What is Digital Nomadism?

A sign of the times perhaps, Merriam-Webster added the word “digital nomad” to the dictionary in 2023. Digital nomad is defined as “someone who performs their occupation entirely over the internet while traveling.” Typically, digital nomads use wireless networking to work without a fixed address. Some people choose to work this way indefinitely, setting up shop in one place until another calls to them. Others head out for a few months or a year in a Starlink-enabled RV (or van, boat, bike, bus, or buggy), fueled by entrepreneurship, opportunity, or wanderlust. There are many ways to do it, and working while traveling is tugging at the heartstrings of more and more individuals and families!

The digital nomad lifestyle is growing in popularity, big time. Today there are roughly 35 million digital nomads, 17 million of whom are US citizens. There are nomads of all ages, all backgrounds, all professions. They are gay, straight, married, single, with and without kids. Some live in communities or hubs, others roam independently or as a family. This recent Forbes article describes several popular paths to becoming a digital nomad: negotiating with a current or new employer to be full-time remote, turning a lifestyle of travel into a business, using one’s skills to support or collaborate with other digital nomads, and turning what you love into an income-generating job. Industry analysts predict that the epic growth will continue and by 2030 there will be over one billion digital nomads worldwide.

Many factors explain the rise in digital nomadism. For one, moving through COVID equipped many more people with skills and tools for virtual school and remote work. And many liked it! Some families liked it so much they are choosing to not go back to school and instead learn in a manner where the world is their classroom, an educational approach called worldschooling. Some companies liked it so much they adopted flexible “work anywhere” policies for their employees, further contributing to the growth in digital nomadism.

Secondly, working while traveling is exciting and attractive. There are opportunities to meet interesting people, stay in beautiful and different places, lower one’s cost of living, cut commuting time, cultivate curiosity, and grow in new ways.

Third, according to a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, there’s a culture shift taking place marked by generational disillusionment. The so-called “good life” that older generations experienced feels unattainable or undesirable for many people today. With super competitive workplaces, rising housing costs, political and environmental volatility, and the empty feeling of accumulating stuff, many folks today are driven to look at alternative lifestyles like digital nomadism.

There’s one more factor that can help explain the “work anywhere” trend, and that’s digital nomad visas – a shiny new ticket to location-independent work. Digital nomad visas help overcome two limitations of tourist visas: 1) the limited time allowed in a country; and 2) not being allowed to work legally.

Visaguide.world is a helpful site for travelers.

What is a Digital Nomad Visa?

A digital nomad visa is a specialized visa that authorizes foreign individuals (and sometimes a spouse, partner, and dependents) to live and work within the issuing country’s borders. It’s like having temporary residency. The visas may be renewable and typically require the individual applying to show proof of income, health insurance, university degree, or a certain number of years of professional experience, vaccination record, clean criminal record, etc. Many countries seek to attract digital nomads and create relatively favorable terms to do that. They see the long-term presence of foreigners with a steady paycheck as a way to drive economic activity and generate a sustainable flow of income as opposed to tourism dollars, which only flow seasonally. At the same time, the digital nomad is often able to stretch their income by enjoying a relatively lower cost of living. So there is a sort of symbiosis in the arrangement. That’s not to say that digital nomadism is universally appreciated. There’s great concern that the presence of foreigners with money is causing gentrification and that locals are getting priced out of their own towns. This recent article from the Georgetown Public Policy Review takes a close look at the effect of digital nomadism in Latin America.

A day in the life of a digital nomad.

How Do I Get a Digital Nomad Visa?

In order to start the process of obtaining a digital nomad visa, you have to know where you want to reside and work, then you can look at the visa requirements for that country. Whenever possible, go to the consulate website or an official source to get the most up-to-date information. The space is very dynamic so double-check that what you are reading is current.

If you are unsure of the exact country you want to travel to and just know you want to be somewhere good for digital nomads, you can check sites like Nomad List or Digital Nomad Visa Index, both of which provide useful data to help narrow your selection. They publish information like internet speeds, income requirements, safety, and cost of living, and they provide descriptions and rankings of best places for digital nomads. Lonely Planet also has a Digital Nomad Handbook which provides a good general overview as well as specific information on several hot digital nomad locations. You might also check with one of many digital nomad Facebook groups to get the skinny on different places. Two popular communities are Digital Nomads (167K+ members) and Digital Nomads Hub (60K+ members).

Once you have narrowed down the countries, then dial in your research, gather the required documents, submit your paperwork, brush up on a new language, wait, and cross your fingers. If rejected, there is typically an appeals process.

Here’s some basic information to help you learn more about digital nomad visas:

How Much Does a Digital Nomad Visa Cost?

Application fees run the gamut from $10 to $3000, but typically they are in the $100 to $200 range. And, you may have to pay the same application fee for each family member and when/if you renew the visa.

Do I Have to Pay Taxes if I am a Digital Nomad?

Many countries offer an initial tax-free period that comes with the digital nomad visa. Others make it tax-free the entire period of the visa. Some, however, require digital nomads to pay taxes the whole time you reside in the country. For some people, paying taxes feels like an unfair burden, but it’s important to keep in mind that digital nomads use physical and social infrastructure – like roads, schools, emergency response. In this regard, paying taxes in host countries helps keep them liveable, walkable, and safe.

As for paying taxes back home, even when working abroad, you still have to file federal and state taxes because US tax law is based on citizenship, not residence. Here’s a helpful article on other tax matters and digital nomadism.

Where would you go?

How Long Can I Stay in a Country on a Digital Nomad Visa?

It depends. Every country is different. In Iceland, it’s 180 days. In Portugal, it’s one year with an optional renewal every year up to the maximum of 5 years. In the UAE it’s up to one year. In Dominica it’s 1.5 years, and in Thailand a digital nomad can be authorized to stay for up to 10 years, though this Long Term Resident Visa is rather restrictive.  So the answer is it depends.

What’s It Like To Be a Digital Nomad?

It’s amazing to be a digital nomad! It’s hard to be a digital nomad! It’s a dream come true! It’s not what I thought! To be sure, digital nomadism is a mixed bag and it’s not for everyone. What is true across the board is this – Successful digital nomads are self-starters, have good time management and budgeting skills, are motivated and self-driven, exercise patience, thrive in the unknown and have a gallon litre  liter of good luck. Digital nomads build supportive communities and tend to find each other. Here’s a quick look at the digital nomad lifestyle in three different locations to provide a little taste of what it’s like:

• A day in the life of a German software engineer, a digital nomad living in New Zealand. Thomas works part-time. His days are full of healthy meals, quiet walks, reading, and relaxing. His work day starts at 7:00 pm New Zealand time when it is 7:00 am in Germany. He typically works until 11:00 pm.

• A day in the life of a digital nomad content creator in Bangkok. This video is an example of the work of a digital nomad, Sergio, an architect gone webdesigner, now a full-time YouTuber.

• A day in the life of a business coach in Croatia. Amanda talks about her time in Split, Croatia. She is a full-time traveler and loves to share her experience and helpful information with others.

Do People Need a Digital Nomad Visa to Come to the United States?

Currently, there is no Digital Nomad Visa for the US. But even without that visa, vibrant digital nomad communities are growing across the country in places such as Portland, OR, Kansas City, MO, and Denver, CO. Keep in mind that the digital nomad lifestyle does not require overseas travel. More and more people are moving about within their own country too in pursuit of time freedom and location independence.

Ah, old school telephonic communications.

What are the Downsides of Being a Digital Nomad?

