Life these days looks very different than it did a few years ago. Every parent and child knows the keywords, roadschool, homeschool and remote learning.  Many are turning this newfound freedom into a perpetual roadtrip and roadschool extravaganza! I mean, why not make the most of remote learning and both educate and engage them in a fun way?

Remote Learning doesn’t have to sound so dreary.  You can find education in the most wild of adventures!  We share our best tips to help you turn remote learning into a kid guided educational experience that is fun and exciting for the entire family!

We are your ultimate remote learning roadschool family.  We have been remote learning for 8 years, long before it was fashionable and we have learned how to make it amazing and fun and wholly educational. So sit back, and let me infuse some of my passion for remote learning on ya …

Remote Learning

Remote Learning is a relatively new word, maybe a refashioning of roadschooling?  Basically, for those who have been living under a rock for the last 10 months, remote learning is school outside the classroom.

For most, school takes place at home, via Zoom. For us, it takes place across the globe. We homeschool utilizing books, worksheets, nature, life, etc. Traveling gives kids and exceptionally well rounded education.

Many families are opting out of Zoom Classrooms and bushwhacking (literally) their own path through the rocky road that is Covid. They are taking their schooling on the road and recognizing that life is shop, home ec, reading, math, writing, auto mechanics, history, geography, politics, religion, sociology, psychology, economics, etc.  On-the-job training, hands-on education is vital to a child’s love of learning.

Remote Learning while traveling is a way to educate that gives the gift of not only knowledge, but also the skills in which to use this knowledge.  Children who remote learn from not-at-home learn the necessary book lessons, reading, writing and math, but they also learn about the world.

What Does Remote Learning From the Road Teach?

Yes, let’s talk specifics. Travel is, as I’ve said before, the best education. For one, travel broadens your horizons. Remote Learning out in the world, enables kids to experience firsthand foreign people and cultures. Unfortunately most people in the US have never left their city, let alone the country, therefor they have a very narrow view of global realities. As kids learn about other political, economic, and social structures, they naturally shift to a world view and understand how people and places are relative and connected to themselves.

Secondly, travel helps kids gain understanding of people and how despite how diverse we all are, we have much more in common than they ever would have thought. Traveling to diverse cultures extends the gift of faith in humanity, as we engage and experience different cultures and different people.

Finally, travel increases curiosity and encourages growth both educationally and otherwise. If I had made a trip to France as a teenager, the French language would have been much more relevant to my life. As it was, I had little to no interest in learning any foreign language because it wasn’t relevant, I never left the country, or the East Coast, for that matter. That’s just one example, but I’ve been privvy to my own children’s interest in various areas all due to travel.

Take a Road Trip

Where should we go? This is a big country, and an even bigger world, how do we choose the best location for the most educational benefit and not let the kids in on our little “school” project? It depends on where ya live.

Remote Learning: Road Trip Boston, MA To Hershey, PA

So much to do that you could take in a baseball game, hit up Hershey Park, eat a ton of Chocolate on your trip from Boston to PA! this is a great trip to plan from April – October, the winter won’t have as much to offer unless you decide to ski a few runs in the Poconos!! Start with the Free Things to do in Boston, that includes a Revolutionary-era history on a walk along the 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) Freedom Trail, which includes the USS Constitution, Bunker Hill Monument, Old North Church, and Faneuil Hall, and Old Ironsides. Older kids will love seeing Paul Revere’s house and the historic cemetery. After a fun day of remote learning don’t forget to catch a game at the historic Fenway Park. 

Now, head down the eastern seaboard to Philadelphia, stop in Hartford, CT to see Mark Twain’s house real quick and then jump back on the road to continue your remote learning Revolutionary History tour.  In Philly, be sure to tour Independence Hall where America began and where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Tour the Constitution Center, see the Liberty Bell, and visit Ben Franklin’s home and offices. And don’t forget to visit the Betsy Ross House. And then, for some added fun (and education), how about you take a stroll along Elfreth’s Alley, America’s oldest continuously inhabited street. Or how about you immerse yourself and your kids in Philly’s art scene on the first Friday On the first Friday evening of every month, the streets of the Historic District fill with art lovers of all kinds who stroll among the neighborhood’s many galleries. Bonus for ALL: Galleries and boutiques often offer complimentary beverages and bites. And, of course, you must run up the iconic Rocky Steps.

Then to reward yourselves for an absolutely comprehensive Revolutionary education, head to Hershey, PA to revel in sweets and get your adrenaline racing at Hershey Park,

Remote Learning: History and Civics in DC

You know history abounds all along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida and beyond. Some of the greatest sites, in my humble opinion are in and around the DC/No VA.

DC has so much to offer kids who are remote learning, I mean a simple few day visit here is easily a year of civics class, no doubt. There are dozens of memorials to visit, but many of the most popular are all on or around the National Mall, including the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the Jefferson Memorial (just to name a few).  Then there is Capitol Hill, the amazing Smithsonian Museums (all free), the National Zoo (also free, pay to park), and The White House. That’s not even to mention Arlington National Cemetary (the resting place of over 400,000 US soldier or the Changing of the Guard (where we honor unknown soldiers at the Tomb of the Unknowns).

In DC you can go about remote learning by touring the Pentagon, the headquarters of the Department of Defense for the United States, attend a Supreme Court Lecture, visit the International Spy Museum, check out Embassy Row, the Holocaust Museum, and even tour FBI headquarters!

Education is At Your Fingertips

All you need to do to make remote learning exciting and fun is to get out of your house. Rent a place at the beach, visit one of the sites above, road trip to small rural towns, road trip to big huge cities, all the information you need to turn it into education is right on your smart phone.

There are many easy and fun ways to turn a road trip into an educational experience without the kids ever knowing!  By empowering them and tapping into their imagination, you turn your average summer road trip into something educational, fun and an experience they can be proud of!