling families about their roadschooling experiences. You know what? Each one is different - and very useful. Find the one that matches your own educational choices best, obviously those answers will resonate with you. But each case study will give you many takeaways for your own type of roadschooling. It takes a village!

This book? It's genius - and we highly recommend it to EVERY family, whether they travel full time, on weekends, or stay put and explore their own towns.

We had a chance to catch up with Nancy and get the inspiration, backstory, and facts about roadschooling. Here's what she had to say...

Please tell us about your book, Roadschooling...

This is the book to put parents' minds at ease. As parents, we only want the best for our children, and it can be hard to step out of what society expects of us to give our children something different.

For those parents who want to travel with their children long-term, this book will help  them understand how to use their travels more effectively, and help them understand what happens inside our brains when we learn.

What inspired you to write this book?

As a long-time schoolteacher who has also spent many years roadschooling my children, I frequently get letters from parents asking me about the educational side of travel. How do they do it? Will their kids keep up? So many questions about something so very important. I finally decided this was a book asking to be written.

What are the biggest myths about roadschooling?

That there is some sort of magical formula or curriculum that kids need. Many parents are convinced that schools have created a scientifically-based curriculum designed to guarantee that kids will know everything they need to know. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What are the biggest rewards of roadschooling?

When taking advantage of your travels, education is real. It's happening right there, waiting for us to jump in and explore. It's unpredictable and we never know from one day to the next what we will learn, but that's the joy of it all.

From Gauchito Gil and red flags on roadside shrines in Argentina

You've got great case studies in this book - what surprised you about any of them?

I loved how they were all so different. Each person and each family is unique and will approach things differently. I love that.

How can kids learn more about roadschooling - either in preparation for a journey, or while they are exploring their hometowns?

The beauty of roadschooling is that you don't even have to travel for it. Head out to your local museum and find something that interests you. When you get home, research it further. The whole idea is simply to take what is around you, and dive into that.

For example, we live in Boise, Idaho, where we have a very large Basque population. We spent some time wandering around the Basque museum to get a basic idea of what the culture was all about. Now, when we see Basque dancers or Basque food at the state fair, it has a deeper meaning for us.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

I think the crucial thing here is that there is nothing hard or magical about roadschooling. You don't need a teaching certificate. You don't need special materials. You just need a passion for learning.

        
Find out more at:
http://familyonbikes.org/blog/2014/06/roadschooling-ultimate-guide-education-travel/

Big thanks to Nancy for sharing a review copy of this book!

All photos courtesy and copyright Nancy Sathre-Vogel