Digital Nomadism may sound incredibly glamorous, but it may not be good for everyone and it may not be good for every place. Here’s a dose of reality to help keep you grounded and realistic about living that dream.

• Uncertainty – If you set off to work remotely in a traditional job (i.e., you have an employer), your employer could call you back at any time. That uncertainty may be unsettling. (Pro tip: One way to manage feelings of uncertainty is to have an off ramp or a contingency plan. It might look like a pot of savings, a prearranged place to stay if you return home unexpectedly, or a quarterly check-in with your supervisor to keep the lines of communication open.)

• Language barrier – Living in a new country presents a wonderful opportunity to learn a new language, but making yourself understood and taking care of important business like finalizing paperwork such as leases and utility agreements while you are still learning the language can be incredibly frustrating.

• Culture shock and loneliness – It can be exhausting and discomfiting to be the new person on the block over and over again, even where there’s a seemingly welcoming digital nomad community.

• Not having a professional, cultural or social network – While some digital nomads stay digitally connected to their workgroups and teams back home, the lack of an in-person professional network can add to a feeling of loneliness. The time zone difference can also make it difficult to connect virtually with your professional peers back home. That said, there are digital nomads of every age and ethnicity, and you might find your peeps in forums like Digital Nomads Over 50, Black Digital Nomads, Female Digital Nomads, or by simply doing the things you love to do and saying “ciao” to the person next to you.

• Time zone management and digital stress – It is common knowledge that travelers need to be prepared to deal with the unexpected. The demands of work double the need to adapt and be flexible. Digital nomads have to be ready to problem-solve and pivot. While some digital nomads plan strategically to be in the same time zone as clients, the onus is typically on them to accommodate employers, colleagues, customers, schedules, holidays, and technology glitches. If traveling with kids and they are doing online school work, bandwidth may be another limiting factor. The privilege of working remotely, and I mean really remotely, comes with some tradeoffs.

• Homesickness and second-guessing yourself can make problems seem bigger than they would at home. Your usual coping mechanisms may feel remote, too, and finding a new mindset may take awhile.

Fulfilling your dream to become a digital nomad may be the greatest turn in your life and there are many, hundreds, thousands, millions of people out there ready to welcome and support you. With your digital nomad visa, proper planning and preparation, a willingness to deal with trade-offs, and a reasonable contingency plan, you’ve got this, friend, now let’s go!

The post Digital Nomad Visas: Location-Independent Living appeared first on Wonder Year Travel.

I met Sabrina Chapman at TravelCon 2024, a conference for digital travel creators. She was in Portland, Oregon for the conference with her son Brighton, who travels with her for both business and leisure. We connected over our shared love of family travel and education, and I knew our Fernweh Families audience would appreciate Sabrina’s perspectives as much as I did. She shares more of her family’s store here.

Please tell us about your family and journey.

My son Brighton (5) and I love traveling for fun, of course, but as the owner of a boutique influencer marketing agency specializing in travel and hospitality, my travels also frequently involve attending events, influencer programs, conferences, and trade shows. I also contribute reviews of hotels to a media company.

I’ve always had wanderlust and would travel through Europe with a Lonely Planet guide and a backpack for months at a time in the early 2000s. They didn’t have digital nomads then, but if they had, I certainly would have been one.

Decades later, as a single mom, I bring my son along on every trip I take. His first flight was to NYC when he was 6 months old. I was throwing a launch party for a tech startup. Together we create educational travel itineraries that blend enjoyable activities with learning experiences, all while maintaining balance so I can run a business.

First time on a plane, headed to New York City

What was one of the most important ingredients in getting your family on the road–what did you do that worked out well?

As a working mother traveling with my 5-year-old, my first priority is always childcare planning. Whether it’s arranging for a babysitter service, finding a drop-in childcare center, or booking a camp, I ensure this is taken care of well in advance before planning anything else for the trip.

For instance, when I attended TravelCon in Portland this spring, my first step was securing a fantastic care center that provided frequent photo and activity updates. Once that was in place, I organized our hotel accommodation to be conveniently located near both the care center and the conference venue. This approach allowed flexibility for our meal plans and other activities.

During each work trip, I aim to include at least one educational experience, though I keep this flexible depending on the weather and our energy levels. After the conference in Portland, for example, we visited the Oregon Zoo where my son got to see bald eagles for the first time. It was a great opportunity to discuss their significance in American history.

Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia

What’s outside your window right now? What fascinates you about where you are?

Right now, I’m writing from Rosemary Beach, a stunning coastal town along Florida’s Emerald Coast. I booked an Airbnb for the week where I work remotely during the day while my son attends Camp SkyWay at Camp Helen State Park. Choosing this specific camp was strategic. Since he doesn’t have siblings or cousins, the memories he’s creating with friends at camp capture the quintessential essence of a childhood summer. While we were eating sushi last night he recounted that they had a talent show that day. He sang a song from the movie Madagascar while a few other kids danced. Oh, my heart!

In the evenings, we have been finding joy in exploring the beaches and trying out local restaurants. What captivates me most is the crisp sea air, listening to my son share stories about the new friends he’s made at camp, and creating summer memories.

Trail Ride in the Catalina Foothills

Can you describe a time when learning for your child or family happened organically and profoundly…when you learned outside any “plan” you started with?

During our recent trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, I initially didn’t expect Brighton to take away much beyond having fun, getting Mickey ears, and enjoying the rides.

However, something unexpected happened. He was deeply moved by “Living with the Land,” a serene boat cruise showcasing multimedia agricultural displays and four operational greenhouses at The Land Pavilion in Epcot. Following that experience, we had lunch at Garden Grill Restaurant, where he met Farmer Mickey and ate fresh produce grown on-site at Epcot.

This visit sparked a profound curiosity in Brighton. For about a month afterward, he would regularly ask questions like what food was like in the 1940s or even earlier, such as the 1800s. I did my best to answer his questions, and together we delved deeper into these topics through research and exploration. This experience turned out to be much more than just a fun trip—it ignited a lasting interest in history and agriculture for Brighton.

What are some of the unique aspects of long-term travel and/or worldschooling as a single parent?

Traveling as a single parent is both emotionally and physically demanding. It involves balancing the responsibilities of parenting with the desire to explore new places and meeting my clients’ needs. To manage it all effectively, I prioritize my own health by dedicating at least 30 to 60 minutes to it each day. Whether it’s attending a yoga class, visiting a fresh juice bar for wellness shots, or simply taking a power nap, these moments of self-care are crucial to prevent burnout while on the road. Taking precautions like this helps me maintain a healthy balance during our travels.

What do you wish you knew before you started, or what would you like to share with other families before they launch?

Begin with a small step: if you haven’t traveled with your children yet, choose a nearby destination for a one or two-night stay. Use this experience as a learning opportunity and gradually expand your travels from there. Consider it a practice run to build up for more distant destinations and longer trips.

Point Pinos Lighthouse

Do you attend any organized travel programs or tours? If so, how do they fit in with overall journey and worldschooling plan/approach?

During summer, fall, and spring breaks, I actively seek out camps in different cities that offer robust hands-on learning programs aligned with our travel destinations. For instance, last summer, we enrolled in a sea life camp in Newport Beach. This summer, Brighton participated in SkyCamp at Camp Helen, where he is enthusiastically engaging with the topics and showing natural curiosity. He is interested in trees and arbor because we are physically in nature.

Metaphorically speaking, what is something you’ve lost and something you’ve found during your journey?

