Worldschooling 101: Travel with Your Family

Have you ever thought about traveling full time with your family? If so, then worldschooling might be for you. In this article we’ll help you understand what worldschooling is all about.

Be sure to watch the videos and listen to the podcast episodes further down this page.

What is Worldschooling?

Worldschooling is homeschooling your children while travelling. While some families incorporate traditional curriculum while worldschooling, others take an unschooling approach, and some families adopt other styles of homeschooling into their worldschooling lifestyle.

The Definition of Worldschooling: Not in Dictionaries

At the time of this writing, the words or phrases worldschool, world school, and world-school aren’t currently found in the dictionaries that we checked. This is true regardless of whether we did or did not include -ing at the end of the word.

HomeSchool ThinkTank’s Definition of Worldschooling

Worldschooling is a lifestyle and way of educating your kids through meaningful experiences while traveling throughout the world.

While traveling and experiencing different cultures and places are the key components of worldschooling, other styles of homeschooling may be incorporated into a worldschooling lifestyle.

Is Worldschooling a Style of Homeschooling?

Some people consider worldschooling to be a style of homeschooling while others don’t.

Either way, worldschooling is an approach to homeschooling that can also incorporate other styles or types of homeschooling too.

For example, you could intermingle a classical method of education and worldschooling into your homeschool plan.

When you are homeschooling your children, you have choices about how to approach your child’s education.

Regardless of how you classify worldschooling, textbook learning and watching videos cannot possibly compare with experiencing another environment or culture.

As a result, worldschooling is included in our styles of homeschooling article.

To learn more about the worldschooling lifestyle, be sure to watch the videos below.

The Spelling: Worldschooling vs World Schooling vs World-Schooling

At HomeSchool ThinkTank, we have researched various ways that the word is used and determined that, as related to homeschooling while traveling, we prefer the spelling as one word: worldschooling.

However, worldschooling is commonly spelled in a variety of ways, and for that reason, we will sometimes vary the spelling throughout our website.

Again, at the time of this writing, various forms of the term worldschooling are not listed in the dictionaries that we checked.

Other words related to worldschooling are worldschool, worldschoolers, and worldschooled.

Video: What is World Schooling?

World Schooling Books

If you want to learn more about world schooling, the best way to do so is by learning about other worldschoolers and their experiences. These books have good reviews.

You’ll find more books about traveling and world schooling further down this page.

• Born to Travel: Wanderlust Families that Collect Passport Stamps Instead of Toys by Sara Tyler , Kara S. McWest , et al.
• The Year We Ruined Our Lives: A Family Road Trip Through Mexico and Central America by Paul Carlino and Mila Villasana 
• World Schooling: How to Revolutionize Your Child’s Education Through Travel by Ashley Dymock de Tello and Brenda and Gawin Brave

Interview with a Worldschooling Family: Sarah R. Moore

We interviewed Sarah R. Moore, a former worldschooling mom and founder of Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting, on the HomeSchool ThinkTank Parenting Podcast.

At the time of our interview, the COVID Pandemic had recently brought their worldschooling lifestyle to a standstill.

While some worldschooling families continued their travels to the best of their ability during the pandemic, Sarah’s family felt best settling into a community. Since our interview, Sarah and her husband have chosen to put roots down and buy a home.

Prior to the pandemic, Sarah and her husband took several years to worldschool and travel with their young daughter.

Further down this page, you’ll find a podcast episode and a video interview with Sarah.

Listen to this Podcast Episode about Worldschooling with Sarah R. Moore

Each week we share expert interviews, information, education, and inspiration that homeschool families need. 

Homeschooling isn’t just about education. It’s about your kids, it’s about your family, & it’s about a lifestyle.  

Listen to this episode with the founder of Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting and former worldschooling mom, Sarah R. Moore.

Sign up for your free positive parenting course here.

A Homeschooling Mom’s Definition of Worldschooling

Sarah says, “Worldschooling in a nutshell is just homeschooling on the road.”

“We all know that we have chosen not to be part of a brick and mortar community.

We might have it [community] through co-ops or certain activities that we choose, but generally speaking, we are homeschooling where it works for us. Usually that place is home, wherever home is for you.

But… one of the things that we learned very early on is that home does not always have to be in the same place.

You take the child with you wherever you are, you can take the concepts with you. You know, math is math whether it’s in Colorado, USA or the South of France. It’s still math.

Living Lessons Through Worldschooling

So, you can explore the world.

You can live the lessons that you are trying to impart upon your children, and what better way to integrate these lessons than by saying, ‘Well, let’s see, today we are studying Greek mythology, why don’t we go to Greece and look at the ruins, and read the stories, and study the stuff while we are immersed in it.’

And for what it’s worth, I haven’t been to Greece yet, but it’s on our list.”

Sarah R. Moore, Founder of Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting.

Video Interview about Worldschooling with Sarah R. Moore

Sarah R Moore Continues…

“Now you can do whatever you want.

You can drive an hour down the road and go check out some other historical site and that way when you go home and you read the book about it, or you do the assignment around it, it is a life memory for the child that really helps them internalize in a beautiful way whatever it is they’re experiencing through the life that they are actively living with you above and beyond what they are reading about on a page.”

Books About Worldschooling

• And Off They Went: One family’s journey around the world by Janet Revell
• Born to Travel: Wanderlust Families that Collect Passport Stamps Instead of Toys by Sara Tyler , Kara S. McWest , et al.
• Exit Normal: How We Escaped With Our Family and Changed Our Life by Domini Hedderman
• Rainbows on My Toes: From Ireland to Portugal with 3 Children by Indra Roelants
• The World Is Our Classroom: Extreme Parenting and the Rise of Worldschooling (Critical Perspectives on Youth) by Jennie Germann Molz
• The Year We Ruined Our Lives: A Family Road Trip Through Mexico and Central America by Paul Carlino and Mila Villasana 
• World Schooling: How to Revolutionize Your Child’s Education Through Travel by Ashley Dymock de Tello and Brenda and Gawin Brave

Learn About Roadschooling

Discover helpful information in this article about roadschooling, You’ll find helpful information, books about roadschooling, videos, and podcast episodes.

Books About Traveling

• A Beginner’s Guide to Traveling The World: Stories and Tips for the Travel Curious by Mandy Litton
• Destinations of a Lifetime: 225 of the World’s Most Amazing Places by National Geographic
• How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter by Matt Kepnes
• The Bucket List: 1000 Adventures Big & Small by Kath Stathers
• Wanderlust: A Traveler’s Guide to the Globe by Moon Travel Guides

Learn About the World through Reading

For travelers and non-travelers alike, you might like this book about books.

• Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time by Jamie C. Martin

HomeSchool ThinkTank Parenting Podcast

More Blog Posts & Podcast Episodes

• Become a minimalist homeschool family.
• Dandlion Seeds Positive Parenting with Sarah R. Moore.
• Homeschooling styles & terminology.
• What is unschooling homeschooling?
• History podcasts for your family.