Traveling + Unschooling = Freedom | Motherhood Unplugged

We are not a full-time traveling family, yet :) but it's in the works. For now and for the past three years I have been using a combination of homeschooling + unschooling to educate our boys. We mainly hold the majority of our learning in outdoor classrooms surrounded by nature. I also take them on weekly library haul trips to borrow books on the topic of the week. I usually ask them what they wish to learn about and build the curriculum from there based on books as well as free worksheets available online. Since the school year has begun we've tackled birds + insects.

Homeschooling is quite liberating in the sense that you don't have to follow a strict regimen, which allows much more freedom for you + the kids. I am a free-spirited + creative person and I don't like to follow routines myself. I would also like to share this sense of freedom with my children. We have had experience with traditional school settings and I always get feed back about 'not being able to sit still' during circle time or having an abundance of energy in a close setting. Personally, I find it hard to imagine a toddler willingly wanting to sit still to learn, especially since that hasn't been the case with my two kiddos. Unschooling in outdoor classrooms works very well for us. Sometimes I question myself as a mother + educator wondering if they are retaining anything and then they surprise me in moments with information they've learned when I did not think they were paying attention. My children learn plenty while playing outdoors and they are often much more civil towards one another while playing in the fresh air. I recently learned about a school near us that offers a homeschool program where the children can come together to socialize a few times per week. It is a nature based school, it pretty much mirrors what I do already with them in an outdoor setting just with more children. I'm considering adding this to our regimen and see how they like it.

Socialization or the lack there of is often brought up as a hinderance of homeschooling and this can be true to an extent if you do not actively seek out friends in social settings. When I first became a SAHM in a new neighborhood I did feel a sense of isolation because I quickly learned that most of the kids where we live attend school. I would take the children to the city parks to play with others and also to have a chance to speak with other women. If you've ever been a SAHM you can attest that life speaking to toddlers all day can drive you crazy if you let it, so interacting with others that lead similar lives is important. I also joined a Moms group and went on a few field trips with them when my boys were younger. I ended up meeting a friend who I hung out with quite a bit until they moved out of state. My boys never seemed to have issues making friends of all races but as an adult I did find some issues socializing. I'v experienced exchanging numbers with other moms only to learn they never actually intended to build a friendship when they flake on play dates or simply leave a text on read. I felt like I was back in grade school asking people if they wanted to be friends on the playground lol Contrarily, I've flown overseas and made instant friends of other races while traveling without a problem but here in my own American backyard peoples mind's don't seem to be very open or free for that matter.

This brings me to the point of why I want to just sell everything and travel the world with the boys. I want to show them there is so much more to life than weekend trips to Target for toys, the neighborhood pool, going to a traditional school on the big yellow bus and participating in tons of extracurricular activities. Although we have yet to wander to every continent I am so looking forward to traveling further and full time. I'm encouraged by the people in our world who have done it before and who are still doing it with kids in tow, families like The Bucketlist Family, single moms like Trippinmomma and even an LGBT family like 2 Travel Dads. Their stories remind me that it is possible, you don't have to be rich, you can sell everything, live with less and love your new life on the road. Have you ever considered ditching it all and just leaving? Let me know your thoughts, share with us if you've already managed to break free.

Happy Travels!

#motherhood