Last night I couldn’t sleep. As I lay in bed a lot of thoughts bounced around in my head…one of those things was the future…what would my life look like 3 years from now 5 years from now 20 years from now etc. Then I started thinking about someday when we have kids and where I would want to raise my kids (Prague, the states, etc). I also started thinking about how I’d want to raise my kids and I got an idea... It’s sort of a crazy idea for a curriculum for my kids, but I sort of liked it…

Basically, the idea is to home school the kids and travel once around the world every year from the time my kids are between 5 and 7 until they reach junior high/high school age. We’d start the year off somewhere in South America (most likely Costa Rica since we know people there). We would spend 3 months there. On top of normal curriculum classes (reading, writing, arithmetic, and all that) the kids would focus on learning Spanish while in South America and would also focus on learning a little more about South American history and culture. We would also devote a good portion of the time there to studying science and taking them to see rain forests and things like that first hand. We would also spend time serving the communities of South America – for example building houses in Mexico, etc. The next three months would be spent in Asia (probably mostly in the Philippines since we know people there but maybe somewhere else). On top of normal curriculum pursuits the kids would focus on learning the Chinese language. They would also spend time learning about Asian history and culture and philosophy. We would take trips to see the Great Wall of China, to serve at an orphanage in India, to see the Samurai fighting fields of Japan, etc. After that we would spend 3 months in Europe (most likely Prague). The kids would, on top of the normal curriculum, learn one European language (besides English) for example French or German. We would also spend a great deal of time during these 3 months teaching them about European history and culture and traveling around to give them firsthand experience of the places they were learning about. We would take trips to see Athens and Rome other famous European sites, as well as trips to Africa, Egypt and the Middle East (depending on the political climate and safety). We would then spend the last 3 months in America and the kids would focus more intently on mastering the English language and learning about American history, culture and politics. This time would also include firsthand experiences - going to Washington DC, or to Plymouth Rock, etc. We would continue to circle the globe like this each year until they reach high school (at that point we would sit down and decide whether to continue doing school this way or to give them the normal US high school experience). Each time we circled the globe the curriculum would get more in-depth and they would learn more in-depth information about the continents/countries they were visiting. It would be a fairly intensive year round schooling but we would keep things at a calm (though steady) pace so as not to get boring or overwhelming. Really it would be school all year, but it would also be like vacation all year too, since we would be going to see some really exciting, unique and interesting places. The kids would also be required throughout the year (where ever we are) to learn at least one musical instrument. They would also be required throughout the year to participate in serving in some capacity the communities that we visit/live in. It’s sort of a crazy idea but I liked the thought that by the time my kids reached high school age they would have a basic understanding of 3 or more languages on top of English all of which they would have learned from native speakers in the native country (or at least close by it). They would also have a broad view of the world and a wide understanding of various world cultures. They would have friends from practically every ethnicity and nationality and would have experienced firsthand the fact that not every where in the world is like America. They would have seen poverty first hand and been a part of serving those in need in places less fortunate. They would also be experienced travelers, comfortable on planes, in airports, and dealing with the hassles traveling can present. Over all they would have a balanced and well rounded education that gave them a solid foundation for the rest of their lives.

Anyway, that’s my crazy new scheme… Anyone want to join me?? If we could get a few families to do it together we could pool our abilities and skills and hence be able to teach our kids even more – not to mention it would just be fun to travel around the world with a few close friends.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Beth Stedman