Rather than give up on travel plans when they had kids, these parents took their children ‘worldschooling.’
Children and cheap travel often do not mix. Gone are the days of cheap off-peak flights, bargain hostels and cramped travelling conditions. Welcome school holiday fares, family friendly locations and expensive hotels.
But in the growing movement of worldschooling, more and more parents are refusing to wait till their kids grow up to see the world.
The Tupys are one such family who are taking on a huge trip with their two children – travelling from Cusco, Peru to Niagra Falls, Canada in a VW Combi van.
Likewise single parent Talon Windwalker quit his job to embark on a trip with his daughter, Tigger, who was 9 years olf when they started travelling.
Explaining his choice, Talon writes on his website: “After years of working in intensive care, trauma, and with the dying, my family & life motto became Vivez sans regrets! (Live without regrets!) In that tradition, I decided now was the time to take my dream and make it a reality. To that end, on 4 May 2011 I left my traditional work life and embarked on life as a full-time nomad.”
Lainie Liberti and her son Miro traded a comfortable life in Los Angeles for a life on the road seven years ago, and they haven’t looked back. By blogging, running a fair trade business and running a Facebook group – they are making their way around the world one country at a time.
“The world is our infinite classroom,” reads Lainie’s website.
“The planet is our home, travel is our passion, learning is our mission, discovery is our gift. We are world schoolers.”
But how do parents on the road tackle the issue of education? While methods vary dramatically between parents – with some having strict times for lessons, Lainie believes in the philosophy that children will learn from the world what they need to succeed.
On their travels, Miro has picked up a second language, become interested in anthropology and horticulture, assisted at a vets and learnt to cook.
The BBC spoke to a British family, the Snaiths, who have taken their two daughters (both under 10) on a round the world trip for the last four years. Unlike some other worldschoolers, the Snaiths believe in a strict lessons regime of two hours every day – using the UK curriculum and lessons focused on where they currently are.
Read the Q&A with them in which they reveal the truth about worldschooling here.
