Simply put, worldschooling is learning through direct interaction with the world. 

You can even learn new job skills to bring back home!

What is worldschooling, anyway? Worldschooling is an educational approach shaped by experiential learning in the world. Worldschooling is a form of education that combines family travel and experiential learning. More and more families are wondering if worldschooling is a good choice for them. This New York Times article explores that very question in Taking Off From School to Take In the World. Rather than being confined to a traditional classroom setting, worldschooling families believe that real-world experiences make the best education. Family travel presents constant opportunities to learn through cultural immersion, language development, nature study and life skills.

Undeniably, worldschooling is a growing trend alongside other alternative education approaches such as unschooling, roadschooling, and forest kindergartens. While there is no quantitative data showing the actual number of worldschoolers today, we can look at proxies to understand just how this is a growing trend. For example, membership in worldschooling Facebook groups has tripled in the last 5 years. There is also substantial growth in digital nomads with 35 million digital nomads around the globe today. Reports project that by 2050, 70% of digital nomads will actually be digital nomad families, and have their kids with them. The popular travel site, booking.com showed marked increases in family travel trends with an 8% bump in searches for family accommodations and 21% jump in family air travel going into the summer 2024 travel season. 

How Worldschooling Works: A Unique Educational Approach

Worldschooling is an approach to education that allows children to learn through global experiences about different cultures, languages, history, science, geography, and social dynamics by experiencing them firsthand. It often involves families traveling to other countries or regions, exploring local attractions, engaging with local communities, and participating in activities and experiences that enhance learning. 

One of the limitations of classroom learning is that we tend to learn about others. With worldschooling, we begin to learn from others. It’s an exchange. Learners create their own opinions based on direct experiences rather than secondary interpretations, or what they hear from others or read in a textbook. Children might reach the conclusion, for example, that countries maligned in the mainstream US media are full of good and kind people. Worldschooling is fact-finding; worldschooling is peacebuilding. Worldschooling is driven by wonder and curiosity. 

The curricula can be very open or very structured. Some worldschooling families approach every day as a serendipitous place-based exploration. Others choose more structure and purchase online curricula with coursework, deliverables, and timelines. There are infinite possibilities for worldschooling. You might follow theme-driven studies with a deep dive into a family interest such as food, animals, or fashion. Worldschooling can be subject-driven with an exploration of architecture, history, geography or literature. Working with tutors is a possibility and some families arrange to stay connected to classrooms and teachers back home. Shall we say the world is your educational oyster? 

Over the past couple of decades, the term worldschooling has gained traction. Sometimes called roadschooling or unschooling, many people have helped shape the zeitgeist of worldschooling. One of these early contributors, Eli Gerzon, wrote, “It’s when the whole world is your school, instead school being your whole world.” 

Johnny, at the Grand Canyon, ready to record his thoughts.

 Benefits for Families

There are many benefits of worldschooling for families. First of all, worldschooling plants seeds of curiosity in people of all ages. Just spending time as a family outside of your regular routine and experiencing new things everyday awakens in all of us a sense of wonder and purpose. Daily discovery is novel and traveling families have so many amazing things to talk about over dinner. Over time, these shared stories become family legend. We say worldschooling as a family creates life-long learners and gives you a backpack full of memories. 

Worldschooling as a family is experiential. Long-term family travel is like one massively cool field trip with room for everyone to contribute. Families may learn a new language, dive into history, geography, culinary traditions, or marine biology through actual experiences. This hands-on approach keeps kids interested, active and helps them retain the information because they’re living it. In addition,, travel presents excellent opportunities to develop life skills that are naturally part of an experiential curriculum. These life lessons may be learning to read a bus schedule, change the oil in a camper van, wash laundry in a hotel sink, or dry laundry on a makeshift clothesline. Maybe your kids will learn to navigate busy markets, figure out what to order when they can’t read a menu or develop organizational systems for keeping track of stuff. Through these life experiences, worldschooling builds resilience, pragmatism, grit, cooperation, and 21st Century skills. 

There are so many social benefits of worldschooling as a family. Experiential learning in the world builds global awareness, tolerance, and cultural competency. Traveling kids make new friends, practice engaging with people of all ages and backgrounds, and learn to make their own opinions about the world around them. Looking inward too, there are profound benefits for families who worldschool. Travel is transformative and family members grow from being in motion together. Without fail, every traveling family we have met and interviewed had a similar conclusion – their family became closer, more connected, and appreciative of each other. Families report that they became a “unit,” and this sense of togetherness adds to the many beautiful and enduring benefits of worldschooling as a family. 

Who doesn’t want the time to slow down, wonder and connect?

Worldschooling vs. Homeschooling vs. Unschooling

As we’ve noted, there’s no right or wrong way to worldschool. What is worldschooling as compared to homeschooling or unschooling?

• Homeschooling: learning at home rather than at a public or private institution    
• Worldschooling: learning through direct interaction with the world. May be considered homeschooling while traveling
• Unschooling: using students’ curiosities and interests instead of prescribed curricula to drive self-paced learning 

These alternative education terms often overlap or are used interchangeably. We hope these definitions and context help you enter the conversation and community. For example, many homeschoolers incorporate elements of worldschooling in the form of field trips or experiential learning. Most worldschoolers increasingly dip their toes into unschooling. In fact, through all of our research, we find a theme: most worldschooling families trend toward unschooling as time passes.

For a peek at what worldschooling can look like, check out our Fernweh Families posts in this blog. We hope they help inspire your own journey!

