Many people decide they can’t take a sabbatical because of the possible effects on their kids. They worry the kids will get behind in school and won’t be able to catch up. I don’t worry about that for a few reasons:
- We are a pretty structured household and the kids read, do math, do a Duolingo section, and play an instrument every day whether it’s a school day or not. It’s just part of our routine.
- We feel confident we could homeschool if needed. The COVID remote learning/homeschooling time gave us insight into what and how much our kids were learning every day, and we figured out some online resources we could go back to if needed.
- We are enrolling them in a school with a similar curriculum to what they would have had in the States, just in a different language.
- We’ll be staying in the same spot most of the time, which will give us time to develop a routine for schoolwork.
There are as many educational philosophies as there are educators (which include parents) and everyone has a different idea of what’s best and what will work for their family. I’ve ordered the resources below in order of least structure to most structure. Some people may want to use a more structured approach to some subjects like math or language, and a less structured approach for science and history. For example, I don’t plan to formally teach my kids history or science, but I do read part of a young adult or adult-level non-fiction book about history or science every night. Or you may get an online math tutor with the kids in a local school.
We also learned during COVID how little time during the school day is actually spent on instruction. There’s a lot of time for snacks, transitions, outdoor play, and social activities. I’m not saying these things aren’t important – they are – but it helped us realize how much instruction was expected on a given day. For example, Colorado homeschooling requirements are only 4 hours per day for 172 days a year, which is less than 3 months of full day instruction per year.
If you’re traveling with your kids, you are worldschooling by most definitions. There’s an enormous range of what worldschooling means and how it looks in practice.
One author breaks the huge concept of worldschooling down into four categories:
- Settled Globetrotters – stay in one place most of the year, kids in local schools, travel occasionally
- Unconventional traditionalists – put the kids into local schools wherever they are, even for very short periods of 3-4 weeks
- Structured adventurers – Often full-time nomads, use more traditional homeschool curricula
- World unschoolers – no structured curriculum at all, trust children’s curiosity to advance their learning
No school
If you’re going to be gone the equivalent of a long holiday break or a summer break, just not worrying about doing anything academic might be the best choice. They’ll pick up plenty of new information about the world and life just from the travel itself, and dragging along a workbook or forcing them to do a few online lessons might be a lot of hassle for not much benefit.
Unschooling
Unschoolers rely on kids to lead their own learning. The concept of “strewing” is popular in unschooling, in which you “strew” ideas or concepts into the kids’ lives and see what they want to pursue further. Basically exposing them to new objects, concepts, and experiences then trusting that they’ll engage more with the subjects that interest them. I hadn’t heard of this concept formally but it seems a lot like what most parents do instinctually. Or even what most animal parents do in the wild, for that matter (we watch a lot of nature documentaries in our house!)
Homeschooling
The definition of homeschooling is just learning outside a public or private classroom setting. For us, the main issue with homeschooling is whether we can actually be good teachers to our own kids. I’m sure many of you are amazing at it, and others don’t feel a burning desire to discuss the Pythagorean theorem ever again. Being able to emphasize what your family thinks is important is a nice benefit.
Setting your own schedule is the major perk of homeschooling. You can have a daily routine that fits the hours/flow of your family with an activity break in the middle. I’ve also known people who would travel/sightsee two or three days in a row, then have a schooling day, then repeat. We’ve found our kids often need a slower day if we’re doing full days of exploring a new city, so this cadence can be a good balance.
There are so many resources for homeschooling now. We’ve used Duolingo, Mystery Science, Khan Academy, Singapore Math, and have loved SimplyPiano. I’m sure many of you have favorites too – please share in the comments.
Online schools
Again, there has been an explosion in online schools since COVID. You may have access to a free online school through your state. There are a ton of private options, including options for specific interests, pedagogical methods, and gifted kids specifically. Some of them are totally asynchronous, others have a live component to them. If you choose this option, make sure the wifi at your destination is strong and reliable.
Keep the kids enrolled in their usual school online
More and more schools, both public and private, are offering an online component. This can be a great way to stay involved in the community and keep the kids on the same track as their classmates academically. Testing/proctoring may be an issue for kids in higher grades.
Tutors, either online or local
Getting tutors gives you flexibility to travel and assurance that the teaching will be at the appropriate level for your kid. There are a ton of tutoring programs online and off now. You can have online math tutoring, language tutoring, or tutoring for a special interest. Finding someone in the local community for language or music tutoring can be a really nice way to make some connections.
Enroll the kids in a local school
This seems like the easiest option but may be the most complicated depending on when and where you’re going. You’ll need to know what the local school year is (often ends in November in the Southern Hemisphere) and what the general school calendar is (many countries take two weeks off for Easter, for example). Some private schools have a long waiting list and won’t want students who aren’t guaranteed to be paying tuition for the next 12 years. Some schools may have teaching or disciplinary methods you disagree with. Some may not be equipped to deal with students unless they already speak the local language. Registering at local public schools may require your child to have specific paperwork. And don’t forget to scan copies of your kids’ vaccine cards, birth certificates, and passports and keep them in a google drive or similar folder. In fact, go do that now – you’ll be shocked how often they come in handy.
If you have learning resources you love, please comment below!