Advice

How to Homeschool While Travelling Around Australia


There is nothing better than travelling across our beautiful country with its rich history, spectacular scenery, hidden treasures, and so much to discover. Even better is seeing it all through the eyes of a child.

Whether it’s a trip for a few months or something more long-term, travelling with your children while they are young can create valuable family memories. The only issue is that they still need to be educated.

This blog post will look at how you can homeschool while travelling across our beautiful sun-drenched lands and continue learning while on the move.

Homeschool Registration

You will often hear how families love the opportunity to educate their children while taking a significant trip, but is it as straightforward as it seems?

Before embarking on your homeschooling journey, an application must be submitted to the appropriate State agency by the parent who intends to teach their children at home or, in this case, on the road. In most cases this registration process is required every 12 months.

When registering to include travel in your homeschooling plan, it differs a little depending on each State.  Where some states have clear guidelines, others don’t. 

It’s always best to check your State’s regulations however, before finalising any plans, also check with other parents. Gaining some valuable advice from others who are also from your State will be helpful. There are many online groups you can access, and we find the Facebook group for “Travelling Australia with Kids” is full of knowledgeable families.

Meeting the Australian Curriculum While Travelling

When you’re travelling across the country, many wonderful learning experiences will arise and can be used as part of your homeschooling program. 

Some of these experiences will include learning about Australia’s:

  • History
  • Geography
  • Meteorology
  • Science
  • Geology
  • Economy
  • Natural resources
  • and much more!

It will be surprising how much you use to enhance your schooling during your travels, whether passing through our larger cities or across the outback, opportunities to learn are everywhere. Ensuring you have a great curriculum plan will enable you the peace of mind that knowledge gaps will not form.

Combining Travel with Homeschooling

There are various ways to combine homeschooling and travel without compromising either pursuit. Aside from planning travel-free days where doing bookwork can be made a priority, there are many other opportunities to keep everything balanced:

1. Car travel

On days where there is a lot of time spent in the car, we recommend using it as:

  • Reading time
  • Playing audiobooks
  • Quizzing your children
  • Learning times tables
  • Playing games such as counting all the yellow cars and eye spy.

2. Visiting historical locations

Visiting museums and historical landmarks are great ways to spend time exploring the town your family is visiting and discover great learning experiences.

Uluru and other parts of our red country offer a unique insight into our indigenous history and present, Port Arthur offers a look into our colonial past, and The Sydney Opera House provides a glimpse into rich architecture.

3. Budgeting

Usually when families travel there is budgeting involved. Engaging your children in the process allows them to use math practically. Your child’s involvement will likely spark conversation, furthering the learning experience.

4. Family travel journal

Keeping a family travel journal where each person takes a turn at keeping a record of the day is an easy way to incorporate English lessons into the trip. It is also a great way to document your trip which you can then reflect on in years time. 

Whether in a notebook or computer, it encourages your children to reflect on their experiences of the day and anything they may have learnt. Your family will be learning without feeling like they’re being formally educated.

5. Discovering species

Bird watching, lizard finding, crabs popping out of the sand and more provide the perfect opportunity to learn about Australian wildlife. Your children could choose to focus on one particular animal, research it and add real photos to their report. The possibilities are endless.

6. Health and PE

When you’re travelling across our beautiful country, there are ongoing health and physical education opportunities. These include your children getting involved in:

  • Food shopping and meal planning
  • Cooking
  • Hiking
  • Discovering bush foods
  • Swimming
  • and more!

7. Take it day-by-day

Whether homeschooling at your residence or travelling across Australia, we always recommend that families take the experience day-to-day.

Like any aspect of life, there will be interruptions, unexpected scenarios, or days where your child may have trouble applying themselves to their studies. Being flexible means changing your plans, doing some practical experiences in the morning and schooling in the evening or taking a few days off and then getting back to it. This is where the benefits of flexible learning come in to play. 

Your child will still be learning by what’s happening around them, and changing aspects of how their education is delivered will not harm their overall educational experience.

8. Arts on the go

Engaging in local culture through music, tours, visiting art galleries or sketching local flora and fauna are all wonderful opportunities to immerse yourself in the arts.

These opportunities may be unique to the area and not something your child would usually get to experience. This type of engagement will encourage questions and discussion and is a perfect introduction to the uniqueness of the Australian arts community.

If your child is keen to learn more, visiting the local town library can provide further information about the area.

Travelling Using a Ready-Made Curriculum

We’ve looked at endless ways to homeschool while travelling across Australia with your family. However, if you want to plan one less thing for your travels, Euka has the right solution for your family when it comes to educating on the go. 

Euka allows your children to explore the world with worry-free learning wherever they happen to be. We offer a flexible curriculum with relevant, practical activities that you can easily incorporate into your travels that align with your child’s interests. 

Euka provides a full  Australian curriculum with a solid balance between practical and online learning, our graded programs are tailored to ensure it works for your child, especially if they have areas of interest they wish to explore further, such as science, maths or the arts. It is vital that your children can enjoy the journey without the worry of falling behind.

If you’re preparing for your trip across Australia and are aiming for a seamless educational experience while you’re away, contact the Euka team, and we will get your family started on their Future Learning journey.

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