Have you ever considered escaping winter and going somewhere warm, but weren’t sure how to do it since your kids are in school?
Snowbirds are seasonal travelers who leave their colder climates to travel to somewhere warm in the winter. Usually, snowbirds are those of retirement age, as parents with children must often stay tied to their local school district. Travel homeschooling is giving parents an alternative to public schools as well as giving them the freedom to travel to a warm climate during the winter. Travel homeschooling has increased in popularity and many parents are choosing to homeschool their children on the road.
Cold winters aren’t much fun, but you don’t have to wait until you retire to be a snowbird! Read on to learn how we became snowbirds by choosing travel homeschooling for our son!
Making the Decision to Be a Snowbird with Kids
Each winter, we would dream of being somewhere warm and each winter would slowly pass by with no progress towards our goal of being snowbirds.
The process seemed daunting and overwhelming – even though we wanted it so badly!
There are so many decisions to make. Where to go, what to do with your house, how to handle school for our son and so much more.
After last winter, we decided that we needed to make a change and stop talking about it.
We wrote down all the questions that would need to be answered in order to make our dreams a reality.
- What should we do with our house while we’re away?
- What are our school options?
- Where should we go?
- Do we want to settle somewhere or travel all winter?
- How will we work while we’re away?
- Where will we stay once we are away? (Camper, hotel, AirBnB, second home, with family, etc.)
- How will my son make friends while we’re traveling?
- What types of extracurricular activities can he do while we are away?
There is so much to consider! But here’s the thing – it’s all possible.
We started soul-searching and decided to take a vacation to Florida during the early winter. IT WAS LIFE CHANGING!
While it was snowing in Ohio, we were on Sanibel Island collecting seashells. My mind was made up – we’re doing this. No more talking with no action. It’s happening.
When we got home, we started chipping away at our list and now we are doing it!
The first step in becoming snowbirds with kids is making the decision to go for it! Yes, it’s a little scary, but it’s also exhilarating, fun, adventurous, and a great learning experience for my son! Not only does he get a homeschooled education, but he gets to learn through experience and spend his time with family.
Work Options for Snowbirds
Once we decided to become snowbirds, the next step was evaluating our work options.
There are lots of options to make it possible to be a snowbird and still bring in an income.
- Seasonal work
- Temporary jobs
- Remote positions
- Self-employment
- Passive income
- Freelance work
The easiest option for most is to find remote work. Since COVID, businesses have changed many of their positions to be remote. As long as you have Internet, a laptop, and a cell phone, you can work remotely.
If you are currently employed in a position that you enjoy, but that doesn’t offer remote positions, you have some options. You could speak to your employer about a leave of absence during the winter, ask to go remote during the winter, or inquire about other locations within your company.
My point is that you shouldn’t give up on your dream before considering all options.
Travel Homeschooling Curriculums
Once you’ve decided to homeschool and figured out the plan for your work, the next step is to figure out the plan for your child’s education.
Public and private schools do not allow partial attendance so you cannot pull your child out of school 3 months a year.
Homeschooling is the best option for traveling families. Before you get too stressed about homeschooling, do some research first.
Homeschooling does not need to mimic public schools. Most people are shocked that it takes only 1-4 hours/day to homeschool. Here’s an article explaining how long it takes to homeschool in more detail.
I highly recommend 101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum. This book will help you recognize your teaching style and your child’s learning style as well as which homeschool method appeals to you. It is invaluable for a homeschool newbie.
Once you know which type of homeschooling appeals to you, you can figure out if you’ll need a curriculum or not. Many traveling families opt for the unschooling method which doesn’t require a curriculum.
If you need a curriculum, there are many options to choose from. We use The Good and the Beautiful and we love it. You can choose to order the textbooks or print them for free! Their material is open-and-go, and requires very little preparation on the parent’s part. This makes it a great choice for traveling families.
You’ll also need to decide if you want to use a Biblical or secular curriculum.
Here are some options for open-and-go textbook curriculums.
- Christian Light Academy
- Heart of Dakota
- Sonlight
- Rod and Staff
- Saxon Math
- My Father’s World
- Trail Guide to Learning
- The Good and the Beautiful
- Christian Liberty
- Abeka
- Robinson Curriculum
- Teaching Textbooks
- Math-U-See
- Winter Promise
- Landmarks Freedom Baptist Curriculum
- BJU Press
- Hooked on Phonics
- Accelerated Achievement
- Apologia
- BookShark
There are also great FREE options for online homeschool programs.
- Ambleside Online
- BJU Press
- Time4Learning
- Easy Peasy
- Connections Academy
- Discovery K12
- K12
- ABC Mouse
- Khan Academy
Travel Accommodations
Woohoo! Look how much progress you’ve made. Now all you have to do is figure out your travel accommodations. Along with this comes deciding what to do with your home during your time away.
Some families travel full-time, in which case, they sell their homes.
Most families decide to do a short-term rental for their northern home while they are traveling. It makes the most sense because your expenses will be covered and your house will not be left vacant.
You can opt to rent all 3 months out to 1 tenant, do a home exchange, or turn your home into an AirBnB or VRBO rental while you’re away.
Maybe a family member would stay at your home while you’re away, or you could leave your home empty if you can afford it.
If you plan to roadschool, meaning you’ll be traveling full-time and not settling in 1 place for long, an RV or camper will probably be your best option. This is an amazing way to help your children learn through experience. You can travel to historical sites, visit all 50 states, and go wherever you want! This type of learning tends to be fun and memorable.
If you plan to settle somewhere for 3 months, there are a few options:
- Stay with family
- Rent an AirBnB/VRBO
- Do a home exchange
- Rent at an extended stay hotel
- Purchase a second home
- Sign a short-term lease for a temporary second home
Conclusion
Travel homeschooling offers a unique opportunity to children. Learning through experience is the best way we’ve found to teach our son.
There is a lot to consider when making this decision.
I am not here to tell you it is easy, but I am definitely here to tell you it’s possible and so worth it!
Don’t let something being difficult prevent you from following your dreams. And don’t wait until you retire to start living your dreams!
Make your dreams a reality!
We do it, and you can too!