I’ve let go of the notion that everything must be perfect when traveling. That the bags have to be labeled, packed in cubes and every t-shirt rolled in a certain way. Planning certainly helps, but navigating the inevitable obstacles and challenges of travel is part of the adventure. Traveling with children is not all joy and aspirational Instagram-worthy pics, although the nuggets of inspiration are what fuel the journey. But there is fatigue, anxiety, and even sadness. It’s in overcoming these hurdles, embracing the unknown, and discovering new places as a family that the true beauty of traveling with children unfolds.

I’ve found boundless passion to continue this journey of work-learning-travel-life with my son. There are moments when memes about needing vodka, a week of sleep, and a million dollars seem spot-on. I’m jet lagged, juggling suitcases and a car seat, with my child asking to be carried, my phone buzzing with emails, and feeling like I might just lose my mind, but I find another wind to carry on. Why? The connection I find with my son while exploring new places — whether it’s kayaking on a lake in the ponderosa pine-filled forests of Northern Arizona, talking about dinosaurs at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, or looking at sea turtle nests on the beaches of Florida — is inspiring and makes every challenging moment worth it.

What’s your favorite story to share about this experience?

I’m always trying to save money when flying. Recently, I had a client pitch in Miami. We flew in and out Miami International, or so I thought. I had typed and printed our daily itinerary with flights, hotels, babysitting, etc., so felt that I was SO organized for this trip. I even booked Lyft early so we would be at the airport with plenty of time.

When we got to the Miami International Airport and tried to check-in, the ticket counter said that we were at the wrong airport. I remembered that at the last minute I found a better price on flights if we flew into Miami and out of Fort Lauderdale but hadn’t updated our itinerary. There wasn’t enough time to get to Fort Lauderdale in rush hour. And it was the last flight for the airline of the day. I had an oh, (expletive) internal moment. Brighton started crying big crocodile tears. I knelt down and said don’t worry, we are going to figure this out. It’s okay and mama bear hugged him. Within the next hour, I had a hotel booked and a Lyft on the way. I used this as a learning lesson for Brighton as a valuable reminder that life doesn’t always go as planned, and mistakes happen. What’s important is how we respond and problem-solve in those moments of adversity. This experience taught us a priceless lesson in flexibility and staying calm under pressure.

What are you excited about seeing/doing/learning next?

I have several promising global business opportunities on the horizon, and this year will mark the first time I’ll be traveling abroad with my son. I’m incredibly excited to introduce him to diverse cultures, lifestyles, cuisines, and traditions. At just 5 years old, he’s already captivated by learning about how food grows, exploring different culinary delights (he loves nigiri!), and embracing enriching experiences. It’s a global journey I can’t wait to share with him.

Thank you so much to Sabrina and Brighton for sharing their story with us. To follow along with their journeys, you can find them at:

Instagram: @sabrinachapman

TikTok: bespoke8marketing

LinkedIn: Sabrina Chapman

You can also check out other Fernweh Families on this blog to get inspiration for your own adventures.

Palm Springs

The post Fernweh Families: The Chapmans appeared first on Wonder Year Travel.

Many traveling families already know that the 63 US national parks are packed with educational opportunities. Today, it’s easier than ever to incorporate national parks into your worldschooling curriculum. This blog looks closely at worldschooling in Yellowstone. Much of what is shared is generally applicable to other national parks, so consider this blog a Worldschooling 101: National Parks Edition. 

Please note: this blog is not about where to camp, how to get reservations, how to avoid crowds in Yellowstone in July, or where’s the best place to see wolves. For that, please check out some of the resources and advice we offer at the end. 

Ok, now back to the topic at hand: Worldschooling in Yellowstone. Worldschooling is learning through direct interaction with the world. It is an experience-rich, hands-on approach, informed by wherever you are and colored by the stories of whomever you meet. Worldschooling is 100% guaranteed to ignite curiosity and self-discovery in kids and adults alike. 

Prepping for Your Worldschooling Adventure in Yellowstone National Park 

Introduction to Yellowstone

Set the stage for your educational adventure by reading some books and looking at maps before you arrive. Try to get familiar with the park and its history. Yellowstone is enormous and has many different ecosystems and attractions. A little advance work will pique your interest and illuminate the subjects that most interest your family. The National Park Service has a dedicated website on using the park as a classroom and includes curriculum ideas for unlocking the magic of experiential learning. Check out some of these free instructional resources like exploring tracks and footprints. 

“There is nothing so American as our national parks…” – President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Involving Your Kids

It’s great to involve your kids in planning your Yellowstone itinerary. Get them excited by watching a documentary about the park like this video from National Geographic or this Ken Burns production, The National Parks, America’s Best Idea. Or if you want to splurge, rent this gorgeous film about the National Parks Adventure, narrated by Rober Redford. It’s sure to fill your heart with wonder and majesty as you learn how it is that these special places belong to all of us, forever. 

Maybe start with some basic questions like why is the park is called Yellowstone? What’s the weather forecast for your trip? Maybe there is a question that is top of mind for you and your kids, like what’s the tallest geyser? Involving your kids early will prime the pump and get their buy-in for your family’s Yellowstone adventure. Check out this great blog for more ideas on ways to involve your kids in travel planning. 

Yay Yellowstone!

Yellowstone Visitor Centers 

Another handy way to prepare is to visit at least one of the ten visitor centers around the park. They have excellent resources to help you get oriented, deepen your knowledge, secure permits (e.g., fishing or backcountry camping), and find out about special events. You can also take care of practical matters like using the restroom, filling up water bottles, and getting the lowdown on wildlife sightings. The Albright Visitor Center is open year-round and has free WiFi. Several visitor centers have special collections and resources dedicated to education. There’s also the Museum of the National Park Ranger, housed in an old log cabin built in 1908. The museum is unique to Yellowstone and is staffed by retired rangers. Take your time, study the maps, talk to a ranger, and whatever you do, get your kids set up with Yellowstone Forever, the park’s amazing Junior Ranger Program. 

Yellowstone Worldschooling Themes

With a little background information, you’ll be ready to pick some worldschooling themes to deepen your educational exploration. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Wildlife of Yellowstone 

Home to the greatest concentration of mammals in the contiguous United States, in Yellowstone you can learn about bison, wolves, elk, moose, pronghorn, and bears, to name a few. There are 300 species of birds and 16 species of fish. Dawn and dusk are the prime viewing times but seasonal variations will determine who you might see. Patience is key, and binoculars are a must. Maybe you’ll be lucky and unlucky and find yourselves stuck in a bison jam with hundreds of bison blocking the roadway! Bison were almost extinct. Today, there are about 3000-6000 bison in the park, a remarkable success story. The animals of Yellowstone are diverse, abundant, and sublime. There are many entry points into this rich topic for littles and big kids, like these wildlife bingo cards.

As worldschooling families, you may have time to deepen your wildlife inquiry. You might study the Yellowstone Bison Conservation Transfer Program (BCTP), which helps Tribal communities restore their bison population. You could take a closer look at wolf restoration in Yellowstone, a fascinating and complicated story layered with history, agriculture, biology, ecosystem health, wildlife management, and the relationship of people and the environment. 

Geothermal Features of Yellowstone

Yellowstone is a hydrothermal wonderland and worldschooling families can easily create a whole curriculum around this topic. With over 10,000 features –  geysers, mudpots, hot springs, and fumaroles (steam vents) – you can visit a wide variety throughout the park. This resource provides a good overview of what all that steam is! Maybe your kids can make a cool video comparing the different features, or interview guests to see how much they know about what’s going on underground. Why is there a funny smell? What makes the geysers erupt? If you are lucky enough to get to the Grand Prismatic Spring, plan ahead and take paper and crayons or something to draw with. The colors are extraordinary and it may be fun to sketch. 

