As you can imagine, our days can vary massively from one to the next. Some are exciting and fun-packed, some are more laid back and the same as a typical homeschool family. In social media, you often see all of the excitement and not much of the boring stuff, so I’m going to write two examples of a typical day in the life of our worldschooling family so that you can see from both sides. I’m going to skip the travelling days, because we all know what they entail.
Example 1: Family Worldschooling Adventure
Ok, we’ve done all of the travelling, we’ve caught up with chores and we’re ready to explore the new place we have found ourselves in!
Early Breakfast: We like to get an early start so that we can prep for the day. Some of the prep will have already been done in advance, but we like to go over the plans for the day and key things to look out for. We find that this helps make sure we are all on the same page and know exactly what to expect from the day ahead. It avoids any disappointment/disagreements over activities if we have agreed upon a plan together. Family travel is much easier when everyone feels involved in decision making. We also like to eat a good breakfast to see us through to a late lunch.
Get Out Early: We have young children and they have the most energy in the mornings, so we try our best to get out as early as possible. If we are going to a museum or historical site, the kids will pay more attention in the mornings. This is the time they learn most. We also benefit from less crowds at busy attractions in the mornings. If our day is less ‘educational’ then we sometimes allow for a later start.
Lunch Time: We always check ahead, and if it will be possible to take a picnic then we do so. Not only is this a good money saving tip, but it also means that we are never caught out by our ‘fussy eaters’. We enjoy trying local cuisine, but costs would soon add up if we did this every day so we carefully pick and choose when to eat out.
Play Time: After lunch, the children usually have a burst of energy and we find the best thing is to let them run off some steam. Sometimes the places we visit allow for this in their own attractions, but sometimes we will have to go elsewhere to find a playground, country park or another high energy activity. We never skip this because it helps us avoid low moods in the afternoons.
Reflection: After the kids are tired out from play, or exercise, we head back and make time for some chilled out reflection on our day. We talk about our favourite parts, things we have learned, what surprised us, and what we would like to know more about. Sometimes we will watch a related video, do some drawings or even do some arts and crafts (usually we would leave this until the following day if the time is getting on).
Dinner Time: We try to share family meals, but quite often eat different foods as we like spicy foods and the kids not so much! It’s a good time for them to get a taster of new foods without it being their entire meal.
Quiet Time: Not afraid to say that the kids usually spend time on their ipads in the evening, playing games or watching a movie to wind down at the end of the day! We have quite late nights, but on a busy day the kids tend to sleep a lot earlier.
Example 2: The Reality of Worldschooling
Like I said, not every day is filled with adventure, we also have more laid back days to catch up on chores and do some basic school work. We don’t completely ‘unschool’ because we want the children to be competent at reading and maths. We focus on these topics on ‘days off’, and then other activities we do follow their interests.
Breakfast: On these days, we don’t wake up super early. Morning is more relaxed and we take our time getting out of bed when we are ready. The kids act like teenagers and they love lounging around, it’s a big contrast to our busier days. When the kids are ready for breakfast, we enjoy it together at a more leisurely pace.
Reading: Typically we will spend some time reading after breakfast. The kids use Twinkl’s Rhino Readers app on their ipads to learn to read. There are loads of books and they are in levels so that the kids are constantly improving. Sadly we don’t have many physical books because we need to travel light, but when we are in the UK we also often visit libraries. Our 4 year old only recently started to learn to read, and he loves the Duo ABC app.
Fresh Air and Chores: We travel in a caravan around Europe mostly (only hopping flights when we can’t go by land), so we have all of the chores that come with caravan life. The kids help with some of them, but they also enjoy fresh air while we do the major chores (like filling the aquaroll, emptying the toilet and doing laundry). We try to choose campsites that have playgrounds, or at least enough space for the kids to run around or use their scooters.
Lunch: We usually have a cold lunch. We buy local produce to try new things, such as meats, cheeses and different fruits. When we buy a fruit we have not seen before, the kids like to guess what will be inside when we cut it open.
Maths: After lunch we try to do something incorporating maths. It could be a whole activity like baking where they can use measuring skills. We might watch an episode of Numberblocks, look at different currencies or play maths games on the ipad. We don’t force it, and when the kids have had enough then they are able to play freely.
More Fresh Air: We are very outdoorsy, and a day wouldn’t be complete without a walk or park visit. We have found some amazing parks on our travels and there is always something new to see. The outdoors is therapeutic and we all feel better after taking in some nature. We try to get outside, rain or shine.
Dinner Time & Bed Time: Much the same as our more adventurous days, but occasionally we will seek out a restaurant for some local cuisine. We find that it is easier with the kids after a more relaxed day since they’re not so tired. We’re ‘that’ family that takes ipads out to dinner, mainly because we have found that the best restaurants cook food to order which can often take an hour or longer. Our kids only have so much patience, this might improve with age but at the moment it works for us. At bedtime, we sometimes watch a film together or read another book. The kids tend to stay up almost as late as us, unless we are planning for an early morning.
