Our kids don’t go to class – we road-school them in our caravan instead… books are boring
TRAVELLING on the road full-time might be exhausting for some, but not for parents Amy and John who say it’s an “amazing” life to lead.
The Australian couple even pulled their kids out of school to travel the country, and say there’s more to learning than just boring books.
Appearing on the Australian TV show Parental Guidance, which compares 12 sets of parenting styles, the couple revealed they home school their boys, Skipper 6, Gus 10, and Jimmy, 12 in their caravan.
“Road school learning involves structured learning for a couple of hours each day,” said mum-of-three Amy. “Then we teach life skills”.
This includes anything from surfing to fishing and even pumping up tyres – so long as they’re outside “connecting through adventure”.
“Education isn’t just about books, we teach life skills,” Amy explained.
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“We teach kids how to be resilient, how to be adaptable and how to pump a tyre up”.
The family have been travelling full-time around Australia for almost two years. It started out as a one year plan, but quickly developed into something more.
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“Before road schooling our kids, we were so caught up in the rat race,” said dad John.
“Being able to take a backward step has given us so much more time to spend with the kids. ”
So much so, life on the road has made Amy a better mum. “I feel like I’ve changed a lot since being on the road,” she said in an interview for the show.
“Our kids have grown enormously since adopting the road school style. They’re more confident, they’re resilient.
” I feel like I’m more connected to the kids and I feel like I’m far more patient.”
But it’s not just like a big holiday as some critics suggest as school work, grocery shopping and washing are still part of their daily chores, and sometimes they’re miles away from the closest store.
Other parents on the show questioned whether the kids were missing out on having friends, but Amy doesn’t think so.
“We’re really mindful that the kids need to integrate with other kids so we will go to caravan parks in school holidays so they can build relationships,” she said – even though it costs them more during peak times.
The couple reckon road schooling is “an amazing lifestyle” and say they’ll do it until the money runs dry.