The iconic Grand Prismatic Spring

While it may be tempting to want to dip your toes, drop objects in, or get really close to the thermal features, it’s absolutely critical to understand and follow all safety precautions. Most importantly, visitors must stay on the boardwalks and trails and not touch thermal features or runoff. Swimming is strictly prohibited and pets are not allowed in thermal areas. 

There is one area where you can swim in a cold river, then chillax in the warm eddies – the Firehold Swim area. It is fun to dip in this river, but definitely check the status and regulations before heading there because they are subject to change. Here’s more information about it. 

Indigenous Peoples and Yellowstone 

Another topic that may inform your Yellowstone worldschooling adventure is the history and traditions of Native Americans in the area. Thousands of years before there was a national park in this location, there were Indigenous people who hunted, gathered plants, fished, and had customary, spiritual, and medicinal uses of the waters. Today, twenty-six Tribes have some claim and cultural connection with the area of Yellowstone. This Smithsonian Magazine article provides a good overview of some of the archaeology and prehistory of the park. To go even deeper, you can check out this book by University of Montana archeology professor, Douglas MacDonald and learn about the trade in obsidian, one of the strongest tool stones in the world. Your worldschooling journey may lead you to the X-ray technology that is being used in the field and helping explain why this obsidian was so important to Indigenous people.  

The bison in Yellowstone roam freely throughout the park.

Water and Yellowstone

Water water everywhere! According to the National Park Service, “Yellowstone contains some of the most significant, near-pristine aquatic ecosystems found in the United States.” It’s an understatement to say the waters of Yellowstone are a critical resource. Water is the underground pulse of all of the geyser and hot spring activity. It provides livelihood for the wildlife, farmers, ranchers, recreationists, and Indigenous people in the region. There are 150 named lakes, 258 named streams, and hundreds of waterfalls. Perhaps you could pick one water body and learn about the aquatic organism that live there. Maybe you could go fishing and use the opportunity to learn about native fish species like Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and Artic Grayling. What mammals depend on the shallow surface water habitat found in Yellowstone?  Check out this excellent short video on the Waters of Yellowstone or this website with excellent information about fish ecology. 

Maybe you are interested in pollution and water quality. Talk with the rangers to find out if there’s an opportunity to participate in volunteer water quality monitoring work. Maybe you could spend a day in the field as citizen scientists, collecting water samples that help measure the effect of historic mining activity in the area. Or maybe you are interested in how climate change is affecting water resources in the  Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. What can you learn about changes in temperature, precipitation and snowpack? 

There’s so much to drink up about water in Yellowstone, you could create an entire worldschooling curriculum that gives you an entry way into not only into science, but also math, history, social studies, and recreation management. 

Cascading waterfalls on the mighty Yellowstone River helped carve the “Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.”

Policy and Public Land Management

Yet another theme may be policy and public land management. The National Park Service was created on August 25, 1916. Today there are more than 400 national parks, 560 national wildlife refuges, and nearly 250 million acres of other public lands. Maybe you are curious about what makes something a public land?  Or maybe your crew is interested in knowing more about how a national park is designated or named, how wildfires are managed, or who runs the concessions. Why are national parks considered the crown jewels? 

This summer is going to be especially fun to explore some of these questions, as the National Park Service is celebrating its birthday on August 25. Everyone is invited to share how they feel connected to parks at #YourParkStory or #NPSbirthday. Check out the park service social channels for information about celebrations, educational events, and other ways to engage. 

There are so many rich educational opportunities and worldschooling themes at Yellowstone National Park. As you start peeling back the layers and asking questions, you’ll uncover even more stories, more questions, and more shared educational adventures for your family. 

Resources

Here’s a list of some additional educational resources to help ignite your curiosity and wonder and to help instill in your children a deep sense of responsibility for our beloved national parks:

• Junior Ranger – Self-guided educational journey for kids four and older. Booklet + ranger badge upon completion.
• Young Scientist – Self-guided science exploration in visitor centers and in the field. Booklet + badge upon completion.
• Yellowstone Sound Library – Collection of sounds for visitors to experience the aural landscape of the park.
• Yellowstone Video Library – An extraordinary collection of video clips second only to being out in it. 
• Citizen Science – A publicly-funded program that uses crowdsourcing to engage ordinary citizens (you don’t have to be a scientist) in participatory and collaborative science. It’s a great worldschooling approach for the whole family to learn side by side. 
• Yellowstone Forever – A partnership with the National Park Service that provides educational opportunities and programs about wildlife, geology, and cultural history of the park. 
• Guided Painting and Photography Trips – A list of contacts and organizations that offer hands-on painting and photography excursions in the park. 
• Jobs, Internships and Volunteering in the Park – Information about paid experiences for youth and young adults. 
• Ranger Program – Yellowstone’s in-park ranger programs are available from Memorial Day through September. The park also has an archive of past live Ranger talks.

Here are some additional resources to help plan your Yellowstone adventure: 

• National Park Service planning Page.
• First Timers Guide to Yellowstone.
• Explore Yellowstone Like a Local Guidebook.
• Xanterra Parks and Recreation Website. 

And, finally, here are three tips for dealing with crowds in Yellowstone: 

• Visit in the off-season – And, if you love winter and are ready to be cold, consider venturing into the park in the winter months. The grizzlies are hibernating but everyone else is awake. Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Cabins and Old Faithful Snow Lodge are open to guests! You can ski, snowshoe, and enjoy the bison and wolves, practically all to yourselves!
• If it works best for your situation to go in the summer, just embrace it. There’s a reason so many people go to Yellowstone. It’s AMAZING! So, share the wonder with the person to your left, to your right, in front of you, and behind you. The national parks are for all of us, forever. Accept and enjoy. 
• Get off the beaten path – There are over 1000 miles of hiking trails and 293 designated backcountry campsites at Yellowstone.

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Traveling long-term with your family… Sounds dreamy, right? 

Right now, many families are traveling with their kids, learning from the world as they live the life of their dreams. Is this on your bucket list, too?

Who are these people and how do they do it? Perhaps you heard of a friend of a friend who worldschooled their kids for a year. Or, maybe your Instagram feed has given you a peek into family travel content creators who live full-time on the road with kids in tow. You also might just be starting to feel the travel itch and find yourself searching #vanlife when you’re perusing Pinterest. 

And who are we? We are the trio of fellow family travelers who wrote the award-winning, Amazon-bestselling book titled Wonder Year: A Guide to Long-Term Family Travel and Worldschooling, available anywhere books are sold. Our website wonderyear.com has free resources and blogs on relevant and current topics like AI and Worldschooling, carbon offsets or even the family travel angles for various destinations. Our blog also highlights worldchooling community connectors and currently traveling families in our Fernweh Families series. 

We are active members of family travel and worldschooling Facebook groups. We pay attention to the questions that pop in those forums and gear our blogs to answer the most common ones. This blog round-up will offer you some short answers to your early first questions of worldschooling FAQs. Drum roll, please. Here are answers to some of the most common questions. 

Question 1: What is worldschooling?

The first blog we recommend you read is: What Is Worldschooling? This post goes over the basics, explains key terms and concepts that will show up in online communities, and clears up some common misconceptions and answers many more worldschooling FAQs. Perhaps the information in this blog is the fodder to start a conversation with your kids or your partner to see if there’s collective interest in long-term travel, or to plant the first seed of worldschooling as an idea for your family. 

