After realizing that, as a child, every experience has been easier to remember vs whatever I learned from a book, I was convinced there was a better way to teach our kids. I just didn’t know that RVing was going to be our answer shortly after having children. Never in a million years did we think we would be our children’s teachers.
Expert Advice
I RV So I Can Teach My Kids Hands-On
Did you know that we have the ability to recall only 10% of the information that we read after 3 days vs having the ability to recall 70% of the information after experiencing what we learn?
Let the Questions Begin
Most of the people we meet on the road are amazed at the fact that we travel the country in our RV full time and when they realize we have kids their expression is one word: #priceless.
Then the common questions start to flow out of their mouths.
Do you homeschool them?
Do they miss having friends?
Do they miss having all of their toys?
And the list of questions goes on and on…..
The truth is that we absolutely LOVE teaching our kids hands-on. We now RV so that we can be their teachers and guides in this thing we call life. RV living with kids gives us the opportunity to use countless experiences as teaching opportunities.
Learning Hands-On
Our kids are learning through real life experiences instead of sitting in a classroom learning through a textbook.
Instead of wondering what Mount Rushmore looks like they had the opportunity to see it in person and taste ice cream based on the recipe that Thomas Jefferson made in 1780. They were able to learn all about it and earn a Junior Ranger badge for completing their workbook. An experience that I recommend everyone to have (the U.S. National Parks have so much to see and great activities for the kids).
Instead of thinking how cool the Badlands were (after watching Jurassic Park with our oldest) we had the chance to camp there and see it in person. We experienced hiking through the Badlands and learning about our ancestors. Truly a surreal learning experience that will never compare to that of a textbook.
Before RVing
If you had asked us when we started a family what we saw in our future we would’ve responded what most people say: our white picket fence, large house full of stuff, sending our kids off to the best school and doing things on the weekend as a family. We had the house full of the stuff and it wasn’t really what we had envisioned. Cleaning a house that barely stayed clean with two little ones running around wasn’t our idea of our dream life.
Having a ton of stuff that kept us busy because we had to keep up with it all wasn’t fulfilling in any way. When the idea came to us about RVing with our 1 and 3-year-old at the time we saw this as the chance to change things. We saw it as a way to go on more vacations because, let’s be real, after having kids vacationing becomes a distant memory.
It’s just not as easy.
It suddenly became an opportunity to teach our kids in the real world and hands-on before they were of school age. We weren’t sure if we would choose to homeschool them at that point.
Fast Forward
After a couple of months on the road, homeschooling seemed possible. We had noticed a huge improvement with our oldest in his speech delay and became convinced that it was because he was experiencing life and adventures with us.
My mother intuition grew stronger that we were on the right path and that being their teachers might be a possibility when it was time to cross that bridge. Before we knew it the time came. Were we going to homeschool?
The answer was a very easy YES. We had quickly realized that the entire time on the road we had been teaching them about things that others couldn’t possibly teach them. We made the decision to continue teaching them this way and going the route of homeschooling.
Every Experience Is an Opportunity to Teach
Stepping outside our front door brings us unlimited teaching opportunities for both kids. It also helps us learn what they are interested in because of the freedom they have. Whatever they love we make sure they immerse themselves in learning all about that topic.
Recently we learned all about oxygen and trees while we explored the botanical gardens in Largo, FL. We find fun projects to do with the kids like planting cilantro seeds, watering our plant, moving it to make sure it receives enough sun, and watching our plant grow. We are not forcing our kids to memorize things for exams; we are incorporating everything around us into their learning.
Hikes, beach swims, hot spring swims, pool swims, campfires, boondocking, sunset walks, and bike rides are all of it is an opportunity to learn.
What an experience.
I RV so That I Can Teach Our Kids Hands-On
The truth is that we might’ve selfishly began RVing to get away more and vacation because after having kids we realized it wasn’t as easy to escape and have a weekend getaway. Now we can proudly say that we RV not only for that reason, but also so that we can teach our kids hands-on about all the subjects that are important to them and that they can use in the real world.
Let’s hear about your experience of RVing with kids! How has it been? Or are you nervous to RV with your kids thinking they won’t enjoy it?
Please share below we love hearing from you!
