Little Schoolhouse on the Highway

Posted by Rhodema | 0 comments

Our family loves to pack our bags, pile into the van and spend days together—traveling. As homeschool parents, we want to add value to our family vacations. Homeschooling is a lifestyle for us and we don’t set learning aside. However, because it is our children’s vacation, too, we don’t want them to be worn out with the educational slant. Planning can make travels both fun and learning enriched.

We have traveled by car to the Florida Everglades, the Grand Canyon, the coastal Northwest, and the nation’s birthplace—New England.  Along the way we have studied Native American Indians, unique geology and ecological systems as well as historical events. My grown children count our family vacations as their favorite homeschool memories. We all discovered together and had fun.

Turning trips into fun educational experiences takes research and planning. Without work beforehand, traveling with so many in the car could quickly unravel into bad attitudes before we roll out of the driveway.

One of our favorite travels was to Florida when our children were 14, 11, 6, and 3. By family vote we chose to explore the Everglades, the Keys and check out any museums along the way.

I began gathering information on our itinerary and destination. An internet search located the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, Florida on route to the south Florida Keys. Reviewing the museum website provided us with a list of exhibits. I made a list of the topics we would be learning about on our tour of the Estates: Edison and Ford’s science discoveries, unusual plants in the museum garden and the historical period of the turn of the century.

Further internet searches lead me to information on the Everglades National Park and the parks of the Florida Keys. I checked these sites for hours of operation, nature centers and trails. The more information I gained ahead of time would make our trip run more smoothly.

Next, I visited the library with the children and began locating books on science topics: everglades, oceans, coral reefs, and the science inventions of Ford and Thomas Edison. We also searched for books on the Native American Indians of Florida, including the Cherokee and Seminoles. Using a list of fiction titles and biographies tied to historical periods, I located appropriate books to add to our reading.

Some of the books became ones to read aloud during school before the trip and others were assigned to the older children to read on their own. We chose one to take and read each night along the way.

We discussed possible topics for reports. Each of the older children selected three topics that they wanted to write about. I made sure to include at least one science topic as well as a historical one for each child. The written assignments varied in length according to the age and ability of each student. I even helped my six-year-old draw a picture of a manatee and practice a short study. The reports were completed before the trip and taken with us. We had the children present their findings in our hotel room or during a roadside stop along the way when the topic related to the day’s activities.

Before the trip, I prepared a travel notebook for each child to enjoy in the car. I used a United States workbook which provided activity coloring pages on each state we traveled across. I included a map of the US for each child and copied pages from MapQuest for each day’s travels.

Blank lined pages were included in the notebook for a journal. Colored pencils and an art pad were also added to the folder. I encouraged our children to write and draw what they saw and did each day. These pages were not graded—merely enjoyed for years to come.

Museum and park gift shops offered numerous activity and picture books on inventions, ocean life, Florida’s Native American Indians and other topics we discovered along the way. These added to our learning and entertainment as we continued our journey.

The last night before we started our return drive, we stayed in a cottage on the east coast of Florida. We had traveled south visiting the historical museum first and then the Everglades. We had spent one whole day in the Keys enjoying the Gulf side as well as the Atlantic side.

On this final morning I woke while it was still dark. I glanced around the room at my sleeping family and my six year old’s head popped up. I motioned for her to come quietly and we slipped into our clothes and flip-flops to sneak out to see the sunrise over the ocean.

As we sat on the beach before the brilliant display that start just at the spot where sea and sky meet, one by one the rest of our family joined us. We didn’t talk; we just soaked up the glorious colors.

We had traveled and learned together. Now we etched a beautiful painting onto the canvas our memories. Our family was rich in treasures that we could never lose.

Tell us where you have been on your favorite trips. What museums or parks did you discover? Share any websites or apps that you have found helpful as you research for your travels.

Resource List:

Websites

Dover Coloring Books – You can find one on almost any topic or time period

Historical Fiction Book Lists

Books with Historical Fiction Booklists

America As Story: Historical Fiction for Middle and Secondary Schools by Coffey and Howard

All Through the Ages by Christine Miller

Reading Through the Ages by L. Thornhill

United States Activity Books

Amazing States by Margaret Burda

50 States by Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company, Inc.

Rhodema Cargill lives the parenting adventure with Calvin, her college sweetheart. They have two adult daughters and two teenagers still at home, a girl and a boy. Their homeschool style is eclectic with a great love of living history books. Rhodema is a freelance writer and speaker. Visit with her on her blog: MommyLife.