Turning Travel Into A Classroom: Making Family Memories Through RV Roadschooling

Why Learning Through Traveling Sticks In Our Memory

Think back to your childhood. If you ever took any kind of family trip, the chances are good that you remember quite a few details from that experience. It may be the car ride, stopping for ice cream, or even swimming in a hotel pool. It may even be funny how you remember the little details and seemingly insignificant moments over the bigger things you went to see or do during the trip.

Have you ever wondered why vacation experiences stick out in our memories much more than everyday routines? Vacations are different from our daily activities and it allows us to remember them more fully. Trips can evoke curiosity, provide opportunities to try something new, step out of our comfort zones, and experience things differently than we do at home on a daily basis.

So what would happen if, during family RV trips, not only fun experiences were planned, but educational experiences were also included in the itinerary? I am not talking about math drills in the car on the way to a theme park, but true immersion activities where your kids get to experience a travel location firsthand while learning more about it. The magic of roadschooling is experiencing travel and learning at the same time in a way that sticks in your child's memory. Sure, your kids can read about dolphins in a book at home, but on an RV beach trip, why not include a visit to a marine rescue center where they can touch and help feed dolphins while learning how dolphins communicate underwater?

If you travel with your children, they are naturally learning about places you visit without even planning anything as roadschooling. RVing with kids is an incredible way to make memories and have quality family time. However, with a little creativity and planning, your kids can learn even more through your family RV travels. 

Roadschooling Ideas

Our family loves to include real-life learning throughout our travels as our version of roadschooling. I will use our family's first RV trip to Acadia National Park to help you get ideas of how you may like to incorporate roadschooling into your next vacation. 

Trip Anticipation

Before we visit a national park, we always like to have our daughter read a book to learn more about the park and to help us plan our visit and park activities for the trip. Our favorite series is Adventures With The Parkers by Mike Graf. His book Acadia National Park Eye Of The Whale is a fictional story about a family adventuring through Acadia while also including many facts about the park along the way. It's the perfect way to get kids excited to go see the things mentioned in the book and to have their own real-life park adventure. Plus, it's packed with park facts, trails, and other park activities that our daughter can add to our trip's itinerary.

Not every experience needs to be planned or elaborate. For example, during our trip, we also grabbed a night sky guide for our daughter and spent an evening out on the rocky coast, stargazing and listening to the waves crash. Even just hanging out in the evenings around a fire and identifying star formations in the park's dark night skies is a fun time. 

I know I mentioned earlier that roadschool experiences mixed with travel really stick in children's memories. How do I know this? Our first trip to Maine, which I just described, was when our daughter was 6 years old. Today, she is 14, and even though she has since RV traveled through 42 states and returned a second summer to Acadia, she still talks about the incredible time we had that first summer. It's these little simple but fun experiences out on the road that create family memories to last a lifetime, and your kids are learning about geography, cultures, nature, and history.

Finding Unique Experiences

Insider tip: Wherever you are traveling with your kids, talk to the locals to find one-of-a-kind experiences! This can be a great way to experience the local culture. During our trip to Acadia, we asked around to find out the time and location where the lobstermen usually arrive with their catch of the day. Not only were we able to show up and see the boats come in, but we struck up a conversation with one of the fishermen who let our daughter hold a lobster while he explained all about how they band and weigh the catch. We also learned how each color/patterned lobster buoy represents a different lobster fisherman's pot so others could identify the owner. All of this fun, hands-on learning was free just by talking to locals!

You can also create your own unique learning experiences with a little bit of advanced planning. For example, we spent a day tide pooling during low tide at Schoodic Point. Then we looked up the creatures we found to learn that snails (AKA wrinkles) were common in Maine as well as a traditional food source. A restaurant down the road just happened to be called The Pickled Wrinkle, and we discovered that they still serve traditional Maine foods such as wrinkles and dulce. Of course, we had to stop by and try them for ourselves. So, how did they taste? Dulce is similar to seaweed and a bit fishy tasting, but the wrinkles were breaded and fried to actually taste delicious. Not only was trying these new foods a bit adventurous, but it was also a great way to learn more about Maine's history and culture in the process. 

Not every experience needs to be planned or elaborate. For example, during our trip, we also grabbed a night sky guide for our daughter and spent an evening out on the rocky coast, stargazing and listening to the waves crash. Even just hanging out in the evenings around a fire and identifying star formations in the park's dark night skies is a fun time. 

I know I mentioned earlier that roadschool experiences mixed with travel really stick in children's memories. How do I know this? Our first trip to Maine, which I just described, was when our daughter was 6 years old. Today, she is 14, and even though she has since RV traveled through 42 states and returned a second summer to Acadia, she still talks about the incredible time we had that first summer. It's these little simple but fun experiences out on the road that create family memories to last a lifetime, and your kids are learning about geography, cultures, nature, and history.

Junior Ranger Programs

As soon as we arrived in Acadia, we signed up for the free Junior Ranger Program. This program is offered at all of the national parks and is free at most of them. You grab a booklet filled with park activities to enjoy with your kids during the visit. Once they complete the booklet, they are sworn in as a National Park Junior Ranger and given a badge pin with the park's name on it. Not only does this program really get kids excited about visiting the park, but it motivates them to want to visit all of the national parks and collect all of the badges.

Fun fact: National Parks are not the only places to offer Junior Ranger programs. You can find them at most national sites, including National Historic Sites, National Seashores, National Recreation Areas, National Monuments, and even many National Wildlife Refuges. Many state parks also offer a similar program.

If you can stay in one of the national park campgrounds during your visit, always go for it. Not only does this put you right in the middle of the action, but there are usually nightly educational ranger programs offered right at the campground. At the Schoodic Woods Campground in Acadia, there are nightly ranger programs for kids and then later in the evening for adults. We absolutely love walking over to check out the programs each evening after a day out exploring the park. Many RVers don't realize this, but you are still welcome to attend the programs even if you are camping outside of the park.

How Will You Mix Learning Into Your Next RV Trip?

I hope this article has inspired you to mix in some educational experiences into your family RV travels. They don't need to be overplanned, expensive, or even take up much time during your trip. I think you will be amazed at what your children, as well as the adults, learn through roadschooling experiences. Traveling not only changes our view of the world and the people in it, but it also strengthens our family bond along the way. I hope you give roadschooling a try during your next family RV adventure!

Scott, Van, and their 14-year-old daughter started RVing 8 years ago. They have worked, homeschooled, and vacationed through 42 states so far. https://theadventuredetour.com/