Question 2: How do people afford long-term family travel?

You might think this type of family gap year or open-ended way of life is only for wealthy families. We show you that’s not the case.This blog, How do Families Afford Long-Term Travel?, shows the ins and outs of the creative ways real families make it work. Speaking of work, many families afford extended travel by working on the road, which we cover more extensively in this blog. Here’s another blog that covers digital nomad visas and how those apply to digital nomadism and worldschooling families.

Question 3: How do we decide whether to travel long-term? 

Rarely do people feel that there is a convenient time to pack everything up and head out the door. But often the best times in our lives happen when we shake things up, make bold decisions and dream big. If you wait for the convenient time, it might not come. This blog, making the decision, is a five-point framework similar to the one offered in our book.

Now that you’ve decided to leave home, where will you go? This blog helps you think about the factors that might go into this next set of decisions. Maybe it’s cost, connectivity, family history, or worldschooling themes–we’ll help you hone your family travel bucket list.

Question 4: What about pets?

One of the most common obstacles to setting off for a Wonder Year is our furry friends. How can you say goodbye to the pets in your family? This post will help you think through how to leave them in safe hands or take them along with you.

If you could work from anywhere… you can always find a chair.

Question 5: What shoes do I pack?

The next big question asked is: if I’m packing light for an extended time, how do I whittle down the shoes? Seriously. I know this might seem much less serious, but it’s a real concern for many. To solve this, Annika teamed up with her childhood BFF, stylist Daisy Barnett, to answer the question in detail. With links and advice, this blog helps you family-travel in style!

If you find these blogs offer real world solutions to help get you off the ground and out into the world, consider purchasing our book. You can also sign up for our newsletter. We wish you and your family a wonder-ful journey! 

The Wonder Year team (Annika, Angela, and Julie)

It has been so heartwarming to share Wonder Year.

The post Worldschooling FAQs appeared first on Wonder Year Travel.

As we cover in our book, Wonder Year: A Guide to Long-Term Family Travel and Worldschooling, families can incorporate a wide variety of educational themes into their travels: ecology, art, geology, history, or literature, for starters. Another theme you might consider is music. As an educational element, music is versatile, cohesive, full of joy, and applicable across all locations. Music can also be explored as a family because it is inclusive of all ages and stages. Rather than being a fixed unit of study, music is dynamic and can weave through every location you visit.

Our family owns a record store (like vinyl), and individually we collect music and each play an instrument. During our Wonder Year, we found music to be a wonderful way to connect, deepen our shared curiosity, and find our niche wherever we traveled across three continents. 

Visiting Places of Musical Import

Iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater–if rocks could talk, the tales they’d tell!

You can choose places on your itinerary that have music lessons baked in. You can study the music history, the instruments, or the popular trends of a place before you travel. Maybe have your kids do research in advance and teach the rest of the family or group. Think of learning about the lives of classical masters in Vienna through a concert at Mozarthaus. You could research the influences that came together for the birth of rock and roll in Graceland, Tennessee. Or, study acoustics while taking in an opera at La Scala in Milan. You might buy a khaen (Thai bamboo flute) at a market and give it a go. Or, follow Nairobi’s @realvinylguru on Instagram. (His vinyl record shop has a cult following and you just might see the legends who pop by for a hello, like Yo-Yo Ma did in 2023.) Keep on the lookout for fairs and festivals. The Riff Music Festival of traditional folk music in Rajasthan, India, has been on my bucket list since my 20s.

In this vein, keep a look out for local and current happenings. For example, especially important to us is Record Store Day. Record Store Day is an International Holiday, IMO–a collaboration of music labels and independent record stores to celebrate vinyl records. Whether you’re in Rome, Rio, or Rochester, collectible releases drop at the same time. Lines run for blocks, local musicians play, schwag giveaways are the norm, and you get a slice of local life by joining in the celebration. Although records are not necessarily portable, you can send some home. Or, just come for the fun. Finding ways to weave your interests into your Wonder Year is a great way to connect with a destination, and just might take you off of the “top 10” tourist path.

Using Music as an Exploration of Arts and Social Science

Practicing some tunes on a mosaic piano at The Giants House in Akaroa, New Zealand

Music offers a window to the study of culture, language, and place. What can we learn about history and culture when contemplating lyrics, rhythms, influences, and cross-cultural listening patterns? There is also a temporal component when we consider how music is passed down and changes from generation to generation.

The possibilities are endless and music might be the entree to pique your family’s attention for genres, borders, and fusion. For example, you might start asking why there is so much polka music in Mexico. Which could then lead to a deeper look at Mexican history and its ties with Germany. Studying the lyrics of popular songs is a great portal into language study. Or, perhaps study the musicians themselves by reading biographies or learning about them from museums or music venues. You can extend this to how their lives and messages tie into the larger timelines and world history. Think of Bob Marley, Bach, Dolly Parton, or Bono.

In the United States, February is recognized as African American History Month. The theme in 2024 is African Americans in the Arts. What a wonderful time to dive into the history of jazz, blues, and hip hop and explore the historical and cultural realities that gave rise to these amazing art forms. You can find short videos on many topics, like the history of Berry Gordy Jr and Motown Records or the origin of hip hop, or immerse yourself in the amazing 19-hour Ken Burns documentary series on the roots of jazz available on PBS Learning Media.

Bringing Instruments Along

Yes, we traveled with a cello, which was almost as tall as Lucy herself.

If you or your kid play an instrument, you might be contemplating what to do while you’re on the road for an extended time. Do you bring it along? Pause for the time away? Find alternative travel-friendly versions, or focus on music appreciation? If piano is your instrument, did you know that you can purchase a rollable and packable keyboard? Flutes, harmonicas, and other smaller instruments might be a great option to continue or learn while you’re on the road. Ukuleles and ¾ guitars are also great options that travel relatively easily. 

Our family brought a guitar, viola, violin, and cello with us. Seriously. We flew through seven countries on three continents and gate-checked the cello with a “fragile” sticker. Security was curious, but we never had a problem. In a campground in New Zealand, we were able to have an impromptu concert. We stashed them with friends or at guesthouses when we were mobile, and when we settled for longer periods, we could resume Zoom lessons with teachers back home and have concentrated practice time. The corresponding math lessons in time zones were well worth the continuity of my kids’ love of music and instruments. If it’s your thing, there’s a way.

Theme Songs

Elvis for sale while crate digging at a flea market in Beijing.

If you’re more of a music appreciator than a creator, consider finding your theme songs for each month, each destination, or maybe each year. What speaks to you as a family? Negotiate which songs make the metaphorical mixed tape. Do the lyrics remind you of a place? Are they all sing-able? Or is it the mood? Our family created theme songs for each place and a mixed tape compilation / Spotify playlist of the year. Music, like food or photos, takes us back to the time and place.

Social media trending songs could be your theme, or you could make video compilations that match trending songs. Try these experiments and gauge your profile interactions, extending your media literacy or marketing lessons.

Personal Listening

Music can also be a personal escape from the group’s activity. When family members need space, they can take it with headphones and their own playlist. Also having time to listen together is a great way for family members to share what they like with each other. Some families rotate who is “in charge” of music in the car, and that person can share what they’ve been listening to lately.

Invest in a family Spotify account and download rather than stream music. Did you know that streaming music has a massive carbon footprint? You also won’t be beholden to WiFi when you really need to listen. 

