With all of the world at your feet, how well would you learn? One way to learn about the world by being in it is called Worldschooling. It's an educational movement rapidly gaining followers (in the form of traveling families that love to learn about the world), and was first coined by Eli Gerzon. He notes, worldschooling is "when the whole world is your school, instead school being your whole world."  We've interviewed a plethora of Worldschoolers here on Wandering Educators, including Travels with a Nine Year Old,  SoulTravelers3, the Sattvic Family, Raising Miro, and Wandermom.

I am pleased to share the journey of one worldschooling family, and their website, Worldschool Adventures. As Worldschool Adventures notes, unschooling doesn't stop for summer vacation!   As worldschooling parents ourselves, we live each day with joy and learning. We talked with Worldschool Adventures mom Amy about their site, slow family travel, digging deeply into a culture, unschooling on the road, and more. Here's what she had to say...

WE: Please tell us about your site, Worldschool Adventures...

Amy: Worldschool Adventures is a blog I started to chronicle our upcoming adventure in Asia.  We are an unschooling family of four, selling our house and traveling slowly around Asia.  Our plan is to travel for at least two years, settling down in the places that we love for a few months at a time and moving on when our hearts tell us it is time.

WE: What was the genesis of your site?

Amy: I wanted to create something that would not only chronicle our journey for our family and friends but to inspire other families to travel together.   But my plan for the blog extends beyond just family travel, I write about unschooling and the benefits of using the whole world as your “classroom”.

WE: What led you to slow family travel?

Amy: My husband and I traveled a lot together pre-children and we realized that traveling with small children was going to be a lot different.  In my opinion slow travel is better for children, it allows them to get used to a place and feel secure in their surroundings.  Taking a bus or train every few days is not my idea of a fun thing to do with two little boys in tow!  We also have more time than money and traveling slowly can really stretch the budget further.  Thus the idea was born to take things slow and when we find places that we like we will rent an apartment or a house for a few months and take it all in at a gradual pace!

WE: How can families best dig deeply into a culture?

Amy: For our family, the fact that we are traveling slowly will help us to immerse in the culture.  We won’t be whipping through the tourist sites and checking them off our list.  We will be living in different communities and I think this will allow us a better insight as well as make it easier to form lasting relationships with locals.  Volunteering is also a great way for families to immerse, but for us the volunteer opportunities will be a bit limited because our children are so young. (They are 3 and 5)

WE: What are your top tips for unschooling on the road?

Amy: My top tips for unschooling on the road would be the same as my top tips for unschooling anywhere....let go of your pre-conceived notions of what education should look like and let your children follow their hearts!  Listen and watch for your child’s clues about what has sparked an interest and then search out opportunities to enrich their learning.

WE:  How can families finance long-term slow travel?

Amy: There are so many families doing this and they all have their own unique way to finance their trips.  For us, we are selling our house and using our equity.  I know of other families who have purchased rental houses and use their rental income, others still work but are location independent, and others have just saved like mad for years and years!

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

Amy: This trip is something we have been planning for the last six years, since before we even had kids!  I want other families who wish they could do something like this but don’t know where to start to know that the first and most important step is to make the decision to do it and commit to it!  Once that is out of the way you can work on how to do it.  For most families it is going to take a lot of hard work to make their dreams a reality, but trust me when I say it will be worth it!

WE: Thanks so very much, Amy - we highly recommend Worldschool Adventures to our Wandering Educators - especially those who are thinking of exploring the world as a family themselves!

For more information, please see:

http://worldschooladventures.com

All photos copyright and courtesy of Worldschool Adventures