Taste-testing gelato, so many educational opportunities!

Challenges and Solutions in Long-Term Family Travel

While you may be excited to worldschool with your family, you may see obstacles that make this lifestyle seem impossible. Most common among them are financial and career challenges. We’re here to tell you that worldschooling on a budget is doable. 

Worldschooling on a Budget

You might think that worldschooling is only for the wealthy, but that simply isn’t true. Many families are making it work on budgets of all sizes. People use many unique avenues to fund worldschooling while traveling or “long-term family travel.” A few of these can be: saving up, working while traveling, remote work, starting a blog or website, etc. Our book breaks down how to make money on the road, how to live simply on the road, and how to reduce costs where possible. We have a series of blogs here that also breaks down the money questions, like: “How Do Families Afford Long-Term Travel?”

Educating Your Kids

How can I educate my kids? I’m not a teacher. There are as many paths to worldschooling as there are paths in the world. Some parents want more structure, academic focus, and alignment with traditional school standards, while others prefer spontaneity and freedom. To be sure, worldschooling is not something you sign up for. There’s no one to register with, no dogma or governing institution. It’s driven by curiosity and wonder. There is a vast library of resources to support worldschooling journeys. There’s also a burgeoning worldschooling community eager to connect, support, and share experiences. We walk readers through the ins and outs of designing a worldschooling curriculum that works for you in our book, Wonder Year: A Guide to Long-Term Family Travel and Worldschooling.

You may not know this, but as a parent in the United States, you have the right to withdraw your child from traditional school and choose an alternative means to educate them. Some districts offer free, fully online options that you can do from anywhere. For free. Hundreds of online private schools include synchronous or asynchronous learning, some with textbooks and some 100%  online. Or, you can mix a bit of this and a bit of that to make it your own. In most states, you will need to register your kids as homeschoolers. In some cases, you will need to record what you teach and how you teach it. But then you get to watch the magic unfold. What happens when your concept of education expands beyond the four walls of a classroom? What happens when you notice learning opportunities can be anywhere at any time? The world becomes your school. 

Worldschooling can be:

• taking the Junior Ranger pledge after completing educational activities at Dinosaur National Monument or one of hundreds of national or state parks
• visiting WWII sites in Normandy, France to understand the legacies of those who battled
• sourcing ingredients and learning to cook kebabs with a hostel owner in Istanbul, Turkey
• learning to tap a rubber tree in Krabi, Thailand
• visiting the bridge on the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn to learn about navigation equipment
• calculating currency conversion to buy Uyghur currants at the Xinjiang market
• visiting with a Ski Patrol team in Colorado to learn how dogs become avalanche rescuers
• talking with your elderly neighbor about what life was like when she was a kid
• listening to an audiobook about the ancient Mayans while exploring the temple regions of Guatemala
• learning how to say hello, goodbye, please and thank you in a different language 
• drawing a picture and naming the phase of the moon every night for a month from your campsites

The possibilities are endless. Worldschooling regulations can be linked to homeschooling laws, and these vary by state. For some quick answers, use this resource that outlines “homeschooling” laws by state (for the United States only).

Part inspirational stories and part how to, this book helps you solve the questions so you can get out there.

How To Start Worldschooling

Because there are endless possibilities, we like to start with family values. What matters to you? Our book helps you turn your dreams and values into an educational roadmap.  We give you the tools and step-by-step plans to actualize the family travel of your dreams.

Most worldschooling families begin by reading, joining online discussion groups, and following some families on social media who are traveling and using the world as their classroom. Instagram and YouTube are great for visuals. In these early steps you can begin to find alignment with your family. What looks like a dream come true? What looks scary? Find common ground, have the conversations, create a worldschooling budget and a financial plan to make it happen. Then, put a date on the calendar so you can start working toward your shared goal.

We share stories, examples, and a collection of resources in our book. You might also check out this blog on Frequently Asked Questions about worldschooling. The point is, you do not have to figure it all out on your own!   

Real family learning! This traveling timeline brought so much deep discussion and shared discoveries.

Some Worldschooling FAQ’s

Is there a worldschooling curriculum?

• While there is no specific worldschooling curriculum, there are resources available to help structure a worldschooling plan, including the book Wonder Year: A Guide to Long-Term Family Travel and Worldschooling and their accompanying blog..

Where can I find worldschooling communities?

• There is a rise in worldschooling communities and worldschooling hubs, which offer resources, support, educational programs, and connections for families who want to combine travel and education for their children.
• Here are some hubs and popups to check out. Many are interviewed in various blogs on our website:
  • Deliberate Detour
  • Rachel Carlson, Worldschool Pop-Up Hub
  • Discover Corps
  • Sam Keller, Working Without Borders
  • Boundless Life

What are the best destinations for long-term family travel?

• Some worldschooling destinations are more popular than others. What is important to you in choosing your itinerary? There is also an opportunity to mention and link to this article here “Where Will You Go? Choosing Destinations for Worldschooling”
• We highlight a few of these popular destinations as well as some little-known ones in our “Destination Inspiration” blogs. Check out this roundup post or go to worldschooling destination posts directly here:
  • Alaska
  • Costa Rica
  • The Pantanal
  • Kenya
  • Greece

Stay in touch! You can buy our book on Amazon, Bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, or select REI’s. You can also sign up for our quarterly newsletter, follow us on Instagram, @wonderyeartravel, or Facebook, or reach out and connect through our website. Our mission is to help you find your way out the door. 

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