You can also encourage musical exploration in everyone’s listening. Find songs by local artists, listen to a genre you don’t usually, research a singer-songwriter and analyze their lyrics. Music, like the world, is full of inspiration, with hidden gems in corners if you keep an open mind and a travelers’ heart.

None of the ideas we shared here need to feel like planned lessons or coordinated effort–it can also just be fun, casual listening together that naturally leads to learning. We hope this post has helped you think about ways, small and grand, to incorporate music and worldschooling into your family’s travels.

To learn more about worldschooling ideas, check out our book, Wonder Year. Or, read more worldschooling blog posts like, Traveling Timelines, Winter Worldschooling, or Citizen Science.

Rooftops of Kathmandu make a great spot for Zoom music lessons.

The post Music and Worldschooling appeared first on Wonder Year Travel.

If you’re currently dreaming of doing a Wonder Year, still immersed in the planning stages, then you may not even have reentry on your

Strangely, the British Museum was a great place to wrap up our trip while waiting for our final flight home. The missing pieces from our favorite places were all right here. Lots of fodder for critical thinking skills.

radar. It might seem so far off that there’s little use in wondering how you’ll wrap it up. We’re here to tell you that many travelers find it helpful to start thinking about their return several months before they actually leave home.

Perhaps, you may plan to travel indefinitely. You plan to embrace the digital nomad lifestyle and there is no plan to reenter. Consider that circumstances may cause you to come home earlier than planned and it may be smart to have a contingency plan in place.

And if you’re currently on your Wonder Year, you may be starting to think about coming home. People end their family travel season for numerous reasons. Here are some that we’ve heard over the years while researching for our book, Wonder Year. 

• A specific date was always on the calendar
• Someone in the family is ready
• Money
• Health needs that could be better handled at home
• Needs are waiting back home: grandparents, pets, business
• A sabbatical is ending
• Time for braces (Yes, that’s more common than you think.)

Coming home is a complex event. You may have created an identity, found your groove, or decided to make some consequential changes to the way you lived before you left. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, I attended an entire three-day conference about coming home and discussed the emotions, financial repercussions, the “what next?” mental hurdles, and even the physical shifts in diet, exercise, and pace of life.

You might be debating if you can do another year, another semester, or another summer. There is so much to this decision, which is why we devoted an entire chapter of our book to it. We titled it Reentry. If you are ready to “re-enter,” then here’s a primer for you. If you want more detail, consider buying the book.

Before You Land

“Make your reentry gradual. Try not to go from treehouse living in Laos to suburban sprawl in forty-eight hours, or from RV living in Utah

A tired suitcase, held together with duct tape and love by the end or our year.

to an apartment living in Manhattan with sand still in your shoes. Instead of a direct flight home, consider driving or taking a train from the coast to a major city to help your kids visualize their unique place on this planet. You are still worldschooling, always seeing a teachable moment.” Wonder Year, page 238.

As early as possible, begin thinking through the framework to create the next chapter. This includes your career, where home will be; and schooling options for your kids. Once you know where you want to land, consider making those needed appointments with people like dentists, doctors, math tutors, movers, or accountants.

You’ll need to return to your house, buy a house, or find a rental. If you’re returning home you might arrange for a deep clean, or interior paint before you arrive so you can start with a clean slate.

Landing

Relish the fun stuff! Reuniting with pets, visiting friends and family, library, sports teams, and stocking your fridge with exactly what you want. I enjoyed many things, but high on the list was putting things in drawers and soaking in my bathtub.

“Be gentle with yourself while reconnecting with social circles. In the early days of reentry, you’re processing differently, and you’re not in sync yet. You have changed, and your friendships may rejigger themselves–some relationships may strengthen and others might wane. If you’re moving to a new place and folks know your story, you might have the awkward celebrity introduction of a Wonder Year.” Wonder Year, page 288.

Be ready for complex emotions for everyone. Some families find that their kids want to still be in close proximity for sleeping. Our tweens chose to sleep in sleeping bags in our bedroom for the first month or so. For us, it loosened up quickly, and too soon we were back to a more standard distance. 

The Months that Follow

Hold close the positives of your life on the road. It’s easy to slip back to exactly who you were without incorporating some of the new, cool stuff. For example, on the road, we watched the sun set and knew which phase of the moon we were currently in. We have tried to hold on to

Another thing we missed: homemade birthday cakes and candles.

that. We try to mark each full moon with a hike and attempt to walk dogs at sunset.

“For those kids reentering a traditional school, help them transition in the weeks before. If you feel like there were some holes in their learning, take time to evaluate that now and/or consider hiring a tutor. Reach out to old friends or, if your kids are entering a new school, ask if there’s any new student-buddy program. Having a connection can alleviate a lot of stress.” Wonder Year, page 291

Start looking at photos and printing some for the walls. Maybe make books for each family member as a gift. T-shirts from your travels can become a quilt. Think of ways to have a visible reminder of your time.

How to Keep a Worldschooling Mindset for the Long Haul

When we return to a stationary life, our mindset can still be nomadic. We can keep growing and learning, opening and adventuring, even if our pillow stays in one place. In our book, we share ideas, honed from experience. Here are a few to get you started.

• Begin to look at home as if you were seeing it for the first time. Look at the complexities, the way an outsider might view possibilities. Learn from that new lens.
• Seek out the new kids at school, the new families in town, and return the hospitality that the world showed to you. Our family learned so much about how to host and show kindness from our time on the road.
• Host an exchange student, watch foreign films, and learn a new language. In this way, you can invite the wider world into your home.
• Read our blog, “Spring Break with Returned Worldschoolers” to get some inspiration for worldschooling in shorter periods of time. The shape may change, but the open-hearted curiosity does not need to.

We hope that this post helps you feel prepared for the next step in your journey. Although you can’t plan for every contingency, you can reduce the number of surprises. Let us know how it goes for you. And for a closing thought, we hope this helps keep an eye toward the future. From Wonder Year, page 297:

“As time rolls on, you might find that your kids, now young adults, continue to identify as world citizens and carry with them a love for adventure and curiosity. Living on the road shows them that it’s okay to want a life of togetherness, simplicity, freedom, and perspectives.” 

Family Snuggle: The best part of coming home!

The post Reentry, An Important Chapter appeared first on Wonder Year Travel.

Staying on a farm in Crete, Lucy got invited to help exercise the horse, Whiskey.

Greece is Warm and Welcoming

Greece has many draws–history, food, Mediterranean Sea–without the crowds and prices you might find in other European locations. Greeks are known for their warm and welcoming nature, making it easy for worldschooling families to feel at home and integrate into local communities.

Of course, there are areas that have a high concentration of tourists, but my personal take is that Greeks are welcoming because they have not been overwhelmed by swarms of tourists. Once, on the island of Tinos, we stopped in a small village for lunch and a visit to the church. An old man in a fedora patted the empty chair next to him and offered me tea (or was it ouzo?). We giggled and gestured our way through a conversation. This openness was characteristic of the people we met everywhere.

THE FOOD

Greek cuisine is known for its delicious flavors and healthy ingredients. Children can learn about traditional cooking methods, local ingredients, and the importance of a balanced diet. As vegetarians, we found the Greek diet especially easy. 

Rusk salad. I could eat this meal every day.

We especially enjoyed Greek salads, rusk salads, baked gigande beans, local fish, and octopus. Many areas also serve Middle Eastern staples like hummus and pita. Some memorable foods include pickled hyacinth bulbs, baklava (from an entire bakery that only made varieties of baklava), and fresh cheese. On the island of Naxos, we took a family-friendly food tour with Philema. We met candy makers and cheese makers and learned the ins and outs of pressing olive oil.

