Since the pandemic, many parents have questioned the educational system that their children were enrolled in.
A lot of parents had to take on the heavy task of educating their children themselves, whether through homeschooling, online schooling, or other avenues.
However, not matter the path of education the parents around the world decided to take or was forced to take, it was challenging difficult and frustrating as the whole world was dealing with the pandemic, staring at an uncertain future.
Everything was changing, and changing so fast, jobs were remote, everyone was ordering online, certain items were gone from the shelf and children around the world were locked in their homes.
The elderly and children were the demographics that suffered the most from the pandemic.
Children suffered from the lockdowns, changes in schedule and habits, and being cut from their friends. I read countless articles about the negative consequences of the lockdown on children who lived in the cities as their lack of outside activities affected their well-being and mental health.
Fast forward to 2022, schools around the world are dealing with the aftermath of the lockdown as children struggle with back to school and reading, writing ,and math. Children are falling behind and a common effort need to be put forward to bring them back to their grade level.
Even though I have been homeschooling for years prior to the pandemic, it has nonetheless affected my family and me a lot. We lost access to the library and playgrounds and contact with friends and families, and for us, as homeschooling family, it was difficult.
Even my homeschooled children suffered from the libraries closing, their tutoring sessions, festivals and activities canceled.
As the pandemic lockdown loosened up and people began to go out and travel, we decided to pack our children and take them to Africa.
How our world schooling journey started
Our world schooling journey started with the decision to take our children to Africa for a year. It was our first time traveling with the children and we definitely did not have much idea of what we were doing.
We just wanted to bring a sense of calm and peace to the children.
I wanted them to get some fresh air and enjoy nature.
I wanted to remove the children from all the stress of homeschooling during the pandemic, trying to keep up with the curriculum, being on top of daily logs, and whatnot. I wanted a break from the traditional learning that we were used to and try something more intuitive, with a deeper connection to people, nature, and overall life.
If I had to follow terminology, I would say that we started our world schooling with unschooling.
Unschooling to find a new grounding
Going to East Africa was a first for all of us and I knew that the experience could have been overwhelming for my children.
All of us already experienced a culture shock being immersed in the heart of Tanzania so the last thing I wanted at that time was to add more pressure to them by assigning specific schoolwork tasks.
So the first month or so, we decided to just let the kids discover this new country, the language, the culture, the city, and the nature. We gave them the freedom to read, draw and be outside in this new environment. We discussed mindset, their dreams, and fears about being outside their "home".
This part of schooling was rewarding and it brought us closer as a family.
Slowly reintegrating homeschooling for enhancing learning experience
I was very fortunate to have found a group of expat mothers from all over the world that shared a lot of the same "free-hippie-unschooling" vibe I was on (and still on). They shared with me their concerns over the education system and how it didn't fit their visions of the world and they wished to find other alternatives for their children.
During my time with this wonderful group of women, my children were able to have regular playdates where they build meaningful friendships with children from different backgrounds and cultures.
They learned through "active play", where they were engaged in story building, language immersion, math, science, and discovery.
Around that time I slowly reintroduced to my children "school time" like the ones we did back at "home".
Unfortunately, around this time I realized that having electronics and using my library card remotely was essential. I was extremely grateful for the AMAZON KIDS TABLET as it allowed the children to have access to educational apps and books when I struggled to find physical books and workbooks where I was staying.
Little by little, however, with the aid of tablets and a VPN, I was able to find online programs for the children, while still using Khan Academy math. But we did not forget that the beauty of world schooling is to learn from the world itself and that only comes from venturing outside.
However we kept outside learning. Most of their learning was happening outside in our garden or on our patio.
What we learned our first time world schooling
World schooling is truly an experience that my children will never forget. It allowed them to understand that learning is a journey that can be done everywhere and anywhere.
Learning is a journey that can open the doors to life time changing experiences and opportunities.
It helped my children develop a world citizen mindset, understand the challenges of our planet and how our lifestyle back home in the US affects other part of the world (global warming, illegal trash dumping, hyper consumerism...).
World schooling also made them understand the diversity of the world, people different religions and practices, means of transportation and food. Traditional clothing and societal rules.
Children being immersed in completely different cultures make them respect and accept other people's differences while also feeling proud for their own individuality and beliefs.
Through that experience, they also learned how fortunate they were to be able to have access to so many tools and have so much free time to explore their passions.
World schooling helps children develop a world citizen mindset, build empathy and understand the challenges of our planet.
It made them look like homeschooling and world schooling from a new point of view.
I personally also learned that I had to rely more on electronics for books and apps to support their learning journey as there were no libraries or cultural centers in the areas I was staying.
I became extremely resourceful with what I had, and what I can find to help their learning along the way, such as reusing bottle caps for math, using sand to practice writing letters, or cleaning the beach to understand human consumption and its consequence on the environment.
It was a rewarding teaching experience for me as it showed me how their direct involvement made them more focused, interested and engaged.
How we keep world schooling
We realized that world schooling can be successfully done a few months out of the year. While children that enrolled in school must return to school on specific dates, world schooling allows us to pack and go somewhere else.
This freedom actually allows us to avoid crowds and high-priced transportation and accommodation.
After we came back to the United States, we also realized that we did not need to travel far to world school. Actually, it can be done around the country or even in your state.
I see many families that are homeschooling their children in vans and RVs as they travel around the States and Canada or even in Europe, discovering new cities, and new landscapes and venturing into the wild.
We are not nomads living in RVs (although a part of me wishes that lol), we personally prefer moving around in Airbnb's to offer that world schooling experience to our children.
World Schooling doesn't have to be a full-time lifestyle either. It can be done a few months a year or even just in the summer. It is up to you!
Also, I should be mentioning that I am a full-time homeschooling mom and my husband is the provider of our family. However, because he works remotely, it allows us to experience some freedom (while trying to stay in the same time zone.)
Right now, we are staying in Ohio in the pleasant, vibrant community of Cleveland Heights which offers a lot of community programs that are free and engaging for the entire family.
However, we are excited to go back out there in another world schooling adventure around the globe!
Stay tuned for more info!