How to make holiday travel part of your home school curriculum

Sarah Parker
Authored by Sarah Parker
Posted: Friday, August 26, 2016 - 05:04

According to government policy, parents are allowed to home school their children five years old and above but there are certain requirements which must be met. If you are thinking of home schooling your children, you can get information from your local council but you should also write to your head teacher if and when you make the decision to take your child out of their school. In any case, a growing number of parents are opting to teach their children from home and that’s why making holiday travel educational is sometimes a really fun way to learn about other people and places

Interesting Information about Home School in the UK and Travelling

Since you aren’t really required to follow any specific curriculum when you home school your children, you are at liberty to pursue a curriculum of your choice. That is interesting in that some countries only allow you to teach your children from approved text books and following guidelines established by their local authorities. Many parents in the UK are teaching their children from a more ‘experiential’ pursuit of knowledge and so they travel a lot in an effort to broaden their horizons. Whether you plan on teaching about world geography and world history while on holiday or are focusing on a sociological perspective, kids love to visit new places, meet new friends and see things they wouldn’t see at home. They, by nature, have inquisitive minds so travelling suits them well.

Workbooks from Around the World

Some parents that home school their children find that picking up work books from other countries is a great way to introduce their children to other cultures and foreign languages. Primary workbooks are written in very basic language, making it easy to teach children a few words while learning concepts such as adding and subtracting. Some workbooks are games which help children learn words and in today’s global society, learning a foreign language can actually give them an advantage when they reach an age to begin looking for employment. Bilingual and multilingual job applicants often take precedence in many occupations, especially if work entails travelling to any degree.

Making a Game of New Experiences

Children of all ages love to play games and many are educational in nature. Crossword puzzles, word searches and identifying hidden objects in pictures are great teaching tools. Often kids don’t even realise they are learning something when the game is fun for them. Here again, when learning another language, a word search puzzle is loads of fun and helps kids identify basic words as they go. Parents, too, can learn from playing games from other countries, so kids are not the only ones getting an education on holiday trips.

When home schooling your children, plan holiday trips around subjects you are focusing on in your curriculum. Although you don’t need to stick to a curriculum your local council prescribes for you, it is a good idea to see what kinds of subjects a child needs to master for higher education later on in life. Make learning fun, enjoy spending extra time with your kids and in the end, everyone in the family will have learned something new and exciting along the way. What a great way to raise your kids.