The History

Greece is steeped in history, with a cultural heritage that dates back thousands of years. Worldschooling in Greece offers the opportunity for children to explore ancient ruins, visit historical sites such as the Acropolis in Athens, and learn about famous philosophers, mythology, and the birthplace of Western civilization. The country is home to numerous archaeological sites, making it an ideal place for hands-on learning experiences. Partial reconstructions, active excavation, and computer generated modeling of ancient temples and cities make for inspired learning.

There’s also the small and humble chapels and sanctuaries that dot the hillsides. Even some three-thousand-year-old chapels are open for you to explore on a hike. Maybe say a prayer, enjoy the mosaic artwork, light some incense, and continue along your way.

For more current history, the nearby tragedies of the war in Syria and poverty of northern Africa have made their way to the shores of Greece. You will see recent immigrants and current events become real, prompting discussion and learning through empathy. And exposure may prompt action from near and far.

Greek Mythology and Kids are a Magical Mix

At the tour of Minos Palace on Crete, my kids shared the story of Minotaur, recounting it with wonder.

One of my three kids had studied ancient Greek mythology before we left. Her curiosity rubbed off on my younger two and we loved to study as much as we could. We read classic versions of the tales and even the Percy Jackson series (although not exactly traditionally correct) fanned the flames of passionate interest. Once, at King Minos’ palace on Crete, my third and fourth graders answered the guides’ questions and proceeded to regale their favorite stories to the tour group. 

We visited temples built for the gods, wrote our own myths to explain natural phenomena with the gods as main characters, and recognized the symbols and stories we saw on murals and paintings throughout Rome, London, and other European cities. When exploring ruins, countrysides, and caves, the myths are palpable.

Natural Beauty

From picturesque islands with beautiful beaches to stunning mountains and charming villages, Greece offers a diverse range of landscapes. Worldschooling in Greece allows children to learn about geology, natural history, and environmental science firsthand. Greece offers various outdoor activities, such as hiking, swimming, and sailing. Children might gain a broader respect and love for the ecosystems of the Mediterranean. 

From the islands to the interior mountains, from picturesque olive farms to pine forests, from views of the ocean floors to the snow-capped peaks, Greece offers it all.

Recreating a temple to Demeter on Naxos, you can see archaeologists at work.

Art and Culture

Greece has a rich artistic and musical heritage, and children can learn about traditional arts, crafts, and music through workshops and local events. Stone quarries, sculpture, and architecture might also play to your child’s interests.

Greek is a unique and ancient language with a fascinating history. The alphabet dates back to the eighth century BC and both Romance (Latin) and Cyrillic languages are based upon it. You might learn the sounds that are unfamiliar and then sound out items in the grocery store. 

The Odyssey has been modified and abridged for all ages. For older travelers, they might read Homer’s original or immerse themselves in the works of Aristophanes, Euripides, or Sophocles. 

Budget-Friendly

In the month of May, the weather is just right, prices are low and you can always find a chair.

From our experience, Greece is less expensive than other Western European countries. Travel by ferry, short-term rentals, and off-peak travel (anything other than August) can drastically lower the costs for families. You can also choose lesser-known islands and destinations like the island of Tinos or the city of Thessaloniki. Santorini Dave is a website that is dedicated to everything you need to know to travel to and around Greece. 

For all of these reasons, we hope you Greece becomes one of many destination inspirations for family travel!

The post Destination Inspiration: Greece appeared first on Wonder Year Travel.

Sadako Sasaki was only two years old when the A-bomb devastated Hiroshima. Initially one of the lucky ones who survived the blast, she showed no signs of injury and grew into a healthy young girl until the age of nine. An illness was then revealed to be leukemia and Sadako, which means ‘innocent child,’ began a fight for her life. Believing that folding colorful paper cranes helped in her healing process, she spent

We spent hours folding cranes with the help of volunteers.

the last eight months of her life folding countless graceful cranes with delicate hands. Sadly, the lingering effects of the bombs kept killing long after schools were rebuilt and normal services were restored in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August, 6 1945 at 8:16am; Sadako Sasaki died on October 25, 1955. It is estimated that more than 10 million cranes are offered each year at the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima.

 In a world locked in conflict over religious ideologies, it is challenging – if not impossible – to believe in the concept of universal truth. Common notions of freedom or justice or family have become objectified by opponents – tolerances narrowed to highlight differences, emotions amplified to spur action against those differences. Consider Auschwitz. Wounded Knee. Srebrenica. Ground Zero. Stalingrad. Yet, standing on ground where thousands of people lost their lives due to genocide or war, accident or terrorism is a coalescent function. It reminds us of the bird-bone fragility of life and that, after differences are discarded as superficial, we are human.

Hiroshima is one of the most sacred grounds in the history of the world, and in that it is a living legacy, a paradox. Seventy years ago, this broad valley with romantic views out to the sea was wholly destroyed – its buildings flattened and burned; its people poisoned and killed.

Where Oppenheimer leaves off

Yet today, atop that solemn foundation, it is vibrant and bustling with people pulsing through its avenues, visiting shops and restaurants as illuminated as a Saturday-night carnival. It is very much a place of living; it shows almost no scars.

 The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is a collection of artifacts that survived the blast. There are many physical exhibits that show technically amazing things, such as two-inch-thick rolled steel beams that were twisted into abstractions, or hundreds of apothecary jars that had been melted into a solid chunk of glass.

There’s also the pocket watch owned by Kengo Nikawa, frozen at 8:16am. It was a gift from his son and something he considered precious. He died a little more than two weeks later from grievous injuries sustained in the blast. Kengo had been riding his bike to work.

There’s the tattered and ash-streaked uniform worn by Nobuko Oshita, a 13-year-old student at the girls’ high school. After being exposed to the bomb, she fled into hiding with a classmate, where relief workers found her and returned her home to her family. Nobuko died the following day, still wearing the uniform she’d made.

And there’s the lunch box of Shigeru Orimen, a junior-high school student whose body was found nearly four days later by his mother. Shigeru had been tending the family’s garden while his father and brother were away at the front. His lunchbox contained a meal made from his first harvest – something he was so proud of yet never tasted.

This museum, like the Normandy American Cemetery and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, left an indelible mark on our psyche. It is a powerfully moving place filled with stories that raise unanswerable questions. The boys were exhausted and silent as we walked from the darkened exhibit hall back into the lighted gallery that looks out across the park, the A-Bomb Dome silhouetted against the blue sky. There, along the windows, Asher found a table where local volunteers were teaching kids how to make paper cranes. He sat down with Angela and decided to make an offering of peace in honor of Sadako Sasaki.

Remembering the people of Hiroshima

The post Stories From the Road: Paper Cranes in Hiroshima appeared first on Wonder Year Travel.

What is worldschooling, anyway?

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

Learning about forced removals in Cape Town

Worldschooling is an educational approach shaped by the experience of learning in the world. Worldschooling is a form of education that combines travel and experiential learning. Rather than being confined to a traditional classroom setting, worldschooling families believe that real-world experiences, cultural immersion, and travel can provide rich educational opportunities. 

Worldschooling allows children to learn 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 their learning. Worldschooling can happen anywhere, any season, any time of day. It just requires a little curiosity and a lot of wonder. 

