living on the road with kids

so i've been trying to find an answer to this question. my husband and i want to buy a motor home and live on the road, but we have two small children. one is 5 who currently goes to a public school and the other isnt even a year old yet. I was just wondering if anyone else has done this. the only worry i have is how do they get education this way? do you teach them, sort of like homeschooling, or unschooling? how do your children do with life in a vehicle traveling, seeing the world? sorry, I'm just looking for experiences or advice. we would love to do this, but we also want what's best for our kids too.

 

Thats a lot to think about, but you should trust your instincts. I wouldn't suggest unschooling so much but you could homeschool. whether you agree with the school system or not you want to give them a fair start and the opportunity to get a job or do further schooling.
When I was a child I loved that I lived in one place and had roots and life long friendships. I felt bad for the kids who moved around a lot and they didn't like it either they thought it was hard to make friends to play with and they never got to settle.No matter how awsome your relationship is they need friends to try new things, test boudries etc. I don't know your children they might love it. Just think about all the experiences they miss out on, and the relationships they make, especially when they get older and want to be more independent.
On the other hand if they get to see a bunch of different places that might be cool! Try to think about when you were a child.
thats my two cents, just an honest opinion
good luck with your choice and follow your instincts as a mother, you know what is best for your children overall!

 

I know a lot of families that live together on the road, and pull it off beautifully. Mobil homes, vans to school buses... a lovely couple never seems complete in them without a little rag tag child running along.

A lot from what I've seen, it's homeschooling... which the children always seem to be ahead of what they are when it comes down to public school system grading. Some of the kids I've met on the road just amaze me with smarts, and already working alongside with their family in a craft or something that makes their side income. Some even know the lay of the lands, according to state.. cause they've lived there at some point in time. I love it when kids can tell me more about the area I'm exploring then I've figured out so far.

The smaller living space too, seems to make them more family knit, as well as respectful to all walks of life, which is what I see to be a wonderful virtue that kids need to learn these days. I can tell a little rainbow child when he/she actually comes up and wants to talk to me, introduce me to parents, as I'm sitting down on the street with my pack and patched overalls. They don't frown upon the homeless and less fortunately(or more free-willed) while at the same time screaming at their parents about their iPhone being scratched and needing a new one.

Use you're motherly instincts, and always think what would be good for them. A home is anywhere you feel safe, even if it doesn't have a roof.

A story too.. I'll share. While I was traveling through on the west coast, I met a wonderful mama with her two kids, one was seven and the other five. They lived out of a school bus that was having a few issues, so me and my partner offered to help them out for a few days and try to give the mama a break to figure out how to fix her home and well, to have fun with the kids. One of the days, we all decided to fly a sign to make some money for a hotel room so they could take bathes and watch tv. While all five of us sat at a local food chain exit, a car pulled up with a old woman in it, threatening to call CPS cause her children aren't supposed to be raised on the street. Anyways, the little seven year old girl, walked right up to her car as the old lady was ranting, and said "God thinks you're a bitch", turns around and walks back to us. The mean lady, left, quite promptly, and we had a wonderful, peaceful, successful day of clocking in.

 

Wish I could!! I just had a little one and I haven't figured it out either.

 

I miss being able to travel with my son, so I usually end up picking up kids with kids along the way, or having that aura that attracts them to hang out with me. It's funny, cause I've had two cases where someone's kid, one was 9 the other was 11 or 12.. tried to become a stowaway and hide within the godly amount of junk I pick up and haul around in my van. The older one actually almost got a city away when I realized.. good thing the city was only 9 miles apart, and the mother knew where he had went, thanks for her not telling me what was going on. At least her son learned how to do wire jewelry that day from the adventure..

When my son was diagnosed with dabete(as he says it)... Diabetes ty.1, kinda killed our whole being able to travel part, and the whole ex-wife thing.. eh... at least he's got a stable home and neighborhood friends. He just misses his peace, love and dolphins kiddy village friends..

Hygeia Halfmoon is another example of a mother on the road, dear friend of mine.. she raised her two kids on the streets, both very smart kids, and wrote her books along the way. Still is an amazing mother, trying to help other mothers(specifically teens) to feel accepted in the world that constantly looks down on anyone that looks out of the norm.. the very thin line of amerikan society.

 

I have been watching a television show about the families of Big Apple Circus. They live on the road and hire a tutor to teach all the kids. They even held a graduation ceremony at the end of the spring touring season. One of their students is going on to regular college. Some young people get special training after high school to learn an act (acrobatics, clown college, etc), some just learn from their parents. But whole generations of families have raised their kids on the road. It is legal and works out well.

 

you dont need to live in one place your entire childhood to have roots and lifelong frienships, however- unfortunatley - whether or not we agree with the education system it is pretty much mandatory to have particpated in it if you want to have any decent paying job...

that being said, i think travelling and home schooling teaches kids what life is REALLY about and not filled with politics and propaganda....it gives kids a real chance at truly discovering themselves and whats most important in our world - love, beauty, freedom, etc.

its a tough call and not a decision to be taken lightly