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 simply repeating what they hear from others or read in a textbook. You can’t fake a personal interaction. Your kids 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 can be:

• learning to tap a rubber tree in Krabi, Thailand
• 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
• taking the Junior Ranger pledge after completing educational activities at Dinosaur National Monument
• visiting the bridge on the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn to learn about navigation equipment
• collecting river water in your neighborhood and looking at it under a microscope at your kitchen table
• 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 local language new to you
• drawing a picture and naming the phase of the moon every night for a month from your campsites

The possibilities are endless.

Learning to weave from local experts in Laos

Worldschooling varies in its ties to formal educational structures. Worldschooling can be closely aligned with unschooling (see below), theme-driven, subject-driven, or opportunistic based on where a family is traveling and what the day presents. It can also include online learning while on the road, with students completing tasks independently or connected with remote classmates. 

Over the past couple of decades, the term worldschooling gained traction. Several traveling families who considered themselves worldschoolers brought awareness to the concept as they shared their experiences online and in popular media. You might also come across the term roadschooling. For clarity, here at Wonder Year we use the term worldschooling to mean it all. We want everyone to feel welcome whether you are traveling in the US or overseas, full-time or part-time, following a curriculum or going with the flow. This growing all-comers inclusivity around the term is also what we see reflected on the internet and social media.

Worldschooling is not something you sign up for. There’s no one to register with, no dogma or governing institution. There are many resources to help you design what worldschooling looks like for you and your family. We walk readers through many of them in our upcoming book, Wonder Year: A Guide to Long-Term Family Travel and Worldschooling.

What is Wonder Year?

A Wonder Year is a season of discovery. It is an experience of being in motion with your family and adopting a mindset of growth and curiosity. Not necessarily wedded to one year, the notion applies to any length of time–three weeks, three months or three years. For these reasons, it is also the name of our book.

Worldschooling is the educational foundation of a Wonder Year. Our belief is simply this—the world is a very good teacher, and the more interaction our children have with it through family travel, the more their hearts and intellect will open and grow. 

Wonder Year = long-term family travel + worldschooling

Finding favorite books at a market in Beijing

Can anyone do this?

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 now have fully online options that you can do from anywhere. 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. 

Changing his own flat on the Oregon coast

Won’t my kids fall behind if they don’t go to school?

By rolling into worldschooling, you are choosing to step forward and align yourself with the forefront of innovative educational models. Public and private schools are recognizing the value of travel as part of education. International Baccalaureate (IB) programs promote “intercultural understanding and respect…as an essential part of life in the 21st Century.” Leading universities encourage study abroad programs. Some people may say worldschooling lacks academic rigor, but the evidence will be clear when your kids return to traditional school from a Wonder Year with grit, confidence, and a global frame of reference.

What are some terms used in the worldschooling community?

• Homeschooling: learning at home rather than at a public or private institution    
• Worldschooling: learning through direct interaction with the world
• Roadschooling: a form of worldschooling that most often refers to domestic travel
• Nature schooling: using the natural world as the primary classroom; sometimes called forest schooling
• Gameschooling: a form of homeschooling that teaches concepts and skills through games like chess, cards, board games, and manipulative toys like Rubik’s Cubes  
• Unschooling: using students’ curiosities and interests instead of prescribed curricula to drive self-paced learning (more on this soon)
• Hybrid schooling: anything goes! a blend of any of the above

We hope these definitions and context help you enter the conversation and community. 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!

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Even the cars in Italy are kid-friendly

Italy with kids makes for a fantastic worldschooling destination with layers of history and culture to peel back, piquing your family’s curiosities. If you love art, history, architecture, or design, there are over 4,000 museums in Italy. Of course, you can visit the famous museums at the Vatican, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, or the Archaeological Museum of Naples, but getting off the beaten path in Italy with kids is so easy and so worth it. A growing number of local experts, grad students and tour companies lead private or small art tours/history walks/cooking classes and other experiences for families. Docents may help you and your children appreciate the genius of da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Boticelli in creative ways. You might go to the Boboli Gardens in Florence and take an open-air watercolor class. You might visit a 5th Century Roman church and learn about the elegant mosaics, then go to a studio and create your own glass and ceramic mosaics. 

The harder you work, the softer your hands become during the olive harvest.

If you love music, the town of Lucca is one of our favorite options. The birthplace of composer Giacomo Puccini, you can take a musical walking tour or attend the Puccini Festival, which happens every July and August. Let your kids go to la panetteria and pick out some fresh breads, la formaggeria for some cheese and la salumeria to get some cured meats. They can prepare the family’s picnic dinner and you can all kick back and enjoy a little outdoor opera. Lucca is also known for its intact Renaissance walls, which encircle the entire old city. Expert tip: you can rent bikes and experience this gorgeous town by riding the three-mile loop on 40-foot high walls! Don’t worry–they are quite wide. 

You can also just wander on your own, talk to locals, get lost and find your own gems. The allure of Italy with kids does not stop with food, art, music, or history. It’s also a modern-day mecca for entrepreneurship, craft, fashion, sport, scenery, islands, mountains, and culture. 

With so much to love and experience, some traveling families pick one region, find an Airbnb, and enjoy a string of day trips. Others prefer to see the entire country from Lake Como in the north to Puglia in the southern “heel of the boot.”  Others may explore the mountains, the islands, or choose a manner of agriturismo (Italian farm-stays that may offer farm-to-table food or other agricultural experiences) or WWOOFing (working as volunteer laborers on farms, orchards or ranches in exchange for room and board.) Still others, like my niece, move there permanently!

The kids loved to help plant veggies at our Agriturismo in Puglia.

Here are some tips to help make the most of your time in Italy with kids: 

• While you’ll find Rome, Florence, and Venice on most packaged itineraries, definitely get off the beaten path and visit smaller towns, too. A simple search for “off-the-beaten-path Italian destinations” or “hidden gems in Italy” will give you many ideas to choose from.
• Use local guides for walking tours.
• The Italian Railway is extensive, high-speed and regular. You can purchase “family tickets” for a discounted rate and connected seats.
• Long-term traveling families enjoy the benefit of flexibility. To the extent possible, avoid Florence in the summer. It is overcrowded. 
• Always ask for tastes at gelateria – you can sample a couple of flavors before making your final choice (we always went with stracciatella). 
• “Ciao” means hello and goodbye.
• Generally speaking, Italians love babies and toddlers.
• “Il buongiorno si vede dal mattino,” or “A good day starts in the morning.” When in a fishing town, such as any of the five villages in Cinque Terre, wake up early–really early–when the fishermen head out, the coffee shops open, and the old locals greet each other. It’s a special time.
• Ordering pepperoni gets you peppers. If you want pepperoni pizza, order salumi picante.
• Ordering grilled cheese gets you literally a piece of grilled cheese. If you want a grilled cheese sandwich, you have to order mozzarella in carrozza.
• You spell bruschetta b-r-u-s-c-h-e-t-t-a, but you pronounce it bru-sketta. 
• Have a soccer ball with you, at all times – kids can kick around in piazzas, in parks, on the pitch (located in pretty much EVERY town), or even on the grounds of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And your kids will surely connect with local kids once the soccer ball comes out. If you bring an American football, you’ll also meet curious new friends, but it will take them a while to throw a spiral back to you.
• Chianti tastes better in Chianti. Buying 12 bottles and trying to ship them back to the States can be a bit of a pain. Let me repeat, the Chianti tastes better in Chianti! 

We know Italy is a popular place and that many worldschooling families have put together amazing adventures there. We’d love to hear your suggestions and tips for traveling in Italy with kids. Please comment and share your ideas. Mille Grazie! Ciao! 

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